Top 3 Qualifier in Road Atlanta
Joon Maeng piloted the Nitto Mazda RX8 to the number three qualifying position at Formula Drift’s Round 3 event in Atlanta, Georgia. Joon electrified the crowd and judges with his backwards entries, outright speed and burning Nitto rubber. He was able to pilot the Nitto Mazda RX8 to a 94.4 score in qualifying. “The Mazda RX8 felt amazing! The best it has ever been. Ed gave me the power and Derek gave me the grip. We were ready to kill the competition! Said Joon Maeng pilot of the Nitto Mazda RX8.
2011 Formula Drift Round 2: Road to the Championship
Road Atlanta, Braselton, GA
QUALIFYING RESULTS
|
Pos |
# |
Car |
Driver |
Score |
|
1 |
79 |
Hankook Tire Chevrolet Camaro |
Conrad Grunewald |
96.2 |
|
2 |
44 |
Mobil 1 Red Bull Chevrolet Camaro |
Ryan Tuerck |
94.4 |
|
3 |
51 |
Bergenholtz Racing Nitto Mazda RX-8 |
Joon Maeng |
94.4 |
|
4 |
9 |
Discount Tire Nissan 240SX |
Daijiro Yoshihara |
93.3 |
|
5 |
17 |
Falken Tire Nissan 350Z |
Tyler McQuarrie |
91.1 |
|
6 |
33 |
RS*R Scion tC |
Ken Gushi |
90.9 |
|
7 |
665 |
Need for Speed Nissan 240SX |
Matt Powers |
89.8 |
|
8 |
64 |
NOS Energy Drink Nissan 370Z |
Chris Forsberg |
88.4 |
|
9 |
99 |
MazdaTrix Mazda RX-8 |
Kyle Mohan |
87.8 |
|
10 |
8 |
Falken Tire Saturn Sky |
Darren McNamara |
87.6 |
|
11 |
101 |
GSR Autosport Nitto BMW Z4 |
Michael Essa |
80.8 |
|
12 |
1 |
Monster Falken Ford Racing Mustang |
Vaughn Gittin Jr. |
80.6 |
|
13 |
151 |
Need for Speed Scion tC |
Fredric Aasbo |
79.3 |
|
14 |
21 |
Retaks Nissan 240SX |
Toshiki Yoshioka |
77.8 |
|
15 |
13 |
Falken Tire Ford Mustang GT |
Justin Pawlak |
77.3 |
|
16 |
23 |
Helix Nissan 350Z |
Matt Waldin |
77 |
Joon Maeng would have to face Walker Wilkerson and the Fatlace Nissan 240SX in the TOP 32. Joon would do an amazing lead run and leave Walker Wilkerson in the Nitto smoke. Joon would clearly be the leader in points during that lead run. “Joon was literally smoking Walker throughout the course on the lead run. The RX8 was hauling butt!” Said Mark Manansala Intern for the Bergenholtz Racing Nitto Mazda Drift Team.
With a clear lead over Walker Wilkerson, Joon would simply need to run a clean run and stay close to the Fatlace Nissan 240SX. Joon would pilot the Mazda RX8 perfectly next to the Nissan but the Mazda RX8 would experience a ring and pinion failure at the top of the track. “My heart dropped when the car stopped accelerating. We broke right in front of the crowd. I got out of the car and some of the crowd was in tears. I could not believe it. Despite the hardship, I really felt the love of the fans in Atlanta. Our team performs for them. We will fight on and come back in Florida with our guns firing.” Said Joon Maeng pilot of the Nitto Mazda RX8.
The Bergenholtz Racing Nitto Mazda Drift Team is relentless in propelling Joon Maeng to the podium. The ring and pinion problem is already diagnosed and a clear solution has come into play. “I must admit it was completely disheartening to go out in the Top 32. The team was hit pretty hard but we put our heads together to solve this problem. Thanks to Titan Motorsports in Orlando, Florida we have a concrete solution to solve this ring pinion failure. Despite the failure, the ongoing changes Ed and Derek were doing to the car throughout the weekend were producing truly advantageous results on track. The ring and pinion although was not liking it at all with the added load. Once we implement the new ring and pinion setup, Joon will be unstoppable! I know he’s going to be on the podium soon.” Said Ron Bergenholtz Team Manager of Bergenholtz Racing.
Check out our blogs from Atlanta with this link:
http://bergenholtzracing.blogspot.com/
TOP 3 Qualifying run can be viewed with this link at Time Marker: 11.28 sec.:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y2ZinVLTGrE
1st Round of Top 32 can be viewed with this link at Time
Marker: 34.20 sec.:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y2ZinVLTGrE
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