It’s time for another year of Formula Drift action as the season opens on Friday at Long Beach with some of the most momentum the series has ever had going into a campaign.
The schedule stays at eight events and the series partnered with Facebook Live to broadcast all of the live streams for the 2019 year as well as host a variety of content through the series, giving fans a plethora of access.
Those come right after a season finale that saw the championship race conclude that was separated by just four points.
On top of it, the grid for the 2019 season is shaping up to be one filled with intrigue.
The top three point-getters from the 2018 Pro 2 race in Travis Reeder, Dylan Hughes, and Sebastien Gauthier will join the pro grid, which sits at 37 drivers for the opening weekend.
With 37 filling the field, we’ll likely see an Indianapolis-style bump day during Friday’s qualifying session to lead into the 32-driver field this weekend.
The pro field is headlined by some familiar faces in defending series champion James Deane – who won at Long Beach two seasons ago – and 2018 Long Beach winner Frederic Aasbo.
The winner of the event will be someone to keep an eye on throughout the year, as well. In three of the past five seasons, the victor out of the first weekend has gone on to win the championship. Only once in that time span, has the Long Beach winner not finished in the top 2 at the end of the year.
We’re sure to see some action this weekend in California, and it all kicks off with qualifying day at 4:00 p.m. ET on Friday. Saturday’s action will start at 12:45 p.m. ET and both will be live streamed on formulad.com.
2019 Formula Drift Schedule
Apr. 05-06 Long Beach
Apr. 25-27 Orlando
May 09-11 Atlanta
Jun. 07-08 New Jersey
Jul. 19-20 Washington
Aug. 08-10 St. Louis
Sep. 12-14 Dallas
Oct. 18-19 Irwindale
