The Top 32 competition heats began in warm sunshine, followed by a cooling track as the final heats occurred at night.
Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta is the oldest track on the FD schedule and the fastest, thanks to its downhill approach to the first turn.
All FD PROSPEC teams run on GT Radial spec tires.
Following the introduction of the Seeding Bracket on Thursday (replacing the traditional solo qualifying runs), the leading 16 drivers only participated in practice sessions before the Top 32 competition heats. Positions 27-32 were populated by drivers who went through a 32-car Seeding Bracket to qualify, giving them considerably more track experience.
Among several Formula DRIFT competition rule changes, drivers will have more latitude to make a straightening correction without automatically ruling the run “incomplete.” This will allow the judges to evaluate the severity of mistakes and assess both runs from both competitors.
The One More Time rule has been tightened, and its use is reserved for close, exciting battles. Drivers can no longer appeal the track.
To interpret the rules, Reese Marin (USA), Brian Eggert (USA), and Robbie Nishida (Japan) formed the judging panel.
Lemaire claimed his first Formula DRIFT win and only his second podium despite taking a hiatus in 2023. His previous best was second place in St Louis during his 2021 rookie year, when he finished third overall.
To take the win, Lemaire beat Geoff Donati (USA), Jayden Martorana (Canada), Nate Chen (USA) and Josh Love (USA) on his way to defeating Jagger in a close Final.
Second place represents Jagger’s best result since joining the Link ECU Championship in 2021.
Josh Love trumps both by winning his first PROSPEC event in 2020 and finishing third in the Championship that year. After moving up to PRO in 2022, he returned to PROSPEC last year, and today’s podium represents his best result since that decision.
Double PROSPEC Champion (2020 and 2021) Dmitriy Brutskiy is competing in both Formula DRIFT PROSPEC and PRO Championships this year. Brutskiy will try again tomorrow against the PRO drivers after finishing ninth overall in his Never Settle BMW.
Canadian Jayden Martorana celebrated his 16th birthday this weekend by beating Justin Chestnutt (USA) in the Top 32 before party pooper Lemaire ironically knocked him out of the Sweet 16 heats.
The top Rookie was Brian Wills (USA) in 25th by virtue of his starting position drawn at random. He battled through the Seeding Bracket with fellow 2024 Rookies Jayce Habich (USA), Josh Stuart (USA), Lee Yearwood (Trinidad & Tobago), Luis Lanz (Venezuela) and Nik Jimenez (USA). All were eliminated from their Top 32 heats, but each received a point.
