Round 5: Seattle, WA
Two things Seattle is famous for: rain and coffee. Last year's Formula D round at the Evergreen Speedway was run in the sopping wet. This time around, the weather held up and the fans didn't need caffeine to keep them awake, not with crashes and parts failures keeping everyone on their toes. For the drivers and mechanics with subpar performance, unlike Milli Vanilli, they couldn't blame it on the rain. Cheesy, lip-syncing references from the '80s aside, here's what went down in Seattle, straight from the horses' mouths.
Formula D President
Jim Liaw
Our guest diarist this month is Jim Liaw, President and co-founder of Formula D, whose mission is to spread the sideways gospel throughout the land. Mission accomplished? We'd say so.
I can't believe we're almost done with the sixth season of Formula D. Every year has had its challenges and 2009 has been no different. One of the biggest obstacles is the economy. How can FD provide a good show for the fans as well as provide a great return for sponsors and teams? I think we've answered that issue.
Formula D is one of the few, if not the only, motorsport series pulling in the same or more fan attendance than in its previous year. Baseball, basketball, hockey-even NASCAR-have all been down this year. This emerging sport called drifting is beating the odds, thanks to all the fans. So naysayers and pessimists: wake up! Drifting is here to stay.
As for this last round in Seattle, it was another awesome event. I love the Pacific Northwest and its scenery, and the drifting fans out there packed Evergreen Speedway. Thursday, we were at the track at 8 a.m. (we're always at the track early) to help the production team finish setting up. We parked displays while the teams hung up banners, laid fencing, marked the track, reviewed security and ticketing plans, etc. We opened the doors to fans on Friday and Saturday, and the Pro and Pro Am competitions were super-exciting all weekend long.
Friday was also practice and qualifying for the pro competitions, as well as the autograph session. Saturday was the main event and the JTuned Auto Gallery car show. Chris Forsberg won and is leading the championship chase and the Tire.com Triple Crown bonus prize.
This time of year is always exciting for me, as we have only two more rounds before crowning another FD champion. It's also exciting because, of the current Top 10 drivers, six of them have no traditional racing/driving experience, one of whom has a real shot at becoming champion. It seems so long ago when we saw a young, beardless Chris Forsberg come out from Pennsylvania with his SR20-powered 350Z, or found Ryan Tuerck sleeping in the parking lot of Soldier Field in his S13. We've come a long way, and there's a lot more in store from Formula D!
Dai Yoshihara
Daijiro Yoshihara is having a rough year in his new ride. After disappointing early knockouts in tandem battles, one might wish the Second-ranked Red Bull World Champion drifter scrap his IS and start afresh.
After the disappointing result in Vegas, I was fired up going into this Seattle round. In the practice session, I was doing well. Because there was understeer, my initiation wasn't stable, but overall, I qualified Fifth. Fifth Place is OK, but I always do well up to qualifying. The actual competition starts from there and I really wanted to go further. However, the nightmare became a reality.
During practice before the Top 32 competition, I hit the wall hard. I think I hit it going about 85 mph. I realized how bad the accident was when I got out of the car. The left front was gone and the front subframe was pushed right into the firewall. The IS was totaled . . . I was in despair. I wished it was a bad dream or something.
It was the worst accident I've ever had. However, I wasn't hurt. My neck was pretty sore, but that's it. I was protected by the Sparco five-point harness and the solid roll cage made by Scott at SPD. If those things hadn't been well constructed, I could have been seriously injured.
Right after the accident, I really didn't know what to say to my chief mechanic, Scott. I just killed his baby. But he didn't say much about the accident, he already started to talk about the next car for me, same as the other crew members.
I made a huge mistake. Thinking about how much money and time Team Falken Tire had put into the IS, I really don't know what to say other than an apology. It was the worst day ever. It's been the worst season for me. I was so bummed out the past couple of days. But it doesn't help anything, so I must move on.
Everyone's looking forward to the next round. I really, really appreciate how the team treats me. I must confront this difficult situation and figure out what I should do to rise out of it. I'll be one of the top-ranking drivers again in the near future. I'm so sorry, everyone.
Discount Tire
www.discounttire.com
Falken Tire
www.falkentire.com
KW Suspension
www.kw-suspension.com
Rhys Millen
What's going on with the former FD Champ? Props and all for the Pikes Peak triumph, but for someone ranked the best drifter in the world not to break into the Top 10 this year, well, it brings a tear to the eye.
Hot off a new world record at Pikes Peak Hill Climb and busting out a sweet video listed on YouTube called "Climb Attack", it was time to return to my favorite track for the Formula D series.
Evergreen Speedway has a high-speed, sustained, on-power drift that leads into a high-grip transition for the infield. I won there in the rain last year and was excited to get the Genesis out on track for a thrashing. With the Phase One RMR Lambda engine upgrade kit giving us some additional power, it was sure to be a tire-smoking fun time.
The Genesis coupe ran great all weekend, never skipped a beat and we had the highest radar speed in qualifying. The car is a treat to drive, we are making sick power from the 3.8-liter V-6, and we now have the steering dialed and working great. The event didn't go as planned-heck, the whole drifting year hasn't gone as planned-but we won't give up yet.
Red Bull
www.redbullusa.com
Hyundai
www.hyundaiusa.com
Rhys Millen
www.rhysmillen.com