Jackson Orr, Elliot Bright round out the podium.
The first round of The Drift League 2024 season is officially in the history books, with Carsen Ruger standing tall on the podium after wheeling the No. 33 Gargististc BMW M3 to a first-place finish. On his way to the overall win, Ruger qualified first in a field of 14 drivers hungry to secure a Formula Drift license. Jackson Orr finished second in the No. 556 Forsberg Racing Nissan S13, while Elliot "Wild Child" Bright nabbed third in the No. 516 Mad Science Garage Ford Mustang.
Round 1 took place at The Balcony, located at Willow Springs International Raceway in Rosamond, California. Drivers were faced with a new track layout conceived by longtime drift driver and former Formula Drift competitor Taka Aono, with four outer zones and a challenging initiation. Aono also served as TDL judge, as did former TDL winner / current Formula Drift competitor, Rome Charpentier; and former TDL competitor / current Formula Drift ProSpec rookie, Josh Stuart.
Due to the limited drivers pool, competitors were allowed two single-run qualifying attempts to impress the judges, rather than a Formula Drift-style tandem qualifying format. Conditions proved challenging, with gusts of wind throwing dust across the track and 100-degree weather placing immense stress on both the drivers and the cars.
Nevertheless, Ruger kept his cool, laying down back-to-back 72-point runs, positioning him as the top qualifier. YouTube star TJ Hunt qualified second with a 71-point run on his second outing, recovering from a zero-out after nearly parking the No. 28 Nissan 350Z in an over-rotation on his first run. Devyn Bloch slid in as the third-place qualifier with a top score of 69 points from his first run in the No. 31 Nissan 240SX. Meanwhile, Bright qualified in fourth place with 64 points after zeroing-out in his first attempt by overcooking the initiation, eventually completing a rerun for his second outing due to debris on the track.
With qualifying sorted, the elimination bracket was set with bye runs awarded to the top four qualifiers. The first battle of the day pit Jake Fleming (No. 1 BMW M3 E36) against Camren Sorensen (No. 514 BMW M3 E46), with Sorensen spinning in the lead, resulting in minor contact. Dino Child (No. 13 Nissan 240SX) would advance after battling Alex Dearmon (No. 49 Nissan 350Z) in a One More Time showdown, while Orr faced off against Hector Nuñez (No. 8 Nissan 240SX) after qualifying seventh, moving on to the next round after Nuñez pushed too hard in his lead run.
Elimination battles continued with Zach Macgillivray (No. 223 Nissan 370Z) smashing into the wall in Outer Zone 3 during his lead run against Jake Gonzalez (No. 354 Nissan 240SX). Luckily, Macgillivray was unhurt. Although the No. 223 Nissan was repaired in time for Macgillivray's chase, Gonzalez capitalized on his rival's mistake with a solid lead and was allowed to move on for his efforts.
Ruger and Fleming kicked off the Top 8, with Ruger once again showing his hallmark consistency to secure a spot in the Top 4.
A dramatic head-to-head between Hunt and Orr resulted in Orr making contact with Hunt in the chase after Hunt understeered in Outer Zone 1 during his lead. Swapping spots, Hunt collided with Orr in the chase during Orr's lead, thus securing Orr's advance.
Bloch faced Gonzalez, with both drivers zeroing out in their chase run, handing the win to Bloch thanks to his superior lead.
Bright's wild style proved an interesting matchup against the relatively conservative driving of Child, but unfortunately, Child was forced to retire with mechanical issues after a One More Time call from the judges.
With the sun tucked behind the hills and temperatures finally dropping, the Top 4 got underway with Ruger facing Bright. Ruger was unfazed by Bright's untamed swagger, while Orr took down Bloch after Bloch bobbled his lead run. With the final matchup locked in, Bloch battled Bright for third place, the latter of whom buried the loud pedal of his Mustang to bully Bloch into ceding a podium finish.
The stage was finally set for the final battle between Ruger and Orr. Ruger opened with yet another impressive lead run, executing several snappy transitions as Orr gave chase. Nevertheless, Orr's efforts fell short as Ruger closed in with good proximity on the chase to take the overall win.
Round 2 of The Drift League 2024 season will kick off in September, and Tuner Fan will once again be there to bring you all the savage driving and behind-the-scenes action. Keep it locked here as we dive into more TDL content soon, and remember - Tuner Fan is Modified For More!
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