When I got offered the opportunity to drift out in Panama City for the 3rd year in a row in the Lucas Oil Nitto Tire S13.5 I was so thankful and happy! Thank you Formula Drift for making it possible for us to interact with all the hardcore Panamanian Drift fans! They are amazing! From the past year experiences, they all would wait hours upon hours in line to get an autograph.

I had to make sure all the decals on the vehicle was current and updated. So I ended up staying up all night applying on S & A Design white vinyl around the drifting machine! Good times!! It was so cold that night, I ended up getting the fever the following day at 105F…. We usually cool the Nitto Tire Mazda RX-8 with ice in Vegas but this time around I had to ice myself off in bed…lol lesson learned: Put on more sweaters next time… Instead of 2 put on 5 layers!

Before we shipped out the Lucas Oil Nitto Tire S13.5 out to Panama we made sure that the car was good to go and had plenty of power to smoke up the NT05’s. Click Here to see the vehicle running on the DynaPack’s at Road Race Engineering.

Thursday, February 2nd Kevin Lee at Nexus Visuals and I meet up with rest of the Formula Drift driver/crew members and caught air heading to Panama City. What a beautiful view it was out the airplane window. I was so excited and amazed! Because of the great view I couldn’t sleep although I only slept about an hour the night before.

During the flight I finished up the track layout for us to run. It’s always helpful to have this copy in the dash of each driver’s vehicles. Afterwards I enjoyed watching my favorite movie SENNA! If you haven’t seen it you have to watch it!! It’s about a passionate legendary Formula One Driver with a heart of gold!! I respect him so highly and look up to his characteristics/beliefs!

Once we arrived, we went straight to TV Max Sports Studio to be interviewed on live television. We had a blast getting to know the staffs at TV Max and was great to experience this fun adventure!

The following next morning the crew was up super early to prepare the drift cars and bikes for a Press Conference show. Here is Steve Choi @Formula Drift and Kevin Lee @NexusVisuals preparing some filming gadgets. It’s great to see Kevin Wells in the Formula Drift Flannel, FD couldn’t have picked anyone better as a Tech Director!! Many friends respect and look up to Kevin Wells very much!!

Here we are setting up our pit area with the Lucas Oil Products and Genius Tools. Not only do fans love playing with the Lucas Oil Gear display, Steve at Formula Drift was having a blast!! lol… This display shows how effective it is to run Lucas Oil Products on any type of vehicle, motorcycle, truck and boats… The list goes on and on! Make sure to check out their web site www.LUCASOIL.com for products that’ll make your machines run more efficient!!

The drifter and bikers warmed up their machines. It was great meeting the street free style stunt riders: Nicholas Brocha, Ernest Vigil, William Dixon, Destiny Peace and XDL organizer, Randy Grube.

On the left is BisbaLinda Ramsey and on the very right is Edisa Yau @JSpotPanama @21CenturyFox have been a great fan of the Lucas Oil Nitto Tire S13.5 since the first time I’ve met them 3 years ago. I’m so grateful to have their support and always interviewing us every year! Thank you ladies!!!

Here is what it looks like to be seating on a driver’s/event organizer’s Mas Movil point of view at the Press Conference.

Many of the event Sponsors, TV Channels, Radio Stations, On-line media, magazine companies, friends and fans enjoyed our exhibition runs during the Press Conference. We ended up giving ride alongs to everyone that joined us.

On Saturday we helped finish up the track layout and got good amount of practice in our drift cars. At the same time we made sure to give more ridealongs to the media members and our fans! It was great to see everyone’s excitement and funny face expressions the passengers would make.

Here we are cruising in our Lucas Oil Nitto Tire drifting machine waving hello and showing thanks to all of our amazing fans!! I love Panama! The fans are so nice and welcoming! They can make some noise!! The louder they got the more aggressive my driving got! Click Here to view the in car footage from a passenger’s point of view.

The main organizers from Mas Movil and Tony S. Mock, Josemaria, Ricky… had something in store for me this year. As a great gift they got me a Panamanian Soccer Jersey to wear under the Lucas Oil Nitto Tire race suit. During the driver’s introduction I ended up zipping down the suit to show respect to all Panamanians.  When they saw me supporting the Panama Jersey the crowd went wild. I never felt that type of energy before! I got the goosebumps from the positive energy in the air! It’s an honor to have all of our Panamanian fans accept me as a fellow brother this year!

We brought a lot of Lucas Oil Products like Synthetic Racing Oil, Powering Steering fluid with conditioner, Contact Cleaner, Slick Mist Wax, Octane Booster, Gear Oil etc…. It came into great use for all the drivers and even bikers.. We all ended up needing GENIUS Tools or Lucas Oil Products on all the vehicles and motorcycles.

A great fan and a drift driver himself Bolivar Fung was nice enough to let me have his clutch fan.. We ended up running two electric and one clutch fan to push out more hot air under the hood of the Lucas Oil Nitto Tire S13.5. I’m glad and thankful to have dedicated fans that’ll go out of the way to support us!

Feeding nothing but the best into our Engines…. LUCAS OIL for the WIN!

It’s great to see families getting involved with the drifting scene in Panama! Even 3 year olds love it!!! Great meeting you Ryan!!! Be good and always give it all you got!

Peace be with you all! :) We’re drifting so hard that our side mirror flew off somewhere onto the track… such a random piece that fell off. Usually it’s a bumper from tapping the barrels or one another. LOL

All the drivers and teams ended up taking pictures with all media partners and fans! We were having a blast out in the Panama heat!

BisbaLinda Ramsey ended up winning the ride along contest for Mas Movil. She drew this wonderful work of art for us and framed it! I was filled with joy and had to hold my tear of happiness from flowing out of my eyes. It’s so meaningful for me to have this type of support!! Whenever we may get discouraged we can always think of our dedicated fans and keep on going to do our best out at the track and off the track! Thank you Linda!!!!

Here is a funny shot of me. We made sure to iron on the Turbo By Garrett patch onto the Lucas Oil Nitto Tire suit before the event. The Garrett GTX 3071r is a perfect match for the SR20det engine! Garrett by Honeywell builds the best turbos for all types of applications! It’s going to be a phenomenal year running with all of these quality products on the S13.5!

Thanks Kevin Lee @ NexusVisuals for the great photos!! If anyone needs a photographer or videographer for a special event free feel to contact Kevin Lee @NV! He has a lot of experience and also produced the Lexus LFA video/commercial.

It was so hot the brake fluid kept boiling. So we ended up spacing up the hood more and taking the headlight out for better air flow through the brake master cylinder. Thank you Kevin for your expertise!

Pulling stunts and Freestying…..

Tandem riders Destiny and Bill putting on a show for the crowd!

Here we are for the autograph session… The Panamanian Die hard fans of drift was lined up for hours and made sure to take pictures and get an autograph from each driver/riders. The so long that I thought it’ll never end. Cyrus Martinez driving the Final Speed Garage Z33, Fredric Aasbo driving the Need For Speed Supra and Ross Petty driving the Garage BOSO S14 did an amazing job of putting on a phenomenal show!! We all worked together to hype up the crowd and show them what Formula Drift drivers are capable of. Good job guys!!! Had a blast driving with you all! 

Overall we had a successful Xtreme Drift and Stunt event at the Mas Movil Figali Convention center! The finale was wild and we thought we were going to explode the engine… We kept drifting for a long duration for the final session and ended up running the engine temp up to 122C which is way beyond what I normally run. But we didn’t want to stop because we felt the fans and each others excitement, so we kept on drifting.

I’m sure if we weren’t running on such an amazing product like Lucas Oil, Turbo by Garrett, built LS Auto engine, tuning by Lod Ampho (Apexi Power FC) @Road Race Engineering, the motor would have seized. I’m so confident and have total faith in all of my partner’s products! Here’s a Video Clip from a drift fans point of view!

Thank you Family, Friends, Fans, Lucas Oil, Nitto Tire, Bergenholtz Racing, LS Automotive, Road Race Engineering, Turbo by Garrett, Sam’s Auto Land, S-Empire, Nexus Visuals, ACT, GENIUS Tools, Apexi, Evolution Racewerks, SEIBON, K1 Speed, Megan Racing, AIT Racing, ENJUKU Racing for your amazing support and making it possible for us to live the dream as a drift team! We couldn’t have done it without your expertise and support!

Video Photo Links Below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K4_7JGtYMog

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MVKhHeICqO4&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lpcp8PSboj4&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cHdfmEJ1MkM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&NR=1&v=kOusjxM9aF0

http://www.eventostoppanama.com/videos/video-del-xtreme-drift-stunts-bikes-panama-2012/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=video-del-xtreme-drift-stunts-bikes-panama-2012

http://quepasapanama.com/etiqueta/movil-xtreme-drift-and-stunts-2012/

http://www.latinol.com/vidasocial/todo-listo-para-el-movil-xtreme-drift–stunts-bikes/13057.html

http://www.dealante.com/nodo.php?nodoid=24080

http://www.caraudiopanama.com/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=338:el-comando-tibur%C3%B3n-encender%C3%A1-el-+-m%C3%B3vil-xtreme-drift-and-stunts-con-el-comando-tibur%C3%B3n-2012

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R61K0qFiaJk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6cLfJleJeuE&feature=related

The Nitto Mazda Drift Team is currently featured in the December 2011 issue of Modified Magazine on newsstands now.   The feature depicts “a behind the scenes look” of Joon Maeng and the team, at Formula Drift’s Round 6 event in Las Vegas Nevada.  “It is always an honor to be featured in Modified Magazine.  They did a great job covering the Nitto Mazda Drift Team at the event.  The behind the scenes coverage is always a great thing to document.  Thank you Modified Magazine!” Said Joon Maeng pilot of the Nitto Mazda Drift Team.

Professional Formula Drift pilot, Joon Maeng and Team Manager Ron Bergenholtz will be guests on MotoIQ radio tonight at 7PM (PST) or 10PM (EST).  Tune into MotoIQ.com for the internet radio show.  “This week on MotoIQ Radio with host Will Cannaday and co-host Justin Banner, our featured guests will be Ron Bergenholtz and driver Joon Maeng from the legendary Bergenholtz Racing team.  Topics to be discussed will range from the 2011 Formula D season, the state of drifting, the teams dominance in drag racing and maybe some stuff from the good ol Team Wicked street racing days!” Quote from MotoIQ.com.

Radio show can be viewed with this link:

http://www.motoiq.com/magazine_articles/articletype/articleview/articleid/2113/this-week-on-motoiq-radio-bergenholtz-racing.aspx

7PM Pacific Standard Time

10PM Eastern Standard Time

Video footage of the Nitto Mazda RX8 crash can be viewed on Wreckedmagazine.com.  Rain started to fall in the middle of Joon’s run which caused the Nitto Mazda RX8 to slide out of control and crash into the tire barrier and K-Rail.  The damage was severe enough to keep the team from making a qualiying pass.  “The damage was quite severe but all that matters is that Joon’s ok.  We should have the car all shined up and ready to go for Irwindale.” Said Ron Bergenholtz Team Manager of Bergenholtz Racing.

The crash can be viewed with this link:

http://www.wreckedmagazine.com/blog/2011/09/01/joon-maeng-destroys-the-nitto-tire-mazda-rx-8-in-practice-video

Support Bergenholtz Racing and its Marketing Partners:

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!

We arrived Texas Motor Speedway on Thursday, June 9th to unload and prepare for the Ultimate Drift Demo before the Nascar Truck/Indy Race.  Here we are drifting in the scorching Texas heat along with fellow Formula Drift drivers.

The Lucas Oil Nitto Tire S13.5 felt completely different with the new Megan Racing Suspension components. I’m glad that the suspension has a wide range of adjustability. The Megan Racing brakes worked perfect on the vehicle and stopped on a dime whenever I applied the brakes .

Texas Flag flying in………

Here at the autograph session taking pictures and getting to know new fans. They were all very excited for the Ultimate Drift event! Talking with the fans and seeing their positive reactions makes my day!

Thanks for the pictures @ WhatMonstersDo.com and @ Driftfotos.com !

All in all it was a successful event! All the drivers did a phenomenal job and gave a good show here at Texas Motor Speedway! It was good to see the Indy/Nascar Truck teams show interest during our drifting sessions! Thank you all for your support!

 The Lucas Oil Nitto Tire S13.5 will be at Formula D Ultimate Drifting Pre-Race Spectacular out in Texas Motor Speedway on June 9-11th.  It’ll be great drifting in front of  thousands of INDYCAR race fans. I’m looking forward to this adventure! It’ll be my first time drifting at TMS. 

Ticket info and more details can be found HERE

 The vehicle has been dropped off at the FD rig for transport on May 28th 2011. It’s going to be a busy but yet a fun month of June! I got a call from my good friend David and mentioned the temp out in Texas is around 100 Degrees Fahrenheit. So he made sure that I must hydrate myself ahead of time. I’m so thankful to have good friends and supporters around my life! Without them I wouldn’t be where I am now. Thank you all for always looking out and making it possible for me to go out to live the dream and passion!!

Photos from Wrecked Magazine can be found here.

All the new upgrades/mods have been installed at Road Race Engineering located in Santa Fe Springs Ca. With the help of S-Empire we installed a brand new Precision Turbo, New engine harness, Megan Racing Suspension, brakes, sway bars, bushings, Enjuku Racing Intake Manifold (ISIS) and the list goes on….