MATT VANKIRK is a formula drift Pro driver and is currently leading the FD Rookie of the Year race. With half a season under his belt Matt discusses what it is like to compete with the best drifters in the world. VanKirk’s entire team operate on extremely tight budgets and without the safety nets of spare parts! Heck, the engine in his pro car right now is even a junk yard 2JZ. Even with all of that VanKirk and his entire team show so much love toward each other, their fans and the sport of drifting that its hard not to immediately become a fan after having some exposure to their program.
Matt also takes time to discuss his rise through grassroots drifting in to professional competition. One of the most interesting take aways from this conversation is Matt’s input and thoughts on the use of homemade driving simulators to learn, practice and even preview tracks with specific car setups. “ Drift Simulators “ are allowing drivers to enter the scene with an in-depth understanding of driving technique which fasttracks their progress.
Could driving simulators be the future of the sport and even lead to its growth in participation?
Make sure to take a few minutes to listen in and as always you can use our timeline cheatsheet to jump around in the podcast and hear what excites you the most.
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CONTENT CHEAT MENU (podcast audio):
0:18 | Intro / 10 question quick-fire
3:32 | Introducing Matt Vankirk
4:03 | We just met… and it felt like Family
5:03 | We do it for free… team roles
6:43 | Getting the team together
11:00 | Moving to a V8 powered car
11:40 | Police cornered us at a storage unit
12:35 | It’s getting hot in here…fire everywhere!
14:08 | Who does most of the car build work
14:39 | What is your program like to run?
16:28 | Running a Pro FD Program with a full-time job
17:41 | Typical event week
18:33 | Prepping the car
19:03 | Gambling… no spare parts!
21:20 | Go pro 1 or not
22:55 | The car is not competitive! It has a stock 2JZ junkyard bottom end
23:27 | I’m going on the record… (Scott – Konig)
25:32 | It’s not the power, it’s the torque – 2JZ talk
28:28 | A new car for next year?
29:10 | If I had to make this car better
36:26 | Reliability change to Pro 1 (of drivers)
37:52 | First exposure to cars
39:34 | First exposure to drifting
42:06 | Street drifting and the cops (arrested)
44:19 | Any FD Driver you look up too?
45:03 | Running your first Pro 1 event
46:07 | Dealt some tough matches
48:14 | Going from 225 to 275 tire
49:47 | Do you think about the “Rookie of the year” race?
50:59 | First time driving some of these tracks
51:34 | Using drift simulators to preview tracks
55:24 | Driving simulators in drifting
1:00:14 | Will simulators become a popular tool in drifting
1:01:17 | Advice for building your own simulator
1:03:26 | Are you on twitch?
1:04:43 | #neverletgo
1:07:49 | “My girlfriend drifts too!”
1:09:59 | Final thoughts: Where do you see yourself drift wise in 3-5 years?
1:12:50 | FD judging is improving the sport
1:13:54 | Where to find Matt / outro
FOLLOW:
Scott Weiss (Konig) Instagram: @scott_Konig
https://www.instagram.com/scott_konig/
Matt Vankirk: @mattvankirk18
https://www.instagram.com/mattvankirk18/
Matt Vankirk Website:
http://mvkracing.com/
More on the Konig Behind The Wheel Podcast and to SUBSCRIBE:
https://konigwheels.compodcast
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