The Nitto Tire Mazda Drift Team finally got the monkey off their back and made it to the Big Top 16 show at Formula D’s Round 5 event in Seattle, Washington.  Due to the added performance enhancements implemented in 2011, the team has faced driveline problems throughout the season and has been fighting to resolve the issues.  “The Mazda RX8 has been extensively tweaked to produce phenomenal grip and performance.  Derek Ige, our new crew chief has done amazing things with it to make it controllable and quick.  Joon loves it.  Unfortunately, our 2010 driveline was not ready to handle the added load, so we had to quickly solve each issue.  It took time, but for Seattle, we had zero problems with the driveline.” Said Ron Bergenholtz Team Manager for the Nitto Tire Mazda Drift Team. 

Getting to the Big Top 16 show would be no easy task.  Joon would have to first qualify.  On the first attempt, Joon piloted the Nitto Tire Mazda RX8 to the number 7 spot with an 83.7.  He did a phenomenal job scraping the Mazda RX8 on almost every wall.  Unfortunately, the team would be faced with a major problem after Joon’s first qualifier.  “As soon as Joon pulled into the pit we knew something was wrong with the motor.  It did not sound like it was happy at all.  We dived right into the car to diagnose the problem,  hoping it was not an internal engine problem.  After much analysis, we concluded that the motor was definitely hurt.  We weren’t going to give up so we came up with a game plan to deal with the problem.  As a result, we decided to suspend the second qualifier, all practice, and go straight into the Top32.  Passes in the Mazda RX8 were numbered.” Said Ed Bergenholtz Chief of Data Analysis for the Nitto Tire Mazda Drift Team.

Joon’s qualifying run can be viewed with the link below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mI7B-qghNWg

2011 Formula Drift Qualifying Seattle, WA Round 5

1 Tyler McQuarrie                Falken Tires                          Nissan 350Z                         – 94.5
2 Justin Pawlak                    Falken Tires                          Ford Mustang                       – 93.5
3 Rhys. Millen                       HankookRedBull                  Hyundai Genesis                 – 89.6
4 Daijiro Yoshihara             Falken/Discount                  NissanS13                            – 86.9
5 Odi Bakchis                       Falken/Forged Racing        Nissan S14                           – 86
6 Conrad. Grunewald         Hankook Tires                      Chevy Camaro                    – 85.1
7 Joon. Maeng        Nitto Tire Tires        Mazda RX8               – 83.7
8 Fredric. Aasbo                  Hankook/NFS                       Scion                                      – 82.1
9 Dean. Kearney                 Federal/VLEDS                    Dodge Viper                         – 81.3
10 Ryan. Tuerck                   Nitto Tire/Redbull                 Chevy Camaro                    – 80.3
11 Michael. Essa                 Nitto Tire/GSR                      BMW Z4                                 – 76.4
12 Vaughn. Gittin                 Falken Tires/Monster          Ford Mustang                       – 75.7
13 Matt. Powers                   Nitto Tire/NFS                       Nissan S14                           – 75.1
14 Walker Wilkerson           Falken Tires/Fatlace           Nissan S13                           – 74.7
15 Chris. Forsberg              Hankook/NOS                      Nissan 370Z                         -74.5
16 Alex. Lee                         Privateer                                Toyota Crown                       – 72.8
17 Alax. Pfeiffer                   Nexen/Megan Racing         Nissan 350Z                         – 71.4    
18 Otto. Graven                    Falken Tires                          Nissan 350Z                         – 71.2
19 Darin. McNamara          Falken Tires                          Saturn Sky                            – 71
20 Charles. Ng                     Nitto Tire/Evasive                 Mazda RX7                           – 66.8    
21 Matt Field                         Falken/Fatlace                     Nissan S14                           – 66.5
22 Kyle Mohan                     Nexen/Mazdatrix                 Mazda RX8                           – 65.1
23 Toshiki Yoshioka            Cooper Tires/Skater            Nissan S13                           – 64.6
24 Roland Gallagher          Privateer                                Nissan S13                           – 62.8
25 Ross Petty                       Falken Tires                          Nissan S15                           – 61       
26 Ken. Gushi                      Hankook/RSR                       Scion TC                               – 60.6
27 Cyrus Martinez               Nexen Tires/Megan            Nissan S13                           – 60.5
28 Robbie Nishida              Hankook/Bridges                 Nissan S13                           – 57
29 Jeff Jones                       Cooper Tires/CX Racing    Nissan S13                           – 56.1
30 Ryan Kado                      Falken/McKinney                 Nissan 350Z                         – 55.2
31 Dennis Mertzanis           Kenda/Konig                        Nissan S14                           – 52.3
32 Luke Longberger           Hankook/Blu808                  Chevy Corvette                    – 52.2

With the unfortunate engine setback, the Nitto Tire Mazda Drift Team would gear up to face Ken Gushi and the RSR Scion Racing Scion TC in the Top 32.  Joon would be the lead car on the first run.  He performed flawlessly, pushing the limits of the screaming RX8 in front of a Seattle crowd of close to 10,000 spectators.  Joon was able to create a significant gap between his Mazda RX8 and the Scion TC.  “The Mazda RX8 felt great.  It wasn’t as fast as I would like it to be, but it got the job done!” Said Joon Maeng pilot of the Nitto Tire/Mazda RX8.

Joon Maeng would have to follow Ken Gushi on the next run.  The Mazda RX8 though hurt, performed well and was door to door with the Scion TC.  The judges would award the win to Joon and the Nitto Tire Mazda Drift Team would finally advance to the Big Top 16 show.  “I was determined to beat Ken Gushi.  I knew it in my heart we could do it and we did it.  The team did a phenomenal job with the Mazda RX8 in setting it up for the hurt motor.  Thank God for my Team!   Feels good to be back in the Top 16!”  Said Joon Maeng pilot of the Nitto Tire Mazda RX8.  

With Joon Maeng eliminating Ken Gushi, he would then have to face Ryan Tuerk and the Redbull Mobil Chevy Camaro in the Top 16.  It would be a tall order, but Joon was determined to win.  Joon would lead on the first run and pilot the Mazda RX8 to a near perfect  run.  Ryan Tuerk would mirror Joon’s run attempting to keep up with the Mazda RX8.  “I knew I had to deliver a lead run that was better than my qualifying run and do whatever it takes to run away from that 800hp GM monster.” Said Joon Maeng pilot of the Nitto Tire Mazda RX8.

Joon’s follow run would be set to be an amazing run.  He piloted the Mazda RX8 door to door against the Chevy Camaro.  The judges discussed the runs for quite some time trying to decide who would take the win.  Joon unfortunately at the very end of the follow run would come to a halt whereas Ryan Tuerk drove off course.  The judges would take extra time to determine a winner.   Unfortunately, the win would be awarded to Ryan Tuerk.  “That last corner really hurt us.  I know we could have easily made it to the Great 8 but I guess that’s racing.  I know we are almost there to succeed.” Said Joon Maeng pilot of the Nitto Tire Mazda RX8.

Joon’s tandem runs against Ryan Tuerk can viewed with this link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7enNvvkT4n8

 The Nitto Tire Mazda Drift Team is gearing up for Formula D’s Round 6 event in Las Vegas, Nevada on August 26-27.  “To see Joon pull off what he did in Seattle is amazing.  He was able to deliver amazing results with a hurt motor.  I can’t wait to see what he can do with full power.   The driveline problems seem to be solved and the team is looking forward to kicking some butt in Las Vegas.  I know Joon and the team can deliver that podium!” Said Ron Bergenholtz Team Manager of The Nitto Tire Mazda Drift Team.

Here we are at the double header  MotoIQ Pacific Tuner Car Challenge in the Lucas Oil Nitto Tire S13.5. There were over 1000 fans that joined us for the Liberty Grand Prix and firework show.

 With the help of Lod, Art, Sam, Mike, Ruben, Matt, Robert at Road Race Engineering  we were able to make improvements on the vehicle by fabricating a front splitter and air ducting. With two races during the weekend our key was to keep the car reliable. With the scorching heat that reached over 140 Degrees on the track surface temp we added on a cool water sprayer to keep the engine temps out of the red zone..

 Here is our pit area. Lod made a few adjustments on the Megan Suspension to see what was best for this particular layout. Lucas Oil Products was filled up and the car was ready for battle!

 It was sad to see some of the competitors facing car problems and even a fire from the high temps the weekend brought us. Our power steering pump wasn’t happy from the heat and seized… Thanks to Lod and Sam we were able to get one in time for the next race on Sunday.

I was amazed how well the new Megan Racing brake kit performed during the weekend especially when reaching speeds over 100+ MPH. It was awesome being able to brake super late throughout the track!  Here is where we are standing as far as points in the Moto IQ Pacific Tuner Car Challenge…

http://www.redlinetrackevents.com/wp-content/uploads/2011_MPTCC_Standings1.pdf 

Although we placed 1st for both races I wish the other competitors didn’t run into car problems so we could have pushed each other even harder.

Thank you so much Lucas Oil, Nitto Tire, Road Race Engineering, S-Empire, Bergenholtz Racing, LS Auto, Sam’s Auto Land, Megan Racing, ACT,  SEIBON, Apexi, Enjuku Racing, Evolution Racewerks, AIT Racing for your support and making it possible for us to make it out to the race!

Thanks for the new hero cards Ed Bergenholtz!

 Wall Speedway is one of the toughest track out of the 7 rounds of the Formula Drift Championship. With all the bumps and harsh transition exiting the 30 degree bank into the flat plane portion of the track the drivetrain on the vehicle takes quite a beating. I felt comfortable and confident in the Nitto Tire Mazda RX-8 with the NJ setup my crew chief Derek I. had prepared. We ended up qualifying 12th on Friday.

 Towards the end of our practice session on Saturday we ended up on the follow lane with Vaughn Gitten Jr leading. It was looking good throughout the run until I had to avoid a wreck when Jr spun entering the first horse shoe. I had no option but to go off the track and hit the embankment which shocked the vehicle and damaged the driveline. Right then and there it felt like we got hit by lightening. We only had about 20 minutes or less to fix. The team didn’t give up and had the car up on jack stands and replaced the whole rear end in no time.

The team has faith and I know God will reward us with success for our unending passion to never give up! We will continue on to push hard and aiming to make the next 3 rounds count!