LZ WORLD TOUR CALIFORNIA RECAP
What up guys, Nate here.
The first round of the LZ World Tour has come and gone but we are still riding the wave from what was an incredible event all the way back home. With such a wide range of drivers and personalities on site for this event we knew that we were in for a wild two days of driving and good times with great people.
The 144 Racing rig arrived to Kern Raceway on Thursday with Adrian behind the wheel and Tito in the passenger seat ready to document it all. We began unloading and getting the Accelera GR86 ready to go for the weekend.
Once we were set up, the LZ World Tour camp asked if I wanted to hit the track and drive for a few laps to get some photo and video assets for the weekend before things go crazy, so I went out there and burnt some 651 Sports and got a feel for the layout for the weekend.
Friday was the scheduled load in day for everyone with a scheduled practice session in the late afternoon for anyone who wanted to get some laps in. Since our trailer was already set up for the weekend, we spent the day making some adjustments on the car, walking the track, and finally getting out for some lead lap practice with other drivers. After a practice session full of changes to the car, we were ready to head into qualifying on Saturday.
Saturday morning brought in some rain but that didn’t stop us from making our way around the paddock to catch up with friends before hopping in the car for practice. One thing that was really sick was Gary King and the Hoonigan crew came by to shoot a quick feature on the GR86 right before everyone headed out for some tandem practice. Once qualifying rolled around it was showtime and I piloted the Accelera Radial GR86 into a 90 point run which would put the team in 4th place going into the main event on Sunday.
Sunday morning rolled around quick and we got the day started by taking some time to meet the VIP’s of the LZ World Tour. Our competition began with a top 16 battle against Colette Davis in her Corvette. This battle was so good that the judges decided we had to run it back one more time, which I pushed through and got the win on the second time around.
We battled our way through the great 8 and into the final 4, which put our team up against current Formula Drift pro, Dylan Hughes. With the course still drying up in some spots, this was the biggest challenge we’ve faced in the GR86 so far, and we came up short to get into the finals. Our final battle of the day was for third place on the box against Luke Fink. Anytime I am on track with Luke, I know that we are going to put on a show, and that is exactly what we did!
Ultimately, we finished the weekend with a 4th place finish, just shy of the podium, but not too shabby for the team’s first competition out in the Accelera Radial GR86. What a weekend!
Can't wait to get out there again in Montreal!