By What began with springtime sunshine was disrupted by the roar of 1,000-horsepower engines, immense towers of tire smoke and the scream of a raucous crowd as Formula Drift made its annual stop to Long Beach on April 4-5.
Formula Drift is the main professional drift racing series that travels across the United States, putting some of the best drift drivers globally against each other in dual-style drift racing.
Drifting is a controlled, specialized driving technique where the rear wheels of a car lose traction or slide as it goes along a corner or turn until it is completed.
Popularized by race-car drivers in Japan during the late ’90s, drifting began to become popularized in the United States in the early 2000’s.
In 2003, Formula Drift formed – now celebrating its 20th year of being held in Long Beach, and its 22nd year of overall competition.
In its infancy, drifting and Formula Drift was seen as a recreational, amateur sport with no professional avenues.
However, over the past 20 years, the sport has grown and expanded due to an increase in revenue from fan engagement, investments and sponsorships of various auto-manufacturers into the sport to become the pro-league it is today.
Kenda Tire is one of the tire providers for the drivers competing in the Formula Drift Championship. Luckily for fans, the used tires that are taken off the competition cars are given out for free for fans to take home. Photo credit: Diego Renteria
Formula Drift allows fans to not just enjoy the intense wheel-to-wheel drift battles and vendors, but to also walk through the garage and see the inner workings of the sport.
Meanwhile, fans also have access to the race-car drivers in a way that no other racing league offers.
During down times, drivers interact with the fans by signing autographs, holding conversations and even participating in videos for social media with the fans.
For spectator Micheal Rizk, he calls this one-on-one experience very interactive.
“It’s a point of access that you do not get from any other form of motorsport,” Rizk said.
Formula Drift driver Andy Hateley is known as the “Drift Wizard,” famous for putting a traffic cone on his head as a wizard hat. He sells hats that look like a cone with his nickname on them for his fans to be in on the joke. Photo credit: Diego Renteria
Another allure of Formula Drift is the diversity in the cars and drivers.
In comparison to other racing sports, drifting holds far less car regulations. This allows the drivers and their teams to build almost whatever car they want for competition.
Rome Charpentier, who operated the green BMW 1M, said he grew up coming to see Long Beach, so the beach city track is, in a way, his home court. To Charpentier, this track holds sentimental value. Photo credit: Diego Renteria
The drivers are just as diverse as their Carbon Kevlar-clad steeds: 2024 FD champion James “The Machine” Deane is from Ireland, Japanese champion Daigo Saito makes his return to U.S. competition again and three-time champion Fredric Aasbo, nicknamed the “Norwegian Hammer,” is from Norway.
In the first two rounds of competition, the experienced, fan-favorite drivers like Chris “The Force” Forsberg and Ryan “Hampshaa” Tuerck quickly separated themselves from their competition and won their matchups.
It was not until third round where competition became more intense, when the last eight drivers, known as the “Great Eight,” matched up against each other.
This is where the first overtime, also known as “one more time,” of the afternoon occurred when Tuerck faced his teammate Aasbo and lost in a close battle.
The final four drivers consisted of Aasbo, Deane and two fresher faces in the pro-leagues of drifting: Adam LZ and Branden Sorenson. Despite this, Aasbo and Deane easily handled their less experienced challengers and headed to the final battle round.
SoCal has grown more and more as the epicenter of drifting in the United States. Drifting got its start in the hills of Japan, but when it hit the sunny shores of California, it changed car culture in the area. Photo credit: Diego Renteria
Now, for the final round of Formula Drift, audiences saw a rivalry with extensive history unfold.
Aasbo and Deane have faced off four times previously in the history of drifting, with Dean winning each time.
After a fierce blast down, where each driver took turns nailing each clipping point, the judges could not make a ruling decision. The crowd of thousands of fans reacted to the judge’s indecision by chanting, “One more time!”
The judges gave in, leading to another “one more time” of the day.
In one last run with Aasbo leading in his Papadakis Racing Toyota GR Supra, he was able to defeat Deane in his RTR Vehicles Ford Mustang Spec-5FD, getting his first win over his storied rival and taking the overall win at Formula Drift Long Beach.
Formula Drift will be making a surprise return to the Streets of Long Beach as the new location of the final round of the Formula Drift Championship from October 17-18.
You can find presale information on the “Shoreline Showdown” here.
