Only four months since the end of the 2014 Golden Gate Drift season, we return to Sonoma Raceway for Round 1 of the 2015 Season. With five rounds this year, the early start put pressure on competitors to complete their builds on-time. We were preparing for the round since its announcement at Winter Jam just two months ago. Sherry came to the Round with new front knuckles from Wisefab and rear knuckles from Powered By Max. These new suspension components turn the car into a completely different monster. A steep learning curve was ahead.
Sherry also entered the round with brand new livery. The new livery had a fresh new color and integrated the Limitless Motorsports logo, a departure from the previous "splash" design.
New livery, new wheels, new tires, new suspension. The car is almost completely new!
As practice began, the morning fog engulfed the track.
Thankfully, the fog cleared by the end of the drivers meeting. Although, it would have been an interesting weather condition to drift through.
Once practice started, Sherry hit the track at full force. There was limited time to get accustomed to the brand new suspension setup.
More speed, more angle, and staying on the judged line was the only thing on her mind.
The car with new livery looking really good at maximum attack. Moments before qualifying, a quick initiation with high angle caused the follow driver to collide with Sherry. The incident bent the front crash structure and bent some body panels; quite unfortunate for the fresh body work done by CarNBike Moto.
The damage was quickly repaired. Speed and experience from last year's competition meant the turnaround time was under five minutes. Sherry went back out on track and laid down a solid qualifying run.
The car was not looking as fresh as it was in the morning. Unfortunately, the qualifying run did not land her in the Top 16 bracket. More practice and suspension tuning before the next round!
Alex Pfieffer was out in-force with his Battle Version SC300 to show the competitors what a real qualifying run should look like. The fluidity of the run was a true sign of a professional driver.
The only driver able to match that run was Matt Madrigali with a 99 point run.
Matt went to battle Bayati whose car was blanketing the entire course and pit with engine oil smoke. Not fun for the follow driver or the course workers.
Madrigali would go on to win the round.
Julian Dumay came to Golden Gate Drift in Donovan Brockway's E30 BMW M3.
Cameron Moore returned to Golden Gate Drift to compete. Ryan Rasberry put up a good fight and would take second this round.
More photos here. We will be back for Golden Gate Drift Round 2 at Stockton 99!