Star Drift Challenge Round 2 Results
Bridgestone Drift Team, 1st & 3rd Position Overall.
Another great outing for Bridgestone Drift Team. After a hectic weekend of drifting, Tat Wei managed to secure a 2nd win to further increase his championship lead.
Ivan however, suffered from chassis setup issues all weekend. I’ve narrowed it down to a weak platform. A large portion of the boot section was cut out to reduce weight, but instead, has resulted in loss of torsional and bending rigidity. This was made apparent when we reduced spring rates on the rear axle which immediately improved balance & agility. As soon as you increase damping or spring rates, handling & agility goes out the window.
Best 4, T Djan Vs Tat Wei (1st Run)
Best 4, T Djan Vs Tat Wei (Final Run)
Tat Wei now has a comfortable lead of 46 points over 2nd spot. I managed to qualify in top position which earned me 16 points, but I spun on the last run in Best 4 which gave him the win to proceeded to the finals. One thing for sure, the SX doesn’t have mid corner speed issues. It’s as quick, if not quicker at certain sections of the course against the light weight and powerful Corollas.
Tire issues still plagued the SX. Supply of RE01R’s have stopped due to the introduction of the RE11. But we still haven’t received any, due to the short supply and Bridgestone’s commitment to their domestic market. We used both RE050 (265) & Adrenalins (255) throughout the weekend. The Adrenalins were great but the 255′s didn’t produce as much grip as the 265′s.
All in all, I had a great weekend. The car has improved tremendously since we started testing end of last year. It’s producing the right level of grip & we’ve managed to increase the drift angle on the SX thanks to a modified front knuckle produced and sold by GP Sports. I was experiencing some minor gearbox issues but we have managed to solve the problem after speaking to NISMO.
Now all I need is more time behind the wheel and we should be prepared for the World Championship at the end of this year.
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