Road Atlanta has been part of the Formula DRIFT series since 2004
The unique course at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta has the drivers start and finish at Turn 9, drifting both up- and downhill through turns 10A, 10B and then looping around the track at Turn 11 to return to Turn 9
Warm, breezy conditions helped disperse tire smoke from the track
Formula DRIFT has reintroduced championship points for the top three qualifiers to put more emphasis on a consistent weekend performance
K&N Qualifying started at 7:30PM, so all teams ran TYPE S undercar lighting kits
Top qualifier was Matt Field, who scored an identical 93 points to DeNofa but took top spot by virtue of a superior style score
Reigning Champion Aasbo placed third with an 89-point score
Winner and top qualifier at Round 1, Ryan Tuerck (USA), put his Rain-X / Nitto Tire Toyota GR Corolla in sixth with 87 points
With the usual suspects occupying the top positions, Dan Burkett (USA) made a surprise appearance in fourth place driving the RAD Industries / GearWrench / GT Radial MkIV Toyota Supra. He scored 88 points
Top Rookie qualifier was Mike Power (USA) driving the Power Racing Nissan Silvia. He scored 80 points and placed 20th
37 drivers attempted to qualify for the Top 32 competition heats. Under the Knockout Qualifying Format, the bottom eight drivers must run a second time to fill the final places.
After KQF, Dean Kearney (Ireland), Ryan Litteral (USA) and Josh Reynolds (USA) went out with technical problems. Joshua Love (USA) and Yves Meyer (Switzerland) were unable to finish their second runs. All were eliminated from tomorrow’s competition heats
COMPETITION
Cool, breezy conditions helped disperse tire smoke from the track
The Final between Aasbo and Forsberg went to One More Time (OMT) when the judges were unable to split the two drivers. However, a mistake by Forsberg on the fourth run tipped the decision in favor of reigning champion, Aasbo
Forsberg is one of two drivers in Formula DRIFT who competed in the inaugural 2004 Road Atlanta event, where he similarly placed second
With no third-place competition, Field took third by virtue of qualifying first. He was unable to complete his Top 4 heat against Forsberg after a mechanical issue intervened
Aurimas Bakchis (Lithuania) placed fourth in the Falken Tire / Feal Suspension Nissan S15
Two days after his birthday, 18 year-old Branden Sorensen (USA) reached the Top 8 in his US Air Force / Sorensen Motorsports BMW, forcing Bakchis to run OMT
Qualifying sensation, Dan Burkett (USA) also reached the Top 8 in the RAD Industries / GearWrench / GT Radial MkIV Toyota Supra, losing to Forsberg
Championship Rookie (and New Zealand drift champion) Darren Kelly (New Zealand) gave his 2022 Heart of Racing Aston Martin Vantage its first competitive runs in the Top 32. He lost to Jhonnattan Castro (Dominican Republic) in his new Gerdau Metaldom Toyota GR 86
Top Rookie was Mike Power (USA) in the Power Racing Nissan Silvia. He reached the Top 16 where he lost to Burkett but placed 15th overall
After Round 2, Toyota leads the 2022 Formula DRIFT PRO Auto Cup and Nitto heads the Tire Cup
