FORMULA D SEATTLE – ERIC”S DIARY
August 12, 2009 News, Uncategorized
Formula Drift Round 5 – Evergreen Speedway
Seattle was the destination for this round of the Formula D series and after the incredible heat of Las Vegas the almost ‘Irish’ climate of Monroe, Wa was very welcoming.
Thursday morning was spent setting up the Hankook Tire pit area, which gave me a chance to walk the track and figure out some lines for the transition off the massive 4th gear bank to the tricky second gear infield. The track surface appeared to be very old and pitted but as we would soon find out, incredibly abrasive.
The Rockstar Energy Drink / Hankook Tire Subaru Impreza had been improved once again and the new steering set up fabricated in house at Dynamic Autosports would prove to be the final piece of the jigsaw we needed to battle with the top guns of the series.
I learned the track quickly in first practice and after making some minor changes to the car and the tire pressure’s of the sticky Ventus RS3 tires I decided to watch from the stands and observe the competition.
Friday morning gave the drivers more practice followed by two runs of qualifying. Feeling more confident with car I ran a high line on the wall for my first qualifying run but missed second gear when down shifting on the infield. Losing my line I received a very low score and had it all to do in my second run.
Not wanting to push too hard and make another mistake I took a more conservative line on the bank and made sure to engage 2nd gear correctly on the infield to receive a score of 68.1, enough to place me in lucky 13th place by the end of the session.
Friday evening gave the top 32 drivers more track time and I used this to practice tandem runs, running behind as many different drivers as possible.
Race day began with an hour of open track time but this was cut short due to Dai Yoshihira having a big crash entering the first turn. It was easily the biggest accident I’ve seen at a drift event and we were all relieved to see Dai walking around the pits later on in one piece. I hope another car can be sourced for Dai to drive in Sonoma because the damage to the IS350 looked quite terminal.
My first battle in top 32 would be against Kenji Yamanaka driving the Drift Emporium V8 powered S15. Having practiced with Kenji on Friday I knew we were quite evenly matched so when I led on the first run I pushed as hard as possible and managed to put some distance between us.
When following, my incredible Hankook RS3 tires allowed me to close the gap on the bank and get inside Kenji in the ‘ Power Alley ‘ infield. Making a dive for the inside on the final turn must have impressed the judges enough to give me the vote and allow me to proceed to my first top 16 of the year.
After the opening ceremony I would line up beside Jodin LeJeune, another Drift Emporium driver but this time in a supercharged V8 powered G35 Nissan. Again, when leading I pushed hard and pulled a small gap on the Nissan. On the second run when following I gave Jodin some space on the bank and closed in on his door on the infield. Just enough to see me move on to the great 8.
For a place in the final 4 I would have to beat Tony Brakiohiapa in his Ford Mustang. Tony would lead on the first run and as soon as I initiated into the bank I found myself way too close to the door of the Mustang. Trying to hold back the Subaru I made myself spin out giving the advantage to Tony.
Run 2 and with it all to do I entered the bank as fast as possible, taking the highest line I could on the wall to make back some points. Keeping it clean on the infield was all I could do but Tony had made enough of a mistake on the bank behind me to make the judges call a ONE MORE TIME!
Tony led once again and I made sure to take care of business this time. Staying close on the bank I put myself in position for the infield on the door of the Mustang. Tony ran wide and I didn’t have to be asked twice, a clean pass gave me the advantage going into the second run.
I took off the line as fast as possible and attacked the bank, trying to make some space between us early on. A mistake free run was all I needed and that was that, I was into the final 4.
Into the semi final and I would line up against Vaughn Gitten Jr in the works Ford Mustang. JR has always been one of my favourite drivers to watch with his foot to the floor style and I was looking forward to this battle more than any of the others.
Before we ran JR spoke to me about some issues he was having with traction off the start line and as I was having similar problems we agreed that if when he led on the first run I found he wasn’t as fast as me to the first corner he would leave the line before me on the second run to compensate.
Run one with JR leading was tight, we were evenly matched on the bank and I was on his door entering the infield. Into the left turn and once again I had a problem with downshifting and missed 2nd gear, I lost my line slightly and JR finished that run with the advantage.
Second run and as predicted JR left the line before me, I grabbed second gear hard and tried my best to catch up but with the incredible noise of his V8 in my face I didn’t realise I was sitting on the rev limiter with a load of wheelspin. Into 3rd gear and trying my best to control traction, finally I got into 4th gear and initiated into the bank with the mustang still alongside tight on my passenger door.
Just as I balanced the car and floored the throttle I felt a nudge from JR that sent me into an almost slow motion like spin on the bank. Feeling the presence of the Mustang right behind me I kept the throttle mashed trying to get down into the grass away from the wall. Unfortunately we were just two committed to the turn and we hit hard, JR’s drivers door into the front of the Subaru which sent me into the wall backwards.
Instantly, I knew my day was over, I had to climb out the window since the door was jammed and into the waiting ambulance for a once over by the paramedics. After years of crashing off bikes something like this tends to feel quite tame so I was dropped off at the pit shortly after to the rest of the Dynamic crew. I was initially very mad at what had happened but after watching the footage and talking with JR I realized it was just one of those racing incidents that happens, especially when the aim of the game is to get as close as possible.
No hard feelings, JR has been an ambassador for the sport all over the world and I have a huge amount of respect for him and what he has achieved through drifting. Hopefully we can run together again sometime soon, I still think we would put on a great show for all the FD fans.
After all the madness of the accident I forgot all about my final placing, turns out since I was awarded the win in the semi final I was to face Chris Forsberg in the final. Obviously without a car I couldn’t run but I would get second place by default, I couldn’t believe it! The whole team walked proud to the podium where the trophy ceremony took place. Still in a state of shock, I received my carbon trophy, giant novelty cheque and got drenched in champagne, the only way to end a tough weekend at the track.
Round 6 of the series takes place at Infineon Raceway on the 22nd of August leaving us with only one week to repair the car. I have complete confidence in the crew at Dynamic Autosports, I’ll be staying with them to help achieve the impossible
and get the Rockstar Energy Drink / Hankook Tire Subaru battle ready for Sonoma next week !.
