This past weekend was the first round of the 2018 Formula Drift season at Long Beach, and as you’d imagine, it was not without its drama, excitement, and fire. After a hefty dose of close competition, Norwegian Fredric Aasbo eventually took the overall win in his Papadakis Racing Toyota Corolla drift machine.
Reigning Formula Drift champion James Deane was forced to settle for fourth place overall when he had an issue on the rear left side of his drift car. His team attempted to take a competition timeout, but the five minute window was not enough time to fix the damage.
Deane’s opponent in the semifinals, Forrest Wang, went on to grab second place behind Aasbo. The end decision was not unanimous after already having to go for one more battle. With fans chatting “one more time,” the decision went to Aasbo. Wang sat out the 2017 Formula Drift season and contemplated quitting drifting, but his time off has clearly benefitted his drive. Deane’s Worthouse teammate Polish driver Piotr Wiecek rounded out the top three. The Worthouse duo of Deane and Wiecek were setting the tone early grabbing some of the best qualifying runs in back to back succession.
Behind Deane, experienced drivers Justin Pawlak, Chris Forsberg, Ryan Tuerck, Alec Hohnadell, Matt Field, and Daijiro Yoshihara round out the top 10.
This was just round one of the season, and it’s still anyone’s championship to win. The next contest of the 2018 Formula Drift season is in Orlando, Florida April 27-28. Ahead of round two, some of the drivers will find themselves back in Long Beach for the Motegi Super Drift Invitational April 13-14.