Welcome to the official KAAZ USA Drift Team website! We're excited to start off this new and promising 2009 season! Here on the team's website you will be able to keep up with everything taking place within our drifting program, be sure to check back often as there will be plenty of new information posted. If you have any questions or comments please email us at:newportcars(a)kaazusa.com *(a)=@
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Rd.1: Streets of Long Beach, CA
April 9-10th Long Beach Grand Prix
Team Drift: Long Beach Grand Prix
April 17-19, 2009 Long Beach CA
Rd.4: Las Vegas Motor Speedway, NV
July 10-11th, 2009
Rd.5: Evergreen Speedway, WA
Aug 7-8th, 2009
Rd.6: Infineon Raceway, CA
Sept 12th, 2009
Rd. 7: Irwindale Speedway, CA
Oct. 16-17th, 2009
Rd.1: Streets of Long Beach, CA
April 9-10th Long Beach Grand Prix
Team Drift: Long Beach Grand Prix
April 17-19, 2009 Long Beach CA
Rd.4: Las Vegas Motor Speedway, NV
July 10-11th, 2009
Rd.5: Evergreen Speedway, WA
Aug 7-8th, 2009
Rd.6: Infineon Raceway, CA
Sept 12th, 2009
Rd. 7: Irwindale Speedway, CA
Oct. 16-17th, 2009
FD Rd.7 Results:
Top 32! Ran against our friend Tommy Suell! Great event!
FD Rd.6 Results:
Top 16! Great driving against Sam in the viper!
FD Rd.5 Results:
Top 16! Great driving against Falken Z33!!
FD Rd.4 Results:
Top 32, new turbo motor still had bugs to be worked out!
FD Rd.1 Results:
Top 16! Great Event!
Top 32! Ran against our friend Tommy Suell! Great event!
FD Rd.6 Results:
Top 16! Great driving against Sam in the viper!
FD Rd.5 Results:
Top 16! Great driving against Falken Z33!!
FD Rd.4 Results:
Top 32, new turbo motor still had bugs to be worked out!
FD Rd.1 Results:
Top 16! Great Event!
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Time has flown by so quickly and the season has now begun. For this first event weekend we elected to use our 4AG powered Corolla in order to allow Yasu full confidence without having to risk anything with our new car. Currently the SR20DET powered "B" car will be used in the next events to come.
We ran into some minor problems that turned out to be major problems with the old motor. After changing oil on the old 2008 motor we noticed that the oil was a actually slightly "milky" and a turn for the worst struck when we then discovered that there was actually a slight crack on the outer sleeve of cylinder #2. A quick fix was implemented to get the car ready for the next morning...which was the actual qualifying session of Rd.1. After staying at the shop for an all nighter, the engine was put back together and the car was taken to the track.
Arriving at the track the next morning we unloaded the gear and car to the Toyo Tires pit area, Yasu jumped in the car and took her for a few passes shortly after. The car at this point seemed to be doing decent so we figured no settings adjustments we're needed. Later on in the day Yasu piloted the car into top32! In order to compete the next day, we decided to bring the car home and swap out another 4AG (stock blue top) block. Why? Soon after we qualified we had bogging issues when rolling the car back to the rig. At this point everyone was going on their 25th hour with no sleep already! Back at the shop we swapped the engine just to be able to run the main day...The car ran surprisingly better than we had anticipated with the 150,xxx mile stock blue top 4AG! Although horsepower was probably around the 170whp mark, at least she ran well enough to go into the TOP 16! Overall Rd.1 despite our situation with engine problems and lack of sleep turned out very well for our first round in 2009. But the work was not over, it was back to the shop to prepare for the fallowing weekend's team drift competition...
For the team drift competition we already knew that hardships were to come. Unfortunately our team mate: Tommy Suell had been in a bad wreck at Rd.1 with Ueo-san and prohibited Tommy to compete in team drift due to a demolished car. As we scavenged around for a back up driver it was only: John Russakoff and our driver Yasu Kondo standing...but we needed a 3rd car in order to compete. Everyone we called had either mechanical or financial issues with their cars which would not allow for any more driving that week. The split decision was made to elect Chris Kregorian as our 3rd driver in order to be eligible to compete. Things then turned again as John Russakoff was asked to fill in for Drift Alliance and parted from our 3 car team. At last the competition came and even more trouble was put on our plate as Yasu limped around the Long Beach Grand Prix course with no power. Another quick decision was made to take the car back to the shop and find another motor to use for the next day's event. Back at the shop we discovered that cylinder #2 had no compression at all the options were to replace the rings or just use the fresh 4AG that we got from Reggie at ARK Design. Since the 4AG would no longer be commissioned for use after that weekend's event, we replaced the pistons on the blue top block and prayed for the best. Right around 6pm in the evening on Saturday we flipped the switch on and the car was running healthy enough to load her on the trailer and then make our way back to LBGP. Most were shocked to see us work so hard to run only a 20 minutes run time! Day 4 Sunday, the crowds were in the thousands if not more for the main day at Long Beach Grand Prix. We had a great time running the car, Yasu Kondo did an awesome job at putting on a good show for the spectators and the crew had there fingers crossed hoping the engine would hold up. We ended up running out of nitrous before the whole session was over actually!
So after 4 engine swaps, about 50-60 hours of no sleep we concluded that things could have been much better for us this first round, but at least we had a great time and performed decently despite everything we had gone through. Now our focus is on building the new corolla with an SR20DET powerplant and also preparing a S2000 power plant for our 2008 pro car which will convert to a new backup car for Yasu Kondo!
Take a look at what a 170RWHP car can do at Long Beach Grand Prix in our video posted on top of this blog!
For the team drift competition we already knew that hardships were to come. Unfortunately our team mate: Tommy Suell had been in a bad wreck at Rd.1 with Ueo-san and prohibited Tommy to compete in team drift due to a demolished car. As we scavenged around for a back up driver it was only: John Russakoff and our driver Yasu Kondo standing...but we needed a 3rd car in order to compete. Everyone we called had either mechanical or financial issues with their cars which would not allow for any more driving that week. The split decision was made to elect Chris Kregorian as our 3rd driver in order to be eligible to compete. Things then turned again as John Russakoff was asked to fill in for Drift Alliance and parted from our 3 car team. At last the competition came and even more trouble was put on our plate as Yasu limped around the Long Beach Grand Prix course with no power. Another quick decision was made to take the car back to the shop and find another motor to use for the next day's event. Back at the shop we discovered that cylinder #2 had no compression at all the options were to replace the rings or just use the fresh 4AG that we got from Reggie at ARK Design. Since the 4AG would no longer be commissioned for use after that weekend's event, we replaced the pistons on the blue top block and prayed for the best. Right around 6pm in the evening on Saturday we flipped the switch on and the car was running healthy enough to load her on the trailer and then make our way back to LBGP. Most were shocked to see us work so hard to run only a 20 minutes run time! Day 4 Sunday, the crowds were in the thousands if not more for the main day at Long Beach Grand Prix. We had a great time running the car, Yasu Kondo did an awesome job at putting on a good show for the spectators and the crew had there fingers crossed hoping the engine would hold up. We ended up running out of nitrous before the whole session was over actually!
So after 4 engine swaps, about 50-60 hours of no sleep we concluded that things could have been much better for us this first round, but at least we had a great time and performed decently despite everything we had gone through. Now our focus is on building the new corolla with an SR20DET powerplant and also preparing a S2000 power plant for our 2008 pro car which will convert to a new backup car for Yasu Kondo!
Take a look at what a 170RWHP car can do at Long Beach Grand Prix in our video posted on top of this blog!
Formula D Rd.1 / Team Drift Recap!
Check out some of our sponsors:
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Seattle WA, with support from Drift Office, Team KAAZ was able to make the trip to compete in Rd.5 of the Formula D championship series. In 2008 at this same event we endured major engine failure and called the event out earl. Compared to last year, 2009 ran much smoother and we accomplish much more results!
Since Rd.4, the current Corolla went through a major engine set up change. We tossed out the old carburator+nitrous setup for a more reliable and smoother turbocharger setup. Now buckled down and tuned, the new engine gives Yasu Kondo much more reliable and usable power!
Yasu Kondo piloted the Corolla to a TOP16 finish within this round.He suffered slight body damage after straightening out causing him to hit the wall on the right-rear panel. This event proved to be a unique one since Yasu ran against Taka Aono for the TOP32 position. The reason being: Taka actually helped transport the car to WA along side his Corolla and next thing we know the 2 white Corolla's were going to meet a tandem match! Taka ran great all weekend however Yasu advanced and got the win! It was awesome to see 2 great Corolla drivers pushing their cars to the limit!
With Sonoma right around the Corner (less then 1 week) we are prepping the car and getting ready for another road trip!
SEE YOU IN SONOMA!
*Special thanks to: Drift Office, Drift Pro, Event staff and helpers, and Koji Arai for making everything smooth and possible!
Formula D Rd.5 Recap!
A BIG THANKS TO ALL FANS AND SUPPORTERS OF 2009!
On behalf of the entire team, we would like to show our appreciation and express our Thank You's to all our fans and sponsors for a great 2009 season! We wouldn't have been able to accomplish our goals without everyone's support!
Since the season has ended, our focus is on our new 2010 Pro-Car, a brand new engine setup and chassis will replace our old and tired car!
Yasu's performance was great! He managed to always qualify in TOP32 and had 3 out of 5 Top 16's! We hope for next year our team can participate in the 2 East Coast events scheduled for 2010. Yasu's wishes are to compete throughout the nation so if funds permit we'll be there!
Since the season has ended, our focus is on our new 2010 Pro-Car, a brand new engine setup and chassis will replace our old and tired car!
Yasu's performance was great! He managed to always qualify in TOP32 and had 3 out of 5 Top 16's! We hope for next year our team can participate in the 2 East Coast events scheduled for 2010. Yasu's wishes are to compete throughout the nation so if funds permit we'll be there!
Here's a little video on our 2009 Formula D PRO-Season. Thanks to Anton,Alex and the crew for this video!