Ryan Tuerck

Drift legend · USA

Tuerck mid-drift in the Rain-X Toyota GR Corolla at a Formula Drift round

Pro driving with garage curiosity.

The bridge between pro competition and builder internet: testing, unusual platforms, shop culture and cars with real personality.

Tuerck started in the Formula Drift Pro series in the late 2000s and joined Papadakis Racing for the 2014 season. He has driven for the team across the Scion FR-S, GT4586 (Ferrari-powered 86), and now the Toyota GR Corolla, usually the platform that has the most personality in the paddock that year.

The "Tuerck'd" YouTube channel made him the most-followed driver-builder on the platform. The format, drive the car, film the drive, explain the build, post the result, became a template for half a generation of pro-am drivers. The GT4586 (a Toyota 86 with a Ferrari V8) is the build that locked the persona in.

In 2024 Papadakis Racing put him in the Toyota GR Corolla, a turbocharged inline-three hatch nobody had drifted before. He took it to the FD podium. The platform pattern repeats: take the unusual car, build it properly, drive it cleanly, film the entire thing.

At a glance

  • Role: Driver-builder energy
  • Region: USA

Career highlights

  • 2014: Joins Papadakis Racing. Starts the Scion FR-S programme alongside Aasbo. Team partnership still running ten years on.
  • 2018: GT4586 reveal. Toyota 86 with a Ferrari 458 V8. The most-viewed builder-driver film of the year.
  • 2024: GR Corolla FD debut. First turbocharged inline-three to land on an FD podium. The platform pattern continues.

Signature cars

  • Toyota GR Corolla (2024 →)
  • Toyota GT4586 (2017, 2023)
  • Scion FR-S (2014, 2018)

Video

Source: Papadakis Racing