Fifteen year-old Hiroya Minowa claims victory in Round 3, making series history as the youngest ever winner
EVENT DETAILS
Date: Saturday, May 31, 2025
Location: Orlando Speed World, Orlando, FL
Event: Formula DRIFT PRO Championship Round 3 Competition Results
RESULTS FOR FD PRO ROUND 3
- Hiroya Minowa (Japan) – Enjuku Racing / BC Racing / Jerry Yang Racing Toyota GT86
- Jhonnattan Castro (Dominican Republic) – Metaldom GR86
- Aurimas Bakchis (Lithuania) – Feal Suspension / GT Radial Nissan S14.9
NOTES
- Teenager Minowa claimed an historic first win in only his 11th Formula DRIFT PRO Championship Round, improving on his two second place finishes in St Louis and Seattle in 2024. The 15 year-old is the youngest winner of any Formula DRIFT Round in the series’ 22-year history
- On his march to the Final, Minowa conquered double FD PROSPEC Champion Dmitriy Brutiskiy, Conor Shanahan (Ireland), three-time FD PRO Champion Fredric Aasbo (Norway) and Bakchis, who occupies third in the Championship table
- Every driver who wins a heat in Formula DRIFT competition receives ten points, so Minowa’s 50-point haul saw him leap from eighth in the PRO standings to third overall. He’s undoubtedly making the established drivers rather uncomfortable
- Castro created his own history by claiming his first podium since joining the series in 2012, eliminating four-time FD PRO Champion James Deane (Ireland) in the process. Having placed fourth in Round 2, Castro is now fourth in the FD PRO Championship table, carrying a great deal of momentum into Round 4
- Bakchis repeated his third place finish from Round 2 and has equal points with third-place Minowa. Odi continues to mount a serious assault on the 2025 title, creeping closer to Deane, who was knocked out early in the Top 16, and Assbo who reached the Top 8
- Fourth place in Orlanda went to Matt Field (USA) driving the Borla Performance / GT Radial / Heat Wave Visual / Leen Customs / Drift Cave Motorsports Corvette. He lost a One More Time battle to Castro in the Final 4 but made a welcome return to the top of the points table – the last time he finished in the Top 4 was the 2024 St Louis Round. The points tally bumped him from ninth overall to seventh
- Deane was the biggest loser in Orlando, only earning ten points from his Top 32 victory over Austin Matta (USA). Fortunately, his 100-point total only dropped him to second overall, ten points behind Aasbo
- The 2025 FD PRO Championship Rookies struggled in Orlando. Connor O’Sullivan (USA) failed to qualify through the Seeding Bracket, while Austin Matta (USA), Jack Shanahan (Ireland) and Tommy Lemaire (Canada) were all eliminated in the Top 32 heats. Shanahan leads the Rookie title race in 19th with 18 points over Matta in 21st with 12 points
- In the 2025 Formula DRIFT Auto Cup, Toyota maintained its first place thanks to having two drivers in the Final, while Nissan overtook Ford to claim second. In the Tire Cup, Kenda continues to lead but GT Radial jumped to second
ROUND 3 FD PRO TOP 16 DRIVER POINTS
| POSITION | DRIVER | POINTS |
| 1 | Hiroya Minowa | 50 |
| 2 | Jhonnattan Castro | 40 |
| 3 | Aurimas Bakchis | 30 |
| 4 | Matt Field | 30 |
| 5 | Fredric Aasbo | 20 |
| 6 | Branden Sorensen | 20 |
| 7 | Chris Forsberg | 20 |
| 8 | Rome Charpentier | 20 |
| 9 | James Deane | 10 |
| 10 | Adam LZ | 10 |
| 11 | Conor Shanahan | 10 |
| 12 | Dylan Hughes | 10 |
| 13 | Ken Gushi | 10 |
| 14 | Simen Olsen | 10 |
| 15 | Dan Stuke | 10 |
| 16 | Derek Madison | 10 + 3 |
2025 FD PRO TOP 16 CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
| POSITION | DRIVER | POINTS |
| 1 | Fredric Aasbo | 110 |
| 2 | James Deane | 100 |
| 3 | Hiroya Minowa | 80 |
| 4 | Jhonnattan Castro | 80 |
| 5 | Aurimas Bakchis | 80 |
| 6 | Branden Sorensen | 70 |
| 7 | Matt Field | 60 |
| 8 | Chris Forsberg | 50 |
| 9 | Adam LZ | 50 |
| 10 | Conor Shanahan | 40 |
| 11 | Ryan Tuerck | 40 |
| 12 | Dan Stuke | 32 |
| 13 | Rome Charpentier | 30 |
| 14 | Dylan Hughes | 30 |
| 15 | Ken Gushi | 30 |
| 16 | Derek Madison | 22 |
2025 AUTO CUP TOP 5 STANDINGS
| Toyota | 200 |
| Nissan | 172 |
| BMW | 130 |
| Ford | 119 |
| Chevrolet | 66 |
2025 TIRE CUP STANDINGS
| Kenda | 202 |
| GT Radial | 180 |
| Nitto | 170 |
| Kumho | 61 |
