Coffman Racing Formula Drift Canada 2017 Recap.

Last weekend, the Coffman Racing Team headed to Montreal, Quebec for Round Five of the Formula Drift Championship.  The competition took place at the Autodrome St Eustache, a gorgeous road course set in the middle of farm fields.  The team started the event 9th overall in series points after a 4th place finish in New Jersey six weeks prior.

Friday morning it was apparent that the rain had followed the circuit to Canada.  Scattered showers kept the track quite wet for the majority of the practice session.  Many drivers were timid in the rain, but Matt was unfazed by the inclement weather.  Going into qualifying, Formula Drift decided to allow the drivers a single practice run before their qualifying run.  Matt threw down one of the most aggressive runs the crowd had seen all day on his practice and the audience went wild.  On his first qualifying run, Matt emulated his practice run almost perfectly, until he over rotated just before the finish line.  This meant his first qualifying run would be scored as a zero and the pressure was on for qualifying run number two.  His 2nd qualifying run was slightly more conservative, and was awarded a score of 81.  

Saturday, Matt was ready for competition, however our qualifying score had matched us against our teammate Alec Hohnadell for Top 32.  While it’s unfortunate to have to battle your teammate, Matt and Alec wished each other luck and prepared for a fun and stylish battle.  Matt was the lead driver on the first run, Alec followed with great proximity but Alec dropped a tire into the dirt damaging the rear suspension on his car.  The Coffman racing team, along with Alec’s team of mechanics, worked together to try and quickly repair Alec's car for competition.  Despite a feverish effort, Alec's car was not able to be repaired in time, and Matt was awarded the win. 

The Top 16 driver introductions were energetic.  The stadium seating at Autodrome St Eustache was at capacity.  Fans had traveled great distances to see the American Racing Series on Canadian soil.  Matt was up against Kristaps Blušs.  Kristaps led first, and a bobble on Kristaps initiation caused Matt to follow with less proximity than he had hoped.  Matt’s lead run was incredibly precise, and Kristaps maintained excellent proximity.  The judges award Kristaps the win, which ended our weekend earlier than we anticipated.  Coffman Racing remains 9th in the Formula Drift Series points standings.  The team’s next competition will be at Round Six of Formula Drift in Seattle on August 4th.