Ryuji Miki
The former D1 champ is struggling to dial in his ride for Formula D. After losing to Tanner in the first round at Long Beach, Ryuji Miki is back in Atlanta hoping for the Top Spot.
The practice session started as soon as I arrived from the airport. I had a good feeling after the practice runs, and it gave me confidence that I would be in the Top 16. The situation however started to go bad, as we had encountered transmission failure, which the team had to replace during the night. The second day was qualifying for race day, and since I was a seeded driver, it was another practice day for me. After re-setting the suspension, the condition of the car was getting better, but once again, transmission failure! The mechanics had to change the transmission again.
On race day, unfortunately, I only had two practice runs before entering the race. The transmission felt better than the day before. I had to qualify in the Top 16 in order to get points. First Round: First corner was cleared, in-field hairpin section was cleared, then up-shift to Third gear (very smooth shift) to enter the final corner. Since the rpm was low, I had to kick the clutch once, then, Third gear blew...again. Transmission failure. With little hope and a lot of motivation from the team, I attempted the second run without Third gear.
At the straight, First to Second to Fourth gear. My speed at the straightaway was very slow and I could not gauge the entering point for initial drift at the first corner. That lead to two tires being off-course and I could not maintain the "drift" at that point...finished.
If I was more conservative, I might have been able to keep my position in the Top 16, but I really wanted to run full force. Unfortunately, that led me to end with zero points and fall out from the seeded list of drivers. It is becoming more difficult for me to become Series Champion, but I really want to finish this season with a high rank, and I need to keep trying my best.
A'pexi
www.apexi-usa.com
Nitto
www.nittotire.com
Mazda
www.MAZDA.com