Building The Dream: Targa Newfoundland Scion FR-S Gets First Round of Upgrades

Peter and Dave from Speed Academy (http://speed.academy) are getting ready to fly to Newfoundland in a few days, so it’s time we got you caught up on the build of their Scion Racing FR-S.

As you’ll see in Episode 2 of their on-going video series documenting the build, the wrenching officially got underway at their “tuning dungeon” (a renovated chicken coup), starting with a pair of Recaro Profi SPG racing seats mounted on Buddy Club Super Low Down seat rails.

They also installed a pair of Takata Race 6 HANS 6-point harnesses in the FR-S, since safety is not something to be taken lightly at an event like Targa Newfoundland (some big crashes have occurred in the past, including a Ferrari going for a swim in the ocean). These harnesses are perfect for Targa since the rules require a HANS (head and neck restraint) device be worn, plus Dave is pretty sure the classic Takata Green should really bring out the green in his eyes. For you boring “black is the new green” types, Takata now offers their belts in Black as well.

Dave and Peter have also begun a fun “Racers will turn anything into a competition” element in their build videos, the first of which you’ll see here in Episode 2. We’re also pretty sure that as the result of this first competition, Dave’s going on a protein shake and raw vegetable diet.

Pat Cyr - Road to Formula Drift

Meet Pat Cyr, one of Canada’s most aggressive professional drifters. Pat’s unique style and flare for the dramatic make him a fan favourite and created a cult-like following called the “Drift Posse”.

World renowned film maker Brandon Leung is following Pat on his journey to compete in his Scion FR-S at the Formula Drift finale at Irwindale Speedway aka the “House of Drift”. In full-on amazing cinematic quality, see what it takes to become a legend in the sport and why sliding is such an adrenaline rush.

Imagine the intensity as you sit next to Pat Cyr inside his FR-S as he challenges top notch competition. From prepping in the garage, to pre-race rituals in the paddock, experience drifting like never before!

The Cyrious Report – DMCC Rd 5 Recap

This past weekend was DMCC rd 5 at Autodrome Montmagny just outside of Quebec City, and I'm proud to say we finished on the podium in 3rd place!

Going into this round we finally got our new transmission set up in the car, and luckily were able to test it a few days before the event. It worked well but I was worried my gear ratios would be off as the new transmissions ratios are much different than the stock 6-speed. After our first couple of laps of practice in Montmagny, we realized the ratios were pretty much spot on, I just had to drift the car in 3rd gear instead of 4th.

Our first practice session went very well but the weather was being unpredictable. It was dry when the session started but by the end the rain came in and pretty much didn’t stop for the rest of the event. The track was very difficult when wet. Over the off-season there had been some track renovations – they widened it in certain spots and did some repairs in other spots, so with that some of the track had new asphalt and some of it was old. When wet the new sections of the track had a decent amount of grip, but once you hit the old surface all grip was gone! So it made it tricky as you had to remember where the surface changes would be and compensate for it.

My first qualifying lap was good. I made a small error on entry which cost me some points but we still managed to get locked-in in 6th place! My first battle of the day was with a rookie, Youri Levesque. I was to lead first, ran a clean lap and as I rounded the final corner I checked back and Youri was a good 10-15 car lengths back. On my follow lap I ran a clean lap again, but had trouble gaining ground on Youri and wasn't able to get as close as I wanted, but even with that the judges gave me the win!

In the great 8 we were to go against Tommy Boisvert Bellemart. I had beaten him the last round, so I knew he would be out for revenge this time! Once again I led first. We entered the first bank together, Tom was right on me pretty much the whole way around but his line was shallow going into the braking zone. I started to slow down and Tom had nowhere to go but into me. We bumped and both spun, giving me the advantage. I ran a good follow lap but still not as close as I would have liked to be, but it was good enough for the win!

For the final 4 we had to go against Kevin Morin. And again I had beaten him twice this year, so I knew he was going to want it bad this time. I led first. By this time it was dark as this was a night round, and the rain was coming down really hard. We entered into the first corner, my line around the first bank was great. I switched back through the center section of the course towards the outer wall the judges wanted us on. This time though I was coming in on the wall too quickly, so I had to straighten out to not crash into it. It was a big error and Kevin stayed with me through the course so I had a feeling he had the advantage. On my follow lap I was able to stick closely to him and his line was not what the judges wanted to see, so I was really hoping for a "one more time" call but we didn’t get it. Kevin moved to the finals and we were going to have to battle for 3rd place.

For the 3rd place battle, we went against Martin Langlois. I led first, laid down a decent lap and Martin stuck with me for the most part. On my follow lap, I did the same so there was no clear advantage, so the judges called a "one more time." I led again, did a good lap placing the car where it needed to be, and Martin wasn’t able to close in on me. I drove back to the start line and saw that Martin had pulled into the pits. It turned out his throttle cable had broken and he was unable to fix it in the 5 minutes they had to do it in, so I was given the win!

It felt great to finally get on the podium with the FR-S! This also marked the first time that a ZN6 chassis had seen a podium in professional drifting in North America! Next up for us is probably what is going to be the largest event in Canadian drifting history, FD Canada at St. Eustache on Sept 1! The day after we get back from that, I hop on a plane and head to China for a week to do some drifting demos there for Carvolution! This will be my first time overseas and I can’t wait to see what it’s like over there! More to come on that later!

The Cyrious Report – DMCC Round 4

DMCC made a return to Riverside Speedway, just outside of Quebec City for round 4 of the championship. Unlike the last time we were there a few months ago, the weather was set to be dry and sunny all day!

Leading up to this round we had to rebuild the FA20 engine in the FR-S due to a spun rod bearing the previous round. With only 2 weeks in-between rounds it was a tight turnaround to get it done, but we made it happen and were actually able to do some testing/filming at Shannonville raceway the Tuesday before the event. The test session went great, the FR-S was running spot on, I was feeling good and looking forward to round 4!

This event was a one day event, so my focus in practice was to dial the car’s set-up in and nail down a line that I liked around the course. Within a few laps I was feeling really good about our set up and was having fun drifting the FR-S. I was placing the car in all the right spots on the course and the car was running what felt like the best it ever had!

My first qualifying lap though did not go so well. I blasted down the straight into the first corner with an entry speed of about 145kph (90mph), dragged the e-brake for a few hundred feet sliding along the wall, dropped the e-brake and got quickly back on the gas into the first bank. Mid-way through the bank there was a loud "BANG" that came from the back of the car and instantly I lost drift. Right away I could tell it was a broken axle. I rushed back to the pits where my team was ready to attack the axle swap in the 25-30 minutes we had to do it. The boys got it done with about 5 minutes to spare! It’s always tough going into the second lap of qualifying knowing you have a score of 0, and if you don’t make it happen on this run your weekend is over. I stayed calm and did a decent lap, not my greatest run though, but it was good enough to qualify us in 13th! We were in the show!

In the top 16 I was to go against Kevin Moran. He's pretty consistent and his car has loads of steering angle which he likes to use, so I knew it would be a fight! I was to follow him first. I stuck very close to him all the way around the course, but when we got to the final corner he transitioned his car to quickly almost causing himself to spin, and because I was so close, I ended up bumping into him, luckily only doing some cosmetic damage. On my lead lap I ran a great lap! Kevin spun behind me so we were given the win!

In the top 8 we went against Tomy Boisvert-bellemare. His car, just like Kevin's, has loads of steering angle and he was looking pretty good all weekend so it wasn’t going to be an easy battle. Once again I was to follow first. Tom ran a decent lap, but I made some mistakes following so I knew he had an advantage going into the second lap. On my lead lap I gave it everything I had, and ran a pretty much perfect lap! When I looked back after the final turn Tom was nowhere to be seen. It turned out that he had broken an axle, earning him a 0 score on that run. Because of that and the mistakes I made on my first run, the judges called a OMT. Unfortunately for Tom, he was unable to get his car fixed in the 5 minutes allotted to fix his car, so we were awarded the win!

On to the final 4, we were to go against Alex Michaud. He is always a tough competitor so I knew I was going to need to go all out to beat him. I was to follow first. We initiated together, and I basically stuck my FR-S to his car around the entire course! It was one of the best follow runs I have done in the FR-S, only problem being was as we rounded the final corner just about at the point of the shutdown line, 4th gear in my transmission decided it had enough and broke apart. With only 5 minutes to fix the car we knew there was no way we could install the spare transmission in time, so our weekend was over. In the end we finished in 4th place.

It was really looking like I was going to get my first podium in the FR-S this weekend, but it just wasn't meant to be. Overall though I was very happy with how we performed. My team worked very hard to keep the car on track, and we're proving that the FR-S can be a killer in competition! We have a little less than 3 weeks before the next round, so we have time to set up our new Tremec transmission which should easily hold up to the power the FR-S is making. Also we are upgrading the rear axles to 1000hp axles, so breaking those should be a thing of the past! In the points standings we are in 10th place with 2 rounds to go, so I'm hoping for a strong finish to the season!

Speed Academy Drops First Targa Newfoundland Scion FR-S Build Video

Speed Academy’s Dave Pratte and Peter Tarach (formerly the editors at Modified Magazine) have just released the first of a series of videos chronicling their grassroots effort to transform a former Tuner Challenge Scion FR-S into a road-legal rally car they will be campaigning in one of the most challenging and unique motorsports events in the world, Targa Newfoundland.

According to Dave, "Competing at Targa Newfoundland has been a long-standing dream of ours, and we're doubly excited to be taking on this unique motorsports adventure in one of the best handling sports coupe on the market at any price, the Scion FR-S. We've also partnered with some of the finest performance parts manufacturers and distributors in the business as we prepare the FR-S for the extreme conditions it'll face in Newfoundland, including KW Suspension, Rays Engineering, Whiteline, Recaro, Takata, Motovicity, Essex, SPEC, Tomei, Downforce USA, Spyder, and Alpinestars."

Peter added, “Driving flat out on twisty public roads in a Scion FR-S is truly the stuff that car-guy dreams are made of. The fact that we get to modify our loaner FR-S ourselves also means we'll be able to dial it in to our specific needs while forming that special man-and-machine bond every gearhead can relate to.” As you’ll see in this project intro video, removing the old roll cage was a bit of a daunting task, but they’ve since moved on to bolting up some of the go-fast goodies you’ll see in the subsequent videos.

The Cyrious Report - DMCC Round 3

Round 3 of the DMCC Championship took place at Autodrome Montmagny. This track is a big oval with a switch back in the center, the banks are high speed and all of the action takes place right in front of the fans! I've always enjoyed drifting this track and usually do very well there.

Leading up to the event, we made a few small changes to the car and had Sasha from OnPoint Dyno worked his magic and found a bit more horsepower in the engine. Also we had done some testing at Shannonville the week before, so going into this event I was feeling very confident with the FR-S!

With the event being all on one day, once again we had only 2 hours of practice before qualifying. I focused on what was going to be the best line around the course, and our tire pressure/suspension setup. We were able to do 6 laps in practice and had a set up/line that I liked. The FR-S was feeling the best it had ever felt! My first qualifying lap went well, I hit all the clips and carried good speed and smoke throughout the entire course, but I was a few feet off the top of the bank. Even with the small mistake we were able to get locked into the top 16 with a qualifying position of 6th place!

Going into the top 16 competition we were to go against Claude Poirier. I had a chance to follow Claude in practice; our speeds were pretty even so I knew it would be a good battle. I was to lead first. On my initiation, the FR-S went to a bit more angle than I expected, causing me to have a lower line in the bank, and I also made a small mistake on the second bank. Claude stuck with me though the entire course, so with that I knew I needed a really good follow lap. On my follow, I was about 2 car lengths behind Claude, he made a few mistakes and I was only able to really close in on him rounding the last 2 corners. I was hoping it would be enough to get the win but the judges called a "one more time". My next lead lap went great! I put the FR-S in all the right spots, and Claude was about 2 cars lengths behind through the entire course. On my follow lap I stuck with him all the way through and got door to door and the last 2 corners! The crowd went nuts and I was awarded the win!

In the great 8 we got matched up with Maxim Lemoine. Max had beaten me in the previous round due to a mistake on my part, so I was not going to let that happen again! He was to lead first, we launched down the start line, I was right with him and we initiated together. As soon as I went to get back on the throttle, the engine felt down on power. I clutch kicked the FR-S 3 times to get it to spool up, but by that point I was really low on the bank and Max had started to take off from me. I drifted about half way through the course but by that point there was something really wrong with the engine, so I shut it down and coasted the rest of the course so that we would not do more damage to the engine. We suspected it was a spun rod bearing so at that point I had to forfeit my lead lap and call it quits.

Back at the shop now we are pulling the engine out of the car and should hopefully have it ready for Rd4 in less than 2 weeks. Overall I was very happy with how I performed, and I'm really feeling comfortable drifting the FR-S. The more I drift it, the more I feel one with the car and things just happen naturally instead of me thinking about what I'm doing. I really feel it's only a matter of time before we stand on the top spot of the podium once again!