We are at Irwindale, the house of drift, USA. The legendary track of running walls, high speed entries, and high speed crashes. To improve on what we think is a great show, we’ve decided to run the 3 wall layout, in which there will be 3 walls to scrape. Naturally the configuration is very hardcore. Upon the start the drifter will have to take as much speed as he can to carry into the first left hand sweeping bend, which is on the banking. The touch’n’go is pretty much the whole wall here, and while the judges do not expect you to scrape it all, they do expect you to be close to it. The track then demands a transition and a clip at “clip 1” area with your first bumper and another transition into the left hander, again with the wall being the touch and go zone, this time with no banking. A clip on the exit signals for acceleration to transition ONCE (not to manji) into the right hander with another wall ride. As you can imagine the entry speeds will be in excess of 140, and the wall itself is usually run at about 90 kph. So watch yourself.
The first runs happened pretty uneventfully, with only a couple of drivers performing at a level not regularly seen from them. While DoriftoDorito managed to display great skill of wall scraping, Szafirowy has shown that the V8 Luna is extremely good at picking up speed through the transition into the 3rd touch’n’go. The second batch of runs has shown much of the same, both DoriftoDorito and Szafirowy playing it safer than usual. John Waldock was the first to feel the real danger of Irwindale, as he transitioned into the 2nd touch’n’go he touched a bit hard, and went side first into the wall. A whole wall scraped later, he emerged out of his car surveying the damage. Luckily it seems that the damage is minimal and the team will be able to perform at their best during the Top 16. Second to run into problems was RK38. The poor guy had the car that was a handful at the best of times, and Irwindale is the case of “the worst of times” The first clip marker saw him spin and run rear first into the concrete wall of Touch’n’go 2.
Howler Automotive R1 : 79 / R2 : 85
Gridghost R1 : 70 / R2 : 64
Matti R1 : 69 / R2 : 69
Squidhead R1 : 67 / R2 : 67
Airjordan R1 : 67 / R2 : 64
Szafirowy R1 : 66 / R2 : 58
Dorifto Dorito R1 : 63 / R2 : 56
Madrias R1 : 61 / R2 : 59
4LGE R1 : 58 / R2 : 61
STM316 R1 : 55 / R2 : 59
Strop R1 : 54 / R2 : 58
JohnWaldock R1 : 44 / R2 : 17
Vri404 R1 : 38 / R2 : 38
RK38 R1 : 16 / R2 : 4
With the third round of the PTKD soon coming to a conclusion, and most of the competitors already done measuring each other up and knowing who could do what, it was time to give it all before the big re-shuffle of the setup revisions. The battle board was set and the drifters lined up for their first runs at the American House of Drift. First up were the By-runners, who would go through unopposed into the top 8.
By-Runs
Howler Automotive - An insane run, once again from team Stellar Drift, as Howler ran the walls perfectly leaving deep scraped in two out of 3 Touch’n’Gos.
GridGhost - The heavy hitting privateer has opted for a safe but solid run. No problems encountered.
Run 1
Matti vs RK38
Maesima’s home team had problems through out the first two rounds, being unable to tame the turbo beast of a car they’ve created. Matti’s Endurifto on the other hand ran like a charm and scored high. So for this run it was not a fair fight. Matti has logged in an extremely juicy run, while RK38 tried to keep up. Sadly, that kind of performance comes at a price of being on the edge and RK38 has fallen off it. At the second transition into the third Touch’n’Go the MRZ-3 has spun out and hit the barrier. That mistake cost him the battle, and Matti moves on to Top 8
Run 2
Squidhead vs Vri404
Team Kraft Haus, seemed to have a good setup for this track, as the high speeds demanded a lot of power and a lot of grip, both of which the car had. The naturally aspirated v8 also gave the car ease of use. Vri and team NorthStar Drift Unit has opted for a high boost engine, which made the car more difficult to drive. Never the less, Vri has shown a decent battle against Squidhead, managing a good lead run, but as chase run came about, the faster and better handling MRZ-3 has stuck on the Hadron through out the whole track. Judges have given Squidhead the win.
Run 3
Airjordan vs JohnWaldock
Airjordan and team Smooth racing have been performing admirably so far, while John and team JHW Racing have been on and off, which we saw mirrored in this battle. The Smooth Belfaw ran at insane speeds, at a very controlled drifts, producing massive smoke. John tried to keep up, but the car was just not fast enough. So while Ken wanted to see another run and voted OMT, both Keiichi and James have given Airjordan the win
Run 4
Szafirowy vs Strop
While Szafirowy’s Luna v8 was a force to be recogned with, Strop’s CTC concept was a dark horse that could either perform greatly, or throw the driver off. The lack of proper testing or a good setup has set team ninja horse back in the first two rounds greatly. This was by far the best battle we’ve seen today. Both cars running into the wall at maximum speeds. Stop leading, and Szafirowy straight on his door, smoke pouring from the back of their cars producing clouds. As the roles changed the whole thing had the crowd on their feet yet again, Strop not wanting to fall back pushing Szafirowy hard. After a little thought Keiichi gave the run to Szafirowy… both other judges demanded a One More Time
Run 5
Dorifto Dorito vs STM316
Both competitors have seen mixed results, not under, nor over achieving. STM’s Venice was a crowd favourite though, demonstrating that a garage built old school car could compete at a very high level. Dorifto Dorito had to give it all in his Paradox to stand a chance. This was a very mixed battle, STM providing the angle and smoke, while DoriftoDorito had opted for speed and lost a few points on the lower angle. Both drivers demonstrating great stability and control of their cars. Keiichi voted for DoriftoDorito, and Ken wanted the win to go to STM316. James was the deciding judge and he went with One More Time.
Run 6
Szafirowy vs Strop OMT1
If anything, this was an even worse run for clarity than the previous one. The angle, speed and the stability through out the run were pretty much identical and on point. Both drivers given us the perfect lead, and then the perfect chase. Judges could only look at each other and shrug. After a few minutes of discussion another OMT was requested.
Run 7
DoriftoDorito vs STM316 OMT1
Yet another OMT, this time by Dorifto and STM. This one, went a bit more straight forward at first. The first run with STM leading saw STM initiate too closely to the wall at TnG 1, which promptly had him slam into said wall with the side of his car. Dorito has passed him and went on to perform a single run, with Dorito following him half the track away in a limping Venice. The car has seen a bit of damage, but the run was easily given to Dorito. The battle was over, or so we all thought. Sadly the clarity went out the window as we saw Dorito spin out on the transition at the first clip point. The judges couldn’t reach a verdict, so it was OMT for the two drivers once again, this time STM having the disadvantage of a damaged car.
Run 8
Madrias vs 4LGE
This promised to be a good one, as another popular driver 4LGE lined up. The monstrous power of the Taore Rax meant that he’d either have a tremendous run, or a tremendous crash, both of which was great entertainment. Madrias had a more tame car, which was probably a safer bet. Never the less we were about to find out who’s way would prevail. We were expecting a lot of smoke, and we got it, but unexpectedly it was mostly from Madrias’ car, the Knight. 4LGE just was not on the ball today, and while his speed was just great, the amount of corrections he had to do, and the lack of smoke and angle have sealed the deal on both runs. Madrias and team FireStorm would move on to the Top 8
Run 9
Szafirowy vs Strop OMT2
This round settled it between the two drivers. Szafirowy led the first run, and as usual performed greatly, with Strop right on his door handle, providing for great entertainment. Sadly this did not last long, as both cars entered the third TnG Szafirowy hit the wall with his rear bumper pretty hard. The replay has seen the bumper give up and allow the car to make contact with the wall with it’s wheel, damaging it badly. Szafirowy has somehow salvaged that run, but it was clear that he has made a huge mistake. Second run Strop was leading, and while we expected him to run safe and move up, for some reason he decided to go all out,and it cost him. The transition into the second TnG right after the first clip caught him out, and the GTC concept understeered hard, crashing straight into the wall, and ripping the car pretty much in two. Strop, luckily, was alive and well, but the car was not, the front frame split and the engine was pretty much lying on the ground. A mistake of this magnitude ended his competition there and then and Szafirowy moved on to Top 8
Run 10
DoriftoDorito vs STM316 OMT2
The last pair to get the winner was decided in this run, with DoriftoDorito having an advantage, as STM’s car was damaged. The first run we clearly saw the Venice losing it’s edge, having a lot of corrections and unsteady drifts through out the course. While STM managed to hold it together and log a decent run, Doriftos’ was just plain better. On the second run we saw Dorito going for a safe approach and just go with a dependable and good run, simply following STM closely behind. STM, sadly, could not do much with his car not tracking right. Dorito gets the win.
With the deck shuffled just enough to be familiar and fresh at the same time it was time for the Top 8 battles. No by-runs here, so everybody had to pull their weight.
Run 1
HowlerAutomotive vs Madrias
Howler has once again demonstrated how to enter the corner as a leader. Sadly he could not demonstrate how to drift through the TnG zone, as the first wall run ended abruptly for him, due to the contact with that same above mentioned wall. The Prodigy SD16 has slammed into the wall with it’s left side hard and scraped it all the way through. Madrias and his Storm Knight have shown a decent run and had a huge advantage now. The second run had Madrias lead, and while Howler had a quick inspection of the car and decided to run, the damage was evident, the Prodigy prototype not being at it’s best left Howler without his main weapon -the best setup car in the grid. He did perform very well, and even got a slight advantage in the second run, but the judges thought that a mistake that big in run 1 is enough for Madrias to win this battle.
Run 2
Gridghost vs DoriftoDorito
Dorito was having a great weekend, and Gridghost was aiming to stop it. With the first run led by Dorito, Gridghosts’ chase was amazing, sticking close, and mimicking Dorito perfectly. The switch was made and Gridghost was to lead the second run. However the nerves were on the edge and it seems Gridghost couldn’t cut it today, as we saw him spinning out after the second clip point, during the transition into the third TnG zone. As the judges consulted they were ready to reach a verdict - this would’ve ended in a OMT run if Gridghost did not make a mistake, and DoriftoDorito moves on to the Semi Finals.
Run 3
Squidhead vs Airjordan
Both of these drivers were strong competitors, and both finalists of the first round in Odaiba, where Airjordan walked away with the win. Here, however they were both just top-ish mid runners, meeting in the top 8. To have a chance at the crown both were ready to go all out. Another great run was made by this pair, pouring tons of smoke, laying down proper runs, and not giving an inch. Both Squidhead and Airjordan managed to run clean leads and perform close and tight chases. The judges once again could not really reach a verdict. Keiichi was certain that Airjordan was better, but Ken and James not so much, so an OMT run was requested
Run 4
Matti vs Szafirowy
Unlycky for Szafirowy, probably the fastest guy on the grid, he came up against Matti, who was probably the most aggressive guy on the grid. The lead run by Szafirowy saw him run away with it, losing Matti in the smoke, but judges saw through that, deciding that it came at the cost of angle. Matti saw what happened and concentrated his first run on nailing all the clipping points. The second run we saw Szafirowy follow close, even getting minor contact with the Endurifto, but Matti’s run was pitch perfect once again, running all the walls like a champ. The judges had a bit of an argument, and while they saw the speed, they thought that Matti’s angle and control prevailed in this run
Run 5
Squidhead vs Airjordan OMT 1
The first run has promised us a lot, and the second one should not have disappointed. Once again we saw great drifting from both competitors, Sadly for team Kraft Haus the speed of the Maesima MRZ-3 was just not enough this time, as Belfaw set a lightning fast pace. The judges were ready to reach a verdict, and while Ken thought that Squidhead did a tiny bit better, both James and Keiichi thought Airjordan was the clear winner.
Run 1
Madrias vs Airjordan
The number 8 and number 5 qualifiers were to go against each other in the first run of the semi finals, Madrias looking very strong this weekend, and Airjordan already having proven that he can win events. Madrias leading the first run, Airjordan following. While the Storm Knight ran a very clean and consistent run, every corner, every transition the Smooth Belfaw was right on it’s door, keeping the battle close and tight. As the roles reversed Madrias did lose a bit of ground to Airjordan. The judges went on to make a decission. While both racers have shown us a great amount of skill, the amount of smoke and the consistency of the runs went to Madrias. 2 judges against one, Madrias moves on to the finals.
Run 2
DoriftoDorito vs Matti
Dorito had a lot to prove here, but he had to prove it all against Matti, who’s been gaining momentum through out the championship. Dorito’s first run as a lead shown us some potential, but to beat Matti’s chase, he had to pretty much glue himself to the Shack Endurifto, that run was that close. This did happen, but sadly to keep up Matti had to go with smaller angles. Madrias on the other hadn led a perfect run, all 3 judges had their work cut out for them, Matti goes to the finals.
Matti vs Madrias
A lot of pressure on both drivers as they lined up, Matti leading the first run. As soon as the guys hit the first TnG it was evident at how much more potential the Shack had than the Storm Knight, pouring great amounts of smoke at insane angles, while maintaining huge speeds, the Storm could not keep up nor smoke at the same level. Sadly at the second transition Matti picked up a bit too much speed, which caused him to not only run the third wall, but actually run into the wall. Madrias passed the heavily damaged car in a controlled manner, to take the win after only the first run in the finals.
104 pts Madrias
85 pts Matti
68 pts Airjordan
68 pts Dorifto Dorito
58 pts Howler Automotive
55 pts Gridghost
52 pts Squidhead
52 pts Szafirowy
35 pts 4LGE
35 pts STM316
35 pts Strop
35 pts JohnWaldock
35 pts Vri404
35 pts RK38