Hit by Lightening at Wall Speedway

Thanks for the new hero cards Ed Bergenholtz!



Wall Speedway is one of the toughest track out of the 7 rounds of the Formula Drift Championship. With all the bumps and harsh transition exiting the 30 degree bank into the flat plane portion of the track the drivetrain on the vehicle takes quite a beating. I felt comfortable and confident in the Nitto Tire Mazda RX-8 with the NJ setup my crew chief Derek I. had prepared. We ended up qualifying 12th on Friday.

The rails on the bank ended up taking a big bite off the bash bars... They came into good use and didn't disrupt drift when riding the high line during qualifying.

Here is Kurt Gasper wrenching on the vehicle... Looking good!!! Thank you Team BR for all of your dedication and hard work!!

Towards the end of our practice session on Saturday we ended up on the follow lane with Vaughn Gitten Jr leading. It was looking good throughout the run until I had to avoid a wreck when Jr spun entering the first horse shoe. I had no option but to go off the track and hit the embankment which shocked the vehicle and damaged the driveline. Right then and there it felt like we got hit by lightening. We only had about 20 minutes or less to fix. The team didn't give up and had the car up on jack stands and replaced the whole rear end in no time.

I felt the passion, drive and the positive energy from the team that we will make it to the line for the top 32 battle. I was amazed to see something that was impossible possible. With the phenomenal team work we made it out to the grid and was ready to battle. But unfortunately from the practice session incident a different portion of the vehicle has also been fractured and couldn't plant down all the power. Aurima Bachis ended up moving on to the top 16.

Here is Brianna having a good time in the driver seat of the Nitto Tire Mazda RX-8. All though it was really hard to accept not advancing to the top 16 and on I wanted to make the most out of it by delivering happiness and fun to others. Mingling with the fans and sharing the joy of how it's like to be driving for Bergenholtz Racing is how I ended the day.

The team has faith and I know God will reward us with success for our unending passion to never give up! We will continue on to push hard and aiming to make the next 3 rounds count!