Formula Drift Hits Season Mid-point
Formula Drift is now in its sixteenth season of competition, with more competitors and spectators relishing the sport than ever before in the USA. Live audiences of over 20,000 people have been present at events this year, rooting on some of the Biggest Names in the sport as they battle door-to-door sideways at high speeds.
Formula Drift Livestream footage also ensures that Fans from all over the world can tune in to the battles. Whether cheering on their Hometown Heroes, or the Greats like James Deane, Global Audiences have been captivated by the action this year; totalling to over 20 million Livestream Minutes watched per event.
As the cars get more powerful and the top drivers get more experience, the competition is certainly peaking amongst the 36 professional FD Drift Pilots.
Norweigen Frederic Asabo is leading the current points standings in his Toyota Corolla. Safe to say, its not the same spec Toyota Corolla your Mum takes to the Supermarket!
Two Times Defending Champion James Deane has suffered from some bad luck this season in his 2JZ S15. He currently sits fifth in the points. With such great driver skill, and the Worthouse Drift Team behind him, you would never count him out from making a comeback to the Top of the points standings however.
Jame’s teammate, Piotr Wiecek, is returning to the USA this week fresh off the back of a podium finish at his home round of the Drift Masters European Championship in Plock, Poland. Along with the likes of Justin Pawlak and Daijiro Yoshihara who are also yet to stand on the Formula Drift podium this season, he is one determined Driver ready to give 100%.
As the Championship heads into Round 5 this weekend in Monroe, Washington, there is a lot at stake.
It’s no wonder the Top Driver’s and Teams are putting so much work into their cars. This year, Link ECU is proud to support an outstanding line up of what we like to name: ‘Link Legends’. These Driver’s use not only a Link G4+ ECU in their competition car, but also our accessories and dash displays as they compete at the elite level of Drift competition. Lets have a look at them:
Worthouse Drift Team
Worthouse Drivers, James and Piotr, currently sit fifth and sixth in the Championship respectively.
The season has been as busy as ever for the pair, who have been not only been competing across America but also in Europe. While James is completing the entire DMEC series, Piotr simply made a wildcard appearance at his home round in Plock, Poland. Driving his 2018 FD Competition car, Piotr came SO CLOSE to winning the round. In the final battles he narrowly missed out on the win and had to settle for second behind his fellow countryman Pawel Borkowski.
After a rough start to the season, James has made his way back on the podium at the last two rounds in Atlanta and New Jersey. We expect to see him back on the Top Step again very soon!
The Worthouse team cars feature Link Thunder ECU’s, as well as a Link MXS Dash and accessories such as three channel ignitors. The pair of 2JZ S15’s put out over 1000hp each and are clearly a couple of the tidiest vehicles in the FD paddock.
Justin Pawlak JTP
Justin Pawlak is another regular at the top of the Judge’s Scorecards. This season, he is sitting 9th overall in the standings. Known for his aggressive yet smooth driving style, his Ford Mustang sounds amazing as it absolutely roars around the circuits.
JTP has done all his own mechanical, fabrication and suspension work. His self-built 2019 ROUSH Supercharged Mustang with a Ford Performance Aluminator crate engine. The race car pushes out almost 1,000 horsepower and 831 lb-ft of torque.
Matt Field
Matt stunned on-lookers at the opening round of the season in Long Beach when he made a statement by taking Pole Position.
His vehicle is a fresh build this season. It features an LS based engine, with a RHS block built by CVM Motorsports. A Vortec supercharger, plus nitrous and a dry sump set-up all contribute to this Beast putting out 1080 Horsepower to the wheels. The Corvette utilises the Link Thunder ECU to put the control of the engine in his Team’s hands. Matt was very impressed with how smooth the engine runs after installing and tuning the Link equipment this season.
Pat Goodin
Florida native, Pat is making his return to FD this season after taking a year off. He is partnered up with Matt Field and the Drift Cave Team, driving Matt’s S14. Pat is one talented Driver and it’s fair to say everyone is pleased to have him back in FD.
Pat’s S14 is powered by a 408ci LS with a Vortec Supercharger, producing 985 whp.
Jeff Jones
Jeff is the wild character of the FD paddock, always having a laugh! He has risen through the rankings over the years, coming from amateur Drift series, to PRO 2 (where he finished 2nd) and then into the FD PRO category.
Jeff’s 370Z is fitted with a LS V8 engine. The team has been using PC Link software over the past two seasons to dial his engine in each weekend. The torque from this engine is phenomenal, with over 800 lb-ft of torque.