Formula DRIFT returned to Long Beach this past weekend to host the Motegi Racing Super Drift Challenge as part of the 43rd Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. Driver Matt Field and his Vortech V-7 YSi-B Supercharged S14 took the top podium spot for the second consecutive year.

This is the fifth year for the Motegi Racing Super Drift Challenge, which takes place during the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. The crowd was at capacity and ready for some exciting drifting action under the Friday night lights.

After being randomly paired up in Top 16, Matt Field charged his way to the Top 4, where he met Justin Pawlak in the Roush Performance Ford Mustang. Although spectators watched Field solidly outdrive Pawlak to make his way to the finals, the question must be asked - was it pure driver ability, or was it due to the superior efficiency of the Vortech centrifugal supercharger keeping power consistent, when compared to the positive displacement supercharger on Pawlak’s Mustang. Maybe we will have an answer to this question at the next event.

Field collided with Alex Heilbrunn in the Finals, quite literally. In the first turn of the first run, Heilbrunn ran his BMW into Field, causing significant damage. The judges awarded the advantage to Field after deeming the fault to be on Heilbrunn. After fixing damage to his Nissan enough to continue, Field performed a clean following run and securing the victory.

Look for Matt Field to climb more podiums at future Formula drift events this season.