EVENT DETAILS
Date: Saturday, April 2, 2022
Location: Streets of Long Beach, Long Beach, CA
Event: Formula DRIFT PRO Championship Round 1: AutoZone Streets of Long Beach presented by TYPE S
RESULTS FROM FD PRO ROUND 1
- Ryan Tuerck (USA) – Rain-X / Nitto Tire Toyota GR Corolla
- Matt Field (USA) – Drift Cave / Falken Tire C6 Corvette
- Aurimas Bakchis (Lithuania) – Falken Tire / Feal Suspension Nissan S15
NOTES
- After a September schedule last year, Streets of Long Beach returned to its traditional position as season opener for the 2022 FD PRO Championship
- With its unforgiving concrete walls and first-race nerves, Streets of Long Beach punishes mistakes, which we saw when a number of heats were decided by damage sustained after contact with the wall, including the Final
- Warm, cloudy weather was perfect for competition, keeping track conditions consistent
- The top two drivers from K&N Qualification finished Round 1: AutoZone Streets of Long Beach presented by TYPE S in the same positions
- This was the first win for Ryan Tuerck (USA) in the Rain-X / Nitto Tire Toyota GR Corolla since Round 5 in 2020. It also represents the first ever win for a GR Corolla
- The Papadakis Racing team changed Tuerck’s engine this morning because of head gasket concerns
- Tuerck had a clean run to the Final, overcoming Jeff Jones (USA), Branden Sorensen (USA), Chris Forsberg (USA) and Aurimas Bakchis (Lithuania) before winning the Final when second-placed Field was unable to start
- The competition heats built gradually for Matt Field (USA) in the Drift Cave / Falken Tire C6 Corvette. In the Rockstar Energy Drink Top 32, opponent Mike Power (USA) broke on the first run, while Jonathan Hurst (USA) was damaged and never made it to the Top 16 heats, giving Field a bye run. Field then beat Dylan Hughes (USA) in an intense Top 8 battle before he was bumped into the wall by Fredric Aasbo (Norway) in the Quarter Final
- With Aasbo too close to Field during the transition into Outside Zone 2, their bumpers touched, knocking Field into the concrete walls. The spin damaged all four corners and with Aasbo at fault, Field was permitted 10min plus a 5min Competition Timeout to effect repairs. If Field repaired the car, the Quarter Final against Aasbo could continue. Since Field was unable to fix the Vette, Aasbo was eliminated for causing the accident, and Field advanced to the Final. But since the Vette couldn’t compete, Field had to settle for second
- With no third-place competition, Aurimas Bakchis (Lithuania) finished third in the Falken Tire / Feal Suspension Nissan S15 by virtue of his superior qualifying position (fourth) compared to Aasbo (seventh)
- Top Rookie was Daniel Stuke (USA) who reached the Top 16 in his Stuke Racing / MspeK Performance Nissan S14.9 where he lost to Rome Charpentier (USA) driving the Garagistic / Federal Tires / imaginegarage E36 BMW. The pair had an epic battle that went to One More Time on two occasions. Finishing tenth overall, it signals a great future for Stuke in the FD PRO Championship
- After the first round, Toyota leads the 2022 Formula DRIFT PRO Auto Cup and Nitto heads the Tire Cup
ROUND 1 FD PRO TOP 16 DRIVER POINTS & CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
| POSITION | DRIVER | POINTS |
| 1 | Ryan Tuerck | 103 |
| 2 | Matt Field | 92 |
| 3 | Aurimas Bakchis | 80 |
| 4 | Fredric Aasbo | 80 |
| 5 | Chelsea DeNofa | 69 |
| 6 | Rome Charpentier | 67 |
| 7 | Dylan Hughes | 67 |
| 8 | Chris Forsberg | 67 |
| 9 | Jhonnattan Castro | 52 |
| 10 | Daniel Stuke | 52 |
| 11 | Kyle Mohan | 52 |
| 12 | Branden Sorensen | 52 |
| 13 | Jonathan Hurst | 52 |
| 14 | Dean Kearney | 52 |
| 15 | Wataru Masuyama | 52 |
| 16 | Taylor Hull | 52 |
AUTO CUP TOP FIVE STANDINGS
| Toyota | 183 |
| Chevrolet | 144 |
| Ford | 104 |
| Nissan | 102 |
| Dodge | 52 |
2022 TIRE CUP STANDINGS
| Nitto Tire | 183 |
| Falken Tire | 172 |
| GT Radial | 119 |
| Federal Tire | 119 |
| Nexen Tire | 104 |
FORMULA DRIFT LONG BEACH RECAP
A full recap of all the action from FD LB with event images will be available on Monday
NEXT ROUND
Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta will host the Formula DRIFT PRO Championship Round 2: AutoZone Road to the Championship presented by TYPE S on May 6-7. Please visit formulad.com for the competition schedule, ticket information, driver profiles, special content, and the event livestream
ABOUT FORMULA DRIFT
Formula DRIFT is recognized as the leading international drifting championship. Established on the streets of Japan, drifting has evolved into a worldwide competitive sport that challenges the driver’s skill while demanding a great deal from their vehicle in terms of power and strength. Formula DRIFT provides a series for the best professional drifters from around the globe to compete for the coveted title of Formula DRIFT Champion. As the first official drifting series in North America, Formula DRIFT has taken competitive motorsports to the extreme, attracting drift fans and car enthusiasts from all walks of life, and established itself as the global leader for the sport. For a competition schedule, ticket information, special content and livestream, please visit formulad.com
