Ryan Sage steps up to Formula DRIFT President;
Jim Liaw moves to PRI position, continues as FD board member
Formula DRIFT is announcing today that Vice-President, Ryan Sage, will assume the role of President of Formula DRIFT Holdings, LLC as Jim Liaw moves to a new position at Performance Racing Industry.
Although Jim is relinquishing a position he’s held since 2004, he will remain as a Formula DRIFT board member, focusing his attention on the company’s international and Federation relationships, including the FIA Drifting Commission.
Ryan, who is a co-founder with Liaw of the world’s most successful professional drift series, has served as the company’s Vice-President since 2004. He will take over Jim’s role at the end of the 2021 Formula DRIFT season.
“Change can be difficult but is sometimes necessary,” Jim reflected. “This is simply a new chapter in my life and the career I’ve established in the industry I love. Stepping down from my day-to-day role doesn’t mean I’m done with FD. On the contrary, I have full faith in the upward trajectory of the Series and the team that will take it forward. The FD team has grown into one the best Series operators in the world, taking it through the initial growing pains, the Great Recession, and now the Global Pandemic.
Jim continued, “Ryan and I have been David’s battling industry Goliaths for 20 years. And although we have formal titles, we’ve truly been equal partners in building Slipstream and then Formula DRIFT. I have complete faith that FD will reach new heights under his stewardship.”
In response, Ryan commented, “Jim has been my business partner, and most importantly, my friend for the past 20 years, so I’m excited to see him to take this new path in his life. He leaves Formula DRIFT with a legacy of helping to build the largest, most respected drifting organization in the world, as well as being at the helm when FD weathered it’s biggest challenges. Myself and all the staff will obviously be sad that we won’t see him in the office every day, but we’re also delighted he will retain his board seat and Federation responsibilities. We’re also highly motivated to continue applying the principles he instilled in us to take the Series into the future.”
The 2021 Formula DRIFT series is in the midst of an extremely exciting season, which continues on the Streets of Long Beach on September 17-18 for Round 7 of the FD PRO Championship. Both the PRO and Link ECU PROSPEC Championship teams will then converge on the House of Drift – Irwindale Speedway – on October 22-23 for the season finale, where the respective Champions will be crowned.
