Kevin Lawrence on FDORL ’18!!!!

Kevin Lawrence on FDORL ’18!!!!

Posted on by Konig Gfx

Kevin Lawrence takes time and gives us his experience at Formula Drift Orlando! With a such a busy schedule this year, we are always super excited to hear how it went down and what he has in-store for us this 2018 season…

“Hey Everyone! Kevin here again with my recap of Formula D Orlando.

After a bumpy start to the season with having to run our R32 demo car for the season opener in Long Beach. We rushed back to Florida and got to work on getting the S14 back together and ready for OSW. We were able to get the engine that seized before long beach back together and back in the car which meant another quick trip to see my tuner Martin from RS Enthalpy on Monday before the event. Thankfully we had a quick easy session on the dyno with the car putting down around 850whp we were ready for Orlando.

Thursday Practice

Thursday I got in about 6 laps at the track, this being my first time driving the car with the new tire brand, tire size, and much more power I was able to put down a few runs more so to just shake the car down. But over all, the car did great for its first passes since last September in Pro2 TX.

Friday

Friday morning started with a gear change in the car to take out some excessive wheel speed the car had and to dial in more car speed. I was able to put together some clean runs before it was time for qualifying. My first pass for qualifying I scored a 77 with a nice and easy pass just doing what I could with the minimal amount of time I had in the car. Going into my second run I wanted to push a bit harder for a higher score but also not being 100% settled it in the car yet I ended up dialing it back just before I entered causing some wavering on the bank which ended up resulting in me scoring a 76 on my second pass.

After the Friday drivers meeting it was confirmed that my first battle would be Odi Bakchis which I was stoked for.

Saturday

After getting only another 4-5 runs in during practice before the top 32 battles it was time for me to pull to the line. Odi being the higher qualifier was up to lead first. Odi is known for being extremely fast so I knew not to give him an inch on the run up, However this ending up messing me up in the end. On the run up I was overly aggressive behind him and didn’t give myself much room behind him to set the car properly on initiation. I choked up after initiation on the bank and wavered a bit which immediately pushed me to a lower line on the bank. I did everything I could to gain proximity to him as well as keeping my run as tidy as possible but going into the second battle I knew he had the edge over me. Now in the lead position I gave it my all and put the car high on the bank and ran the best pass I had done all weekend. I kept the car super high on the bank bumping the wall once or twice as we went around and checked off all my marks on the clipping points before passing the finish. This was the line/pass I should have been doing all weekend but with no prior testing to get acclimated to the car it just came to be a bit late unfortunately. After a few minutes from the judges they came back with awarding Odi the win where he would advance on to the top 16.

All in all the weekend went off great, first time in the car I learned so much. No major problems with the car all weekend and for once I could say I left Orlando with my rear bumper 100% intact haha. Huge thanks again to the crew for all their hard work and enduring the heat of Orlando and helping keep the myself and the car cool. Also, many thanks to my sponsors, friends and fans. You all are the reason I’m out here doing this and with out the love and support, who knows where I would be haha.

Thank you everyone!”

-Kevin

Kevin is running Konig Dekagram in 17×9 et 25mm front and 18×9.5 et 25 rear. The Konig Dekagram is Flow Formed.

2018 Konig Formula Drift Drivers

Posted on by Konig Gfx

Getting to know 2018 Konig Supported Formula Drift Drivers

The 2018 Formula Drift Season is in full effect with the Streets of Long Beach just behind us and Orlando approaching this weekend. We thought we’d take a few minutes and give you a quick rundown of our 2018 FD drivers and telling you what wheels and fitment they’re running. Check them out, show them love, and remember to follow their journey this season here! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kevin Lawrence – Formula Drift (RB30DET powered Nissan S14.3)

Kevin Lawrence hails from Florida and has been drifting Nissan cars as long as we can remember. He took home the 2015 Three Palms Drift Championship and has never looked back in his drifting career. His reliable RB30DET powered Nissan 240sx helped him drift his way to the Pro 2 championship last season. An amazing victory at Texas Motor Speedway with all the pressure in the world on his shoulders allowed him to become Pro 2 championship by the thinnest margin in Formula Drift history of just two points.

Kevin Lawrence and the Enjuku Racing team are clear favorites for the 2018 Formula Drift Rookie of the Year award in the pro series. Kevin also is heavily involved in the drifting community in Florida and tours the country with his demo R32 Nissan Skyline to events like Hyperfest in Virginia.

Kevin is running Konig Dekagram in 17×9 et 25mm front and 18×9.5 et 25 rear. The Konig Dekagram is Flow Formed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Matt Vankirk (SR20DET powered Nissan 240sx)

Matt VanKirk comes to you from the Northwest where the drift scene is strong! He really has become known for his aggressive driving style and his 3rd place, podium finish in Formula Drift Pro 2 last year. This year he is now stepping it up a notch as he competes in Formula Drift Pro! We’re excited to watch MVK try and earn that FD Rookie of the Year award! 

Matt is running Konig Hypergrams in 18×9.5 et 25mm front and 18×10.5 et 25 rear in Race Bronze. The Konig Hypergram is Flow Formed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ryan Litteral – Formula Drift & Pro 2 (LS3 powered Nissan 350z)

Ryan Litteral is a driver famous for having a drift vehicle with top class style over the years. Ryan comes from Southern California and has been drifting for 12 years now. He earned his license with his black S14 in the Just Drift series back in 2013. His last appearance in Pro 2 was in 2016 where he finished a solid 6th  place running his own program.

For the 2018 season he has teamed up with KoruWorks in Marietta, Georgia to campaign an LS3 powered Nissan 350z. The team will attend all four rounds that have a Pro/Pro 2 weekend and they will do double duty trying to sweep the Formula Drift weekend with a victory at both levels. You can also catch his YouTube series called IT’S LITT! Documenting his demo car 240sx build.

Ryan is running Konig Ampliform in 18×9 et 15mm front and 18×10 et 20mm rear in DARK METALLIC GRAPHITE. The Konig Ampliform is Flow Formed.

 

Geoff Donati

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Geoff Donati – Formula Drift Pro 2 (LS3 powered Nissan 240sx)

Geoff Donati hails from a small town in Ohio and once he discovered drifting he wasted no time heading out to the track to give it a shot. His first full season of Pro-Am soon followed at the Midwest Drift Union in 2016 and where he fell just short of earning a license when the year ended by one point! Geoff went right back to MDU for the 2017 season and managed to win almost every round that year and became champion of the series with ease.

Geoff Donati dominates his competitors with consistency and some have even compared him to a young Chris Forsberg. He seems incapable of making a mistake at times behind the wheel and looks to carry that ice in the veins approach into Pro 2 for 2018

Geoff is running Konig Hypergrams in 18×9.5 et 25mm front and 17×8 et 40mm rear. The Konig Hypergram is Flow Formed.

 

Travis Reeder Konig Ultraform

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Travis Reeder – Formula Drift Pro 2 (LS3 powered Nissan 240sx)

Travis Reeder is a drifter from the Pacific Northwest who cut his teeth in the Evergreen Drift series. Travis dominated the 2016 season in the Evergreen Drift Pro Am easily becoming the champion of this regional Pro Am series. He made his Pro 2 debut last season and managed to earn Rookie of the Year for his amazing efforts behind the wheel in his 240sx. In fact, he was basically announced champion at Texas Motor Speedway and could only mathematically lose if Kevin Lawrence qualified first and then won the event. Sadly, that happened and he finished the season in second place by the smallest margin in Formula Drift history after some amazing drifting all year.

Travis Reeder caught the world’s attention when he won Road Atlanta last year and took a commanding early lead in the Pro 2 championship. He has committed to the Pro 2 season again for 2018 and is determined to win the championship at all costs.

Travis is running Konig Ultraforms in 17×9 et 25mm front and 18×9 et 25mm rear. The Konig Ultraforms is Flow Formed.

 

Kelsey Rowlings Konig Hypergram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kelsey Rowlings (5.0L Coyote powered Nissan 240sx)

Kelsey Rowlings earned her Pro 2 license in the Three Palms Drift series down in Florida and became the first-ever female to earn a Pro 2 license through the Pro-Am drift promotion ladder. Kelsey was one of the few drifters who traveled in the younger part of her career and she managed to also compete in the Streetwise Drift, Lone Star Drift, and XDC series before stepping into the Pro 2 stage.

Kelsey’s engine package makes her one of the most unique car setups on grid in 2018. Instead of the traditional LS-engine setup, her team has picked the 5.0L engine out of a new Mustang GT to power her 240sx. Kelsey returns to the Pro 2 series in 2018 looking to outperform last season.

Kelsey is running Konig Hypergrams in 17×9 et 25mm front and 18×9.5 et 25mm rear. The Konig Hypergram is Flow Formed.

 

Garrett Denton Konig Dekagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Garrett Denton (2JZ powered Nissan 240sx)

Garrett Denton is one of the most unique racers in the Pro 2 field today. At the age of 14, Garrett was the youngest driver to win a sanctioned NASCAR event race in North America. His love of driving and racing started as early as 5 years old and he has been behind the wheel ever since. Garrett also came from the Midwest Drift Union series where he finished in second place in 2017 and took plans to run in the Pro 2 series.

His Pro 2 campaign involves a crew full of University of Northwest Ohio graduates where he also attended college earning an in dual Associates Degree in High-Performance Motorsports Technology and Automotive Technology. Garrett will be taking to the Pro 2 circuit with a 2JZ powered Nissan 240sx with support from Koruworks to help him make a run for the championship.  

Garrett is running Konig Dekagram in 17×9 et 25mm front and 18×9.5 et 25mm rear. The Konig Dekagram is Flow Formed.

 

Alec Robbins Konig Hypergram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Alec Robbins (LS powered Nissan 350z)

Alec Robbins is a unique individual who famously ran a slammed pickup truck drift build with an LSX engine in the Pro-Am ranks. Alec Robbins saw success as the 2016 Midwest Drift Union champion and made his rookie year debut in 2017 in the Koruworks 350z for some Pro 2 rounds.

Looking forward to the 2018 Pro 2 season, Alec Robbins has built his own 350z with a LS engine making 550/560 to the wheels. This should be a great setup to keep up with the competition at all four rounds of the Formula Drift Pro 2 series.

Alec is running Konig Hypergrams in 17×9 et 25mm front and 18×9.5 et 25 rear in RED OPAL. The Konig Hypergram is Flow Formed.

 

Adam Knapik Rennform

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Adam Knapik (LS powered Nissan 240sx)

Adam Knapik hails from Southern California and earned his Pro 2 license through the Just Drift Pro-Am series. In 2016, he managed to take home the Just Drift Championship and has been working to improve his LS-powered Nissan 240sx ever since. His day job is a Porsche driving instructor giving him endless amounts of time behind the wheel of racecars. Moving into the 2018 Pro 2 season we cannot wait to see what Knapik Racing has put together to go out and compete with the big boys of Pro 2.

Adam is running Konig Rennforms in 18×9 et 23 all the way around. The Konig Rennforms is Flow Formed.

 

Donovan Brockway e30 beast

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Donovan Brockway (LS powered 2014 BMW 2-Series)

While Donovan Brockway has opted to take the 2018 season off he is still a part of the Konig Wheels Drift team. His 2018 season off is allowing him to put a new “BeastMW” together that starts with an F22 BMW 2-series chassis that will have a full HGK carbon/Kevlar widebody kit and one big RHS 427 race engine. We know Donovan will be missed on the paddock this year but we cannot wait to follow his build progress and see it debut on Konig Wheels in the 2019 Pro 2 season.

Donovan is currently running Konig Rennforms in 18×8 et 35mm front and 18×9 et 35 rear on his 1000hp e30. The Konig Rennforms is Flow Formed.
ampliform

However on the F22 he will be running the Konig Ampliform’s! Make sure to stay tuned to his build!

Kevin Lawrence smokes out Hoonigan Donut Garage

Posted on by KONIG

Konig Sponsored, Formula Drift Pro2 Driver and 2017 Formula Drift Pro 2 CHAMPION Kevin Lawrence dropped by the Hoonigan Donut Garage to cause a blackout. He took a perfectly good set of Hankook Tires and well…Tire smoke for days…check it out!

Top 5 Finish for Kevin Lawrence!

Posted on by Konig Gfx

**** GUEST BLOG – BY KEVIN LAWRENCE****

FORMULA DRIFT SEATTLE – PRO 2 Round 3 | August 4th and 5th

Whats up guys! Im back with my FD Seattle Recap for your reading pleasure.

Seattle!

After a long 4day drive from Florida I finally arrived to Seattle with my crew guy Justin. A quick stop by the track on Wednesday to drop the trailer off and take a track walk reminded me just how awesome this track was. I have not been to this track in 2 years since the last pro2 stop there in 2015. My last time out there I had some car troubles that prevented me from qualifying so redemption is what I was here for!

Thursday the whole crew arrived at the track early for pit setup and a quick once over on both my and Nate’s cars. After bolt checks and drivers meetings it was time to get behind the wheel. Seattle is a very fast track from the beginning but slows down quite a bit once the cars come off the main wall. First set of tires out was a feeler to get me into the groove of driving again since our last competition was about 3 months prior in Atlanta, We did have some days of car setup and testing but nothing really gets a driver in the proper mindset like the actual comp/qualifying days. Second set of tires now on the car and it was time to get the high line on the bank figured out. This is a rather intimidating thing as our entry speeds into the first turn are in the high 70s to lower 80s mph. I didnt quite get the line figured out on the 2nd set so 3rd set I decided to bump into my old friend the wall out there with the rear bumper just so I it knew I was back and town. Once I got the car up there and bumped the wall it was like a the flip of a switch and now I was in the groove on the high line and everything was coming together on the rest of the course in the second practice.

Qualifying.

Befrore the first pass out the team and I noticed the track temps had cooled down a bit and that eant the car was going to have a bit more bite in it which may make it harder to keep the rear up on the wall. We made some adjustments to slightly loosen up the car some and im glad we did! First pass out netted me a score of a 82! Going into the second pass we again made a bit of adjustment to the car to loosen it up a bit as the track was still cooling down as the sun was setting. My second pass out I was looking to better my score and it wasnt as clean as a pass as I wanted it to be I did better my score with an 83! After the rest of the field had made their second pass we were called to a drivers breifing to go over the official results. I landed a 5th place qualifying position putting me up against Danny George again in the top 16. Danny and I had ran against each other in Orlando where I took the win so I was ready for battle again!

Battles!

My first battle in Seattle was Danny George I was the higher qualifier so I was up to lead first. The track after practice had gripped up a bunch and unlike when it was time for qualifying the amount of grip we took out of the just wasnt enough. I wasnt able to get the tires spinning as much as I wanted on the run up to do the flick entry I had been doing before. So my entry was quite slow to angle and I was fighting the cars grip to keep it high on the bank but I did end up coming down early. From the start im not sure what happened with Danny if he didnt see the lights go out or what but I he had slept quite a bit on the line which gave me a very large lead gap on this run that he wasnt able to make up fully before the finish line. Going into my follow Danny got a gap on me on the entry that I was forced to take a shallower line on the bank to make up the distance. Closing the gap by the touch and go and really reeling him in just before the first inside clip, He made the mistake of going a bit wide on that first inside clip which ended up choking him off for the second inside clip. With no real room for him to get the car to transition around the second clip he had a moment of driving straight just as he passed the clip right before I made some slight contact with his rear bumper pushing him a bit just before the finish line. After a few mins of the judges reviewing the footage i was deemed the winner of the battle and advanced into the Top 8 where I would be up against Matt Vankirk.

This time Matt was the higher qualifier so I was due to follow first. We entered in high on the bank and I made the mistake of getting on the foot brake just a bit to much to keep the car higher on the bank for this pass which ended up giving Matt a chance to make some ground on me. I kept he car high on the bank behind him and did my best to make up the ground as well as I could. Going into the first front clip I attacked to make some ground and went a bit agressive and too shallow of a line and took out the first enter clip before making the final transition and finishing off the run. Now back at the start line it was me to lead and I knew I had to make this one count with my mistakes in the follow position. I entered high on the bank and stayed there Matt this time ended up with a bit of a lower line but good proximity to me. I filled the touch and go as well as the second outter zone and had a fast and tight line at the first front clip. Matt at this time did nearly a similar mistake to mine and went in a bit too agressive and bumped the inner clip just as I had one. I kept as much speed through the first clip as I could to finish the run out strong but ended up over throwing the transition causing me to nearly spin the car completely forcing me to pretty much “crab walk” the car through the finish line in hopes that it would be a full pull on the run. After a just a moment of consideration the Judges deemed my mistake on the lead run at the finish line was enough for me to hand Matt the win. Matt would later go on to the top of the podium with a first place finish here in Seattle at his home track.

All in all Seattle was a absoulte blast of the team and I, We were able to come back and over come our previous years bad luck of not qualifying and take home a 5th place finish!

I again want to thank everyone apart of the team for all of their hard work and efforts put into our program. By the current points standings things are looking good for me moving up to the Pro1 ranks next season and I honestly wouldnt be here with out everyones support. Texas is just a few weeks away so with a quick once over of the car we will be ready for battle in Texas with high hopes of a strong finish and moving up a few ranks in the series!

Thanks!
-Kevin

Kevin is running Konig Hypergrams in 17×9 et 25mm front and 18×9.5 et 25 rear. The Konig Hypergram is Flow Formed.
Make sure to follow Kevin Lawrence on INSTAGRAM!

The Konig team is ready for Formula Drift Round 6!

Posted on by Konig Gfx

FORMULA DRIFT SEATTLE, WASHINGTON – Round 6 | August 4th & 5th
As Formula Drift descends on Seattle, WA this weekend for round 6 (round 3 of pro2), Konig sponsored drivers from all over the country are making their way to the city of coffee and rain. Hopefully it wont rain this weekend because we’re excited to see what will be served up at Evergreen Speedway. With this season only a few events from the end, we thought we would give you a quick rundown of some of our FD drivers.

THE KONIG FORMULA DRIFT TEAM


Nate Hamilton has returned back to FD Pro and has really shown his skills and maturity in the sport. This season as proven to be almost a graduate course for Nate. He has had more top 16 finishes this season then in his entire career. It just seems that Nate gets better and better at each event. That has shown through his confident and aggressive driving. Currently in 16th place the last two events this season are going to be defining for Hamilton. Of course it will be his best professional season in Formula Drift but it will also be an incredible benchmark in his professional drifting career. We’re super proud of Nate and are excited to be part of his program. Go get’em Nate!

Nate is running Konig Hypergrams in 17×9 et 25mm front and 18×9.5 et 25 rear. The Konig Hypergram is Flow Formed.


Kevin Lawrence is for sure a rising star in the Formula Drift series. With his most recent win at FD Orlando, Kevin and the Enjuku Racing team are pushing for another “W” in Seattle and are chasing that championship. Kevin is an extremely knowledgable and all around great person. He is the definition of a true enthusiast not to mention has one of the coolest cars in FD pro2 with his right hand drive RB25 powered S14. Kevin is making that journey across the country and looks nothing less than ready and prepared to come out on top! Kevin is currently in 5th place.

Kevin is running Konig Hypergrams in 17×9 et 25mm front and 18×9.5 et 25 rear. The Konig Hypergram is Flow Formed.


Travis Reeder is a 100% the one to beat on the PRO 2 track! The battle for the series at this point could be a face off between two Konig sponsored drivers, Reeder and Lawrence. Travis placed 2nd in Orlando to Kevin Lawrence but took the win in Atlanta. He is currently in 1st place in the pro 2 rankings. Travis and his 240SX are on Konig Ultraforms and are coming into Seattle armed and ready to take out the competition!

Travis is running Konig Ultraforms in 17×9 et 25mm front and 18×9 et 25 rear. The Konig Ultraforms is Flow Formed.


Kelsey Rowlings is an exciting driver to watch and definitely ready to show the field what she’s made of. Kelsey’s driving style is super agressive which makes her the one you can’t keep your eyes off. She’s struggled a bit the first half of the season but not due to lack of effort or skill. Seattle could really be an exciting breakout event for her. Its refreshing seeing a women driver in professional drifting but be very clear, Kelsey is as solid of a professional drift driver as anyone in pro 2. Make sure to keep your eyes on her, because she really is an incredible driver!

Kelsey is running Konig Hypergrams in 17×9 et 25mm front and 18×9.5 et 25 rear. The Konig Hypergram is Flow Formed.


Donovan Brockway and the Red Baron team are like no other! His turbo E30 BMW, nicknamed “theBeast”, throws more smoke than you can imagine and the platform is one of the sickest in FD. Brockway is another one of those extremely aggressive drivers. They have been working out the kinks the first half but its looking better and better every event. When they put it all together Donovan is going to pop in to action in a major way! Follow Donovan and the Red Baron team as they prepare to move up on the rankings in this round of Formula Drift Pro 2!

Donovan is running Konig Rennforms in 18×8 et 35mm front and 18×9 et 35 rear. The Konig Rennforms is Flow Formed.


Alec Robbins and the Koruworks team are getting the 350Z on Konig Hypergrams ready for the FD Seattle! If you follow pro-am drifting last year and a bunch of grassroots drifting events you will know this dude can drive. Pairing him with one of the coolest shops on the East Coast (Koruworks) is a killer combo. Alec is currently in 15th place and is looking to show the field whats up! Unfortunately he wont be driving in Seattle due to mechanical issues, however look for him at Gridlife and back at FD Texas.

Alec is running Konig Hypergrams in 17×9 et 25mm front and 18×9.5 et 25 rear in BRONZE. The Konig Hypergram is Flow Formed.


Adam Knapik had a rough start to the Formula Drift season. It seemed like anything that could go wrong…well…went wrong for Adam. Blown engine, crazy electrical problems, etc, etc. So this round is definitely one of redemption for Adam and his team! Gearing up the V8 powered 240SX on Konig Rennforms, stay tuned and be ready to see Knapik lace up the track this time around!

Adam is running Konig Rennforms in 18×9 et 23 all the way around. The Konig Rennforms is Flow Formed.


Matt Vankirk is now part of the Konig family and we are super excited to have him. With a ranking of #4 on the PRO 2 board with 105pts, which is only 2 points away from 2nd place, it’s obvious Matt and his team are aiming for the top spot! MVK took second place at FD Atlanta right behind Travis Reeder. Who knows how that battle would have ended up as a mechanical issue forced MVK to shut the car down just as he entered into the first battle between him and Reeder. This event will be a test to see if MVK, Lawrence or Reeder will be the top Konig sponsored Pro 2 driver. Super exciting! Be sure to check out Matt’s 240sx on Konig Hypergrams!

Matt is running Konig Hypergrams in 17×9 et 25mm front and 18×9.5 et 25 rear. The Konig Hypergram is Flow Formed.

Sometimes Champions Struggle

Posted on by Konig Gfx

Kevin Lawrence is a real champion. Not because of his win at Formula Drift Orlando in Pro II. Certainly not because of the struggles he encountered at FD Atlanta. Kevin Lawrence is a champion because no matter what happens, he pushes past it with class, dignity and the attitude that real champions have. Lawrence struggled at Road Atlanta and missed qualifying. The car had some significant setup changes that happened after Orlando, he had limited practice seat time and flat out had a few technical difficulties. Thats racing folks! Sometimes you win, other times you get kicked in the teeth and are forced to drink massive amounts of alcohol. But that doesn’t stop his love for the sport or the fact that when pro 2 returns to the west coast, Lawrence will be there showing them what champions look like and exactly what they do!

Kevin Lawrence now takes over our blog to recap his experience at FD Atlanta….

**** GUEST BLOG – BY KEVIN LAWRENCE****

FORMULA DRIFT ATLANTA – PRO 2 Round 3

Photos by: Corey Denomy / Video by: Corey Denomy / Enjuku Racing

FD Atlanta was a tough one for sure, We showed up with a few changes to the car since our win in Orlando which were great changes for the better but with out proper testing of the new setup I had trouble figuring the car out. Biggest change was we were on the New Hankook RS4 tire for Atlanta after being on their Ventus V12 tire in Orlando. The V12 is a great street tire but was quite slick in Orlando for competition so jumping to the new RS4 tire in Atlanta was a huge change.


First practice I had enough time for 3 laps on track, immediately on the first lap I could tell the car was going to drive completely different. On the entry when I went to pull the hand brake for Turn 1 I was surpised to find out how grippy the new tires were as I was not even able to lock the rear wheels with the hand brake. We made some adjustments to tire pressure, shocks, and final drive gear change and got the hand brake to cooperate but the amount of grip the car had I was still struggling with getting the tires to spin in 4th gear for the exit of the course.


Second practice we went in with another gear change in the rear end and this seemed to be our ideal gear selection / wheel speed combo. However I was still struggling with getting the first turn figured out and getting the car to float enough off throttle and have the car settled just right to power through the first clip. After our mere 3 runs in the second practice it was time to be thrown to the wolves and make an attempt to qualify.


Qualifying order had me going dead last as after my first place win in Orlando put me in the points lead going into Atlanta. This is a blessing and a curse as its really awesome to be able to watch how the field does before my runs but at the same time the gap from my last practice run to my first qualifying attempt is quite some time when there is around 30 drivers taking their turn to qualify. First run out I didn’t expect the track to cool down as much as it did so I attempted to enter how I had been doing in my second practice session. With the drastic temp change to the track the grip levels had spiked up again and me not being ready for it after the hand brake initiation trying to get the car setup for the first turn was met with a huge amount of grip that swung the front end of the car back forward and caused me to understeer off the edge of the track. Frustrated with my self and the outcome I shut down my lap attempt and returned to the top of the hill to clear my head and get ready for the second attempt. After the field had all taken their second qualifying runs I was last up to bat at my qualifying attempt. Now knowing the grip levels of the track I chucked the car into the first turn way more aggressive than I had been doing all day. Finally the car got settled properly and was heading in the proper direction for the first clip. However just as I got to the front clip and go to drop the hammer and get back on throttle I’m met with the sound of my car hitting the limiter but the wheels were not spinning. Yet again my car has decided to knock itself out of gear but this time at the worst time imaginable. I hammered the shifter now as hard as i could to get it now into 3rd and complete the pass for a score but the time the car wasn’t making any movement from being in neutral was long enough to net me with my second 0 score and ending my weekend in Atlanta.

I want to give a huge shout out to the team at this round they jumped under the car multiple times to make the changes needed to help me get the car and myself figured out. Unfortunately our transmission issue is still haunting us but we have now removed the transmission to have it throughly tested on a transmission dyno to see if we can figure out if the issue is possibly a bent internal main shaft or possibly something else internally out that we just cant see with the naked eye. We will get a bunch of practice in the break between the next round and will have the car dialed and ready for Seattle!

Kevin Lawrence Takes Win at Formula Drift Orlando!

Posted on by Konig Gfx

This past weekend Kevin Lawrence took home the win at Formula Drift Orlando in the Pro 2 series. It was even more exciting knowing that Kevin was able to secure the win at his home track and in front of so many friends. Kevin runs through his experience in the latest edition of the KONIG GUEST BLOG!

**** GUEST BLOG – BY KEVIN LAWRENCE ****

FORMULA DRIFT ORLANDO – PRO 2 Round 1

Photos by: Corey Denomy / Video by: Corey Denomy / Enjuku Racing

Thursday.

After a brief season opener drivers meeting it was time for the first Pro2 practice of the season.  I took a few chase runs in this practice to see how the car would hold up against the field and after a few runs knew that the crazy hot track temps were hindering my grip levels, so we made a few changes to the car before going out to second practice.
Second practice I used to get more lead runs and dial in my line for qualifying. The changes made to the car helped gain some grip into the car and I felt good going into qualifying.



First run I took a mild approach to the wall as to not over do it and make sure I put down a score. Judges ruled that first pass to be an 80 so I was going to push a bit harder on the second pass. Second pass started off better on the bank but after the transition in the infield my transmission started showing its evil side of falling out of 4th gear, which was an issue last season for me that we thought we had figured out.  Either way the gear popping out tossed me off line and I ended up plowing through the second front clip thus not bettering my first score of an 80. But after all the cars had made their passes my 80 point first run was high enough to earn me the 4th place qualifier in the season opener on the first day at the track. 



Friday.

  Top 16 practice I went out with the intention to get as many follow runs as I could to again judge the cars grip level compared to the rest of the field.

First run out the car falls out of 4th gear upon initiation but luckily not sending me off into the wall. Thinking this had to just be a fluke and there is no way the car could do this again I went out to take a second pass. This time nervous of the car having the issue again I attempted to run a lower line on the bank just in case, Sure enough again just after initiation the car was banging off the limiter in neutral. Frustrated at this the team and I decided to try and swap the rear end gear in the car to make an attempt to find an ideal wheel speed for the car to run in 3rd gear the entire lap.



There was only enough time left in the practice session to get 2 more passes before our opening ceremony and after those 2 runs I could tell the gear change wasn’t 100% ideal for what we needed and seemed to slow my car down even more unfortunately. But being nervous to make another change and then jumping into my first battle I decided to leave it as is and run it for competition.

Top 16 

  My first battle was up against former Pro1 driver Danny George. After Danny had a pretty hard hit in practice, him and his team were able to scramble together and get his car out to the line just moments before it was time for our battle. Me being the higher qualifying driver was up to lead first, I left the gate with my best attempt to get the car up to as much speed as possible before initiating on the bank and making an effort to run a solid 100+ point lead run. During my lead run Danny had some issues mid bank and had some big corrections from what I assume to be issues with the car from his recent wreck in practice. 

  Switching positions it was my turn to chase. I tried to get a early advance through the start lights and as I started rolling, I hesitated to continue right as Danny started through the chicane and blew past me on the run up. I did my best to catch back up to him on the run up before initiating but he had built up way more speed than me from my hesitation. Danny ran a pretty low line on the bank thus creating a big gap on me through out the run. But after the Judges review they deemed his mistakes behind my lead run were more of a deduction than my low proximity to Danny which gave me the win and advancement into the great 8 up against Dirk Stratton.

 Great 8.
  Again with the higher qualifying score I was up to lead Dirk Stratton first. His car is insanely fast in drift and he had been running an amazing line all weekend on track. As the start lights dropped I left the start to try and get to the bank with as much speed as possible. As I left the gate I had a flash back to last year of my wreck in the great 8 on my lead run taking myself out of competition and as I got to the initiation point of the track I hesitated a second to initiate and almost had a late initiation onto the bank. I ran the same high line I did in front of Danny on the bank with big angle and tight proximity through the front clips and completed the run. Dirk had taken a bit of a shallower line that I to keep proximity with me but ultimately he came off the banks wall earlier than I had and choked him self up some behind me trying to take a early dive at the first front clip. This looked to have caused him to have to check back for a second to clear hitting the first front clip giving me a bit of a gap on him through the transition that he later made ground on before the end of the final turn.

 Me now in the follow position again knowing the speed Dirks car has I gave it my all to get a early start out of the gate to initiate as close to him as I could with the hopes of keeping a tight proximity through out our run. 3/4 through the bank I could see Dirk pulling distance on me so I did what I could to try and take angle out of the car and had a slower transition through the center of the track to try and keep some speed in my car to keep up with the corvette. In the end Dirk had put a big gap on me before the finish line leaving the judges to have to judge our runs solely off our leads. After a few moments of the judges going over the replays they awarded me the win, after personally reviewing the runs I assume it was my slightly higher line on the bank and keeping my car in the apron on the final turn with out lifting rear tires on the bank behind it giving me the win in this set of battles advancing me into the final 4.

Final 4 and 2x OMT

 I was up against Brandon Schmidt and again was up to lead first. My lead run started nearly as a mirror reflection from my previous lead runs in the 16 and 8 with a high line up on the wall. As I started to make my way down to the front clip I see Brandon make a big leap forward on me which triggered my natural reactions to steer away a bit from him to avoid a collision which altered my line coming off the bank and me taking a very wide pass through the first front clip. I quickly did my best to get myself back on proper line after the transition to then finish out the run on the wide line through the finish line while Brandon was making some noticeable corrections to his car through out the run.

  On my follow with Brandon, I make the mistake and not take the early start out of the gate and have to play catch up on the run up to try and initiate with him. I threw too much angle on my initiation, causing him to start pulling out a gap on me and he was taking a much lower faster line than me on the bank which was just aiding to his proximity gap. I again did my best to pull angle out of the car through the first front clip and through the transition to pickup some ground which started to work but I ended up over doing it and taking a wide line entering the second rear zone where Brandon was able to pull some ground on me again. The judges being not too happy with either of our follow or lead runs called for us to battle again in a one more time.

 Final Battle.


 
At this point I’m literally shaking since I’m so stoked to have made it in the finals. A quick tire change and I’m back out at the line, my final battle is against Travis Reeder. The start light drops and off I go, initiate high on the bank with a tight line on the first inner front clip. I had a bit of a correction after the transition but it put me right on the ideal outer line to finish the track with Travis right behind me lunging at my door at any chance he could get.

Switching positions, I know I’m on my last set of tires and have to get the a decision from the judges on this battle as I wouldn’t have a spare set to run a OMT call. I take an extremely early start on the run up and as I’m looking for Travis to blow my me by the second initiation cone I have to make a quick lift off the throttle for him to catch up and pass me so I can enter before the last marker and right with him. This time the timing is nearly perfect and I enter right with him and am actually able to carry enough speed to keep up with him through out the whole bank. I did my absolute best to keep up with him and sacrificed a lot of angle to do so. Upon entering the final rear zone Travis seemed to have lifted tires on the bank a bit early and again towards the end of the run. I believe that was all the judges needed to make their call.

They call us to the main grand stands to announce the winner.  A few seconds later Jarod comes over the mic and announces in front of the crowd that I had taken the win the opening round of Formula Drift Pro2!!  

 This is the first time for me to take the win at a Formula D Pro2 round and I truly cant thank my Team, Sponsors, Family, and Friends enough for all of their help and motivation along the way. For my first win to be at home was an amazing thing to accomplish and I’m so honored to share that moment at my home track with all of my close family, friends and supporters. Atlanta is in 2 weeks and you can bet that I will be out there ripping the S14.3 just as hard as I was here at home!

 Thanks again everyone I’ll see you in Atlanta!
-Kevin 

Kevin Lawrence partners with Konig for 2017!

Posted on by Konig Gfx

Konig is proud to announce their partnership for the second year in a row with Formula Drift Pro 2 Driver and Enjuku Racing team member, Kevin Lawrence. Lawrenece is not only a chill dude he’s also a hell of a drifter. He was the 2014 Three Palms Drift Champion and has been competitively driving for about 5 years. Starting out with an AE86 platform Lawrence has spent a significant amount of time in his Nissan 240sx S14.5 Right hand drive pro car that is powered by an RB.

As Kevin and the Enjuku team prep for the Pro 2 season opener, Kevin gives his thoughts on what its like coming from drifting as a hobby to competing as a professional driver in the video below. Lawrence also talks about what is to come for this season.

NEW 2017 LIVERY:

Check out the video:

Nate Hamilton – Formula Drift Round 1 – Long Beach, CA RECAP

Posted on by Konig Gfx

**** GUEST BLOG – BY Nate Hamilton ****

Photos by: Corey Denomy / Video by: Corey Denomy / Enjuku Racing

 

Day 1

Driver – Nate Hamilton #144

Event – Season opener of the Premiere Pro1 Class of Formula Drift – Round 1   

Location – Long Beach, California 

– 7am. This is the first day of action, our team finishes breakfast, then meets at our trailer to get things started. Generally, mornings consist of setting up camp, overlooking the car. While the team double checks everything, us drivers get caught up to speed at our morning drivers meetings. 

 – 9am. Once the event is given the green light we will start burning tires. Drivers are allowed one 3 hour practice. The focus for me here is getting comfortable and being consistent. In the 3 hours of practice, we ran 8 laps. 

– 1pm. Qualifying starts now! We have two opportunities to make the show. I ran into a mechanical failure on my first lap, putting all the pressure on my second lap. Having experience with this situation in the past, I knew to take it easy and make a lap happen with a safe run. I received a 75/100 landing me in 22nd position going into our main event.

 

 

DAY 2

Qualified: 22nd 

Top 32 Battle: Hamilton vs Field 

– 7am. Back to work! 

– 9am. Open Practice – This is where our team is focused on my line and car setup. Am I driving the correct line? How can I better my runs? How’s the pace vs the other guys in the class? Are we consistent? These are the questions we ask often to elevate our results.

– 11am. TOP32 battle – Hamilton vs Field  

This was my first Pro1 battle after moving up from the Pro2 class, I was set to battle Matt Field as he qualified 11th and I qualified 22nd. 

 With some corrections and mistakes on my end, it was clear Matt had the advantage. This doesn’t mean I was going to take it easy on my lead run.

As Matt was following, I did my best to put on a great show for the fans. Bouncing off the first wall running the line wide caused me to get out of rhythm. 

 Matt Field would take the win. I know I will meet him again and look forward to the learning experience that was, Round 1 of Formula Drift. 

– 2pm. After we battle and get the results, we immediately look forward to the next opportunity to gain points and position in the series. As round one comes to a close I will sit in 22nd position. 

– 7pm. Rigs loaded and we are rolling out of the venue. As I sit in the truck I remember.. I would not be able to make this program happen without a great group of friends, family, and sponsors. Thanks to Enjuku Racing for providing an awesome team to work with. BC Racing / Hankook Tires for stepping up, Vibrant / Konig / Competition Clutch and everyone else pushing to make this opportunity the best it can be!  

Next Formula D event:  Our Round 2 will kick off in my current hometown, Orlando FL. Until next time, Thanks for reading!

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Nate runs 17×9 et 25 Konig Hypergrams in the front and 18×9.5 et 25 Konig Hypergram wheels in the rear on his Turbo LSX swapped 240sx.  Nate is a Konig Wheels sponsored driver and drives under Enjuku Racing competing in Formula Drift.

Kevin Lawrence Formula Drift Texas Pro2 Round 3

Posted on by Konig Gfx

**** GUEST BLOG – BY KEVIN LAWRENCE ****

Hey Everybody, Dropping in with my Formula Drift Texas Recap.

After an early arrival and setup on Wednesday at the Texas Motor Speedway, the crew and I were able to grab an early dinner and some sleep before our first day of driving.
Thursday morning was awesome the weather was actually very mild for what the temperatures have been in previous years and was immensely cooler than the previous round in Orlando, FL. We arrived at the track early to set up our pits and wait for a few last minute shipments to arrive at the track, tires and a new front bumper for me. Our tires arrived an hour or so before practice so we got them all mounted up and set off to the hot pits on the track.

In the drivers meeting, the Judges went over the new driving line and clipping point locations that they had set up for this round. I knew practice would be crucial to get myself and the car dialed in to fluidly connect the course with speed, angle, and style. After the first practice session I was still struggling with the first turn to get the car setup to enter the power alley, then onto the reach out to the wall. Before second practice we made a gear change in the differential to try and adjust wheel speed some to see if it settle the car more to my liking. This had me running all of the track in 3rd gear instead of 4th. The change helped some but it seemed the change wasn’t enough as I was hitting the top of 3rd gear during the power alley in the acceleration zone holding my speed down. With practice ending soon I decided to shift the car into 4th in that area to get the wheel speed back for the acceleration zone and then would have to later drop back down into 3rd to finish the track out. This at the time felt like the best option for the limited runs I had gotten for practice and decided to go into qualifying with this gear setup.

It was now time for qualifying and as I pulled up to the line I felt good and was ready to make my first pass. I was given the go and left the start line, spinning the tires of the car most the way on the run up I got the car up to 3rd gear and initiated into the first turn. I felt the car float out a bit wider than I had desired which by the time I got the car back on line was after the new first front clip and knew that I was quite a bit off of it so I did my best to just finish out the run as smoothly as possible. Score for this run was a 77 which was high enough to get me on the board but I wanted to better the score.


On my second run I was able to get the car setup better on the first turn and through the power alley but coming into the rear wall section of the track I felt the car coming in a bit faster than normal. I tried to correct this by adding a bit more angle to the car to slow down a bit and to keep from making contact with the wall. I got through the wall section but the amount of angle I put into the car had me leaving that rear zone too early causing an early arrival at the next inner clip. I knew at this point my line was severely off at this time and would have caused me to plow through the front clip and drop my front tires off track. I decided to not risk damaging anything on the car by doing this so I pulled the car straight and shut down for my run giving me a 0 for this pass.

My first pass scored a 77, giving me an 11th place qualifying position. Putting me up against Jeff Jones in the Top 16.

Friday started similar to Thursday we had a late shipment of tires arriving so we got to the track early to receive and mount up, then we wait for our time to drive after the Pro1 qualifying. After watching the pro1 guys kill it in practice and qualifying it was our time to drive. I got a few runs in during practice that felt great but of course when you push to get that one more run in something always goes wrong. I was able to make it to the line for a final pass and was following Dirk Stratton in his C6 corvette. The run started off great but after pushing through the power alley I put too much focus on the front clip just before the transition at the wall. Upon focusing on that I realized that Dirk was slowing down more than I anticipated and by the time I realized this and got on brakes it was too late. We made contact his left rear wheel to my right rear wheel is what took most of the impact. I limped the car back to the hot pits to assess the damage, Luckily it was just a broken toe arm bracket that is made to buckle under impact to save more valuable pieces of the car. After a quick 5min change of parts and alignment adjustment, I was ready for Top 16.

Top 16 I was up against Jeff Jones I knew after my crash in Orlando after our OMT call I had to up the bar a bit to get the win clean and clear. But of course when the adrenaline is pumping and the anxiousness of battle hits its hard to keep 100% focused and react as fast as needed. I entered in behind him aggressively to keep a close proximity with intentions to get closer, I started to gain up closer on him and upon doing so I thought I saw what looked like him about to rotate the car however it was just him making an adjustment to his angle. After my previous run in practice with Dirk, my reaction was he was going to spin and I was going to plow through him, I stomped on the foot brake but at the same time partially lifting off throttle which caused a large bobble and straightening on my end. At that time he was able to pull a gap on me to the finish of the run.

The second run was my turn to lead, Doing my best to not let my nerves get to me from the first run I set off to get that 100pt qualifying run. I entered the first turn where I had set my mark and got on throttle and out to angle through the first turn and upshifting into the power alley. I noticed I had gained quite a bit more speed in this area as I did in qualifying but was ready for it so just before the transition towards the wall I reached to grab a bit of handbrake to slow the car down a bit. Upon doing so I either bumped my shifter or it had not been fully engaged in the gear so when I clutched into handbrake and the transmission unloaded it popped out of gear into neutral causing yet another straighten. After finishing the run the judges awarded the win to Jeff who would go on to the great 8.

All in all, it was a great round I want to thank everyone who is a part of the team for all their help and continued support as we together grow and learn from these events and push to get to that top spot on the podium!

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Kevin runs 17×9 et 25 Konig Hypergrams in the front and 18×9.5 et 25 Konig Hypergram wheels in the rear on his RB powered S-chassis.  Kevin is a Konig Wheels sponsored driver and runs on the Enjuku Racing team competing in Formula Drift.