Field beats James Deane in physical Final, while Fredric Aasbo fails to score points but LZ maintains his momentum
After 20 years competing at Evergreen Speedway, Formula DRIFT listened to the drivers and decided to widen the course through Outer Zones 2 and 3. The aim was to allow the drivers to draw a smoother arc, maintaining momentum and improving the spectacle. Following Friday practice and Seeding Bracket, overnight changes refined the transition and brought the finish line slightly closer, resulting in high-speed action and plenty of drama for Formula DRIFT PRO Championship Round 6: Throwdown from Evergreen Speedway in Monroe, WA.
PRO SEEDING BRACKET QUALIFICATION
With 32 drivers entered, the format of the Type S PRO Seeding Bracket was altered accordingly. It meant the first 16 competition places were locked by ranking achieved at the previous Round. The remaining 16 places would be determined by the results of the Seeding Bracket. But instead of drivers risking being knocked out, they were battling for points and their ranking in Saturday’s Main Event.
For each Seeding Bracket heat win, drivers receive three points (10 points in Competition), helping them improve their Championship positions. And by winning the Seeding Final, Branden Sorensen (USA) accumulated 12 valuable points in his US Airforce / Sorensen Motorsports BMW after defeating Aurimas Bakchis (Lithuania).
Sitting 11th overall, many people were surprised to see Sorensen in the Seeding bracket, but a poor performance in Round 5 punted him down the rankings. However, he was determined to not let that happen again and drove like a man possessed throughout the Seeding Bracket and Saturday Competition.
Other names not expected in Qualification were former teammates, Bakchis and Simen Olsen (Norway). Last year they were fighting for the Championship title, but elimination from the Top 32 heats in St Louis saw them battling together in the Seeding Bracket semi-final. The driver of the Simen Olsen Drifting Toyota GR Supra ultimately lost their confrontation but placed third behind Odi’s Feal Suspension / GT Radial Nissan S14.9.
While some familiar names were battling, Seattle saw the welcome return of Wataru Masuyama (Japan) to FD PRO. He left the series in 2022 when he placed 11th overall, but was invited to fill Daigo Saito’s seat in the Enjuku Racing / BC Racing / Jerry Yang Racing Toyota GR86 after Saito experienced an issue with his travel visa before Round 5. Despite losing to Bakchis in the Top 8 heats, most observers were surprised at how quickly Masuyama adapted to Saito’s car. He would ultimately finish eighth in Seattle, losing in the Great 8 Competition heats to James Deane (Ireland) but won many new fans.
PRO COMPETITION
If you’ve only followed Formula DRIFT for the past two seasons or have a very short memory, you might be forgiven for not knowing Matt Field (USA) used to be a regular Championship contender. In 2021 and 2022 he finished second in the title race, dropping to third in 2023 but remaining a consistent points finisher. However, 2024 saw him drop to seventh with only one semi-final appearance in St Louis where he placed fourth. And this season appeared to be going the same way, with another semi-final appearance in Orlando. But you should never discount a man with 15 years of FD experience, a fast car and a capable team.
Driving the impossibly titled Borla Performance / GT Radial / Heat Wave Visual / Leen Customs / Drift Cave Motorsports Corvette, Field’s day started well at the expense of double FD PROSPEC Champion Dmitriy Brutskiy, who was unable to start. With a bye run into the Top 16, Field faced Forsberg – another seasoned veteran with three Championship titles under his belt.
Despite the best efforts of Chris Forsberg (USA) in the NOS Energy Drink Nissan Z NISMO, Field took the win after mistakes by the Nissan driver on both his chase and lead runs.
Jumping out of the frying pan, Field found himself in Ryan Tuerck’s fire with what would become the most intense battle of the day. Unable to separate the drivers, the judges requested One More Time (OMT) on two occasions after the drivers essentially repeated their performances on the first four runs. It was Tuerck who flinched first in the Rain-X Toyota GR Corolla, losing proximity to a charging Corvette on his chase run, and then failed to fill two Outside Zones while in the lead.
The extra track time proved invaluable for Field’s semi-final battle against on-form Jhonnattan Castro (Dominican Republic). The driver of the Metaldom Toyota GR86 refused to back down but Field’s power and precision were an irresistible force. Castro would finish the event in fourth place and climb to sixth overall.
Field’s dance partner for the Final was James Deane (Ireland): the reigning four-time FD PRO Champion and a man Field had failed to beat during their five previous matches. Until now.
Deane had vanquished an on-fire Sorensen, the returning Masuyama and title hopeful LZ (USA) during his seemingly inevitable march to the podium. And as the only driver to win two Rounds this year, few would have bet against the Irishman. With everything on the line and the Corvette engaging warp speed, Deane made an uncharacteristic misjudgment in the chase position. As the AutoZone Mustang RTR Spec 5-FD crept unerringly closer to Field in Outside Zone 1 (OZ1), Deane nudged the Corvette with sufficient force to send it careening off-course before OZ2.
After close scrutiny, the judges assessed Deane at fault and Field the victor. He then climbed to the top step of the podium for the first time since the Long Beach opening round in 2023 and his 50-point haul for winning each heat relocated him from fifth to third in the title race.
“It’s been one hell of weekend!” Field reflected after the podium celebrations. “We were struggling from the first run. We came with a package that wasn’t performing but because we have an incredible team, we were improving with every battle. We were making big changes and I tried something different on every practice run and even on our bye run. We had a great battle with Chris Forsberg, who was the guy to beat when I first came into the series. He extended his hand to me and to get the win against him was breathtaking. After that came two One More Times against Ryan Tuerck, who was pushing as hard as me. Castro was struggling this weekend but it was good to get another win to reach the Final against James. It wasn’t a clean win but we’ll take it. He knew he had to push to the limit because our car was faster than anyone and the GT Radials were the tire to be on. Thanks to my team and sponsors for getting me here.”
Deane’s second place and the shock early retirement of rival Fredric Aasbo (Norway) from the Top 32 meant the Irishman took the lead of the 2025 FD PRO Championship. He holds a 30-point lead over Aasbo, with Field and LZ tied in third but 70 points in arrears.
LZ claimed his third podium of the season, including his New Jersey win, and continues to be a constant threat in the Drift HQ E36 BMW. And while his success was expected, the early retirement of title contenders Aasbo and Aurimas Bakchis (Lithuania) was not. Knocked out of the Top 32 along with Rookie Jack Shanahan (Ireland) – who placed second in Round 5 – there were significant Championship implications. Aasbo slid to second, Bakchis to seventh and Shanahan to 11th. But despite the tumble, the Irishman continued to hold a commanding lead in the 2025 Rookie title race.
In the 2025 Formula DRIFT Auto Cup, BMW passed Toyota for the first time to narrowly lead the standings, while GT Radial further extended its lead in the Tire Cup.
“We arrived in Seattle with a tied ballgame but leave with significant separation between the Championship leaders James Deane and Fredric Aasbo,” observed Ryan Sage, President of Formula DRIFT. “Aasbo was knocked out early but Deane didn’t have it all his own way. We saw Matt Field – who’s been away from the podium for a couple of years – slice through a very competitive field to secure the win. The consequence is a different dynamic in the Championship as Aasbo has a needs to make up the deficit with only two rounds left, while LZ and now Field are perhaps the only other drivers capable of preventing Deane from becoming our first ever five-time Formula DRIFT Champion, which feels crazy to even say!
“Our next Round is Utah on August 28-30 where we’ll crown the 2025 Link ECU PROSPEC Champion and see who can cut into Deane’s lead as we head to the Shoreline Showdown in October?”
ROUND 6 FD PRO TOP 16 DRIVER POINTS*
| POSITION |
DRIVER |
POINTS |
| 1 |
Matt Field |
50 |
| 2 |
James Deane |
40 |
| 3 |
Adam LZ |
30 |
| 4 |
Jhonnattan Castro |
30 |
| 5 |
Dylan Hughes |
20 |
| 6 |
Hiroya Minowa |
20 |
| 7 |
Ryan Tuerck |
20 |
| 8 |
Wataru Masuyama |
20 + 3 |
| 9 |
Rome Charpentier |
10 |
| 10 |
Chris Forsberg |
10 |
| 11 |
Tommy Lemaire |
10 |
| 12 |
Conor Shanahan |
10 |
| 13 |
Trenton Beechum |
10 |
| 14 |
Branden Sorensen |
10 + 12 |
| 15 |
Nick Noback |
10 |
| 16 |
Dan Stuke |
10 |
2025 FD PRO TOP 16 CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS*
| POSITION |
DRIVER |
POINTS |
| 1 |
James Deane |
220 |
| 2 |
Fredric Aasbo |
180 |
| 3 |
Matt Field |
150 |
| 4 |
Adam LZ |
150 |
| 5 |
Hiroya Minowa |
130 |
| 6 |
Jhonnattan Castro |
120 |
| 7 |
Aurimas Bakchis |
109 |
| 8 |
Branden Sorensen |
92 |
| 9 |
Dylan Hughes |
90 |
| 10 |
Chris Forsberg |
80 |
| 11 |
Jack Shanahan |
76 |
| 12 |
Ryan Tuerck |
70 |
| 13 |
Rome Charpentier |
70 |
| 14 |
Dan Stuke |
62 |
| 15 |
Conor Shanahan |
60 |
| 16 |
Connor O`Sullivan |
52 |
2025 AUTO CUP TOP 5 STANDINGS*
| BMW |
341 |
| Toyota |
340 |
| Nissan |
272 |
| Ford |
239 |
| Chevrolet |
195 |
2025 TIRE CUP STANDINGS*
| GT Radial |
393 |
| Kenda |
354 |
| Nitto |
312 |
| Kumho |
178 |
* Preliminary standings. Final results pending official confirmation
The post MATT FIELD WINS ROUND 6 OF FORMULA DRIFT PRO CHAMPIONSHIP IN SEATTLE appeared first on Formula DRIFT BLOG.
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