The DSTROYR Blog

Tengku Djan Ley gives a run down of his weekend.

Official colors for 2011! New colors, new sponsors!

(This is a repost of several entries directly from PrinceOfDrift.com)

The weekend is finally over. We completed the final 4 for Rd2, Rd3 on Sat and Rd4 on Sun. This has to be the most intense drifting weekend for the team ever.

Unofficial practice started on Friday, 54 cars with limited practice time. I managed to squeeze in 3 laps before it started to pour. When it rains, the track is so slick its borderline ridiculous.

Saturday was bright and sunny. We managed to get some good laps and was ready for quali. Weather forecast was rain throughout the weekend and it poured again in between sessions. I put in a good first qualifying run which put me in top spot, but got pushed down to 3rd when everyone started to up the pace for 2nd quali session. I tried to kill it on my 2nd but over cooked it on the entry and ran slightly off line @ the main turn.

Rd3 was a top16 tandem shootout. We had installed a new dog box for the SX which worked really well. But it took some getting used to. I was catching 5th instead of 3rd a couple of times and it happened on my top 16 run which put me out of the game for Rd3. Total bummer as it was precious points for the championship.

Rd2 last month was a washout due to monsoon rain during the final 4. So the organizers decided to have a re run right after rd3. I was up against Kohkae in top 4 and moved ahead to the finals. This is where the drama started. I was the lead car on our first run and as I initiated I saw a random cone lying on the ground,right on my line. That cone ended up under my rear tire causing the car to lose total control and took me straight into the wall. The damage was minimal as the wall was covered with massive sponge barriers, but the chase car ended up hitting me from the back, totally destroying the rear end of the SX. Thank god no one was hurt. The organizers decided to give both of us the win as the incident was their fault. More points for us, and we were still leading the championship after round 3. You can watch the video from my previous post (see below) which shows clearly how that cone got under my rear wheel. Talk about arse luck.

My mechanics got down to fixing the car right away, and from initial inspection, it looked like only the rear boot area suffered damage. RedBull Team was in full support and we worked all night putting the bodywork straight in time for Rd4 on sunday. By 8am, the car was back together again but it didn’t look or feel right. I couldn’t figure it out. Practice started @ 930am. The car tracked straight but grip level was lower than it normally had.

We had it checked over after practice and after a long stare at the rear subframe, I realized it was twisted! It was too late to fix and I decided not to think about it and just continue driving. We’re here for the championship and raking up points was important.

The weather was horrific on Sunday. It was dark and gloomy all day with light showers throughout the day. It started to dry up during my 1st quali run and I managed to nail top spot gambling with car setup to maximize grip and speed for my 1st run. Somchai my team mate managed to edge me out of top spot but I came back with a killer run on my 2nd. Highest speed, biggest angle and perfect line which scored 91points. Now that’s another 10 point to add to my championship lead.

Rd4 was Top 32 tandem. I made easy work of the competitors but by top 4 I was lacking speed out of corners on my chase runs which cost me a spot on the podium. We ended up 4th overall but still a great effort by the team. We wouldn’t have achieved it with out the support of the team. We’re now 2nd in the championship, 6 points away from the leader with 2 rounds to go. It’s gonna be a fight to the finish, so be sure to follow my updates on the championship and the reconstruction of the SX in Thailand. The car is in good hands and I know RedBull Drift Team Thailand would do a great job bring it back to a competitive level.