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| Category | Drifting |
|---|---|
| Country |  United States |
| Inaugural season | 2004 |
| Classes |
|
| Manufacturers | |
| Tire suppliers | |
| Drivers' champion | PRO
2023 PROSPEC 2023 Ben Hobson |
| Official website | formulad |
 Current season | |
Formula DRIFT (also known as Formula D or 'FD’ is a United States-based motorsport drifting series. Formula DRIFT was co-founded by Jim Liaw and Ryan Sage in 2003 as a sister company to Slipstream Global Marketing, the same partnership that introduced D1 Grand Prix to the United States. The new entity would solely own, operate and launch the first official drifting series in North America. Formula DRIFT is not associated with the FIA series of formula racing championships.[1]
Formula DRIFT has 84 licensed drivers competing in PRO and PROSPEC (formerly PRO 2[2]) as of June 2024. The series consists of an eight-round championship played out at race tracks across North America. Formula DRIFT is judged on line, angle, and style, rather than who finishes the course in the fastest time.
North America
Drivers in North America can compete in regionally sanctioned PRO/AM organizations for licensing.[3]
- USDrift - Mid-Atlantic
- East10Drift – Southeast
- Evergreen Drift – Pacific Northwest
- Colorado Drift - Colorado
- ND Drift - Minnesota
- Southwest Drift - Las Vegas
- Spec-D Drift series - Bincent Shreklund
- Hot Pit Autofest - California
- Full Lock Drift - Oklahoma
- US Drift Circuit - Florida
- Great Lakes - Pennsylvania
Winners and high finishers of these feeders series are then able to enter the Formula DRIFT PROSPEC series, a secondary national tour where drivers compete to move up to the main series.
Tracks
Current tracks
- Grand Prix of Long Beach in Long Beach, California. Seasons 2006 –
- Road Atlanta in Braselton, Georgia. Seasons 2004 –
- Orlando Speed World in Orlando, Florida. Season 2015 –
- Old Bridge Township Raceway Park in Englishtown, New Jersey. Season 2008 –
- World Wide Technology Raceway in Madison, Illinois. Seasons 2018 –
- Evergreen Speedway in Monroe, Washington. Seasons 2006 –
- Utah Motorsports Campus in Grantsville, Utah. Seasons 2022 –
- Irwindale Speedway in Irwindale, California. Season 2004 –
Former tracks
- Wall Speedway in Wall, New Jersey. Seasons 2005–2007, 2009–2019
- Autodrome Saint-Eustache in Saint-Eustache, Quebec. Seasons 2015 – 2017
- Palm Beach International Raceway in Palm Beach, Florida. Seasons 2011 – 2013
- Las Vegas Motor Speedway in Las Vegas, Nevada. Seasons 2009 – 2012
- Summit Point Motorsports Park in Summit Point, West Virginia. Season 2007
- Reliant Center in Houston, Texas. Seasons 2004 – 2005
- Soldier Field in Chicago, Illinois. Season 2005 – 2006
- Sonoma Raceway in Sonoma, California. Seasons 2004 – 2013
- Lake Erie Speedway in Erie, Pennsylvania. Season 2021 –
International presence
Formula DRIFT has increased its international presence every year since 2008 with the addition of demonstration and sister series in other countries. "Taking the Formula DRIFT brand internationally is a huge milestone. Our priority is to continue to build the Series here while growing the sport of drifting as a whole," said Jim Liaw, president and co-founder of Formula DRIFT. "We are very careful in choosing our event partners and take careful consideration of the boundaries of our international affiliates such as Drift Australia, MSC, and Pro Drift."[4]
Sister series
Formula DRIFT Asia. Formula DRIFT Asia was created in 2008 with the inaugural FD Singapore competition. The first real international competition of its in Asia, held at the Changi Air Show Grounds. This historic event was sold out before the gates opened. Since then, Formula Drift Asia became its own championship series, the first Pan-Asian professional drifting championship. In 2009 and 2010, the Championship made stops in Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia. For the 2011/2012 Championship tour, Formula DRIFT Asia added an additional stop in Indonesia.[5]
- Rd.1
Marina Bay Street Circuit, Marina Bay, Singapore Season 2010 - Rd.2
Bangkok Wonderworld, Bangkok, Thailand Season 2010 - Rd.3
Dataran Merdeka Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Season 2010
The first Formula DRIFT Asia Champion was Tengku Djan.
Exhibition events
Date TBD International Competition – Qatar Racing Club
Date TBD International Competition – Yas Marina Circuit
February 5, 2012 Demonstration – Figali Convention Center- May 27, 2012 International Competition – Location TBD
June 11, 2011 Formula Drift Ultimate Challenge at Texas Motor Speedway, Fort Worth, TX- February 25, 2011 Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi, UAE
- February 12, 2011 Figali Convention Center, Ciudad de Panamá, Panamá
- January 17, 2010 Figali Convention Center, Ciudad de Panamá, Panamá
- March 8, 2009 Figali Convention Center, Ciudad de Panamá, Panamá
August 23, 2008 Monterrey Autodromo, Monterrey, Mexico- April 27, 2008 Changi Air Show Grounds, Singapore
Regulations
Formula DRIFT has continued to refine its rulebook and technical regulations year to year in terms of car and competition regulations.
Car eligibility
Cars and their builds are constantly under review by the Formula DRIFT staff. The rule book is revised every year to promote fair and exciting drifting. Some cars and practices are written out of the rule book in order to keep a realistic and level playing field. During the 2004 season, the Dodge Viper Competition Coupe was permitted to compete; subsequently it was ineligible in Formula DRIFT.
Although Formula DRIFT does not permit front-wheel drive cars, it does allow all-wheel drive cars to be converted to rear wheel drive, such as the Subaru WRX and Mitsubishi EVO. In the United States, the Scion tC is sold only in the FWD layout, but because it shares the same chassis as the AWD Toyota Avensis (sold only in the United Kingdom and Europe), it can be converted to a competition-ready RWD layout. This change sparked great debate between drifters in the series who felt that an original FWD vehicle should not be eligible due to the front cross member changes needed.
A trademark of Formula DRIFT competition cars is the very open engine rulebook. Formula DRIFT allows engines from other manufacturers to be swapped into competition cars. "Engine, transmission, ECU and/or final drive modifications are free, but only the rear wheels may propel the vehicle". This results in a huge variety of engine/chassis combinations as well as huge power outputs commonly in excess of 850+ whp. Vehicles wishing to compete for the Manufacturers Championship must use an engine from the same manufacturer as the chassis. Engine swaps remain very common with older models but can be seen with new builds as well. Naturally aspirated or supercharged Chevrolet V8 engines are often used because of their availability and lower operating costs.
Suspension modification is widely open to development as long as stock pickup locations are utilized. Suspension tuning is a vital part of any successful Formula DRIFT team.
To keep cars in check Formula DRIFT institutes a maximum tire size based on the vehicles total weight.
Formula DRIFT cars are given fixed numbers for their cars and are not necessarily based on rankings.
Scoring and judging
Formula DRIFT uses its own scoring system that may differ from other drifting organizations. Often scoring systems for qualifying, tandem battles, and penalties are different.
Qualifying – Formula DRIFT competitors are allowed two non-consecutive judged solo runs to post their highest possible score in order to compete. The top 32 drivers with the highest qualifying scores are entered in a competition bracket pairing the highest scoring drivers against the lowest scoring drivers. 1st v. 32nd, 2nd v. 31st, 3rd v. 30th, etc. The drivers are judged on line, speed, angle, and overall impact. The judges can also make additional request at the drivers meeting for actions or techniques that will weigh in their decision making (ex; entry technique, racing line, proximity, etc.). Formula DRIFT drivers are scored on a points-deduction system where every driver will start their judged run with a perfect score of 100 pts. For every mistake, points will be deducted. These points will vary between .25 point to the most severe mistakes 1.75.[6]
Competition – The top 32 qualifying drivers are paired up in an elimination bracket pairing the highest scoring drivers against the lowest scoring drivers. The biggest difference from qualifying is that now drivers face off head to head on the track in a tandem battle. The two cars run together side by side, each driver trying to show greater skill than the other. The highest qualifying driver leads on the first run, then on the second run the lower qualifying driver leads. Drivers are judged on the same basic criteria as qualifying but an emphasis is put on the interaction between the two drivers competing head to head. The lead driver will set the pace and driving line often trying to produce a gap between themselves and the following driver. The following driver will try to stay on top of the lead driver as close as possible without making contact with their vehicle. The goal is to mimic or "shadow" the lead drivers run while staying on their door throughout the run. It is possible for either driver to win either run. Often one driver will have a points advantage going into the second run. Driver mistakes (ex. 2 wheels off course, spinning out, avoidable contact, etc.) can also cause them to be given an automatic zero. The three-judge panel then will look at both runs and determine one of three outcomes; Driver 1 advances, Driver 2 advances, or if a winner can not be determined a "One More Time" will be called. In the event of a "One More Time" the drivers will then complete a new pair of runs. The drivers will face off again until a winner can be determined. The winner advance to the next bracket.
Competition Time Out – Drivers have a one-time option to utilize a "Competition Time Out" in order to attempt to fix their vehicle. In the event that a driver or car can not come to the start line in time for their tandem run the other driver will be allowed to run a solo lap to advance.
Overtaking – Follow cars are permitted to overtake or pass in certain instances. passes may only happen at inside clips, and can only be done so if the lead car is off line enough to allow the follow car to pass between them and the clip. If a successful pass is made the lead car run is deemed a zero.
The current judges are Robbie Nishida (2023-), Brian Eggert (2012-), Chris Uhl (2020-). Kevin Wells is the Competition Director for the series.[6]
Formula DRIFT Champions
United States
Note: Chris Forsberg was first driver to win 3 championships (2009, 2014 and 2016). The second one to win 3 was James Deane, and the third was Fredric Aasbø (2015, 2021, and 2022). Although he was the second driver to win 3 championships, Deane was the first and so far only Formula DRIFT driver who managed to win 3 championships in a row (2017, 2018 and 2019).