As the 2024 Formula DRIFT season entered its final stages, fans arrived at Utah Motorsports Campus expecting to crown the Link ECU PROSPEC Champion during the fourth and final Round. However, there was also a chance the same fans could witness PRO Championship history. James Deane (Ireland) had the opportunity to clinch a record-breaking fourth title and achieve it before the Final Round at Irwindale Speedway – something that had never happened before. As it transpired, second-place Aurimas Bakchis (Lithuania) ensured the fight would continue to the end, but it was only secured late into the competition.
In addition to the frantic points calculations, teams had to cope with high temperatures and a revised track layout, which introduced plenty of drama throughout the weekend.
PRO SEEDING BRACKET
The K&N Seeding Bracket again saw the first 24 competition places determined by the results from Round 7, while the remaining eight positions were designated by results from competitive tandem runs. In Utah, ten drivers were vying to occupy positions 25-32, and it was Andy Hateley (USA) who emerged victorious in the Hateley Motorsports E46 BMW. He faced Ben Hobson (USA) in the Seeding Bracket Final but a technical issue with the Pennzoil / BC Racing Mustang RTR Spec 5-FD gave Hateley an easy victory.
It was a double-edged sword for Hobson, who was able to qualify for only the second time this season but the team needed to diagnose and resolve the Mustang’s issue.
Rudy Hansen (USA) placed third in the Team Hansen Supercharged Nissan S13 while Dmitriy Brutskiy and Robert Thorne were the only drivers eliminated.
PRO COMPETITION
The tension was palpable throughout the Formula DRIFT PRO Championship Round 7: Type S Elevated presented by AutoZone. If second-place Bakchis faltered at any stage, Deane would claim the title. But “Odi” had no intention of letting that happen.
In the Top 32 competition heats, Deane had a relatively easy run against Ryan Litteral (USA) whose Sunoco / Simagic Nissan S15 required its Competition Time Out (CTO) to complete their two runs.
Meanwhile, Diego Higa (Brazil) retired his Toyota GT86 after he ran off course at the first Outside Zone (OZ1) in the first run against “Odi” Bakchis.
In the Top 16, Deane’s AutoZone Ford Mustang RTR Spec 5-FD outpaced Hateley’s BMW, returning the pressure to Bakchis, who then needed to defeat Rookie Conor Shanahan (Ireland) in his Red Bull / Garagistic E36 BMW.
While the Irishman might be new to the series, he’s the reigning European Drift Masters Champion and the judges were unable to separate their performance after the first two runs. The judges requested One More Time (OMT) and Bakchis eventually got the decision by the narrowest margin.
It was Deane who stuttered in the Top 8, dropping a tire into the dirt on his lead run against Dylan Hughes (USA) driving the Royal Purple E46 BMW 2JZ. Deane then bumped Hughes twice on his chase run, resulting in both cars coming to a halt. However, it was deemed that Hughes was late on the power in Outside Zone 2 (OZ2) and caused the collision.
As the RTR team breathed a sigh of relief, Bakchis faced three-time FD PRO Champion Chris Forsberg (USA) in the NOS Energy Drink / NISMO Parts USA Nissan Z. Never a pushover, Forsberg pushed hard but his mistakes on both runs tipped the decision to Bakchis.
As fate would have it, three-time FD PRO Champion Deane met Bakchis in the Top 4: a contest that could decide the 2024 Formula DRIFT PRO Championship. With two of the most powerful cars in the series and drivers on peak form, it was a slugfest that saw Deane again drop a tire into the dirt and bump Bakchis as he recovered. Both drivers repeated the mistake on the second run, but Bakchis committed fewer errors and took the win, ensuring the title race would wait until Irwindale.
In the Final, Bakchis met three-time FD PRO Champion Fredric Aasbo (Norway), who’d been a Championship contender all season in the Rockstar Energy Toyota Racing GR Supra GT86. It was another titanic showdown, which Bakchis won thanks to better proximity on the chase run, but it was yet another close decision for the composed Lithuanian driver.
“This Round 7 win means I’m still in the hunt for the Championship!” Bakchis declared. “I couldn’t let James take it before Irwindale, and it worked out well. I just took one battle at a time with the goal of winning the event, and I couldn’t have asked for a better outcome. Now I need to focus on Irwindale where there’s still a chance to take the title and hold onto second place at the bare minimum. The other guys are driving so hard that I need to fight to stay on top.”
After losing in the Final to Bakchis, Aasbo returned to third overall but the 130-point deficit means he’s unable to claim a fourth title.
Third place went to Trenton Beechum (USA) in the Nexen Tire / Clonex Racing E46 BMW. He secured his first FD PRO podium and his best result since joining the Championship in 2021, although Beechum was the 2019 PROSPEC Champion and no stranger to winner’s champagne.
Deane placed fourth and his points advantage over Bakchis was reduced from 104 to 74 points, but he remains in the driving seat.
Finishing tenth in Utah after being eliminated by Forsberg in the Top 16, Hiroya Minowa (Japan) maintained his lead in the 2024 FD Rookie of the Year race. His Enjuku Racing / Cusco / Yellowspeed Racing Toyota GT86 currently sits fourth overall with 406 points; 96 ahead of nearest rival Shanahan in 11th.
After Round 7, Toyota and Nitto Tire continue to lead the 2024 Auto Cup and Tire Cup, respectively.
“Odi did everything to ensure the Championship wasn’t decided in Utah, which means the fight goes down to Irwindale,” said Ryan Sage, President of Formula DRIFT. “We also saw a new face on the podium with Trenton Beechum, who did well in Utah last year and put in a remarkable performance today. But the main story going into Irwindale is who will finish in the top three in the PRO Championship? We know James and Odi will be at the top, but who will take third place?”
