A double podium finish by drivers Nick Noback and Aurimas “Odi” Bakchis at Irwindale Speedway on Saturday powered GT Radial to victory in the Tire Cup for the 2023 Formula DRIFT PRO season.
Teams on GT Radial Champiro SX2 RS tires, which are manufactured at the company’s plant in Richburg, SC,, scored the most points over the eight races in the 2023 season, enabling GT Radial to best four other tire brands to claim the Tire Cup. Noback and Bakchis on the podium in Irwindale marked a total of 13 podiums and three wins for GT Radial in the 2023 season’s eight races.
Bakchis, driving his Feal Suspension/GT Radial Nissan S15, finished 2nd in Irwindale and 2nd in the 2023 Formula DRIFT Championship. Matt Field, driving a Borla Performance/GT Radial Corvette, finished third in this year’s Formula DRIFT season. Two other GT Radial drivers, Chris Forsberg and Dylan Hughes, finished in the top 10 points standings – Forsberg in 6th and Hughes in 10th place.
“Winning the Tire Cup was our goal at the beginning of the season, and we did it thanks to our dedicated plant team members who produce the competition tire and our group of highly-skilled drivers and teams,” said GT Radial Motorsports Manager Mike Meeiem. “It is especially gratifying to see a tire made in America win the world’s most competitive drifting series.”
The 2023 Tire Cup victory marked a steady climb by GT Radial in Formula DRIFT competition. GT Radial clinched second position in the 2022 FD Tire Cup after achieving six podium finishes. After finishing fifth in its first year, GT Radial rose to third in 2021 before securing second at the final round of 2022.
GT Radial has renewed its partnership with Formula DRIFT for another three-year term to provide tires to teams in the PRO Championship. Additionally, GT Radial will remain the Official Tire of the PROSPEC series for up-and-coming drivers for another two years.
