Formula Drift Round 5

Here is our pit area and the team working hard in prepping the Nitto Tire Mazda RX-8 for the Thursday practice session. Because of the rain in the early afternoon the track was not at the greatest condition but it did help us figure out what type of changes was needed that best suit this track at Evergreen Speedway. We ended up taking the APR Spoiler off and exchanging it with the OEM Mazda spoiler.

On Friday before qualifying the vehicle felt better with the couple of adjustments my crew chief, Derek Ige made. I was able to ride the bank higher and felt stable throughout the course. For our first qualifying run we recheived 83.7 points and ended up 7th!

The bash bars played a big role in making it easier to ride the wall on the main bank of this high speed course. Having that cushion on the rear end helps keep the drift going without understeer.

We were matched up with Ken Gushi driving the RSR Scion TC for the Top 32 battle. On the lead lap our plan of attack was simply what the judges were looking for, running a qualifying lap. Hitting all the zones and clips with massive angle was what they requested during the driver's meeting. We did just that and it created a gap between the two of us.


I knew Ken's a great driver and had a fast car so our goal was to keep up with him as much as possible right beside his door. Wow, I was amazed how the Nitto Tire Mazda RX-8 was keeping up at ease. Ron and Ed Bergenholtz made a few Motec tune adjustments in the morning and it was perfectly what we needed to be competitive!

Off we go! On the straightaway I was side by side with Gushi by the entry of the bank we were side by side. Towards the end I noticed he was climbing higher on the bank and ended up tapping the wall. Right then I was prepared to avoid a possible wreck and we both made corrections from the wall tap. We ended up finishing the run and the judges decided for us to move on to the top 16.

Next up we were matched up w/ Drift Alliance member Ryan Tuerck driving the Red Bull Nitto Tire Camero. On our lead run Tuerck was right on us so Ed Bergenholtz on the radio told me to step it up on our follow lap. I did just that and noticed Tuerck running a bit wide exiting the bank which gave us the advantage until the last hairpin when I made a correction.

After the judges were reviewing the replay over and over again they gave the win to Tuerck. It was so close to an OMT but unfortunately not close enough...

All in all I'm so thankful to be living the dream driving for Bergenholtz Racing and to have the support from all of our loved ones, family, friends, sponsors....

I can't believe there are only two more rounds left in the Formula Drift season. Time is flying by this year! We got to make the last two rounds count and move on up on the points for the 2011 Formula Drift season!