Wednesday, April 27, 2005
Pics: George "GEO"
To all sponsors of ER Motorsports / Team Enjuku,
Let me begin this email first by thanking each one of your for making this whole thing possible. You, our sponsors, have enabled us to move forward with drifting and represent your companies to the fullest while giving our team the highest quality in parts and equipment, so that we look the part of the professional race team.
The weekend was awesome, and Team Enjuku truly raised the bar on the
level of professionalism for pro-drifting. Team Enjuku was the only
privateer team to show up in a 60 foot Renegade car hauler setup, and the only privateer team to be in full uniform. Our mobile shop and twin car team was the envy of many competitors, as they asked us numerous times who we were, where we came from, and where we were from, etc. I think we definitly got some of the competitors thinking and wondering about us, possibly even a bit intimidated.
As the event began to shift on to the weight of the drivers for Team
Enjuku, minor problems on Matt's car prevented him from practicing the course before qualifying. The problem ended up being a t-bolt charge pipe clamp to the intercooler that had snapped in half. Team Enjuku quickly resolved the situation with a new t-bolt clamp, however Matt was now down on practice time that was much needed on this very difficult course. Rob, who had full qualifying time, did perfectly on the course, and improved on each run on his way towards qualifying.
The track proved to be very difficult, as many pro drivers hit the wall in practice sessions, damaging and totaling many cars. Highlights include a lexus who cracked his oil pan on the 30 degree bank to flat infield, delaying practice for 30 minutes, a few cars hitting the front left corner of their cars on the wall, destroying control arms and bodywork, and a couple more drivers who destroyed their wheels hitting the transition at the wrong angle. To say this course was very unforgiving is being conservative.
Moving forwards towards qualifying it was apparent that less practice time for myself would not help me advance, as I struggled to complete the course with as much finesse as my team mate, Rob. Rob ended up qualifying 6th out of 25, I qualified 14th. Only the top 12 would advance to Saturday's main event. Although both cars did not get to make the main event, Team Enjuku was still very happy with our results. No broken cars, no damaged components, and we were still in the show. We can only get better from here, and we prepared for Saturdays' competition.
Saturday's event brought even more people to Wall Stadium, and more
people to look at Team Enjuku's setup. We answered many questions,
signed many autographs, met with many people and talked to many
companies that were very impressed with what we brought to the table. Practice and qualifying put television cameras on Rob's car, as G4TV will be televising all of the formula d events with "Formula D TV". Rob's main goal was to get the crowd crazy, and he did so with great success.
The first driver to get standing ovations and cheers from the crowd, it seemed everyone was happy with Rob's performance, even though he lost a front bumper and spun out while trying to avoid it on the final turn.
Although we did not make the top 16 for the first round, it was still an awesome event, and a success in the eyes of ER Motorsports. We can only get better from here, and our overall teamwork and preparedness is already at a level higher than most of our competitors. We are easily the most professional of the privateer teams, and hope to have the entire world of drifting amazed at the secrets we're about to unleash come the May 07 Road Atlanta event.
Again, we thank you for being with us for the 2005 season, and hope that you will be able to make it to at least one of the Formula D events so you can see our team and presence in action.
ER Motorsports ATTN Matt
6100 Hanging Moss Rd Suite 570
Orlando, FL 32807
Thank you again, and we hope to hear back from you regarding anything you want from us in 05.
Contact Info: Nick