Now to continue our coverage of the on-track action at Formula D Long Beach, starting with the Top 16 and moving all the way to the finale.

With a mix of both veterans and newcomers making the cut, the Top 16 was sure to bring some surprises.

The first two matches of the Top 16 were actually rather un-dramatic. The first match was between Rhys Millen and Stephan Verdier, but Verdier's car broke – allowing Rhys to advance with no opposition.

In the very next round Forrest Wang's car broke, which allowed Sam Hubinette to easily move on. Two former FD champs had already secured spots in the Great Eight.

Luckily the next battle made up for the lack of excitement in the first two. It would be Darren McNamara facing Falken teammate James Deane. This was  interesting because DMac was in large part responsible for getting Deane a ride with Falken, and now the two would be facing off against each other.

Just as he had been doing all weekend, James Deane put down a mega aggressive entry, which helped to earn him the victory here. Had DMac helped the boy a little too much?

Next up were Dai Yoshihara and Tanner Foust. Both drivers ran well, but Tanner is a hard cat to beat, and he'd be the one that moved on.

Next up was an all-Silvia battle as Michihiro Takatori faced Pat Mordaunt.

It would take an OMT to settle, but Pat would eventually move on to the Great Eight.

Next up was one of the day's biggest moments, as defending champ Chris Forsberg faced rookie Fredric Aasbo. Here you can see the big gap Fredric was able to open on his lead run.

And while following, Fredric was able to keep his Supra very close to Forsberg's Z.

In a thrilling upset, Aasbo had defeated the champion and had become a crowd favorite in the process.

Next was an all-Mustang battle as Vaughn Gittin Jr. faced Tony B. This one was over rather quickly, with JR advancing to the Great Eight.

The final match of the Top 16 had Ryuji Miki facing Ryan Tuerck.

After an OMT, last year's Long Beach winner Ryan Tuerck earned the final spot in the Great Eight.

Kicking off the Great Eight were Sam Hubinette and Rhys Millen.

As you'd expect, both of these guys drove well, but Rhys was able to pull away from Sam and seal the deal.

James Deane already had a spectacular outing in his first-ever FD event, but his opponent in the Great Eight would be the always-difficult Tanner Foust. You can see the gap between the two cars here.

James drove the wheels off the Silvia, but it just wasn't enough. Tanner would advance to the Final Four.

Fredric Aasbo faced Pat Mordaunt in the next match, with Pat's spin allowing Fredric to sail right through to the Final Four.

Finishing off the Great Eight were DA brothers Ryan Tuerck and Vaughn Gittin Jr.

During his lead run Tuerck tried for an aggressive wall-tapping entry, but it was a little too much. The car was upset and he had to straighten out. The Final Four had been set – Millen, Foust, Aasbo, and Gittin Jr.

First up in the Final Four was the battle of former FD champions,
Millen and Foust.

Tanner drove well, but he just wasn't as fast or aggressive as Rhys was. Millen moves on to the final.

Vaughn Gittin Jr. would face Fredric Aasbo next.

Both of these guys drove awesome, and after a tight battle JR was declared the winner and advanced to face Millen in the final.

Before the final though, Foust and Aasbo would face off the see who would take home third place.

The key moment here came when Aasbo tapped the wall "James Deane style".

Unfortunately for Fredric, it was just a little too much and he ended up straightening out. Tanner would take the final podium spot, but it was still an absolutely incredible run for Aasbo in his second-ever FD event.

Now Vaughn Gittin Jr. and Rhys Millen would battle in the final. Here we see Rhys with an early transition, attempting to throw off JR as he came in 7MPH slower than the Mustang.

This move did cause JR to lose a bit of angle and speed through the rest of the course…

…but then Millen came in too deep at the entrance to hairpin, which allowed JR to get inside of him and make the pass. Rhys of course followed this by intentionally bumping and spinning JR's car after the finish line. Even in drifting, rubbin' is racin'.

And so the excitement level was through the roof for the next run. Here we see JR has a significant lead at the initiation point.

Followed up with a super-aggressive entry into turn 10. By this point Millen would have to do something big to turn the tide.

Seconds later, Millen spins his car, smashing the rear end against the wall. JR had he earned the victory in the first Formula Drift event of the year, while Millen would be forced to push his car back to the pits, and settle for second place.

If the rest of the events this year are as exciting as Long Beach, it should be one hell of a season!

-Mike Garrett