Papadakis Racing Toyotas eyeing repeat 1-2 finish at Irwindale Speedway
IRWINDALE, California (October 4, 2023) – Fredric Aasbo and Ryan Tuerck are favored for a top result when Formula Drift returns to the Southern California “House of Drift” for the 2023 season finale October 13-14. The teammates brought home a one-two finish a year ago to round out a successful championship season.
Defending champion Fredric Aasbo is one of only four drivers remaining in the Formula Drift title chase. Some 81 points off the lead, he is an underdog for the championship crown but says he is focusing his energy on driving the Rockstar Energy Drink Toyota GR Supra to another event win. He has won twice before at Irwindale Speedway: last year and also in 2015, when he scored his first of three Formula Drift titles.
“There’s no better feeling than to close out the season with a win at Irwindale Speedway. The grandstands are always packed, and the fans have such warmth toward competitors. It feels like coming home to what made me fall in love with drifting when I was just a kid watching YouTube videos back home in Norway,” said Aasbo. “Even with all the pressure and all the chaos, Irwindale has a way of reminding me how grateful I am to be able to do what we do.”
Tuerck is also excited to be making a return to Irwindale Speedway. He is hoping that if he lines up against his teammate in the finale again like last year, he’ll be the one to take the top step on the podium in his Rain- X / Nitto Tire Toyota GR Corolla.
The drivers are a close match and the Papadakis Racing team encourages its drivers to battle fair and hard. Even with a championship on the line, it is always a toss-up which of the two team drivers might emerge victorious from a head-to-head match. The duo has met twice this year, with Tuerck taking the knockout wins in both Seattle and Utah.
Catch up on all the action for Tuerck, Aasbo, and the whole Papadakis Racing Toyota team by tuning in to
Season 2 of the Rockstar Energy YouTube series “Controlled Chaos,” which takes fans behind the scenes. New episodes are available now on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/rockstarenergy.
The 20th anniversary season of Formula Drift is shaping up to be the most competitive in series history, with a trio of three-time champions in the mix and any driver capable of scoring an outright win at every stop.
The Papadakis Racing team began drifting in 2004 and is the most winning team in Formula Drift history, earning the 2022, 2021 and 2015 titles with driver Fredric Aasbo, as well as back-to-back championships with driver Tanner Foust in 2008 and 2007. Partner Toyota has won the manufacturer’s cup eight times since 2014. Tuerck joined the Papadakis Racing team in 2020 in a Toyota Corolla Hatchback and has shown strong results, bringing home the third-place championship trophy twice in the past three seasons.
Drifting is a high-skill, high-powered motorsport with an emphasis on car control. In the Formula Drift series, drivers compete in knockout heats on a closed course, sliding sideways in trials judged on speed and style. With origins in Japan, the sport has rapidly grown to one of the most popular youth-oriented motorsports in the world. Here in the United States, Formula Drift officially launched in 2004 and its national schedule of eight events routinely host capacity crowds, while live-streamed multi-platform broadcasts attract millions of online viewers.