Formula DRIFT Super Challenge completes Day 2 action at Long Beach

Day 2 completed the Formula DRIFT Super Challenge invitational event, featuring drivers from the Formula DRIFT PRO and PROSPEC championships on the streets of Long Beach.

COMPETITORS

• Aurimas “Odi” Bakchis – The Heart of Racing Aston Martin Vantage V12*
• Trenton Beechum – Clonex Racing / Katana Wheels / Kenda BMW*
• Rome Charpentier – Garagistic E36 BMW*
• Jeff Jones – Big Drift Energy / Kumho Tire / Prisma Lab Nissan 370Z*
• Margaritis Katsanidis – LS Doctor E46 BMW
• Kasey Kohl – Mspek Race to Reef Nissan S14.9
• Sam Maghmoumi – 961 Motorsport E36 BMW
• Connor O'Sullivan – US ARMY / O’Sully Racing BMW*

*denotes Formula DRIFT PRO Championship driver. The remainder compete in FD Link ECU PROSPEC Championship

RESULTS

1. Rome Charpentier (USA) – Garagistic E36 BMW 

2. Aurimas “Odi” Bakchis (Lithuania) – The Heart of Racing Aston Martin Vantage V12

3. Jeff Jones (USA) – Big Drift Energy / Kumho Tire / Prisma Lab Nissan 370Z

COMPETITION NOTES

• The drivers were split between the Formula DRIFT PRO and PROSPEC Championships. While the PRO teams competed on this course last weekend, the PROSPEC drivers don’t compete on the Streets of Long Beach during their season, giving the PRO drivers an advantage 
• Formula DRIFT Rounds feature 32 cars in a knock-out format of competition heats. For Super Drift, eight cars compete in a truncated event to entertain the AGPLB fans
• Driver match-ups for tandem competition runs were decided by a random draw in the absence of qualifying runs
• Drivers Kasey Kohl (USA) and Trenton Beechum (USA) both experienced car trouble and withdrew from Super Drift Day 2, giving their Top 8 heat pairings a bye run into the Final 4 heats
• The podium finishers were a repeat of Day 1 but in a different order. This time Charpentier took the win in the 2026 Super Drift Day 2, demoting Bakchis to second place
• Charpentier had defeated Connor O'Sullivan (USA) in the Top 8 heats, Jeff Jones in the Final 4 and dominated Bakchis in the Final with superior lead and chase runs
• For Bakchis, it was another strong result in the Aston Martin Vantage V12. Not only did everybody agree it sounded spectacular, but were also astounded at how well Odi performed given Super Drift was his first opportunity to drive it
• Third place Jones had wisely parked his FD PRO Championship car for Super Drift and was using his “practice” Nissan 370Z to avoid damaging the primary vehicle with Round 2 at Road Atlanta only three weeks away 

ABOUT SUPER DRIFT

• Super Drift Challenge is an invitational event. Competitors are drawn from the Formula DRIFT series but do not score points towards the PRO or PROSPEC Championships
• Formula DRIFT has a long history with the Grand Prix of Long Beach, dating back to 2005 when the series was invited to conduct an annual full-course drift demo for GP fans
• In 2006, Formula DRIFT worked with Grand Prix of Long Beach to establish its own standalone Championship Round using Turns 9 to 11
• In 2012, Super Drift was introduced to the AGPLB, offering a more traditional Formula DRIFT elimination competition format for spectators to enjoy
• Round 1 and Round 8 of the Formula DRIFT PRO Championship season takes place the weekend before the Grand Prix on the Streets of Long Beach. The course has become a mainstay of the annual eight-round Formula DRIFT calendar
• The Formula DRIFT series schedule, livestream, driver profiles, Championship standings, ticket info and more can be found at formulad.com
• Drifting is judged on a driver’s line through the course, angle in the turns, and style throughout the run. The chase car’s proximity to the lead car is also a crucial factor in tandem competition runs

FORMULA DRIFT NEXT ROUND

Round 2 of the FD PRO Championship will take place at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta on May 7-9 along with Round 1 of the Link ECU PROSPEC Championship. Please visit formulad.com for ticket information, driver profiles, special content, and the event livestream.

WATCH FORMULA DRIFT

Fans can find the free-to-view event livestream at formulad.com/live and on RACER Network through the RACER+ app and RACER Select