SERIES NEWS: QUALIFYING RESULTS FROM THE FINAL ROUND OF THE 2021 FORMULA DRIFT CHAMPIONSHIPS AT IRWINDALE SPEEDWAY

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EVENT DETAILS

Date: Friday, October 22, 2021
Location: Irwindale Speedway, Irwindale, CA
Event: Formula DRIFT PRO Championship Round 8: Type S Title Fight & Link ECU PROSPEC Championship Round 4

RESULTS FROM FD PRO QUALIFYING

1. Fredric Aasbo (Norway) – Rockstar Energy Drink Toyota GR Supra
2. Aurimas Bakchis (Lithuania) – Falken Tire / Feal Suspension Nissan S15
3. Michael Essa (USA) – FCP Euro / Liqui Moly / GT Radial BMW M3
 

RESULTS FROM LINK ECU PROSPEC QUALIFYING

1. Tommy Lemaire (Canada) – TLO Drift School Nissan S14.5 V8
2. Nick Noback (USA) – KoruWorks BMW E46
3. Blake Olsen (USA) – KoruWorks / GT Radial BMW E92

NOTES

  • Irwindale Speedway is known as The House of Drift and is the only track to be included in the series every year since 2004
  • A new walled section has been added to the course for 2021 to better define Outside Zone 3 to the finish line
  • Weather was perfect for qualifying, with a sunny high of 72˚
  • 32 PRO and 34 PROSPEC drivers attempted to qualify for the Top 32 places in competition. The eight drivers with the lowest scores (or any driver with an incomplete first run) are required to complete a second qualifying run under the Knockout Qualifying Format (KQF) to make the grade or be eliminated.
  • In FD PRO, ten drivers were ruled incomplete and needed to run a second time. All but Jhonnattan Castro (Dominican Republic) managed to secure a position at the bottom of the qualification table. And with the Drift Force Eurofighter BMW teammates Yves Myer (Switzerland) and Joshua Reynolds (Switzerland) pulling out of the event, it meant the top three qualifiers would get a bye run through the Top 32 heats
  • Top qualifier in FD PRO was 2021 Championship points leader, Aasbo, who ran first and set a blistering pace. Aasbo’s bye run in the competition heats guarantees him a Top 16 place and aids his bid for a second Championship title
  • Chelsea DeNofa (USA), second in the points table driving the BC Racing / Nitto Tire Ford Mustang RTR Spec 5-D, decided to take a different approach to qualifying, along with teammate Vaughn Gittin Jr. Both appeared to run shallow lines, giving them a low score and dropping them down the qualification table. This had the effect of jumbling the seeding for the competition heats, which was very successful for DeNofa at FD Seattle, where he qualified 28th and won the Round. However, qualifying 19th means he loses out on a possible bye run
  • Third in the Championship, Matt Field (USA), experienced mechanical problems in the Falken Tire / Drift Cave Chevrolet Corvette. This forced him into the KQF where his 93-point score would have put him second. However, KQF meant he qualified in 22nd
  • Bakchis qualified second and currently sits fourth in the points table. He’s coming off a win at the previous Long Beach Round, and being gifted a bye run through the Top 32 means “Odi” significantly improved his odds of claiming his first FD PRO Championship
  • Essa qualified in third and while the former Champion can’t claim another title, his steady improvement throughout the season means he’ll be a real threat to the Championship contenders
  • In PROSPEC, one driver failed to start and ten were ruled incomplete on their first run, so had to take a second. By the end of the session, 26 qualified and 8 were eliminated. As a result, six of the top drivers get a bye run in tomorrow’s Top 32 competition heats, including the top three drivers in the Championship chase
  • Number one PROSPEC qualifier and series Rookie, Lemaire, scored 94 points, crushing his competitors. His closest rivals were Noback and Olsen, who both scored 88 points, with Noback getting the nod for a superior angle score
  • PROSPEC points leader and reigning Champion, Dmitriy Brutskiy (Belarus), qualified fifth in the Essa Autosport / ISC Suspension BMW E46, keeping him in the chase

ROUND 8 TOP 16 PRO QUALIFYING

BRACKET FOR ROUND 8 PRO COMPETITION HEATS 

ROUND 4 TOP 16 PROSPEC QUALIFYING

BRACKET FOR ROUND 4 PROSPEC COMPETITION HEATS 

FORMULA DRIFT IRWINDALE RECAP

A summary of competition results from FD IRW and a full recap of Round 8: Type S Title Fight & Link ECU PROSPEC Championship Round 4 will follow, along with event images

NEXT ROUND
Formula DRIFT will announce its 2022 schedule at its annual SEMA press conference in the Media Center, or visit formulad.com after the announcement.