EVENT DETAILS
Date: Saturday, September 17, 2022
Location: Utah Motorsports Campus, Grantsville, UT
Event: Formula DRIFT PRO Championship Round 7: Type S Elevated presented by Autozone
RESULTS FROM FD PRO ROUND 7
- Ken Gushi (Japan) – Ken Gushi Racing / Toyota Gazoo Racing NA GR86
- Fredric Aasbo (Norway) – Rockstar Energy Toyota GR Supra
- Chelsea DeNofa (USA) – Pennzoil / BC Racing Ford Mustang RTR Spec 5-FD
NOTES
- Ryan Tuerck (USA) arrived in Utah in third place but was the first title hopeful eliminated. He was knocked out of the Top 32 heats after a “One More Time” (OMT) battle with Mike Power (USA). While trying to apply pressure to Power in the chase position, Tuerck ran onto the dirt in Outside Zone 3 (OZ3), resulting in considerable damage to his Rain-X / Nitto Tire Toyota GR Corolla. He leaves Round 7 in fifth position
- Championship leader, Matt Field (USA) was eliminated from the Top 16 heats after OMT with Gushi. Field collided with Gushi on their third run, requiring his 5min Competition Time Out to make repairs. On the fourth run, Field ran off the track at Inside Clip 2 (IC2). Despite his premature retirement, Field retains the Championship lead but his advantage has been reduced from 56 to 14 points
- The Top 8 heats saw the demise of fourth-place Chris Forsberg (USA) and sixth-place Dylan Hughes (USA). Forsberg lost to a charging DeNofa who initiated into the first turn at 108mph, giving the Nissan driver a tough chase. Hughes got lost in Gushi’s smoke trail and ran off the track
- The Top 4 heats saw fifth-place DeNofa defeated by Aasbo after the two collided in OZ2. DeNofa was ruled at fault for being off-throttle and giving Aasbo nowhere to go. DeNofa placed third and jumped from fifth to third in the 2022 title race
- The Final was between Toyota drivers Aasbo and Gushi. However, Papadakis Racing was unable to complete repairs to Aasbo’s GR Supra in the allotted time after the DeNofa collision, handing the win to Gushi. Aasbo’s second place meant he remained second in the Championship, cutting Field’s lead
- Gushi is the seventh winner from seven rounds of the 2022 FD PRO Championship. It was Gushi’s first win since the Irwindale Final in 2019. The win moves him from tenth to seventh in the standings
- Six drivers have a mathematical chance of claiming the 2022 Formula DRIFT PRO Championship at the Final Round at Irwindale Speedway on October 14-15
- The leading Rookie was Mike Power (USA) who finished eighth and further extended his lead in the Rookie title race, sitting in 15th place overall
- After Round 7, Toyota remains at the top of the 2022 Formula DRIFT PRO Auto Cup while Nitto took the lead of the Tire Cup
ROUND 7 FD PRO TOP 16 DRIVER POINTS
| POSITION | DRIVER | POINTS |
| 1 | Ken Gushi | 100 |
| 2 | Fredric Aasbo | 94 |
| 3 | Chelsea DeNofa | 80 |
| 4 | Simen Olsen | 80 |
| 5 | Dylan Hughes | 69 |
| 6 | Chris Forsberg | 67 |
| 7 | Wataru Masuyama | 67 |
| 8 | Mike Power | 67 |
| 9 | Jhonnattan Castro | 53 |
| 10 | Jonathan Hurst | 52 |
| 11 | Aurimas Bakchis | 52 |
| 12 | Kazuya Taguchi | 52 |
| 13 | Travis Reeder | 52 |
| 14 | Taylor Hull | 52 |
| 15 | Matt Field | 52 |
| 16 | Daniel Stuke | 52 |
2022 FD PRO TOP 16 CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
| POSITION | DRIVER | POINTS |
| 1 | Matt Field | 558 |
| 2 | Fredric Aasbo | 544 |
| 3 | Chelsea DeNofa | 492 |
| 4 | Chris Forsberg | 484 |
| 5 | Ryan Tuerck | 482 |
| 6 | Dylan Hughes | 459 |
| 7 | Ken Gushi | 404 |
| 8 | Travis Reeder | 394 |
| 9 | Aurimas Bakchis | 386 |
| 10 | Wataru Masuyama | 360 |
| 11 | Rome Charpentier | 350 |
| 12 | Kazuya Taguchi | 349 |
| 13 | Taylor Hull | 328 |
| 14 | Justin Pawlak | 313 |
| 15 | Mike Power | 311 |
| 16 | Branden Sorensen | 311 |
2022 AUTO CUP TOP FIVE STANDINGS
| Toyota | 1132 |
| Chevrolet | 886 |
| Ford | 805 |
| Nissan | 711 |
| BMW | 296 |
2022 TIRE CUP STANDINGS
| Nitto Tire | 1139 |
| Falken Tire | 1089 |
| GT Radial | 1066 |
| Nexen Tire | 800 |
| Federal Tire | 727 |
FORMULA DRIFT UTAH RECAP
A recap of all the action from FD SLC with event images will be available on Monday
NEXT ROUND
Irwindale Speedway in Irwindale, CA is the destination for the Formula DRIFT PRO Championship Round 8: Title Fight on October 14-15. 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
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