Cole Richards wins Round 2 of the Formula DRIFT Link ECU PROSPEC Championship while Brutskiy leads the title chase.
RESULTS FOR Formula Drift PROSPEC ROUND 2
- Cole Richards (USA) – Koruworks / Richards Racing Toyota GR86
- Nate Chen (USA) – NCR Toyota 86
- Dmitriy Brutskiy – Never Settle BMW
NOTES
- As the only purpose-built drift arena in the United States, Englishtown Raceway always delivers heart-pumping action, and the 2025 Link ECU PROSPEC Championship Round 2 was no exception.
- For Richards, it was a welcome return to the podium after he won in New Jersey in his 2023 Rookie year and claimed second in Utah. And while 2024 turned out to be a challenging season, he was reserved but optimistic about this victory. The result bumped Richards from 12th in the Championship to second
- Richards defeated Chen in the Final, but Chen achieved his first podium since joining PROSPEC in 2021. It was a close decision, but the judges voted in favour of Richards’ superior lead run. Chen’s points haul took him from tenth to fourth in the title chase.
- Third place went to double PROSEPC Champion Brutskiy, who was knocked out of the Top 4 by Richards. However, the BMW driver’s consistency means he’s now leading the Link ECU PROSPEC Championship by a ten-point margin over Richards.
- Fourth place was claimed by Jerry Johnson (USA), who won Thursday’s Seeding Bracket. With three points available for each heat win during qualifying and ten for competition heats, the 2025 Rookie amassed 42 points from the weekend and jumped from 20th to sixth.
- Thanks to his impressive performance, Johnson also took the lead in the Rookie of the Year title chase.
- It was a tough event for the other PROSPEC Rookies. Chellee Hansen (USA) flipped her Team Hansen Supercharged Nissan S13 in the Seeding Bracket but the team was able to effect repairs for the competition heats. However, she was eliminated from the Top 32 by Trevor Root (USA) in the Trevor Root Racing BMW E36.
- Rookie Collete Davis (USA) had the Collete Racing E46 BMW punted onto the safety barriers in her Top 16 battle with Nik Jimenez (USA). The driver of the Good Night Garage Nissan Z surged into Outside Zone 3 and pushed his rear quarter into Davis’ front fender. The impact was sufficient to leave her BMW straddling the barrier. Despite a valiant effort supported by several teams, including her next opponent, Brutskiy, the BMW was unable to exit the burnout box for the Top 8 heat, and Davis was eliminated.
- Thirteen-year-old Rookie Camren Sorensen (USA) was looking forward to his Top 32 heat against big sister Amanda. Still, the differential on his Sorensen Motorsports / Spyder E46 BMW failed on the starting line, and the team was unable to repair it in the allotted time.
- PROSPEC Championship leader after Round 1, Cory Talaska (USA), was knocked out of the Top 16 by Amanda Sorensen (USA) in the US Air Force / Sorensen Motorsports BMW. She was then eliminated from the Top 8 by Chen. Talaska dropped from first to third as a result, but on equal points with Richards.
- All teams participating in the Link ECU PROSPEC Championship must utilise the Link engine management system and GT Radial tires.
Formula Drift PROSPEC ROUND 2 TOP 16
| # | Drifter | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cole Richards | 50 |
| 2 | Nate Chen | 40 |
| 3 | Dmitriy Brutskiy | 30 |
| 4 | Jerry Johnson | 30 + 12 |
| 5 | Cody Buchanan | 20 |
| 6 | Amanda Sorensen | 20 |
| 7 | Alex Jagger | 20 |
| 8 | Collete Davis | 20 + 3 |
| 9 | Cory Talaska | 10 |
| 10 | Josh Stuart | 10 |
| 11 | Trevor Root | 10 |
| 12 | Collin Zielinski | 10 |
| 13 | Nik Jimenez | 10 |
| 14 | Dustin Miles | 10 |
| 15 | Chris Leonard | 10 |
| 16 | Allen Boss | 10 + 3 |
Formula Drift PROSPEC CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
| # | Drifter | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dmitriy Brutskiy | 70 |
| 2 | Cole Richards | 60 |
| 3 | Cory Talaska | 60 |
| 4 | Nate Chen | 50 |
| 5 | Cody Buchanan | 50 |
| 6 | Jerry Johnson | 45 |
| 7 | Josh Stuart | 40 |
| 8 | Collin Zielinski | 33 |
| 9 | Collete Davis | 32 |
| 10 | Trevor Root | 30 |
| 11 | Camren Sorensen | 22 |
| 12 | Amanda Sorensen | 20 |
| 13 | Alex Jagger | 20 |
| 14 | Nik Jimenez | 20 |
| 15 | Hooman Rahimi | 20 |
| 16 | Adam Knapik | 20 |
FORMULA DRIFT NEW JERSEY RECAP
Competition results from FD PRO Round 4 will be sent on Saturday evening. A recap of all the action from FD NJ, featuring event images, will be available on Monday.
NEXT ROUND
Round 5 of the FD PRO Championship moves to World Wide Technology Raceway in Madison, IL, for the St Louis Round on July 17-19, along with Round 3 of the Link ECU PROSPEC Championship. Please visit formulad.com for ticket information, driver profiles, special content, and the event livestream.
ABOUT FORMULA DRIFT
Formula DRIFT is recognised 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
WATCH FORMULA DRIFT
Fans can find the free-to-view event livestream at youtube.com/Formuladrift. FD is also available on Racer/MAV TV (please check with your local provider), and available in Spanish via PX Sports on numerous outlets across Latin America. To find out where it’s broadcast in your country, visit pxsports.com/outlets
More drift events: https://drifting.today/events/
