Formula Drift 2009 Series
Round 4 - Las Vegas, Nevada
Venue - Las Vegas Motor Speedway
July 11, 2009
Ryuji Miki & the A’PEXi / Hankook Tire RX-7 finish on the Podium!
APEX Integration Inc. and the A’PEXi / Hankook Tire RX-7 Team would like to thank all of our sponsors: Hankook Tires, Exedy Clutch, R-Magic, RAYS (Mackin Industries), NGK Spark Plugs, Bride, R.Y.O, Seibon Carbon, and Torco Oil for their support!
APEX Integration Inc.
1449 W. Orange Grove #A
Orange, C A 92868
Tel: 714-685-5700
Fax: 714-685-5701
www.apexi-usa.com
Round 4 of the 2009 Formula Drift Series would be center stage for a
weekend jammed pack with aggressive high speed entries, billowing tire
smoke, and the excitement of a night event at this hot Las Vegas desert
venue.Special thanks go out to the crew at Dynamic Autosports, S&A Design, Drive Apparel, Downforce, Hiro’s Auto Repair,
MotorMavens.com, and APEX Co. Ltd. Japan.
Ryuji Miki and the A’PEXi / Hankook Tire RX-7 team had been finishing consistently in the Top 16 rounds prior to this event, and had their sights set on higher finishing results. The driver, the machine, and team went through early practice without a hitch, dialing in the settings for the upcoming main event. However, during the tail end of the open practice right before qualifying, the car would come to a halt, mid-track, and was
towed back to the pits. Crew chief, Charles Griffice and team mechanic, Darren Masumori worked diligently to change out what was a broken differential, and made the proper repairs in time to send the car out during the 2nd qualifying round. Miki’s experience was a key element in attempting a qualification with 1 run, and was able to qualify in the 22nd position.
Miki’s road to the podium would be a tough one, as he would run 2 One More Times versus hometown
crowd favorite Tommy Suell in the Top 32 round. Inthe Top 16 round, Miki and the 13B-rotary powered RX-7 would face off against
the V-10 powered Dodge Viper of Samuel Hubinette, and would come out
with the win, shadowing the speed, angle, and movement of Hubinette. The
Great 8 round would be a battle of the rotary engines, up against the 20B
3-rotor powered RX-8 of Bergenholtz Racing, driven by Justin Pawlak. Ryuji
Miki’s aggressive driving from entry to finish and staying on the rear bumper
of Pawlak would prove to be enough to move onto the semi-finals. In the Best
4 round, Miki would face another V-8 machine, driven by current points leader,
Chris Forsberg. He continued to push forward with the aggressive style that he
had been known for during his championship season in D1GP series.
As a result, Ryuji Miki and the A’PEXi / Hankook Tire RX-7 would face off with
Hankook Tire t
eammate, Tanner Foust and the V-8 powered Scion tC in theFinals! Miki would follow Foust right up on the rear bumper of the Scion tC, but, took a line that would cover hitm up in the smoke cloud produced fromthe Hankook tires, forcing a correction, and a final result in 2nd place. The Hankook Ventus R-S3 Tires with Ryuji Miki’s driving in-sync with the machine,
and the effors from the entire staff of the team proved to be a successful combination, resulting in a podium finish and moving up in the points standings from 25th to 17th position for the 2009 season.
The A’PEXi / Hankook Drift Team looks forward to Round 5 at Evergreen
Speedway in Monroe, Washington to repeat the performance in Las Vegas,
if not better it by striving for the top of the podium...
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