EVENT DETAILS
Date: Friday/Saturday, July 14/15, 2023
Location: World Wide Technology Raceway, Madison, IL
Event: Formula DRIFT PRO Championship Round 5: Crossroads, and Link ECU PROSPEC Championship Round 3
RESULTS FROM FD PRO ROUND 5
- Aurimas Bakchis (Lithuania) – Feal Suspension / GT Radial Nissan S15
- Fredric Aasbo (Norway) – Rockstar Energy Toyota GR Supra
- Simen Olsen (Norway) – Feal Suspension Nissan S14.9
RESULTS FROM FD PROSPEC ROUND 3
- Ben Hobson (USA) – Ben Hobson (USA) – Pedal Commander / Feal Suspension / Koruworks / Motegi Racing Nissan S14
- Andy Hateley (USA) – Hateley Motorsports Habanero E46 BMW
- Geoff Donati (USA) – Freedom Builders / Tuner Tools-powered E46 BMW
NOTES – PRO
- Round 5 was all drama. It saw big names going out early, multiple collisions, driver protests, multiple One More Time decisions, a failed bye run, rain between sessions, a new Championship leader, and a first-time winner in 2023. The action began at 9:30AM with the postponed PROSPEC Top 16 and finished at 12:30AM after the PRO Championship schedule was frequently delayed by mechanical issues and collisions
- “Odi” Bakchis won a hard-fought Final against Aasbo but only after he repeated his Final 4 heat against Chris Forsberg (USA) following a successful team protest. Odi also defeated points leader Matt Field (USA) in the Top 16 and benefitted from a bye run though the Great 8 when Ryan Tuerck (USA) was unable to complete his own bye run for the first time in series history
- FD St Louis is the first win for Bakchis since 2021 when he claimed three victories during the season. The result takes him from sixth to third in the Championship
- The three-car Team Feal run by Bakchis placed first and third in FD PRO and first in PROSPEC with Ben Hobson
- Aasbo restored his mojo after being knocked out of the Top 32 in New Jersey to finish second in STL by a whisker. With his closest rivals knocked out early, Aasbo returned to the Championship lead, turning a 41-point deficit into a 15-point advantage
- Third-placed Olsen claimed his second FD PRO podium following his second place in NJ. It also meant there were two Norwegians spraying champagne. The recent success sees him remain fifth overall by a tighter 43-point margin
- Championship points leader Field placed 14th in his Borla Performance / GT Radial Corvette. He dropped to second after the early retirement but is still very much in the title chase
- Chelsea DeNofa (USA) fought his way to the Great 8 but lost a physical battle with Chris Forsberg (USA). The driver of the Pennzoil / BC Racing Ford Mustang RTR Spec 5-FD dropped from third to fourth
- Forsberg finished fourth in the NOS Energy Drink / GT Radial Nissan Z after he challenged the judges’ decision in his Final 4 battle with Bakchis. Winning the appeal, he was permitted to repeat both runs. The result was the same but he put up a good fight
- After the fifth PRO Championship round, Ford maintained its lead in the 2023 Formula DRIFT PRO Auto Cup but GT Radial now tops the Tire Cup largely thanks to the success of Team Feal and Forsberg
NOTES – PROSPEC
- All FD PROSPEC cars are required to use GT Radial tires and Link ECU engine management
- Following the Top 32 competition on Friday afternoon, a thunderstorm caused the postponement of the remaining heats until Saturday morning
- After qualifying first at every 2023 Round, Hobson scored his first PROSPEC win since joining the Championship in 2021. And with his closest rivals out of contention, Hobson has taken a commanding 65-point lead in the title race
- Rudy Hansen (USA), the PROSPEC Championship leader coming into St Louis, was eliminated from the Top 32 heats by Austin Matta (USA). Hansen finished the day in 27th, dropping him to third overall
- Similarly, Alex Jagger (USA), who arrived in STL in fourth position, was knocked out of the Top 32 by Connor O’Sullivan. Placed 17th, Jagger dropped to eighth once the points were tallied
- Hateley’s strong second place finish jumped him from ninth to second in the PROSPEC Championship, giving him genuine title aspirations at the Final Round in Utah on September 14-16
- Donati in third scored his best FD result to date, beating double PROSPEC Champion Dmitriy Brutskiy in the process
- Formula DRIFT saw its first ever all-female tandem battle with Zandara Kennedy (Canada) paired against Kelsey Rowlings (USA) in the Top 32. The contest went to One More Time, with Rowlings winning a close match. Rowlings would progress to the Top 16 where she was beaten by Matta. Meanwhile, the number two qualifier, Amanda Sorensen, also reached the Top 16 and finished ninth overall
- The top Rookie was Connor O’Sullivan (USA) who took his RTS / GT Radial E46 BMW to fourth place. The result catapulted him to sixth overall and leading contender for the 2023 Rookie title
2023 FORMULA DRIFT CHAMPIONSHIP RESULTS
ROUND 5 FD PRO TOP 16 DRIVER POINTS
| POSITION | DRIVER | POINTS |
| 1 | Aurimas Bakchis | 100 |
| 2 | Fredric Aasbo | 88 |
| 3 | Simen Olsen | 76 |
| 4 | Chris Forsberg | 64 |
| 5 | Jhonnattan Castro | 48 |
| 6 | Jonathan Hurst | 48 |
| 7 | Chelsea DeNofa | 48 |
| 8 | Kazuya Taguchi | 35 |
| 9 | Nick Noback | 34 |
| 10 | Dean Kearney | 33 |
| 11 | Ryan Tuerck | 32 |
| 12 | Dylan Hughes | 32 |
| 13 | Kenshiro Gushi | 32 |
| 14 | Matt Field | 32 |
| 15 | Ryan Litteral | 32 |
| 16 | Robert Thorne | 32 |
2023 FD PRO TOP 16 DRIVER CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
| POSITION | DRIVER | POINTS |
| 1 | Fredric Aasbo | 303 |
| 2 | Matt Field | 288 |
| 3 | Aurimas Bakchis | 273 |
| 4 | Chelsea DeNofa | 263 |
| 5 | Simen Olsen | 260 |
| 6 | Chris Forsberg | 232 |
| 7 | James Deane | 226 |
| 8 | Ryan Tuerck | 200 |
| 9 | Dylan Hughes | 193 |
| 10 | Jonathan Hurst | 192 |
| 11 | Rome Charpentier | 184 |
| 12 | Kazuya Taguchi | 176 |
| 13 | Adam LZ | 148 |
| 14 | Jhonnattan Castro | 144 |
| 15 | Kenshiro Gushi | 128 |
| 16 | Travis Reeder | 128 |
2023 AUTO CUP STANDINGS
| Ford | 628 |
| Toyota | 532 |
| Chevrolet | 432 |
| Nissan | 296 |
| Dodge | 113 |
| Aston Martin | 80 |
| Mazda | 48 |
2023 TIRE CUP STANDINGS
| GT Radial | 778 |
| Nitto Tire | 768 |
| Vitour Tire | 408 |
| Kenda Tire | 258 |
| Nexen Tire | 241 |
ROUND 3 FD PROSPEC TOP 16 DRIVER POINTS
| POSITION | DRIVER | POINTS |
| 1 | Ben Hobson | 103 |
| 2 | Andy Hateley | 88 |
| 3 | Geoff Donati | 76 |
| 4 | Connor O´Sullivan | 64 |
| 5 | Joshua Love | 48 |
| 6 | Austin Matta | 48 |
| 7 | Blake Olsen | 45 |
| 8 | Dustin Miles | 48 |
| 9 | Amanda Sorensen | 34 |
| 10 | Derek Madison | 33 |
| 11 | Jack Davis | 32 |
| 12 | Trevor Root | 32 |
| 13 | Cody Buchanan | 32 |
| 14 | Dmitriy Brutskiy | 32 |
| 15 | Kelsey Rowlings | 32 |
| 16 | Nate Chen | 32 |
FD PROSPEC TOP 16 CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
| POSITION | DRIVER | POINTS |
| 1 | Ben Hobson | 245 |
| 2 | Andy Hateley | 180 |
| 3 | Rudy Hansen | 164 |
| 4 | Dmitriy Brutskiy | 137 |
| 5 | Nate Chen | 130 |
| 6 | Connor O´Sullivan | 128 |
| 7 | Jack Davis | 128 |
| 8 | Alex Jagger | 124 |
| 9 | Cole Richards | 116 |
| 10 | Austin Matta | 112 |
| 11 | Cody Buchanan | 112 |
| 12 | Faruk Kugay | 112 |
| 13 | Geoff Donati | 108 |
| 14 | Blake Olsen | 103 |
| 15 | Jayden Martorana | 99 |
| 16 | Derek Madison | 97 |
