Ryuji Miki
Like Tyler, the former D1GP champ in the A'PEXi RX-7 has been having a rough year; constant transmission failures have kept Ryuji far from the podium. After going off track in the Top 8 against Tanner Foust, Ryuji is in Vegas, hoping to get back on track.
Round 4 Las Vegas was a night event! Why? That is because during the daytime, temperatures will go over 100 degrees in Las Vegas, and I don't think vehicles or people are able to survive in such hot conditions.
I was able to drive "so-so" during Thursday night's practice. I wanted to run so badly during Friday's practice that I went way too fast and ended up hitting the tire barrier with the rear of the car so hard, it spun the car around and damaged the front section as well. The rear-suspension arm had serious damage and of course, both rear and front bumpers and the front fender shattered into pieces. With very hard work, the crew repaired the vehicle. I drove the vehicle at 50 percent power during practice on Saturday, to see how it would run after the crash. The vehicle was handling fine, but after driving it hard, I crashed into a wall with the rear of the car...again! And this time, it was the concrete wall! The car was still drivable, so I finished up practice and headed into the Top 16.
I babied the car through its first run, and the judges scored me an 80.33. I was shocked to hear when the official points were so low. That was the lowest score that I'd got in Formula D thus far. My second run had to be better, but since I hadn't been able to control the car well while drifting, I requested my crew lower the rear tire pressures, to give it some added grip. From the entrance of the first corner, I clutch kicked the car in Fourth gear.... But it didn't drift; pressure was a little too low, I guess.
I was not able to keep my position with the score I had received from the first run to qualify for the Top 16, and ended up with zero points. I felt terrible to put my team through this horrible situation. The rear of the vehicle is near-totaled, which requires professional frame damage repair...and it is entirely my fault! At the same time, I hope that the team understands that the balance of the vehicle was not perfect, and I believe that previous repairs made on the front end of the car from an old crash may have been the problem. The vehicle has been in competition for the past four years and it needs complete repair so that next time we can at least set it to the correct alignment specs, so I can drive it as I want.
A'pexi
www.apexi-usa.com
Nitto
www.nittotire.com
Mazda
www.mazda.com