THROUGH THE EYES OF: MATT MADRIGALI

For this round, we invited Formula Drift Pro 2 Driver, Matt Madrigali to write a point of view article. This is his first round on the Pro circuit, and we wanted to catch a glimpse of his mindset.

Give him a follow: @MattMadrigaliRacing

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We started off flying out early Wednesday morning.  I wish I could have flown out earlier, but I'm a normal person with a 9-5. My boss is already not to happy with the amount of time I'm taking off.

My first Formula Drift round started off with some tech issues. Luckily, Red Baron Racing took some initiative and helped me through it before I arrived to track. I am very lucky to be paired with such a professional team. 

Thursday was practice and qualifying day. The first Practice Session started off well. Dialed in the car on the new Nitto Tire. There were a lot of off-track excursions from the other drivers, and I only got 2 practice passes.  Not ideal, but it's the same situation for everyone.

As the day progressed, the weather conditions changed and it began to pour. The track is basically undriveable in the wet. The initiation point is covered in rubber from drifting and racing that goes on at Road Atlanta. When the surface is wet, the track becomes worse that ice. Luckily it dried out,  and we got about 2 solid, dry, fast practice laps before qualifying.

Ended up 15th overall and in the show. Not happy with that effort, but it was something to learn from. Being the lowest powered car in the series made running the line correctly difficult. We had to pull so much grip out of the car just to drive up the hill.

Friday was comp day. We were paired up with Ryan Litteral in the Top 16. I got some solid practice runs with him. Despite him having 363hp more at the wheels, I was able to keep up with him decently well. I followed first, as I qualified lower than Litteral. I jumped him hard off the line to not lose the drag race to the first corner. He wasn't ready for that and didn't even leave the line the first time.  Second time I got the jump and was close on initiation.  Drove decently well through outer zones 1 and 2, cutting a bit of line trying to stay close.

Coming out of the keyhole I was totally blind in his smoke, and I saw a cone which was simply a course marker.  Looking back, I should have just driven through it.  Watching the Pro 1 guys on Saturday made me realize that almost everyone on their follow run hits it.  I made the wrong decision and bobbled around it; losing proximity and drift.

My lead was decent, hit my marks, stayed in the throttle.  Apparently, he made some big mistakes on his chase as well.  The judges took their time deliberating, but in the end gave him the win.  After talking with my spotter, he informed me that we both got zeros on our respective chase runs. The judges compared leads and determined his was better, so he moved on.

Moving into Orlando, I hope to be more competitive. With the smaller layout, I anticipate being able to dial in more grip. I'm comfortable on ovals from driving Golden Gate Drift and Top Drift, so I'm hoping for a better result. If you're Florida local, come find me near the Red Baron Racing trailer.

/// Guest Words: Matt Madrigali ///Photos: Mike Tseng