Formula Drift 2014 season kicked-off the event’s first round at Streets of Long Beach, where Chris Forsberg grabbed the victory behind the wheel of Hankook Tire Nissan 370 Z.
It was reported more than 20,000 spectators gathered at the venue to witness the tire-burning fight on metal wheels.
“It is truly a fantastic feeling to see not only the live event attendance grow steadily year after year, but also the global Driftstream audience,” says Jim Liaw, President of Formula DRIFT. “We pride ourselves in being able to provide entertainment to such a young, engaged and tech-savvy audience.”
Second place on the podium was occupied by Kenneth Moen in his Bridges Racing Nissan 240SX, and giving him a tough competition throughout the race Michael Essa turned third in his Yokohama BMW M3.
“It feels amazing to be on top of the podium, especially here at the first round of the eleventh season of Formula DRIFT,” said Chris Forsberg, winner of Round 1: Streets of Long Beach. “We will try to keep the momentum with our new changes and take the championship home.”
In the manufacturers’ category, Nissan took an early lead with 122 points, which was contributed by the top ten drifters who were burning the rubber with the badge of Z or a product of the brand’s S platform. Ford strikes second place with the two drivers in the top-ten, while the BMW concluded on third.
This is not the end; there are six more events to go under the same hat throughout the year, where the next one is going to take place on May 8-9, 2014 at Road Atlanta.
Formula DRIFT Championship Presented by GoPro 2014 Standings After One Round
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