*Queue epic music*
Remember life was good for Team Speed Industries with everybody having a blast on the track, battling it out just for fun, nice BBQ sessions and good weather.
But as usual in life, things can go to shit very quickly.
First the engine on my S14 was starting to feel worse by the minute. After drifting for like half a lap, it became hotter than Megan Fox.
There was not much smoke coming from the S14 today…
I kept straightening out because of sudden power loss and the temperatures were going crazy.
… the only time I produced smoke was like that. Lame!
At first I was hoping it was just a boost leak, but later came to realize it is some sort of ignition timing issue which ain’t easy to fix on-site.
I did what any sensible person would do and shut my brain off, pushed harder and harder and started using massive amounts of clutch-kicks. Nice.
MPS-Racing showing how it should look with nice smoke pouring out the rear arches
Then started going off the track every 3 laps or so to cool the engine down which helped somewhat..
Christian Kogler running an S13 with epic steering lock!
Next, Don Icon decided it was time to get himself a nice torn ligament (Bänderriss) on his left leg.
Icon killed his left foot. No more clutch kicks for you buddy
It happened while he was stumbling around in the pits. I would’ve laughed loudly at him but unfortunately I was driving while it happened.
Luckily for Icon, the drift girl Aline took him to the doctor in his Skyline
Aline brought him to the hospital where his foot would be checked out.
She also made sure the Touge sticker sales were running smoothly. Excellent!
So right around the end of practice day we had one guy with a fucked up car and one guy with a fucked up leg. Cool.
Icon praying his leg will magically heal up over night for qualifications
Toby was also having issues with his intercooler but luckily he managed to fix it by himself. (for now)
Toby was having some intercooler issues as well…
Andrew was still going strong in practice and didn’t meet any issues whatsoever so we had at least one warrior in good shape.
Luckily our new man Hirschy was still going strong and looking confident!
Night falls, and we went for dinner. After a few beers I decided it was time to back to the track and try to get my car fixed or start looking out for a backup car.
The media team dudes messing around in the in-field as usual
Once back on the track in the middle of the night we had a blast with the crew. There’s just something really special about hanging around on a quiet racetrack in the middle of the night. The track was only illuminated by the moon and a few flood lights. It was splendid!
Patrick Ritzmann was also having issues. His clutch burned trough and he had to look for a backup car
Long after midnight I still hadn’t analyzed my engine troubles and didn’t care. Probably because of the beers.
Toby managed to get his car fixed and running again
I decided to just go mental the next day, try not to overheat the car too much and pull out the best I can with that car.
Marco from Dirtdrop sticker bombed his helmet a little
Everyone agreed, probably because they wanted me to finally shut the hell up.
Harry Müller’s S15 is probably the widest S-chassis in the starting grid
The next day it was time for qualifying. The drivers were allowed to do as many practice laps as they wanted, then switch to qualification mode when they felt ready.
Hirschy was training nicely with no incidents all day, and getting ready for qualifications
It’s a brilliant qualifying system that the IDS had already started last season and really helps staying in the groove for the qualifying runs.
Florian Zimmermann’s huge supercharged audi got a new livery for 2011
The weather was starting to play up. It would be sunny and warm, then suddenly pour down heavily covering the entire track in standing water.
Crowds gathering near „the wall“ hoping for the next fierce crash
During PRO qualifications, some drivers encountered very strange track conditions with one part of the track being dry while the other half was still soaked.
Everyone started getting warmed up for battles and qualifications
I did not do many practice laps any more to save the engine. I just wanted to somehow qualify for the Top16.
Kinda different gestures coming from driver and passenger here..
Long story short, my qualifying laps were shit. The third run was acceptable considering the circumstances (getting me 12th place) but I wasn’t satisfied nonetheless.
Alex Gräff in his well-known „Polizei“ drift car was also getting warmed up
So the last qualifier put me on 12th place and into the Top16. Toby did best at qualifying, getting 8th place.
The RC-Drifters were there as well and even held a small competition! Some of the models look exactly like the big originals
Andrew Hirschy barely got in, grabbing 15th place which was weird because his runs looked solid. I think he may have missed 2 clipping points with his „close to the wall“ line he was using often, ending up getting point deductions.
But in is in, so we were happy about that.
Philippe snagged 1st qualification place. Nice work!
A surprise was Philippe Guillod from DriftTeam Switzerland. The sneaky bastard went up to 1st place for qualifying! I knew he’d do well since I had seen his practice laps. The dude was by far the closest to the wall in his best qualifying run. Very well done bro!
Stegemann from Team MPS got 3rd qualifying place! Well done!
Don Icon was a real trooper. With torn ligaments, he could barely stand up and was in lots of pain. He still decided to try his luck at qualifying without being able to use his left foot.
Don Icon chasing behind Hirschy. Icon was held back by his broken foot and did not qualify today..
But it wasnt meant to be – he did not qualify for the Top16 and was out of the competition for today. Noooooooo
messing around as usual
So 3 out of 4 Speed Industries drivers were ready to get it on in the Top16 battles. Stay tuned for the final report of the battles and outcome:
Toby got 8th place at qualifying and was ready to SEEK & DESTROY
Next up: IDS Round 1, Part 3 – We can jump but can we fly?
PS: here’s some leftover pictures
Touge Speed Shop represent!
Coolest hoodies ever!
Carola Mecan was the only girl to get into the Top16 battles
Part 1 of this article can be found here. Most pictures provided by Donthomaso.ch – many thanks to him!
*Queue epic music*
Remember life was good for Team Speed Industries with everybody having a blast on the track, battling it out just for fun, nice BBQ sessions and good weather.
But as usual in life, things can go to shit very quickly.
First the engine on my S14 was starting to feel worse by the minute. After drifting for like half a lap, it became hotter than Megan Fox.
There was not much smoke coming from the S14 today…
I kept straightening out because of sudden power loss and the temperatures were going crazy.
… the only time I produced smoke was like that. Lame!
At first I was hoping it was just a boost leak, but later came to realize it is some sort of ignition timing issue which ain’t easy to fix on-site.
I did what any sensible person would do and shut my brain off, pushed harder and harder and started using massive amounts of clutch-kicks. Nice.
MPS-Racing showing how it should look with nice smoke pouring out the rear arches
Then started going off the track every 3 laps or so to cool the engine down which helped somewhat..
Christian Kogler running an S13 with epic steering lock!
Next, Don Icon decided it was time to get himself a nice torn ligament (Bänderriss) on his left leg.
Icon killed his left foot. No more clutch kicks for you buddy
It happened while he was stumbling around in the pits. I would’ve laughed loudly at him but unfortunately I was driving while it happened.
Luckily for Icon, the drift girl Aline took him to the doctor in his Skyline
Aline brought him to the hospital where his foot would be checked out.
She also made sure the Touge sticker sales were running smoothly. Excellent!
So right around the end of practice day we had one guy with a fucked up car and one guy with a fucked up leg. Cool.
Icon praying his leg will magically heal up over night for qualifications
Toby was also having issues with his intercooler but luckily he managed to fix it by himself. (for now)
Toby was having some intercooler issues as well…
Andrew was still going strong in practice and didn’t meet any issues whatsoever so we had at least one warrior in good shape.
Luckily our new man Hirschy was still going strong and looking confident!
Night falls, and we went for dinner. After a few beers I decided it was time to back to the track and try to get my car fixed or start looking out for a backup car.
The media team dudes messing around in the in-field as usual
Once back on the track in the middle of the night we had a blast with the crew. There’s just something really special about hanging around on a quiet racetrack in the middle of the night. The track was only illuminated by the moon and a few flood lights. It was splendid!
Patrick Ritzmann was also having issues. His clutch burned trough and he had to look for a backup car
Long after midnight I still hadn’t analyzed my engine troubles and didn’t care. Probably because of the beers.
Toby managed to get his car fixed and running again
I decided to just go mental the next day, try not to overheat the car too much and pull out the best I can with that car.
Marco from Dirtdrop sticker bombed his helmet a little
Everyone agreed, probably because they wanted me to finally shut the hell up.
Harry Müller’s S15 is probably the widest S-chassis in the starting grid
The next day it was time for qualifying. The drivers were allowed to do as many practice laps as they wanted, then switch to qualification mode when they felt ready.
Hirschy was training nicely with no incidents all day, and getting ready for qualifications
It’s a brilliant qualifying system that the IDS had already started last season and really helps staying in the groove for the qualifying runs.
Florian Zimmermann’s huge supercharged audi got a new livery for 2011
The weather was starting to play up. It would be sunny and warm, then suddenly pour down heavily covering the entire track in standing water.
Crowds gathering near „the wall“ hoping for the next fierce crash
During PRO qualifications, some drivers encountered very strange track conditions with one part of the track being dry while the other half was still soaked.
Everyone started getting warmed up for battles and qualifications
I did not do many practice laps any more to save the engine. I just wanted to somehow qualify for the Top16.
Kinda different gestures coming from driver and passenger here..
Long story short, my qualifying laps were shit. The third run was acceptable considering the circumstances (getting me 12th place) but I wasn’t satisfied nonetheless.
Alex Gräff in his well-known „Polizei“ drift car was also getting warmed up
So the last qualifier put me on 12th place and into the Top16. Toby did best at qualifying, getting 8th place.
The RC-Drifters were there as well and even held a small competition! Some of the models look exactly like the big originals
Andrew Hirschy barely got in, grabbing 15th place which was weird because his runs looked solid. I think he may have missed 2 clipping points with his „close to the wall“ line he was using often, ending up getting point deductions.
But in is in, so we were happy about that.
Philippe snagged 1st qualification place. Nice work!
A surprise was Philippe Guillod from DriftTeam Switzerland. The sneaky bastard went up to 1st place for qualifying! I knew he’d do well since I had seen his practice laps. The dude was by far the closest to the wall in his best qualifying run. Very well done bro!
Stegemann from Team MPS got 3rd qualifying place! Well done!
Don Icon was a real trooper. With torn ligaments, he could barely stand up and was in lots of pain. He still decided to try his luck at qualifying without being able to use his left foot.
Don Icon chasing behind Hirschy. Icon was held back by his broken foot and did not qualify today..
But it wasnt meant to be – he did not qualify for the Top16 and was out of the competition for today. Noooooooo
messing around as usual
So 3 out of 4 Speed Industries drivers were ready to get it on in the Top16 battles. Stay tuned for the final report of the battles and outcome:
Toby got 8th place at qualifying and was ready to SEEK & DESTROY
Next up: IDS Round 1, Part 3 – We can jump but can we fly?
PS: here’s some leftover pictures
Touge Speed Shop represent!
Coolest hoodies ever!
Carola Mecan was the only girl who advanced to the Top16 battles
Part 1 of this article can be found here. Most pictures provided by Donthomaso.ch – many thanks to him!