Formula Drift, Long Beach 2015
Photos by Andrew Gates and Rupa Begum
Written by Andrew Gates
Long Beach, California is the start of the Formula Drift 2015 season and it kicked off with a bang along with some of the best driving I’ve seen in recent years. There were a few new drivers and some new livery’s on display with a lot of drivers who were on point with their drifting precision. The talent level seems to increase every year and this year was no exception. The car builds are always a sight to see with horsepower hitting levels that are truly mind-blowing.
Since Long Beach is the big kick-off to each season of FD, it is also a place where each driver had a chance to show-and-prove why they are competing in FD at the pro level. We saw some of the most insane driving and battles, but we also saw some of the biggest upsets with Chris Forsberg and Forrest Wang getting taken out earlier than expected. I guess that is the nature of the business, in drifting anything can happen.
Some great showings by Matt Field, Pat Goodin and Rookie of the Year 2014, Geoff Stoneback. You could tell these guys put their game faces on and are out to make their mark for 2015. Another great showing came from one of our favorite drivers, Ryan Tuerck. He was absolutely killing it out their all weekend and it showed at the end with a third place finish. It was great seeing him on the podium, finally. We also had the pleasure of seeing another of our favorite drivers on the podium with Odi Bakchis, unfortunately we thought he should have taken the top spot, but the event seemed to have been cut a little short due to time constraints. It would have been nice to see a OMT, one more time, between him and Fredric Aasbo since their last run was a bit controversial. Ultimately though, Fredric took first and Odi grabbed second. These guys will most definitely be battling it out all season for the ultimate prize, Formula Drift Championship 2015.
Overall, the weekend was a huge success, we got to hang with some great people meet some new people and enjoy some of the most spectacular drifting. It’s always nice to start off with a bang rather than a wimper, big ups to Formula Drift for putting on a great event and to all the drivers for putting on a great show.