Things Heat Up At Formula Drift Seattle By What Monsters Do

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Essa BMW

The 2017 Formula Drift season is now well on the later half of the championship now that Round 6 in Seattle has concluded. For 11 years FD has been visiting Evergreen Speedway in Monroe, Washington. Sitting Just outside of Seattle, it is by far one of the favorites on the series schedule, given it has not only a high speed bank after the initiation zone, but allows for several dramatic zones as the course wraps up. Evergreen Speedway already had smoke in the air from the nearby wildfires, and Round 6 surely wasn’t about to help the situation. Odi Bakchis won Seattle last year, would he repeat in front of the packed house? Let’s recap and find out.

Aasbo Toyota Seattle

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In The Moment: Throwdown For The Title Article by Speedhunters

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A championship isn’t won in the final rounds, but it most certainly can be lost.

We’ve just wrapped Thursday practice at the sixth round of the 2017 Formula Drift championship at Evergreen Speedway, north of Seattle. Going into this event, the title race is still technically wide open, but I think that in reality, there are three main contenders.

2017 FD06 - Thursday Practice Gallery by Paddy McGrath-6

 

At the top of the standings, in his first full Formula Drift season, is James Deane. With two wins so far in 2017, Deane has been top of the points standings since round three at Atlanta. It’s more than he ever could have dreamed of, considering that this year was intended as a recce year for the Worthouse Drift Team.

2017 FD06 - Thursday Practice Gallery by Paddy McGrath-14

 

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Formula DRIFT Round 6: Throwdown Results

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Formula DRIFT Round 6: Throwdown Results;

James Deane Continues His Winning Ways

FD-RD6-Podium-600

FD-RD6-Final-600

Long Beach, Calif. – August 5, 2017 – Formula DRIFT Black Magic Pro Championship presented by BlackVue Dash Cameras returned to Evergreen Speedway for the Round 6: Autozone Throwdown. Points leader James Deane once again finishes on top of the podium to increase his lead in the Pro Championship standings.

Round 6: Autozone Throwdown was a highly competitive event that sets up a two-way battle for the championship between Deane and former Formula DRIFT champion, Fredric Aasbo with only two events remaining in the season. The capacity crowd was kept entertained throughout the event weekend, while the Livestream drew over 1 million views over the course of the weekend.

“Year in and year out the fans in the Pacific Northwest have proven to be some of the most diehard drifting fans out there,” said Jim Liaw, President of Formula DRIFT. “This event truly showcased what drifting is all about with the drivers putting on one amazing show for the fans.

In the Top 4, number one qualifier and current points leader, James Deane in the Worthouse Drift Team / Falken Tire Nissan 240 faced off against former champion Dai Yoshihara in the Falken Tire / Turn 14 Distribution Subaru BRZ. It was a hard fought battle, but Deane was able to take advantage of an error by Yoshihara to move into the Finals. On the other side of the Top 4 bracket, former champion Fredric Aasbo in the Rockstar Energy / Nexen Tire Toyota Corolla iM faced Aurimas “Odi” Bakchis in the Falken Tires / Drifz Wheels / ARK Performance Nissan 240SX. Aasbo edged out his opponent to face the current points leader in a battle that could effect the rest of the season. Both drivers put it all on the line with the first battle too close to call forcing the judges to call a One More Time. The final battle was also very close, but after deliberation Deane was able to earn the victory to increase his points lead on Aasbo with only two events remaining.

“This was the toughest event so far this year for me,” said James Deane, winner of Round 6: Throwdown. “This track was really challenging, but somehow the stars aligned and we managed to qualify first and go against my teammate Piotr Wiecek, Dai Yoshihara, and finally Fredric Aasbo, who is really fast and doesn’t make mistakes and really is like a robot. I just had to give it every everything I got and it worked out, but I was dancing with the devil.”

The action continues to Round 7: Showdown at Texas Motor Speedway on September 8-9. For more information visit, www.formulad.com and find Formula DRIFT on Instagram @formulad, Facebook www.facebook.com/formuladrift, Twitter @FormulaDrift, and Snapchat – formula_drift. Tune into Formula DRIFT on CBS Sports and check your local listings for airtimes.

Round 6: Throwdown Results

1. Deane, James

Worthouse Drift Team / Falken Tire Nissan 240

Winner

2. Aasbo, Fredric

Rockstar Energy / Nexen Tire Toyota Corolla iM

2nd Place

3. Bakchis, Aurimas “Odi”

Falken Tires / Drifz Wheels / ARK Performance Nissan 240SX

3rd Place

4. Yoshihara, Dai

Falken Tire / Turn 14 Distribution Subaru BRZ

4th Place

5. Wiecek, Piotr

Worthouse Drift Team / Falken Tire Nissan 240

5th Place

6. Denofa, Chelsea

BC Racing / Nitto Tire Ford Mustang RTR

6th Place

7. Coffman, Matt

Nexen Tire / Coffman Racing Nissan 240

7th Place

8. Pawlak, Justin

Roush Performance Ford Mustang

8th Place

9. Tuerck, Ryan

Gumout / Nameless Performance / Hankook Toyota 86

9th Place

10. Essa, Michael

Achilles Tire / Essa Autosport BMW E46

10th Place

11. Bluss, Kristaps

HGK / Mast / Motul / Wisefab BMW E46

11th Place

12. Gittin, Vaughn

Monster Energy / Nitto Tire Ford Mustang RTR

12th Place

13. Heilbrunn, Alex

Monster BMW E46

13th Place

14. Burkett, Dan

RAD Industries / Nexen Tire Toyota Supra

14th Place

15. Moore, Cameron

Nameless Performance / BN Sports / Nexen Tire GT86

15th Place

16. Castro, Jhonnattan

Gerdau Metaldom / Nexen Toyota GT86

16th Place

2017 Formula DRIFT Black Magic Championship Presented by BlackVue Standings After 6 Events

1. Deane, James

Worthouse Drift Team / Falken Tire Nissan 240

475.00 Points

2. Aasbo, Fredric

Rockstar Energy / Nexen Tire Toyota Corolla iM

418.00 Points

3. Bluss, Kristaps

HGK / Mast / Motul / Wisefab BMW E46

329.00 Points

2017 Manufacturer Championship Standings After 6 Events

1. Toyota

718.00 Points

2. Ford

530.00 Points

3. BMW

295.00 Points

4. Dodge

257.00 Points

5. Nissan

192.00 Points

6. Infiniti

138.00 Points

2017 Tire Championship Standings After 6 Events

1. Falken

889.00 Points

2. Nexen

773.00 Points

3. Achilles

735.00 Points

4. Nitto

562.00 Points

5. Hankook

526.00 Points

Formula DRIFT PRO 2 Round 3 Seattle Results

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Formula DRIFT PRO 2 Round 3 Seattle Results;

Hometown Hero Matt Vankirk Takes the Win

FD-PRO2-Seattle-Podium-600

FD-PRO2-600

Long Beach, Calif. – August 4, 2017 – The Formula DRIFT PRO 2 season continued to Evergreen Speedway in Monroe, Washington. Local driver Matt Vankirk takes the win and moves to second place in the PRO 2 standings with one event remaining in the season.

PRO 2 returned to Evergreen Speedway for the third event of four for the season. The young drivers took center stage for the Northwest fans.

“This was one of the most exciting and competitive PRO 2 events,” said Jim Liaw, President of Formula DRIFT. “The drivers pushed the limits and gave the fans a great show.”

The semi-finals pitted Matt Vankirk in the Fortune Auto / Achilles Nissan 240 with number one qualifier, Dirk Stratton in the Lingenfelter Performance / Achilles Corvette. Vankirk outdrove his opponent to move into the Finals. On the other side of the bracket Josh Robinson faced Dylan Hughes in the DHR Dirtfish Nissan 240. Robinson had a few errors that gave Hughes the win. The finals was a tight battle and after a One More Time, Vankirk was able to edge out his opponent to get his first victory of the season and move within 20 points from the current leader, Travis Reeder.

“It was a tough fight here. The team worked hard, ” said Matt Vankirk, winner of PRO 2: Seattle. “And we came out with the win. Hats off to my team and all my sponsors.”

Formula DRIFT continues to Round 7: Showdown at Texas Motor Speedway on September 8-9, 2017. For more information visit, www.formulad.com and find Formula DRIFT on Instagram @formulad, Facebook www.facebook.com/formuladrift, Twitter @FormulaDrift, and Snapchat – formula_drift. Tune into Formula DRIFT on CBS Sports and check your local listings for airtimes.

Formula DRIFT PRO 2: Seattle Results

1. Vankirk, Matt

Winner

2. Hughes, Dylan

2nd Place

3. Stratton, Dirk

3rd Place

4. Robinson, Josh

4th Place

5. Lawrence, Kevin

5th Place

6. Reeder, Travis

6th Place

7. Schmidt, Brandon

7th Place

8. Brockway, Donovan

8th Place

9. Jaeger, Ola

9th Place

10. Filippi, Chris

10th Place

11. Goble, Brody

11th Place

12. George, Danny

12th Place

13. Meeks, Austin

13th Place

14. Szilveszter, Gyorgy

14th Place

15. Beechum, Trenton

15th Place

16. Waters, Randall

16th Place

2017 Formula DRIFT PRO 2 Championship Standings After 3 Events

1. Reeder, Travis

Nissan 240

228.00 Points

2. Vankirk, Matt

Fortune Auto / Achilles Nissan 240

208.00 Points

3. Stratton, Dirk

Lingenfelter Performance / Achilles Corvette

154.00 Points