Ken Block’s Gymkhana Grid – Invitational at Toyota Speedway

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 Penalties are given for hitting obstacles or not displaying enough tire smoke.  It is a very tough balancing act to maintain because drifting isn’t the fastest way around a course and driving a fast line shouldn’t produce huge tire smoke.  This would amount to a 2 second penalty but Ross Petty is just having fun this round.  
 

 Although most of the grid was made up of the stars and cars of Formula D this was a “run what you brung” event that saw everything from full blown rally cars to time attack cars.  Bas Koeten Racing came all the way from the Netherlands to compete with in their BioMCN methanol powered 350Z rally car.  Weekend warrior Jordan Lippman showed up in his daily driven near stock Subaru STI and drove his heart out and made it to the semi finals against two time Formula D champion Tanner Foust in his WRC Ford Fiesta.  

Alex Pfeiffer
Alex the Flying Hawaiian Pfeiffer was on hand in his private SC300 that packs over 650 turbocharged hp.  From watching the car in Formula D we know that it’s hampered by a lot of turbo lag which makes it hard to drive.  He was eliminated in the first round.  Alex did not bring out the Tanaka racing/Nitto Tire ZO6 he normally drives in Formula D.  The results would have been a lot better.  It was rumored that Alex was not allowed to bring the potent Caterham that he also owns.  This powerful turbo Lotus super seven replica might have cleaned house.

  

Many of the resident Formula D drivers were in attendance.  The BMI Racing 4 rotor RX8 driven by Jeff Jones absolutely screams like a banshee at full throttle.  It sounds absolutely raw in person.    

The general buzz around the pits focused on a softer suspension setup and rear tire pressure so low that many teams were in shock.  Some teams mentioned that it was about half the normal tire pressure they would run at a drift event.  One of the suspension engineering obstacles to overcome was the fact that the gymkhana course saw speeds much lower than drifting.  Mike Kojima was on hand to setup the KW suspension on Dai Yoshihara’s Team Falken/Discount Tire S13 and he had to figure out how to change everything on a car that normally slides through the oval at over 100mph on a typical Formula D day.  The Gymkhana Grid course is a comparatively low speed course where they are mostly in 2nd and 3rd gear.  The course was also very bumpy and the bumps upset many of the cars making them hard to control, especially on the left hand course.

Many battles were won and lost on the short straight sections of the track.  Ken Block in the Monster Energy Ford Fiesta looks to be setup a bit softer than Tanner’s Rockstar Energy Ford Fiesta.  The Monster Energy car seemed to squat harder on acceleration and we assume that both cars are making roughly the same power.

 

Drifting comes naturally to guys like 2010 Formula D champion Vaughn Gittin Jr.  He had to drift AND get through the course quickly in his newly built 1978 Ford Escort.  This car bears a striking resemblance to a Datsun 510 doesn’t it?  His efforts were hampered by blown shocks and a car set up for dirt not tarmac.  Even his legendary driving skills could not overcome this handicap.

The Escort had 260 NA horsepower from a Duratech Formula Atlantic engine with a paddle shifted dog box.  Unfortunately JR was also having trouble with the paddle shift system which slowed him down as well.

Some of the teams had to deal with entirely different suspension setups and driving techniques. There was a healthy sprinkling of purpose built rally cars and time attack cars that were competing in the event.  Smoking the tires and doing 720 burnouts is just about the opposite of what a time attack or rally car is supposed to do but this is what’s so fresh about this type of US gymkhana.  Drivers, teams, & engineers have a new challenge to step up to and this is where we might see some new innovations in tuner based motorsports.  

Matt Powers
Matt Powers was shedding body parts like he does in Formula D but he was ultra fast and made it to the final 4.

 

Joon Maeng
Formula D Pro Joon Maeng, who is probably the nicest guy in Motorsports struggled in the Lucas Oil S13.5.  He seemed to be having trouble finding a consistent line.  Normally the pilot of the Nitto Tire/Berganholtz racing RX-8 Joon brought out both his personal S13.5 and his AE86 which he blew up in the burnout contest.
pat mordaunt
Pat Mordaunt looked strong in his 350Z.  His car has seemed to have shaken the teething issues that plagued it during the 2010 Formula D season.  Look for Pat to come on hard in 2011.

 

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