Kevin Lawrence takes over the blog as he recaps how it all went down for him and the Enjuku Racing team at Formula Drift Seattle in Evergreen Speedway!!
“Thursday.
Thursday is a easy practice day for the Pro1 group as we don’t have to worry about qualifying till the following day so this gives us time to get in some vial practice laps and dial in our cars. Practice was running smooth and I was able to get in 5 laps in our first session, We opted to do a minor gear change to take out some wheel speed and get some grip in the car for the infield section. Practice session 2 went great and the gear change was exactly what I wanted but caused a bit of push in the front end. At that time we realized my front tires have been on the car for more than one round so first thing Friday was to get on a new set of fronts for practice. After the 8 laps on Thursday I was feeling comfortable just needed to work on my line a bit on the bank but figured the front-end push was most of my issue.
Friday.
After swapping on a new set of front tires I had 4 laps left allowed before I was up for qualifying. The new tires did help massively with my front end push issue, and I was able to get my line dialed in better than Thursday but was still struggling with keeping the high line on the bank all the way through but was ready for qualifying none the less. Now up to the line for my first qualifying pass I get the thumbs up to go and I’m off. Saw through the gears on run up and get into 4th as I break the tires loose and huck the car towards the wall and stab the throttle. I’m running a relatively high line but start to come down about 70% through the track. I throw angle to slow the car as I enter the touch and go and transition into the power alley wall. Tight on the first inner clip as well as the final after the transition and through the finish line. Judges awarded me a score of a 76 on that pass and I knew I could do better. Back up to the line for pass 2 and I knew I had to clean up my line on the bank if I wanted to gain a higher score. I enter again on the high line and persuade the car to stay on the higher line longer but still come up a bit short just before the end. I built up more speed on this run and pitched big angle going into the touch and go, This however was the demise of my run as the additional angle slowed me down too much and I didn’t make it into the the touch and go which threw off my lines flow going into the power alley. I exited the power alley rear zone late and was able to tighten up the rest of the course well but knew the miss on the touch and go would hinder some points. I did end up with a score of a 78 which bettered my first, I just wish I had gotten to that touch and go to get a score in the 80s to get me a higher qualifying spot. I ended up qualifying 23rd, which put me up against 10th place qualifier Dai Yoshihara for my top 32 battle.
Saturday.
Just before lunch is our time for tandem practice before the battles begin, I was able to get in 4 laps 2 lead and 2 follow runs to try and gauge my cars speed against the rest and feel out the track conditions. Car felt good but was still fighting to stay on the high line on the bank but I was making it work the best I could as it looked like others were having the same issue. Pulling up to the line I was to follow Dai in his Turbo V8 BRZ. We leave the line and initiate on the bank, my car was rather gripped up and had much more speed on the bank, which hindered my driving. I made a few corrections trying to mimic his line on the bank as I kept gaining proximity and when I would try and slow down a bit with some left foot brake the car would bobble and it showed massively. I gain composure after the touch and go and am able to reel him in and finish the course with great proximity. Switching positions now we leave the line and I enter on the bank, nearly immediately I pull a gap on him and continue to do so most of the bank, 80% through the bank I start feeling the car get greasy in the rear and knew it couldn’t be a good thing. I pitch the car big angle coming off the bank towards the touch and go to slow down and then realized that all my side bite was gone, I did all I could to keep the car going but unfortunately it was either rotate the car or go head on into the power alley wall. As the smoke cleared and Dai came to a screeching halt just a few feet from me, Thankfully he was able to see I was in trouble and was able to avoid the collision. My left rear tire ended up getting too hot from our battles and coming apart on the bank, which caused it to loose its grip. Dai was awarded the easy win due to my spin, which would end my driving for the weekend on one of my favorite tracks of the year.
Seattle was a learning experience and an eye opener for the team and I our new 3.2l RB engine ran beautifully, The car has more speed than ever before so now its just a matter of time before we are collecting wins and working our way to the podium. Thanks everyone for all their help and support, St. Louis is just a few weeks out and is a new track for everyone so it will be interesting to see how quickly all the teams can adapt and have their cars performing at the new location.
See you guys in St. Louis!”
Kevin is running Konig Dekagram in 17×9 et 25mm front and 18×9.5 et 25 rear. The Konig Dekagram is Flow Formed.
