Long Beach, California echoed and shook as tire smoke rose off Pine Street, while locals, fans, and enthusiasts flooded into grandstands to enjoy Round 1, “Streets of Long Beach,” as the kickoff race for the latest Formula Drift season. Just as any other season, the excitement of close proximity drifting is sure to put on a show–however, for the 2026 Formula Drift season some welcomed updates have settled in–keyword being, “some.”
A new Hall of Fame inductee was announced, Daijiro “Dai” Yoshihara. He was also honored to pull the veil off of the new monument that Formula Drift has officially erected in honor of the past and future Hall of Famers. It can be seen as a trophy sitting atop four r-compound tires (Falken Tire, Nexen Tire, GT Radial, and Nitto Tire) that elevated the sport of drifting. Below, lie bricks with the names of the previously inducted.
Famed for his aggressive, yet stylish driving, Dai has been synonymous with Formula Drift history for many years, to include the early days of FD’s past, known as D1 Grand Prix. From his earliest race cars with Pacific Rim or the “Pac Rim S13” back then–Dai’s style and relentless pursuit of driving prowess solidified him as Champion in 2011 with his unforgettable red SPD Metalworks built, S13 Nissan Silvia as the DiscountTire.com and the Falken Tire Team race car.
Also, in the interest of preserving drift history, lest we forget–his famed “post-racing” hair that would flare out atop the Discount Tire tennis sun visor.
After 20 years of professional Formula D stewardship, Ryan Tuerck announced his final season as a Formula D driver. From the early days of Drift Alliance and iconic builds like the GT-4586, Judd V10 Formula Toyota Supra, Toyota Stout Drift Truck and debatably one of the first to coin a “street build” Scion FR-S–his contributions to drifting will be studied. Pairing the builds with his contributions in media, like the timeless piece Bloodmasters Bloodbath pt.1 (still waiting on pt. 2), he has influenced an entire generation of grassroots drivers. With a constant presence online and in industry, he still managed to have an impressive driving record, securing numerous podium finishes in his professional drifting career.
Many fans and friends thanked him for his years of rowdy yet competitive driving. This may be his curtain call in professional drifting, however, it is expected that he will pursue a new motorsports discipline, continuing on as a professional driver elsewhere.
Many celebrations were in order over the Round 1 weekend. Honoring past friends of Formula Drift, Alex Pfeiffer and Jim Michaelian, as both were honored with moments of recognition throughout the FD weekend.
Alex Pfeiffer “from Battle Version,” was a talented driver that pioneered so much for the spirit and sport of American drifting in the early era of Formula Drift. From his famed RSR Honda S2000, to one of the loudest C4 Corvettes to ever hit the track–illustrating style and grace, Pfeiffer was a friend to so many, and impacted drifting motorsports, immeasurably.
Likewise, Jim Michaelian was co-founder and president of the Long Beach Grand Prix. Michaelian’s mark on American motorsports is felt far and wide. Michaelian’s crazy idea to bring European F1 to the streets of Long Beach, California may still be one of motorsports’ wildest endeavors, bringing fans and drivers 51 years of the Long Beach Grand Prix, the circuit raced on the streets.
Both Pfeiffer and Michaelian will be missed, but not forgotten.
Dawning the mantle, former co-founder of Formula Drift, Jim Liaw was announced over the weekend as the new president for the Long Beach Grand Prix. Motorsports is sure to be in good hands.
Continuing the emotional rollercoaster of the Streets of Long Beach FD weekend, rules were updated. “2-Run Qualifying,” has returned to Formula Drift. A welcomed return for this qualifying setup in the Pro Series. Many positive reviews from fans were read online and heard among the droves of fans in the grandstands, however, with the return, a new automated telemetric system has been equipped to all the drivers’ cars.
The use of the Universal Drift Scoring Method (UDSM) has been developed by Race Data Labs from Melbourne, Australia. The telemetric device, seen as a small black box atop drivers’ cars, was installed to help advise the judges final decision. The device measures angle, line, position, proximity, speed, and deceleration in real time–providing definitive numbers to these aspects. The goal is to enhance judging with a device that can “peer through the smoke,” and mitigate the reliance of the human eye reviewing drone footage, ultimately saving time while defining accuracy.
The automated telemetric data was displayed on the live feed by Formula D’s newest and exclusive broadcaster, Racer Network. While the data was accurate, many of the fans still felt that definitive numbers couldn’t clearly quantify the runs themselves. This led to a string of quiet controversy among drivers, fans, and even judges as they began ironing out the new system’s role. The data is a tool to assist in the judges’ call, and the automated scoring does not dictate the outcome.
The weekend was packed with exciting driving, to include James “The Machine” Deane qualifying at P1 with an 89 on Friday’s scoreboard, with his fellow Irish friend and competitor Jack Shanahan, who performed an incredible 88.46. The UDSM automation displayed higher zone clearances with zones four and five at 99% and zones three and six at a perfect 100%. In P3 was Chris “The Force” Forsberg, showing off his new Nismo, Kenda Tires, “Destined” livery, scoring an impressive 87.
Fans tried to wrestle with the UDSM’s scoring and the judges’ final calls, as Shanahan showed higher zone clearances, albeit, 0.1 tenth off in angle and line from Deane’s score, but trumped Deane in zone clearances, with some zones being announced in the high 80s by comparison.
On Race Day, The Shanahans were the talk of the town. Jack Shanahan was said to have built his PSR Pulsar Turbo E82 BMW in less than three weeks prior to the race, and yet he performed incredibly, beating out talented drivers Rudy Hansen, Jeff Jones, Odi Bakchis, Dylan Hughes before pulling the plug on his final battle with Fredric “The Norwegian Hammer” Aasbo.
With astonishing class, he summarized that his engine was dying and didn’t want to oil up the track, and that it wouldn’t make sense to put the car, the drivers, or the track in unnecessary harm for it.
Conor Shanahan, Jack’s younger brother, would run into trouble with Ken Gushi in the Top 32, as the GT86 chassis collided into one another and, shortly after, into the walls exiting zone five. The battle would lead Shanahan to take both his time outs to fix the car. The UDSM noted the run as a loss for Conor, which led to the automated system striking a nerve with the fans, as the judges had conversely called for, “One More Time.”
Ultimately Conor Shanahan would beat out Ken Gushi, Simen Olsen, Diego Higa, and Cole Richards, with his insanely tight final battle against Aasbo, inevitably resulting in his first victory in Formula Drift.
Round 1, Streets of Long Beach at Formula Drift was bursting with racing excitement and good vibes. Long Beach makes for the perfect season starter, where the driving is dangerous, the sun is hot, and the ocean breeze reminds everyone of the beautiful Southern California. The season has only just begun, and the predictions of who will be the Formula Drift Champion are all over the place. Will the torch of podiums and performance be passed down by veterans like Tuerck, Forsberg, Hughes, Gushi, Field, Bakchis, Aasbo? Or will the Shanahans, Richards, Hobson, Higa, Beechum, Sorenson have to pry it and ring in the new era of drivers? Only this season will tell–but most likely it’s the latter.
Good luck this season gentlemen.
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