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 though 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 its only a matter of time before we stand on the top spot of the podium once again!

The Cyrious Report – DMCC Round 2

This past weekend was DMCC rd 2, and I'm proud to say we finished 4th!!

The week leading up to RD2 we knew some changes to the steering setup on the FR-S needed to be made, so we pulled it all apart, modified the front cross-member and steering rack mounting position. What a difference! The FR-S's steering had never felt so good! I instantly felt much more comfortable with the car!

This round took place at Icar circuit, just outside of Montreal. The course was basically 2 corners with entry speeds hitting about 145kph. Morning practice went well, we spent time finding a good set up on the car and got our tire pressures dialed in on the Advans. We actually had lots of grip on the concrete surface and were running higher tire pressures than we normally would. I was feeling good about the car and the track, and was really enjoying drifting the FR-S!

Going into qualifying I just did what I had been doing all day, laid down a clean lap and qualified 8th! That locked us into the top 16 competition. We were paired up to go against Kevin Moran, who is fairly aggressive and likes to use lots of steering angle. I was first to lead. I hit all the clips and put my car in all the right spots. Kevin followed closely but made mistakes giving me an advantage. My follow lap I stayed clean and on line, and was rewarded the win! This marked the first time I have made it to the top 8 with the FR-S, it felt great!

Next up we were to go against Alex Michaud. He is extremely aggressive and was also the number one qualifier. I was to follow first. We launched from the start line, I stuck with him all the way in, we initiated at the same time, but Alex was going a bit too hot. He hit the wall causing him to straighten out, I passed down the inside and finished the course, big advantage to me! Alex knew he had to do something amazing to get the win. On my lead lap he stayed beside me the entire straight into the first corner. The follow car is supposed to tuck in behind the lead car, but he didn't do that. I initiated drift, Alex was right beside me putting him in the totally wrong spot. He bumped me about 3 times at which point I lost drift as he was blocking my line. The Judges quickly awarded me the win and we moved on to the top 4!

Next up was Jonathan Guitard. His car has quite a bit more power than mine, so I knew it was going to be a fight to keep up. I was to follow first. We launched together, and he gapped me about 4 car lengths into the first corner, but as soon as we got sideways, I started to close in on him in the braking zone. Great thing about having a light car like the FR-S is that you can close gaps very quickly in braking, something I've always love doing. This time though I was coming in a bit hot and on max angle. I couldn't hold it and spun out. My lead lap was good but so was his follow on me, so he was rewarded the win.

For the 3rd place spot on the podium, we were to go against Maxim Lemovne. Him and I have battled many times and we always put on a good show for the fans! I was first to lead. I laid down what was probably one of my best laps all weekend! Rounding the final turn I checked my mirrors, Max was close but not right on me. My spotter was trying to relay to me how Max did behind me, but I was having trouble hearing the radio. So on my follow I decided I would give pretty much 100% to get the outright win. I followed him into the first corner, he gapped me a couple of car lengths, but as soon as we got sideways I started to close in on him in braking. It was all looking amazing but once again I was closing in a bit too fast. I bumped into Max, causing my car to spin and basically giving him the win. Our end result was 4th place.

I was disappointed but still happy with how we did. We come out of this round with a new found confidence in the FR-S and in myself. The fans were coming up to me saying it was great to see me out there driving the FR-S like it was my AE86! We still have growing to do together but its only getting better! We will continue to make some changes to the car over the next few weeks before RD3, one of the major ones is hopefully having our Tremec transmission ready to install, which will really help us out with gearing, and is a major piece of the puzzle to making the FR-S even better! Also we will try to get a new radio setup, as spotter information is very important and can make or break a weekend.

Thanks so much for the support!

The Cyrious Report - DMCC ROUND 1 and Formula D ROUND 4

June 14th was the opening round of DMCC, and man was it a wet one! With most of the events only being one day, you only get about 2.5 hours of practice, so your car set up has to be pretty close right out of the trailer as there isn't much time to make changes. Unfortunately we struggled to get a good set up out of the FR-S… our gearing for the wet conditions was way off and we were fighting with traction, either it felt like we had too much in some parts of the track or none at all in other sections.

We did the best with what we had and came up with a set up that was decent but not ideal. My first qualifying lap was OK, but not great, netting us a score of 65. Second lap out I knew I had to push to get in the main event but pushed a bit too hard in the wet conditions and spun going into the first corner. We didn’t make the top 16 and our weekend was done.

We left DMCC and quickly got back to the shop to make a few small changes to the FR-S, checked everything over, loaded up 2 days later and headed out to New Jersey for FD round 4. It’s been about 3 years since I had last competed in Formula Drift, and lots has changed since then. The amount of power, grip, angle and smoke that’s produced by about 90% of the cars there is amazing! I quickly realized I was a bit out gunned, but I was there to make the best of what we had and put on the best show possible!

Practice went well, but my lack of power and steering angle really started to show. I was the first to qualify, and laid down the best lap I had done all weekend! Up on the wall, hit all the clips and my line was spot on! It felt great but only got us a score of 55 due to the lack of smoke and angle the other cars are capable of. The judges said my run lacked impact, and I understood why. Next lap out I tried to get a bit more aggressive with the FR-S, and did a bit better of a lap getting a score of 57 – nowhere nearly enough to get us in the top 32 though, so once again our weekend was over. We did stay for the main event to display the car and talk to the fans that were there.

Back at the shop now we are modifying our steering to get more angle, which should make the car easier to drift. But there’s not a lot of time, as we are off to round 2 of DMCC this Friday. Every round I feel better and better with the FR-S. We are always trying to improve it and hopefully very soon we find that ideal set up we need to get back on top! I have confidence in the car and the engine set up. As much as every other driver that uses the FR-S chassis swaps out the factory engine, I truly feel with more time and development we will be able to make the power needed to compete with the best out there while still using the factory 4U-GSE engine.

Thanks so very much for the support!

The Cyrious Report – FD Miami

This past weekend was FD FL, where they were having the Pro and first ever Pro 2 drift event in Homestead, Miami. We went to compete in pro2 for the weekend.

When running in Pro 2, you only get about an hour and a half of practice, then it’s straight into qualifying. I was the first driver to get out and practice as I was eager to learn the track quickly. The conditions were wet but I was feeling very confident in my car, and was actually enjoy drifting in the wet. The car was very predictable and feeling the best it had ever felt. We were hitting the right line and were looking easily like one of the top drivers out there!

Going into qualifying I was feeling very confident and was excited to go out for our first lap of qualifying for 2014! As I launched the car from the starting line, pulled through the first 3 gears, initiated drift, then quickly shifted to 4th gear the car bogged then went right to idle… instant zero. We checked the data in the ECU, there was a glitch with the electric throttle. With the very limited time between runs there was not much we could do, so we hoped it wouldn't happen in the next lap and spend more time to figure it out later. Unfortunately it did the exact same thing on the second lap, zero score again, our weekend was done.

These types of things happen with fresh builds and we have the problem fixed so that it will never happen again. In the few practice laps we did make, the car felt great! We were able to keep up with cars that had close to double the horsepower, the FR-S is very controllable now and has a great amount of traction, a big part of which is from the Yokohama AD08R tires we are running.

Our next event is DMCC rd1 on the 14th, I'm really looking forward to it!

Thanks so much for the support!