We took a couple test days at the ASD base in Charlotte and were pleased, but not content. We are bringing a new car that still has development work left, to an event in which many drivers are returning with their already-developed cars. The odds were against us, but we still had hope for a good result.
We only had one hour of practice before Qualifying, which is nothing for a newly built car. After a couple runs, it was apparent that our setup was off. We lacked lateral grip, which was never a problem when we tested the car, but Long Beach is also very different from our test track. The ASD guys changed as much as they could in the six runs we got in for practice.
Now that we were qualifying for Top 32, the pressure we felt in years past was gone. Because of that, I think I was a little too conservative and completed a run that I thought would put me around 10-14th place--the judges thought otherwise and put me in 21st. Up to that point, I wasn't really worried---I was in the Top 32. Then I saw my first round match up: Sam Hubinette in the Viper. He is not easy, but he is beatable, and I knew that because I beat him in New Jersey last year in the Porsche.
Going into battle, I knew the only way around Sam Hubinette was to be all over him. He got a good jump off the line and I did what I could to catch him through Turn 9. I slowly closed the gap to a car length by the time we were transitioning into Turn 10 and was on his fender by the outer clipping point. Normally at this part of the track, you would be hard on the gas, but Sam did otherwise and abruptly slowed down well before the hairpin. My first reaction was to avoid hitting him and that caused me to spin. I was in shock at what just happened! I got on the team radio and said "Sorry, but Sam just parked it in the middle of the track! I had nowhere to go!" My next run was flawless and I had a two car gap between me and Sam, but the spin on the first run sealed my fate. Did Sam intentionally make me spin? Who knows, but I do know that my teammate, Vaughn Gittin Jr., hit him in the same spot where I spun because Sam abruptly slowed down again. Oddly still, Robbie Nishida also spun in the same spot as me when following Sam in the Final 4. I will have to store this in my very small memory bank for the future.
Round 1 did not go as planned, but I'm very excited for this season. Every run the car got better and I felt more comfortable. Best of all, my car ran the entire weekend and didn't break once! The voodoo doll worked!!
Tyler McQuarrie
www.tylermcquarrie.com
Falken Tire
www.falkentire.com
Brian Crower
www.runbc.com
Dai Yoshihara
2008 saw Dai in many a heated battle against his boss at the time, Rhys Millen. Dai ended up Fourth for the season and placed Second at the historic Red Bull World Championship, both behind Rhys. Now in a different team and ride--an IS350--and without a boss to battle against, will 2009 be the year of the Dai?
The 2009 season finally started--I was very excited about my new car, a Lexus IS350, and my brand new team, Falken Tire! Before Round 1, I had only a few test sessions with my new car. Unfortunately, we finished building the car later than we wanted and didn't have enough time to really set it up the way we wanted. The car has great potential, but at the moment, only a small window of drivability.
In the practice session, I was doing pretty bad. I couldn't link the course even one time. Honestly, I was almost going to give up. But I tried to relax and reset my mentality. I kept telling myself that I could do it while I was waiting for my Qualifying run.
In the end, I did pretty good and qualified 11th! That was the first time I was able to link the course, and it felt like I had put the thread through the needle. It was a freaking miracle, and just goes to show that it's important to keep positive thinking in any situation!
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