Last month was round 1 of FormulaD Pro 2 in Orlando. While things did not go quite as we expected, our trip provided us with an experience that we can definitely learn from.
The team and I made the 20-hour trip down to Florida and got in on Tuesday night. We were at the track first thing Wednesday morning for tech inspection and the FR-S passed with flying colours, so we were good to race!
Our practice and qualifying was all on the Thursday. We had one 2.5-hour practice session in the morning, another 1-hour practice later in the afternoon then it was straight into qualifying. With so little time to practice, and about 35 drivers competing, I knew we were not going to get very many practice laps in so every lap needed to count. The course was very short, it was a stock car style oval: one large bank, a transition on the infield, and then an inner bank to shut down. With such short courses you have to make a big impact right from the start and be on line everywhere, as errors would be easy to spot.
My first lap out? Nailed it. I've always enjoyed running banked tracks and have always done very well at them. This track was no different, and we were looking great! The next 2 laps out were the same. I was running high on the back, placing the car in all the right spots and making tons of smoke with the Yokohama tires. I was feeling great and we were easily looking like one of the top 3 drivers out there!
However, just before my fourth lap I was waiting in line on the grid, and one of the FD staff noticed I wasn't wearing my HANS device, and informed me that I had to put it on. The HANS (head and neck support) device is a piece of safety equipment that reduces the likelihood of head injuries in the event of a hard front-end crash. Formula D is the only drifting series I compete in that makes it mandatory to wear one. With the HANS device on, I approached the start line, launched and initiated into the bank. Mid to three-quarters of the way through the bank I lightly tapped the wall with the rear of the car and kept drifting. At the time I didn't think much of it but it was kind of a weird spot in the bank to wall tap as in that section you are slowing down and increasing steering angle to zone in on the first inner clipping point. Either way, we were feeling good about our performance in the first practice session and looked forward to the next one in a few hours!
Practice session 2. I strapped into the FR-S and lined up for my lap. I launched down the straight, initiated drift, running a nice high line but clipped the wall again with the rear of the car in the same spot on the bank! This time it was a little bit harder though, and it pulled the front end of the car into the wall. The car came to a halt and I knew the damage was going to be pretty bad. We unfortunately had no spare suspension parts with us so that meant our weekend was done.
I’ve spent the last couple of days sitting in my truck driving home replaying the crash in my mind, and there was one odd thing I kept thinking about. Both times I tapped the wall I didn't see it coming and didn't expect it to happen. I've been drifting for 10 years now and anytime I make a mistake or I'm going to go off track or go too deep into a corner, I know it’s going to happen. I can feel it. This time I didn't feel it. I couldn't figure out why it happened but realized that the only difference was not being used to wearing the HANS device.
Going forward, I will be looking into different versions of the HANS device to find one that is more suited for my driving style. When you’re drifting 8-inches off the wall at 60-70mph, there really is no room for error and corrections need to be made quickly. We will also be getting more spare parts for the car so that if a crash like this ever happens again, we have the parts to fix it to stay in the game!
Our next race will be the first round of FD Canada in Montreal and I'm really looking forward to getting back behind the wheel of my FR-S again and seeing you in the stands.
Thanks so much for all the support!
Photography: OMGDrift.com
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