Formula Drift Championships begin 2014 season in Long Beach

The Formula Drift 2014 Pro Championship begins its seven round national schedule by tearing up the streets of Long Beach for the 11th time. The course is set to use a portion of the back straightaway leading into the turns 9, 10, and Turn 11 hairpin of the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach track.

As the first official series in North America, Formula DRIFT has taken competitive motorsports to the extreme, attracting fans and car enthusiasts from all walks of life and establishes itself as the worldwide leader for the Sport.

Daijiro Yoshihara finals vs Vaughn Gittin Jr

Photo by: Oliver Petalver

Judged on execution and style, rather than who finishes the course in the fastest time, Drifting is a guaranteed crowd pleaser, and is often compared to the freestyle nature of skateboarding and motocross.

Formula Drift Fast Facts

Created first ever drifting world championship; brought together 32 drivers, 17 past and present championship, from 12 nations, representing 12 series    

Created Formula Drift Asia Championship; first Pan-Asia professional championship

Created Formula Drift Pro Am Affiliate Network; bridge together various regional level series, the "minor league" for Formula Drift     7-stop Championship Series travels across the United States    

87% of Formula Drift fans are between 18-34 years old    

Formula Drift is one of only a few sports to see a growth in attendance during the economic downturn in 2009 and 2010.    

FIRST drifting championship in the world to be sponsored by non-endemic companies such as EA Games    

FIRST drifting championship to have factory backed teams    

FIRST drifting championship in the world to have an official, sanctioned competition on city streets    

FIRST drifting championship to be aired on national cable & syndicated globally with a dedicated series of shows    

FIRST drifting championship to be filmed and featured in high definition    

FIRST drifting championship to be filmed and featured in 3D    

Formula Drift has the MOST diverse driver field (nationality, age and gender) of any drifting series in the world and field of competition cars (year, make and model) of any drifting series in the world    

Responsible for holding the MOST professional drifting events than anyone in North America    

Held the HIGHEST attended drifting event ever

Actually, for those who do not mind a little pre-season, pre-race party, on which one might meet some drivers and team owners, head over to The Federal Bar at 102 Pine Ave. just up from Ocean Ave. in downtown Long Beach. The action is set to begin at 6:00pm PT with drink specials offered all night and as an added treat, Formula DRIFT cars will be on display.

Formula Drift