5 Things You Missed at Formula D's Tire-Smoking 2025 Long Beach Event
The opening round of the 2025 Formula Drift season was, as you would expect, an all-out street fight in downtown Long Beach, California. The street-circuit racetrack that's well known for hosting the NTT IndyCar Series pitted new kids on the block against OG drivers and returning champions. Now in its 22nd season, Formula Drift has gone through a lot of changes. Read on to see five intriguing things you missed at Formula D Long Beach in 2025.
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Fredric Aasbo Wins
Fredric Aasbø took the win in the final battle against James Deane's Ford Mustang in his Toyota GR Supra machine. Aasbø, now riding on Kenda Tires after years on Nittos, battled his way through Connor O'Sullivan, Ken Gushi, Ryan Tuerck, and Branden Sorensen before facing Deane, the reigning champion.
The King Has Returned
Daigo Saito is back! After a 10-year hiatus, the legendary drifter from Japan is back in a BAPE-liveried Toyota GR86 powered by a VR38DETT engine. Unfortunately, he did run into some issues with his car and suffered a gnarly wall tap during his seeding battle. The former 2008 and 2016 D1GP champion, 2012 Formula Drift Asia, and 2012 Formula Drift U.S. champion remains a fan favorite.
Seeding Bracket
Formula D made a number of changes during its off-season, including a seeding bracket reconfiguration. To ensure the Top 32 competition heats have a driver to battle, the highest-finishing 12 drivers from the seeding bracket now duel it out. Unfortunately, the lowest-ranked drivers who lose the Top 16 seeding bracket heat are eliminated. At the Long Beach event, Federico Sceriffo and his Ferrari 599 GTB bowed out when he lost his heat.
The New Drivers on the Block
Aside from Saito's return, we saw a few more fresh faces hit the grid this year including Tommy Lemaire, O'Sullivan, Austin Matta, and Jack Shanahan. These drivers were thrown straight into the seeding bracket since they didn't have a 2024 ranking. What do you think was going through Shanahan's mind when he found he was going up against Saito?
Same City, New Track Layout
With the former California venue Irwindale Speedway's closure, Formula D needed a spot for its annual season-ending event. In Long Beach, the series revealed it will return to the city later this year with a vastly different course and a new event name, The Shoreline Showdown. It's scheduled for October 17–18.
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