Formula Drift heads to Georgia this week for the second round of its 2026 season, with three Ford Mustang RTR Spec-5 FD cars set to take on Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta. RTR Vehicles Team Owner Vaughn Gittin Jr. will compete alongside James Deane and Ben Hobson, and Road Atlanta will be the first of two planned appearances for Gittin in Formula Drift this year.
The Atlanta trip comes after a mixed opening round on the streets of Long Beach, where Deane and Hobson looked sharp in the return of single-car, two-run qualifying and both won their tandem battles in the Top 32 to move into the Top 16. Neither driver reached the Great Eight, but the pair still left California with enough speed to suggest the season is just getting started. Deane followed that by finishing second in the first round of the Drift Masters championship last weekend in Rome, Italy, and said he is excited to return to Formula Drift Atlanta, where he won last year. He also said the team did not get the perfect start in Long Beach but hopes to get back on the podium in Round 2.
Hobson was equally direct about the next stop, saying he is super pumped going into Round 2 in Atlanta and believes the feel he picked up in Long Beach will help the team do great things this year. The schedule begins Thursday May 7, with practice from 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., warm up from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. and qualifying from 7:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. Saturday May 9 brings another warm up from 3:15 p.m. to 4:15 p.m., then the Main Event Top 32 from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. before the Main Event Top 16 runs from 8:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.
That mix of momentum and unfinished business is what makes Atlanta matter now. Deane has already shown he can win there, Hobson is still settling into the car, and Gittin’s return adds another layer to a field that already looks tight after Long Beach. For fans tracking the season after the first round, Atlanta is the first real chance to see whether the opening weekend was a warning or a preview.
