COMPETITION RESULTS FROM ROUND 6 OF 2024 FORMULA DRIFT PRO CHAMPIONSHIP IN SEATTLE

EVENT DETAILS

Date: Saturday, August 10, 2024
Location: Evergreen Speedway, Monroe, WA
Event: Formula DRIFT PRO Championship Round 6: Type S Throwdown

RESULTS FROM FD PRO COMPETITION

1.  Ryan Tuerck (USA) – Rain-X Toyota GR Corolla
2.  Hiroya Minowa (Japan) – Enjuku Racing / Cusco / Yellowspeed Racing Toyota GT86
3.  Adam LZ (USA) – LZMFG E36 BMW

NOTES

Hot, sunny weather beat down on Evergreen Speedway for the Top 32 competition, followed by slightly cooler temperatures all the way to the Final
Several drivers were ejected from the competition early but the biggest surprise was Simen Olsen (Norway) who was knocked out of the Top 32 after an uncharacteristic mistake in his Feal Suspension Nissan S14.9 against Jeff Jones (USA). Having been a strong contender in the early Rounds, Olsen had dropped to fifth in the Championship coming into Seattle and would leave in seventh with a 188-point deficit to Deane
Championship points leader and three-time FD PRO Champion James Deane (Ireland) driving the AutoZone Ford Mustang RTR Spec 5-FD was eliminated in the Top 16 by giant-killer Jones, who maintained his composure during his lead run in the Evol Auto Works / Prisma Labs / BIG Drift Energy Nissan 370Z. Placing ninth, Deane received 24 points from Seattle to maintain his commanding lead in the standings with a 104-point margin over Aurimas Bakchis (Lithuania) in second
Fellow countryman Conor Shanahan (Ireland) was the next unexpected departure following his Top 16 dance with Jhonnattan Castro (Dominican Republic). Shanahan initially held a slight advantage in the Red Bull / Garagistic E36 BMW after Castro stalled his LTH / Mobil 1 Toyota GR86 on the starting line. However, Shanahan fluffed his lines initiating into Outside Zone 1. And with his error deemed worse than Castro’s, the Toyota driver advanced to the Great 8
In yet another Top 16 shocker, three-time FD Champion Fredric Aasbo (Norway) was defeated by Trenton Beechum (USA) in the Nexen Tire / Clonex Racing BMW. Beechum filled the outer zones better than Aasbo during his lead run, leaving the driver of the Rockstar Energy Toyota Racing GR Supra in tenth. The position earned Aasbo 42 points but dropped him from third to fourth in the standings
Bakchis had a bare knuckle fight with Ryan Tuerck (USA) in the Great 8. The driver of the Feal Suspension / GT Radial Nissan S15 was asked to run One More Time (OMT) on two occasions. After their six runs, Bakchis succumbed to Tuerck’s GR Corolla. Placing fifth. Odi held onto second place in the Championship and reduced his points deficit to Deane slightly
Tuerck continued to the Final against Minowa and claimed his first win since the opening Round of the 2022 season. The points haul saw him leap from 15th to eighth place overall but mathematically unable to claim the title, such is Deane’s lead
Tuerck’s return to form was attributed to a better understanding and familiarity with the Toyota six-cylinder turbo engine in his GR Corolla. As the last driver to surrender his four-cylinder powerplant, Tuerck now uses the same engine as Aasbo and put it to good use in Seattle
After becoming Formula DRIFT’s youngest driver to reach the podium at Round 5 in St Louis, 14 year-old Minowa had an incredible OMT contest against Adam LZ (USA) in the Final 4. The teenager’s intense SIM racing practice continues to pay dividends, empowering him to defeat LZ and sending him to the Final against Tuerck
The Seattle crowd was robbed of a thrilling Final by an electrical issue, which prevented Minowa from making the start. His second podium pushes Minowa from fourth to third in the standings, 24 points behind Bakchis and 132 behind Deane
Minowa’s back-to-back podiums also mean he surged further ahead in the race for the 2024 Rookie of the Year honors, with only Shanahan having a realistic chance of challenging him
The surprise appearance in Seattle of LZ was thanks to his team working miracles on the LZMFG E36 BMW. After destroying his previous car on the St Louis barriers in a cut-throat battle against Minowa, LZ declared his season was over. However, the arrival of a prepped body shell and two weeks of frantic building meant LZ was able to claim third place on the podium, climbing from seventh to fifth in the title race
After Round 6, Toyota and Nitto Tire continue to lead the 2024 Auto Cup and Tire Cup, respectively
Formula DRIFT PRO Round 7 will take place at Utah Motorsport Campus on August 29-31 along with the Link ECU PROSPEC Final Round 4. Fans can enjoy the action in person or via the series livestream at youtube.com/Formuladrift

ROUND 6 FD PRO TOP 16 DRIVER POINTS

POSITION	DRIVER	POINTS
1	Ryan Tuerck	100
2	Hiroya Minowa	84
3	Adam LZ	70
4	Jeff Jones	70
5	Aurimas Bakchis	56
6	Trenton Beechum	56
7	Kazuya Taguchi	56
8	Jhonattan Castro	56
9	James Deane	42
10	Fredric Aasbo	42
11	Matt Field	42
12	Conor Shanahan	42
13	Branden Sorensen	42
14	Jonathan Hurst	42
15	Dan Burkett	42
16	Alec Robbins	42

2024 FD PRO TOP 16 CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS

POSITION	DRIVER	POINTS
1	James Deane	496
2	Aurimas Bakchis	392
3	Hiroya Minowa	364
4	Fredric Aasbo	352
5	Adam LZ	308
6	Matt Field	308
7	Simen Olsen	308
8	Ryan Tuerck	296
9	Branden Sorensen	280
10	Conor Shanahan	268
11	Dylan Hughes	266
12	Ken Gushi	266
13	Chris Forsberg	252
14	Rome Charpentier	252
15	Jeff Jones	238
16	Trenton Beechum	224