Round 1 of the 2026 Formula DRIFT PRO Championship took place April 11 on the Streets of Long Beach, with Conor Shanahan taking the win in the Final against three-time champion Fredric Aasbo.
The victory marks Shanahan’s second career FD PRO win and his first with Jerry Yang Racing in the Red Bull / GT Radial Toyota GT86. It comes at the start of his third season in the series.
Shanahan’s route to the Final included a dramatic Top 32 moment against Ken Gushi. Following a collision, Shanahan appeared to be eliminated when his team was unable to complete repairs in time. However, judges called for a One More Time, allowing the runs to be repeated. Shanahan advanced from the rerun and continued through the bracket to secure the win.
Aasbo, driving the Rockstar Energy Toyota GR Supra, delivered a clean weekend, advancing through the field without incident before finishing second.
Third place went to Jack Shanahan. His weekend ended before the Top 4 battle against Aasbo due to engine issues, preventing a potential matchup between the Shanahan brothers in the Final.
Five-time champion James Deane, who qualified first, was eliminated in the Top 16 by Diego Higa. Returning after a year away from competition, Higa showed strong pace before exiting in the Top 8 against Conor Shanahan.
Cole Richards was named Top Rookie in Long Beach, finishing fourth overall after losing to Shanahan in the Top 4.
Elsewhere, Matt Field was eliminated in the Top 32 by Dylan Hughes. Adam LZ was also eliminated in the Top 32 by Ryan Litteral following contact during their One More Time battle.
The event also saw the expanded use of the Universal Drift Scoring Method (UDSM) telemetry system from Race Data Labs. After its introduction during qualifying, it was used in a supporting role during Top 32 competition to assist judges with vehicle dynamics and incident evaluation, while also helping to accelerate the judging process.
Following Round 1, Shanahan leads the standings with 50 points, followed by Aasbo with 40 and Jack Shanahan with 32.
Toyota leads the 2026 Formula DRIFT Auto Cup standings, while Kenda leads the Tire Cup by one point.
Round 2 of the Formula DRIFT PRO Championship will take place May 7–9 at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta, alongside the opening round of the Link ECU PROSPEC Championship and the return of the GridLife series.
Photography provided by Formula Drift
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