Formula D Round 2 Road Atlanta
Im starting to see the light at the end of this dark tunnel.
Formula D round 2 was the best event for the RS-R Scion/Toyo drift team. For the first time we were able to get past the top 16 with the car with minimum mechanical-related issues. In fact, the tC ran really strong all weekend. Just one thing went wrong. Power Steering. Yes, drifting can be quite hard (sometimes impossible for some) without steering assist. My steering rack blew out its seals because we added more steering. This same thing happened during our test session a few weeks back at Horse Thief but we thought it was because of the crash at Long Beach.
Thank god I had some practice in the tC without power steering. I was ready!
So during the practice session on thursday, I drove the car without power steering and found it to be much harder than I remember at Horse Thief. Why? Because the drift course at Road Atlanta is a side-brake entry as to where I was only clutch kicking at Horse Thief. Eventually I got it down and was able to drive it as if it had power steering. Of course, tandem was much harder because it was heavier to turn-in.
Friday, the clouds began to come in and showed signs of a thunder storm. I was happy =) Rain meant lighter steering and an equal playing field. 700hp V8 engines will mean nothing in the rain. But unfortunately, the rain didnt come and we started our practice session. The tC ran really well during practice and I felt confident going into qualify. I needed to qualify because I am ranked 33. (WTF?!)
So qualify begins.
Run 1: I SPIN!! =( ;sadlkfjaslkj WHY?! I didnt spin at all during practice and I spin on my first qualify run. I was terrified. This immediately put a million pounds of pressure on my shoulders.
Run 2: I took the run very cautiously and I guess the judges caught it. I didnt make any mistakes but it was too conservative. But i still qualified 17th (better than nothing i guess).
From here, it's all about tandem. So when practice began for the top 32, I only waited in the follow line.
Tandem practice went well and finished off the day with a practice run with my first competition, Takatori Michihiro.
Saturday morning looked cloudy. I thought we were doomed for rain. But then it never came (again!). Top 32 tandem was about to start and I was getting excited. I beat Takatori after a One-More-Time. Top 16 was against Tanner and his TRD Rockstar Scion tC.
Scion vs. Scion. But a V8 vs. a 4-banger turbo. Toyo Tires vs. Hankook. White vs. Japanese drifting. haha jk!
On the first run I was on the follow lap and I nearly stalled behind him on entry. However, when I lead, I could not stop the car fast enough as he hit my rear wheel and spun. I took the advantage and moved on (my bad Tanner! ).
For the Top 8, I was up against Ryan Tuerck. Again, on the follow lap, I made a mistake and slightly straightened out which probably gave the advantage to Ryan. He ended up moving on and I was unfortunately eliminated.
Overall, I am happy with the RS-R Scion/Toyo tC and the way it is progressing. Before Round 3 at Wall Stadium, we will test different spring rates and other alignment set-ups.
Bye bye.
Jose takes good pictures.
Formula D round 2 was the best event for the RS-R Scion/Toyo drift team. For the first time we were able to get past the top 16 with the car with minimum mechanical-related issues. In fact, the tC ran really strong all weekend. Just one thing went wrong. Power Steering. Yes, drifting can be quite hard (sometimes impossible for some) without steering assist. My steering rack blew out its seals because we added more steering. This same thing happened during our test session a few weeks back at Horse Thief but we thought it was because of the crash at Long Beach.
Thank god I had some practice in the tC without power steering. I was ready!
So during the practice session on thursday, I drove the car without power steering and found it to be much harder than I remember at Horse Thief. Why? Because the drift course at Road Atlanta is a side-brake entry as to where I was only clutch kicking at Horse Thief. Eventually I got it down and was able to drive it as if it had power steering. Of course, tandem was much harder because it was heavier to turn-in.
Friday, the clouds began to come in and showed signs of a thunder storm. I was happy =) Rain meant lighter steering and an equal playing field. 700hp V8 engines will mean nothing in the rain. But unfortunately, the rain didnt come and we started our practice session. The tC ran really well during practice and I felt confident going into qualify. I needed to qualify because I am ranked 33. (WTF?!)
So qualify begins.
Run 1: I SPIN!! =( ;sadlkfjaslkj WHY?! I didnt spin at all during practice and I spin on my first qualify run. I was terrified. This immediately put a million pounds of pressure on my shoulders.
Run 2: I took the run very cautiously and I guess the judges caught it. I didnt make any mistakes but it was too conservative. But i still qualified 17th (better than nothing i guess).
From here, it's all about tandem. So when practice began for the top 32, I only waited in the follow line.
Tandem practice went well and finished off the day with a practice run with my first competition, Takatori Michihiro.
Saturday morning looked cloudy. I thought we were doomed for rain. But then it never came (again!). Top 32 tandem was about to start and I was getting excited. I beat Takatori after a One-More-Time. Top 16 was against Tanner and his TRD Rockstar Scion tC.
Scion vs. Scion. But a V8 vs. a 4-banger turbo. Toyo Tires vs. Hankook. White vs. Japanese drifting. haha jk!
On the first run I was on the follow lap and I nearly stalled behind him on entry. However, when I lead, I could not stop the car fast enough as he hit my rear wheel and spun. I took the advantage and moved on (my bad Tanner! ).
For the Top 8, I was up against Ryan Tuerck. Again, on the follow lap, I made a mistake and slightly straightened out which probably gave the advantage to Ryan. He ended up moving on and I was unfortunately eliminated.
Overall, I am happy with the RS-R Scion/Toyo tC and the way it is progressing. Before Round 3 at Wall Stadium, we will test different spring rates and other alignment set-ups.
Bye bye.
Jose takes good pictures.
posted by K. Gushi at
19:34
2 Comments:
congrats ken!! and i'm sure it was nice to show scion that you can beat that one new guy on your team :)
Thank Benson!
The outcome might have been different if he didnt spin out. I knew I made a few mistakes behind him but who knows! I guess its good to have luck on my side eh? haha
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