Aurimas “Odi” Bakchis converted a difficult, rain-affected weekend in Orlando into his first Formula Drift victory since 2024, defeating five-time champion James Deane in the Round 3 final and moving to the top of the provisional 2026 PRO standings.
The result completed a sharp early-season progression for Bakchis and his Feal Suspension / GT Radial / Subimods Subaru BRZ. After finishing fifth at Long Beach and taking third at Road Atlanta, he arrived in Orlando third in the championship. The win lifted him to 106 points, eight ahead of Deane, in the preliminary standings published after the event.
Changing conditions shaped the Orlando contest
Round 3 was held on a new Formula Drift course in Orlando, with intermittent rain repeatedly changing the grip available during qualifying and the competition heats. Drivers moved between wet, damp and dry conditions, making consistency difficult and forcing teams to adapt throughout the weekend.
Formula Drift also adjusted the positioning and size of the scoring zones for Orlando after reviewing data from the first two rounds. Qualifying used the Universal Drift Scoring Method, or UDSM, to measure line and angle, while a three-judge panel assessed driving style. Chris Forsberg emerged as the top qualifier; Bakchis saved his decisive performance for the elimination bracket.
Bakchis works through the bracket
Bakchis opened the Top 32 by defeating Simen Olsen, then advanced past Dan Burkett and Jack Shanahan. A Final Four win over fellow GT Radial driver Branden Sorensen put him into the deciding battle against Deane.
The final turned on a small error from Deane during the transition into Zone 3. Bakchis created enough separation to secure the round victory, his first in the Subaru BRZ and his first Formula Drift win since Round 7 of the 2024 season – another event in which Deane was his final opponent.
Sorensen finished fourth in the Sorensen Motorsports / Quad Lock BMW. That result moved him to third in the provisional championship standings on 84 points, giving GT Radial-supported drivers first and third positions immediately after Orlando.
A championship reshuffle after three different winners
Orlando continued an unsettled opening to the season. Three rounds produced three different winners, while pre-event leader Conor Shanahan fell from first to fifth after being eliminated by Deane in the Top 32.
Bakchis left Round 3 on 106 points, followed by Deane on 98 and Sorensen on 84. Formula Drift marked the published standings as preliminary, so the figures describe the position immediately after Orlando rather than the championship picture after subsequent rounds.
GT Radial also led the provisional Tire Cup standings after the event with 230 points, ahead of Nitto on 161 and Kenda on 151. The result supports the competitive record of GT Radial teams in the series, but it should not be treated as evidence about the performance of unrelated consumer tire products or normal-road conditions.
GT Radial entered 2026 defending the Tire Cup
The Orlando points did not emerge from a single-driver campaign. GT Radial entered 2026 as the defending Formula Drift Tire Cup winner after reporting three event victories, 10 podium finishes and five supported drivers inside the championship top 10 during the 2025 season. Matt Field finished that season as the overall PRO runner-up.
The 2026 defense began with Conor Shanahan winning Round 1 on the streets of Long Beach in the Red Bull / GT Radial / JYR Toyota GT86. Formula Drift listed GT Radial on 80 provisional Tire Cup points after that event, ahead of Kenda on 51, Kumho on 42 and Nitto on 23. Bakchis then qualified first and finished third at Road Atlanta before taking the Orlando victory, while Sorensen climbed to third in the driver standings after Round 3.
Across those opening rounds, the results came from multiple drivers and vehicle platforms rather than one isolated pairing. GT Radial identifies the Champiro SX2 RS as the performance tires used by its Formula Drift program and says the competition tires are produced at its passenger and light-truck tire plant in Richburg, South Carolina. Those details establish the program and manufacturing context; they do not, by themselves, establish how a road-going tire will perform outside competition.
What the Orlando win demonstrated
The most important development was not simply Bakchis reaching the top of the standings. It was the speed with which he and the team had made a new platform competitive across three very different events.
Orlando added another test: a new course and rapidly changing weather. Bakchis and the Subaru package were able to progress through five matchups and deliver their strongest run when the championship leader had already been eliminated. That combination of adaptation and execution reshaped the title race at the end of Round 3.
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