EVENT DETAILS
Date: Saturday, May 27, 2023
Location: Orlando Speed World, Orlando, FL
Event: Formula DRIFT PRO Championship Round 3: TYPE S Scorched presented by AutoZone
RESULTS FROM FD PRO ROUND 3
1. Chelsea DeNofa (USA) – Pennzoil / BC Racing Ford Mustang RTR Spec 5-FD
2. Fredric Aasbo (Norway) – Rockstar Energy Toyota GR Supra
3. Kazuya Taguchi (Japan) – Upgarage / ISR Performance / GT Radial / Jerry Yang Racing Toyota 86
NOTES
- Formula DRIFT uses a figure-8 layout on the banked oval at Orlando Speed World. The track was revised slightly for 2023, with Outside Zone 1 lengthened and Outside Zone 2 shortened to improve the flow of the course
- DeNofa had an extremely tough path to his first win since Round 6 in Seattle 2022. His Pennzoil / BC Racing Ford Mustang RTR Spec 5-FD was battered throughout the night. The carnage began in the Top 32 when he collided with Alex Holovnia (Ukraine) after the rookie made a mistake in Outside Zone 1. DeNofa hit him hard enough to launch the Mustang into the air, causing considerable damage
- In the Top 16, DeNofa had a blockbuster battle against three-time FD PRO Champion Chris Forsberg (USA). The win took Chelsea to the Great 8 where he defeated three-time FD PRO Champion and RTR teammate James Deane (Ireland)
- In the Final 4, DeNofa was speared by Kazuya Taguchi at Inside Clip 2, again causing suspension damage to the RTR Mustang. After returning to the track for the second run, DeNofa won the heat with an engine misfire
- Revitalizing the V8 with new plugs and leads, DeNofa vanquished three-time FD PRO Champion Aasbo in an extremely close Final. The victory hoisted Chelsea from 10th to second in the 2023 FD PRO Championship
- Second place Aasbo amassed sufficient points over three rounds to lead the 2023 FD PRO Championship by 13 points despite not actually winning. Along with Deane and Forsberg, Aasbo is looking to become the first four-time FD PRO Champion
- Taguchi’s third place reflects his qualifying position and reinforces the respect given to him by an increasing number of drift teams and experts. After a poor start to the season, the Orlando result catapults Taguchi from 25th to 12th in the FD PRO Championship
- Dylan Hughes (USA) finished fourth in the Whip Racing / Royal Purple BMW after a close contest against Aasbo in the Final 4. Hughes also received a healthy bump from 13th to 6th in the title race
- Coming into Orlando, Matt Field (USA) in the Borla Performance / GT Radial Corvette was leading the Championship by a healthy 40-point margin. He was eliminated from the Top 16 by Ryan Tuerck (USA) after a titanic conflict that saw the rivals run six times before the judges could separate them. Placed 14th overall, Field now sits third in the 2023 Championship
- Top qualifier Tuerck in the Rain-X / Nitto Tire / Rockstar Energy GR Corolla was himself purged from the Great 8 by Hughes. Tuerck collected enough points to rise from 11th to 5th overall
- The top Rookie was again Diego Higa (Brazil) who placed 28th in Orlando driving his Toyota GT86, putting him 29th in the Championship table
- After the third round, Ford has extended its lead of the 2023 Formula DRIFT PRO Auto Cup, while Nitto regained the lead of the Tire Cup largely thanks to the performance of DeNofa and Aasbo
ROUND 3 FD PRO TOP 16 DRIVER POINTS
| POSITION | DRIVER | POINTS |
| 1 | Chelsea DeNofa | 102 |
| 2 | Fredric Aasbo | 88 |
| 3 | Kazuya Taguchi | 77 |
| 4 | Dylan Hughes | 64 |
| 5 | Ryan Tuerck | 51 |
| 6 | Travis Reeder | 48 |
| 7 | James Deane | 48 |
| 8 | Simen Olsen | 48 |
| 9 | Aurimas Bakchis | 32 |
| 10 | Dan Stuke | 32 |
| 11 | Jonathan Hurst | 32 |
| 12 | Forrest Wang | 32 |
| 13 | Chris Forsberg | 32 |
| 14 | Matt Field | 32 |
| 15 | Darren Kelly | 32 |
| 16 | Kristaps Bluss | 32 |
2023 FD PRO TOP 16 DRIVER CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
| POSITION | DRIVER | POINTS |
| 1 | Fredric Aasbo | 196 |
| 2 | Chelsea DeNofa | 183 |
| 3 | Matt Field | 180 |
| 4 | James Deane | 146 |
| 5 | Chris Forsberg | 136 |
| 6 | Dylan Hughes | 128 |
| 7 | Jonathan Hurst | 128 |
| 8 | Aurimas Bakchis | 125 |
| 9 | Rome Charpentier | 120 |
| 10 | Ryan Tuerck | 118 |
| 11 | Forrest Wang | 114 |
| 12 | Kazuya Taguchi | 109 |
| 13 | Vaughn Gittin Jr | 103 |
| 14 | Simen Olsen | 96 |
| 15 | Dan Stuke | 96 |
| 16 | Kristaps Bluss | 96 |
2023 AUTO CUP TOP SIX STANDINGS
| Ford | 400 |
| Toyota | 314 |
| Chevrolet | 260 |
| Nissan | 152 |
| Aston Martin | 80 |
| Dodge | 64 |
| Mazda | 16 |
| Ferrari | 0 |
2023 TIRE CUP STANDINGS
| Nitto | 468 |
| GT Radial | 438 |
| Vitour | 280 |
| Kenda | 194 |
| Nexen | 128 |
