Formula Drift Announces 2023 Calendar and $50,000 Prize Money for the Next Pro Champion

The series is celebrating its 20th Anniversary next year, reinforcing its status as one of the longest-lasting and most popular drift championships in the world. Only 10 drivers have ever managed to win a Formula Drift Pro title so far, with Forsberg, Aasbo, and Deane getting three each.

Samuel Hubinette, Tanner Foust, and Vaughn Gittin JR all have two such titles to their name. Meanwhile, Rhys Millen, Daijiro Yoshihara, Daigo Saito, and Michael Essa have previously climbed to the top of the rankings just once.

Matt Field came close to winning his first one in 2022 but lost the lead during the last race of the season. Still, he is one of the top contenders for next year, alongside names like Denofa, Tuerck, and, of course, Forsberg and Aasbo. And with the most recent announcement, it seems that they will have the proper incentive to rack up as many points as possible.

That's because, in 2023, the Pro Champion will get a significant $50,000 reward for his efforts. That may not sound like much compared to other bigger sports, but it's a huge thing in the world of professional drifting. And it seems that the payout per round has also been increased, and will be double as big as it was this year.

One of the other big updates announced by FD officials is that they will be removing the 37-driver cap for both the Pro and the Prospec Championships. This will make way for more teams and drivers alike but will lead to more fiercely-fought qualifying sessions as they will all compete for a spot in the Top 32 battles. As more and more people get drawn in by the spectacular on-track action at FD events, an official series podcast will debut with Jacob Gettins as a host.

Formula Drift used to have an interesting show called "Insider" a few years back, and it was hosted by current series President Ryan Sage. With the SEMA press conference, we now have a preview of the calendar for next year. The Pro season starts in Long Beach, California on the 7th of April.

Some teams will stay in town for another week, as the Super Drift Invitational event is up on the 14th and 15th of April. One month later, everyone is headed to Atlanta, Georgia. This event will be the first one for the Prospec drivers, as opposed to 2022 when they kicked things off in Orlando.

The Florida venue is still on the list, but it will hold a Pro-only event at the end of May. After that point, there will be an FD event every month until October: Englishtown in June, Saint Louis in July, Seattle in August, Grantsville in September, and Irwindale to close the season as usual. One other interesting announcement is that next year will mark the introduction of a Formula Drift Hall of Fame, with the first inductees to be honored in Long Beach at Round 1.

Each one of them will receive a unique FDHOF ring that will be encrusted with diamonds and gemstones, valued at $10,000. And there's more. As this location has become iconic for the sport, a Formula Drift monument will be erected in downtown Long Beach, although it hasn't been made clear at this time what it will look like. Here's to hoping that someone can carve out a drift car in action from a block of stone.

Series officials have also provided a list of drivers that are signed up for next year's challenge. We're happy to see Margaritis Katsanidis on those lists, as we've seen him drifting in Greece over 10 years ago. We're not sure yet if he will be competing in his RWD Alfa Romeo or not, but he's bound to put on a good show when he gets there.

But most fans will be ecstatic to see that Forrest Wang is coming back to FD! He has been away from the series for some time now but used to be one of the most popular drivers in it thanks to his style. To top things off, Kristaps Bluss is also back on the list. And if you don't remember his name, perhaps the HGK Eurofighter will give you a hint about him.