FORMULA DRIFT ANNOUNCES MAJOR 2026 COMPETITION FORMAT CHANGES IN PARTNERSHIP WITH RACE DATA LABS

Thanks to a formal relationship with data/telemetry specialists Race Data Labs, fans and teams will witness the biggest changes in Formula DRIFT history with the FD PRO Championship embarking on a revolutionary program, and PROSPEC benefiting from its implementation. 

As the world’s leading drift series, Formula DRIFT is constantly reviewing its competition format and has historically shown itself willing to make sweeping changes to improve the experience of teams and fans alike. Following the second year of its All-Tandem Qualifying format, the series organizers held two major driver summits to survey their response and welcome suggestions.

From those meetings, and coupled with the recent development of a reliably robust data and telemetry system, Formula DRIFT has chosen to move the format in the direction noted by the majority of drivers in each Championship.

To summarize the results, the majority of PRO Championship drivers voted to remove the All-Tandem Seeding Bracket Qualification format, which was used to seed the Top 32 Competition places. Conversely, PROSPEC drivers – who experienced perhaps the greatest advancement in driving ability thanks to the additional tandem qualifying runs – voted in the majority to keep Seeding Bracket Qualifying.

In an effort to accommodate the wishes of each Championship, the Formula DRIFT executives had to consider that any format change requiring extended track time could necessitate cutting the number of drivers in either Championship to ensure there was sufficient time for practice, qualifying and competition on “combined weekends,” where both PRO and PROSPEC Championships compete. Without making concessions, the return to the longer Two-Run Qualifying format could have led to major disruptions to the required practice and qualifying time prior to Top 32 Competition.

With Single-Run Qualifying proving inadequate in the past, there were few available options when considering the move away from the All-Tandem format for PRO until Formula DRIFT decided to collaborate with Race Data Labs on its UDSM (Universal Drift Scoring Method) system. The Australian-based telemetry and data systems company will automate the uniquely objective aspects of individual qualifying runs, thus allowing the return to Two-Run Qualifying for the PRO Championship while fitting into the existing weekend schedules.

As a result of the collaboration, approximately 80% of a driver’s score in PRO Qualifying will be automated. Using this approach, the drivers’ drift Line and car Angle will be quantified and scored entirely by the UDSM system. Driving Style – the remaining 20% of the overall score – is subject to nuance and requires an ability to ascertain the degree of difficulty. Subsequently, the Style score needs to account for and weight driver errors. As a result, the Style score has been decoupled from the other two categories and will be assessed and awarded by the existing panel of three Formula DRIFT judges.

In addition to this entirely new approach to Two-Run Qualifying, the RDL systems will be incorporated into all competition cars for the entire weekend. It will serve as a robust tool for the judges to reference during competition by providing the same physical data available during qualifying. It will also extend into areas such as objectively measuring the proximity between vehicles, comparative angle between drivers, and comparative speed. More importantly, UDSM will provide a reliable deceleration pattern – impervious to the otherwise obscuring smoke lines produced by the cars. This will build on the technology of the existing Formula DRIFT “Decel Lights” by quantifying the deceleration, and in the case of collisions, provide an unambiguous data set to help reveal which driver was at fault. Furthermore, the system will detect whether a driver puts one, two, three or even four tires off the prescribed course, making the scrutiny required to assess precise position far simpler.

Michael Vernuccio from Race Data Labs said: “Race Data Labs is beyond excited to integrate into the 2026 Formula DRIFT program. Our role will extend beyond traditional drift telemetry to help evolve the sport into a new era of digital judging. Our current UDSM system – a platform that supports drivers, teams, fans, and competition operations, while evolving the process of judging itself – has been capturing drift telemetry for more than three years in 12 different countries, so its adoption by FD presents a new pathway for integration into the sport as a whole.”

He added, “We’re working directly with the Series as a technical partner to design, deploy, and operate the UDSM system. And thanks to input from Formula DRIFT and the wider drift community, we’ve developed it to deliver real-time qualifying results that promote driving precision and excitement, while introducing new levels of transparency to the sport.

“Our collaboration involves close coordination with series officials, judges, and technical staff to ensure the system integrates seamlessly into existing infrastructure, while adding new layers of objectivity, consistency, and real-time performance analysis.”

In turn, Formula DRIFT President, Ryan Sage is looking forward to opening a new chapter for the series and sees the benefits for fans, drivers and judges alike: “Michael and his team have created is truly powerful system. It’s been developed by highly-talented operators who are drifters first, so UDSM carries the fingerprints of people who drift, and you can see that in its operation.

“We will work with his team to automate the objective aspects of the sport, which will allow the classic Qualifying format to return with a major twist because it’s resistant to run-time; time we desperately need, particularly at events where PRO and PROSPEC Championships share track time,” Ryan continued.

“We’re finally able to give our judges the tools they’ve been asking for, empowering them to make the right decisions with greater certainty and in a shorter time. In partnership with RDL, we’re able to provide information about the incredibly complex dynamics of 1200hp PRO drift cars at high speed that’s invisible to the naked eye and has been extremely difficult to analyze and interpret despite the help of our multiple camera angles.”

As an added bonus, the RDL system will be made available to the fans. “We can propel the sport forward by incorporating much of the UDSM data into our free-to-view livestream broadcasts,” Sage confirmed. “By capturing, animating and dynamically transmitting the data, fans can share the robust backbone of the system and gain a greater understanding of the most nuanced motorsport series in the world. We believe this will both preserve the excitement of drifting for fans while supporting our judges without subordinating them. This approach is consistent with the increased data now provided by organizations such as the NFL, MLB, F1 and more, so we’re very excited to introduce RDL’s UDSM system on the livestream at the Opening Round in Long Beach on April 10-11.”