Lawrence Takes Top Honors FDTX!

Lawrence Takes Top Honors FDTX!

Posted on by Konig Gfx

FORMULA DRIFT TEXAS – PRO 2 FINAL ROUND | August 8th and 9th

Formula Drift texas

Formula Drift Pro 2 Podium Filled By Konig Drivers:

The last and final round [Round 4] of Formula Drift Pro 2 was insane! Starting the Top 16 there were 5 Konig Sponsored drivers ready to throw down and claim a win. Kevin Lawrence, Matt Vankirk, Travis Reeder, Alec Robbins and Donovan Brockway all had qualified and were ready to battle in top 16.  

Brockway, Reeder and Matt VanKirk did not advance to the Great 8, only Kevin Lawrence of Enjuku Racing and Alec Robbins of Koruworks has advanced on.  That is where this story takes an interesting turn.  Going into #FDTX Matt Vankirk and Travis Reeder were the Formula Drift Pro 2 series top point holders.  Kevin Lawrence, who won Round 1 in Orlando and was the top point holder going into Round 2, went into Texas ranked 5th.  

At the start of the day if you tried to think about how Lawrence could even potentially reclaim the series you would have to have a “perfect storm” the way the event would play out.  Essentially Konig drivers Matt Vankirk and Travis Reeder, both top point holders, would have to lose their first matches in Top 16 or not qualify.  Then Kevin Lawrence would also have to win (his second event for the season) in Texas.  Clearly this isn’t something you could ever plan for.

Going into the Great 8, with both Reeder and Matt Vankirk not advancing, the stage for Lawrence was set.  There was still a ton of work to do, and clearly while the thought may have occurred somewhere in the back of Kevin’s head, he couldn’t let that occupy his thoughts!  But round after round, Lawrence proved he meant business.  In the Great 8 Kevin defeated Gyorgy, then Saxsmith in the Top 4 and Finally Jaeger in the Final Battle to win his 2nd event of the season and become the 2017 Formula Drift Pro 2 Champion by only 2 points!  

Congratulations to Kevin Lawrence on his INCREDIBLE win  at FD Texas and becoming the 2017 Champ!  Also a big congratulations to Travis Reeder and Matt Vankirk.  They were standing on the season podium right next to Kevin Lawrence as they took 2nd and 3rd respectively.  It was a great honor to be involved and a small part of these driver’s programs.  Having all 3 spots of the podium filled with Konig sponsored drivers is a real honor for us.  These driver’s and their teams work so hard all year long to maintain and run these programs and we thank them for their support!

Stay tuned for exciting recaps from all of our sponsored Formula Drift drivers including Nate Hamilton, who still has the last and final round to head too for Formula Drift Pro in Irwindale, CA!

Kevin Lawrence

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

Matt Vankirk
Matt 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 makes top 8 at FDSEA!

Posted on by Konig Gfx

After a long couple months off, the team and I were anxiously awaiting Seattle and stoked to get back on track. Here is a breakdown and recap of our weekend at rd 3, the throw down.

The car was prepped, up to temp and it was time to go out for the first practice session of the weekend. We were in for a rude awakening as the track conditions turned to be drastically different than previous pro-am 5/8 rounds. The car was over gripped and under powered. Unbeknownst to the team there was a NASCAR race a couple weekends back, and with pro 1 practice being before us, there was no shortage of traction to be had on the longest and largest bank in Formula d.

Once suspension changes and adjustments were made we stepped into qualifying. I kept the first run conservative, and pushed a little harder on the second. We ended up seated in the 6th position after qualifying, which the team and I were pretty happy with.

It was now time to step into top 16 eliminations. We were paired against Brody Goble, who’s a good friend of ours and absolutely rips behind the wheel. I led first and put a decent lead run on the board with some minor corrections. Brody ended up getting into the wall behind me and disrupting his line slightly and I got the small advantage. On the second run I chased Brody on the bank with decent proximity as well and through the rest of the course, I was awarded the win and advanced to the great 8.

Now on to my favorite battles of the weekend, not due to stellar driving but due to the fact I got to drive against one of my best homies, Dylan Hughes. Dylan led first due too a higher qualifying score. I made a few mistakes on the bank in the chase position but kept proximity in the power alley and latter part of the course. On my lead run dylan fell back in proximity at times during the run which led the judges declare a one more time battle.

During dylan and I one more time battle I made a pretty sizable mistake on the bank in the chase position, giving dylan an advantage going into run two. On my lead run I did my best to put down a solid run but unfortunately I was unable to overcome my mistake in the chase position and dylan advanced.

Seattle overall was an amazing event in more ways than one. We learned a lot about car setup as well as team work. I had an absolute blast driving my home track and can’t wait to get back in the drivers seat. Massive thanks to Konig wheels, my family, friends and sponsors that have a hand in making my program run. See you all in Texas!