Fredric Aasbo wins Round 1. Streets of Long Beach announced as venue for Final Round of 2025 PRO Championship season. Larry Chen inducted into Formula DRIFT Hall of Fame
EVENT DETAILS
Date: Saturday, April 5, 2025
Location: Streets of Long Beach, Long Beach, CA
Event: Formula DRIFT PRO Round 1 Competition Heats
RESULTS FOR FD PRO ROUND 1
- Fredric Aasbo (Norway) – Rockstar Energy Toyota GR Supra
- James Deane (Ireland) – AutoZone Mustang RTR Spec 5-FD
- LZ (USA) – Drift HQ E36 BMW
NOTES
- Among the new Formula DRIFT competition rules for 2025 is a change to points scoring. In the past, drivers earned points for reaching each heat, with 100 points for a win. Now, drivers gets 10 points for each heat win all the way to the Final. This means success is rewarded more directly and the points battle should be even tighter to the end of the season
- Aasbo’s win is his first on the Streets of Long Beach course since 2020. He credited his success both to the Kenda Tires the team has switched to, and his ice drifting over the winter
- The Round 1 Final pitted three-time FD PRO Champion Aasbo against reigning and four-time PRO Champ Deane. Together they’re the two most successful drivers in the series’ 23-year history. Their battle went to One More Time after the judges couldn’t separate their first runs. Aasbo took the win after Deane hit Outside Zone 3 hard, causing the Norwegian to make a major correction
- Third place LZ continued his strong 2024 form. He finished fifth overall at the end of a season he hadn’t intended to complete. It looks as if 2025 is starting out even stronger
- Five drivers joined the 2025 FD PRO Championship including three Rookies promoted from Formula DRIFT PROSPEC; 2024 Champion Tommy Lemaire (Canada) plus Connor O’Sullivan (USA) and Austin Matta (USA). Jack Shanahan (Ireland), older brother of Conor and holder of multiple Irish and British drift championship titles, is also a series Rookie
- Daigo Saito (Japan) returned to FD PRO after a ten-year hiatus. As the 2008 and 2016 D1 GP Champion and the 2012 Formula DRIFT and 2012 FD Asia Champion, he’s a fan favorite but retired from his Top 32 heat with engine failure
- Jack Shanahan was the top Rookie in Long Beach, finishing 21st overall and leads the Rookie of the Year title race into Round 2. Lemaire finished 22nd and shares the same points as the Irishman
- Aasbo’s success gave Kenda Tire its first Formula DRIFT win since joining the series in 2023. As a result, Kenda leads the 2025 Formula DRIFT Tire Cup, while he also contributed to Toyota heading the Auto Cup
- During the Opening Ceremony, photographer Larry Chen was inducted into the Formula DRIFT Hall of Fame. Having captured the action and drama of the series since 2006, Larry has become a fixture at almost every round and his contribution was honored today
- As a Hall of Fame inductee, Larry’s name will be immortalized on the Formula DRIFT monument, which will be located at the Long Beach venue this summer. Joining previous inductees Rhys Millen, Samuel Hubinette and Tanner Foust, each has received a commemorative crystal plaque plus a custom Hall of Fame ring. Made by Jostens, each ring is valued at $10,000
- Jostens was chosen for its experience making rings for the NFL Super Bowl, NBA World Championship, MLB World Series, plus NASCAR, IndyCar, NHRA, Supercross, NCAA National Championships and more
- And in a special announcement, Formula DRIFT revealed the Final Round of the 2025 PRO Championship will take place in the City of Long Beach using large portions of Shoreline Drive. For the first time, Formula DRIFT will have its own unique and independent street course venue, which will be vastly different to Round 1: Streets of Long Beach. The event will be titled, Shoreline Showdown
