We are officially two rounds into the 2021 Formula Drift season and so far Aurimas “Odi” Bakchis has jumped out to an early lead.

His position is due in part to his consistency. Odi claimed victory at round 1 in Atlanta and while he didn’t win round 2 in Orlando, he still managed to secure a 4th place finish which kept him at the top of the points standings.

Odi (center) posing with Matt Field (left) and Vaughn Gittin Jr (right).

Any long-time fan of Formula Drift should not be surprised by Odi’s current dominance. Ever since Odi entered the series back in 2011, he’s been a driver to watch and has remained a threat to the front of the pack.

Odi (front) battling teammate Matt Field (rear). Photo: Larry Chen

One of Odi’s biggest strengths is his analytical way of approaching competition. Unlike a driver such as Chelsea DeNofa or Jeff Jones, Odi doesn’t have a reputation for having an aggressive driving style. Instead, he surgically figures out his opponents be it the other drivers or the particular track he is running on and finds solutions.

We think that perhaps a large part of his way of thinking is due to the fact that Odi is a suspension expert. In fact, Odi has his own suspension company called Feal that he has been operating since the days before he became a Formula Drift driver.

Who is Odi Bakchis?

Born in Kaunas, Lithuania, Odi moved to California when he was 8 years old. Odi fell in love with motocross racing and that is why he started Feal suspension. His company started out producing suspension components for motorcycles. Mind blowing right?

When Odi graduated college he moved from motocross racing to rally racing and that is when he expanded his suspension business to cars as well as motorcycles.

In 2009, Odi tried out drifting for the first time and instantly got bit by the bug. A year later he had his Pro-Am license and in 2011 he was a Formula Drift Pro and won rookie of the year. He earned his first victory in 2015 and has been in the top 16 of driver’s standings every year since 2014. In 2019 he had back to back victories, and earned a win at the final round in 2020.

Odi Bakchis at Formula Drift Atlanta 2021. Photo: Larry Chen

When you look at the arc of his career he has only gotten better and found himself on the podium more often. Though, so far he has come short of winning the Formula Drift championship.

Will Odi Bakchis Win The Formula Drift 2021 Championship?

Could that finally change in 2021? Granted it is still early in the season, as we mentioned he already has one victory under his belt and he has driven consistently enough to stay on top of the driver’s standings; even if by a slim margin.

Considering that his closest competitors are his Falken Tire teammate Matt Field, Chelsea DeNofa, Justin Pawlak, and 2020 champion Vaughn Gittin Jr., being on top is an impressive feat.

Fredric Aasbo is an outside threat but he is dealing with a new platform in his Toyota GR Supra so the aforementioned drivers are the most likely to challenge Odi.

However, Odi had the chance to study all of his rivals very closely thus far. Furthermore, he brought on a second driver in the PROSPEC class.

Until now, Odi has been able to perform exceptionally well without a teammate. We can only imagine what he will be able to do with someone that he can share setup and track data with.

Could 2021 be Odi’s year to win the Formula Drift Championship? We think there is a strong chance that it is.

Will Odi Bakchis Win The 2021 Formula Drift Championship?