Round 5: Las Vegas, and Brakes that Worked Too Well

“We had to skip Round 4. After all the valvetrain failures, the budget for a new motor wasn’t there in time, so we regrouped and put everything into being ready for the season finale in Las Vegas on October 17.

“The all-new 6.3L high-compression motor fought us on tune up before qualifying, which put us in a death match just to get into the Top 32. In that battle, I made contact with the back of the lead car in a section where I expected them to stay on throttle. That probably didn’t help with making over 800whp now.

“Vegas gave us a problem most drivers would love to have: the front brakes were working too well. With that much bite from the Bluestuff pads, the front tires were the limit, not the brakes. We had to add more front grip to the car to keep up with them.

“That’s a good place to end a development year. When you’re tuning the chassis to match your brakes, you know the brakes aren’t the weak link.â€�

Same Pads, All Season

“That kind of peace of mind is something most drifters take for granted, and with our crazy season, we sure did. It wasn’t until we sat down to list what went well this year that we noticed ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ was first on the list. Zero issues, and we checked the pads at every event. We ran the same pads all year on all four corners. In the past, we needed new pads halfway through a season, especially in the rear.â€�

Looking Ahead to 2027

“I’m working to come back to Hotpit in 2027, with a list of things to refine and polish this off-season. We know we have the program and the car, so we don’t plan to change much on it.

“What I need now is seat time and to get my mind right behind the wheel. Right now, building, maintenance, logistics, and driving all sit on my shoulders. Balancing those better is the biggest upgrade I can make for next year.

“One thing that isn’t changing is the brakes. We’ll run the same ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ setup in 2027: Bluestuff pads with GD Sport rotors at all four corners. We love the light weight, the feedback, and the feel. From a program standpoint, it’s a win too. One rotor fits both the front and the rear, which means a smaller spares bin to haul to every event.

“A huge thank-you to ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ for standing behind Mulletsport again this year. We’ve been working together for several years, and ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ has given us a great foundation to build on. When the engine and transmission kept letting us down, the brakes never did. That’s exactly what you want from a partner.â€�

Photo Credits: David Kerny, Colin Lake, Sam Toutenburg

“The first run was conservative. The second… not so much. An overly aggressive entry led to a rough introduction with the wall on the bank.

“Luckily, we had an hour break before the next two-hour practice session. The team tore apart the damaged rear end and zip-tied the car back together just to get me back out there.

“After watching the other drivers run, I made some changes: lower tire pressure, dumped the shocks, and cranked up the boost. Next lap, I felt comfortable in the car. Practice turned into a learning session—timing, references, and figuring out the line. I struggled to put together a clean lap, but I still felt confident going into qualifying with a conservative approach.

“Fresh tires warmed up. Time to go. Starting in second gear proved to be the fastest run-up to the bank during practice. I launched the car, rolled into full throttle, shifted into third—POP. Already committed to the entry, I grabbed a quick handbrake to angle the car into OZ1. That sucked the car straight into the wall. Hit one.

“With zero boost, I stood on the throttle expecting the car to drive away from the wall. Instead, it floated hard back into it—breaking a wheel and rear knuckle. What I didn’t realize at the time—and live on YouTube—I attempted to salvage the run.

“Embarrassed and frustrated, I parked the car in the pits, assuming our weekend was over. That thought apparently never crossed my team’s minds. They ripped off the damaged ECS Tuning wheel and disassembled the right rear suspension down to the subframe. Turns out a bushing took the brunt of the impact and simply ejected itself. Amazingly, the ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ brakes were one of the only things completely undamaged.

“With some Liqui Moly high-strength thread locker, a lot of hammering, clamps, and zip ties… We had a car again.

“Qualifying wrapped up with several cars not making the show. Unfortunately, we ended up 31st qualifier in a 31-car field.

“My mindset completely reset during the autograph session. The fans were beyond excited to meet the drivers of these crazy cars. They didn’t care about the qualifying order—they were just pumped to be there.”

“I carried that energy straight into Top 32. Facing the #3 qualifier, I knew it was time to step up. Fresh tires, my normal warm-up routine, and I pulled to the line.

“Immediately, something felt off. The tires unloaded and I watched the lead driver pull away. Calm and collected, I stayed behind him, knowing I could close the gap on the bank.

“I eased into the entry, set the car, and rolled into the throttle to catch up. Then the car snapped around like I’d hit a banana in Mario Kart. The weight of the entire weekend hitting me all at once, I failed. 

“My wife and spotter Hailz came over the radio: “Just focus on this lap. You got this. Just drive.� That’s when it clicked. The temperature had dropped massively and the tires simply weren’t warm enough. At this level of competition, everything matters. With a turbo V8 powerplant, fixing that was easy. I stood on the throttle and did a rolling burnout back to the line. 

“Pulling to the line in the lead run, everything went quiet. Just another lap. A light flick into OZ1, let the car settle, then hammer down. This time, the car hooked up perfectly and I was along for the ride. Flat-footed, the car followed every input and I laid down our best run of the weekend.

“When I pulled off track, it hit me: this was Round 1 of many to come. I gave everyone on the team a big hug and thanked them individually and as a group. We learned a ton!

“I may have years of drifting experience and a few seasons in FD, but this was the first professional-level competition event for everyone on my team. They won the weekend.

“I’m incredibly excited for Round 2. No major changes planned—just repairs, prep, and getting ready for the next competition. We have slush coming up next weekend and a few local events to get my driving polished up and ready for a strong showing at round 2.�

“Everything was on-track to have a fully prepared event. ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ sent us out a care package of ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ swag. The trailer was packed up. Just one last nut and bolt check and fluids change before race day. Thursday night, we found excessive metal in the oil filter, causing the team at Haus of Euro to dive into the engine 48 hours before Fuel Fest Phoenix 2025. We found the new triple-disc clutch was being overextended by the slave, resulting on premature wear to the thrust bearing in the engine. We sourced parts for delivery on Friday morning. The team reassembled the engine and was buttoned up on Friday afternoon.

“We loaded up Friday night and headed straight to the track Saturday morning. Unloaded the car and set up our hot pit for ride-alongs. The plan was a few light laps. After the year I have had, my ambitions of driving got the better of me. Full send lap 1. Car was dialled in and planted. Logs on the motor looked spot on. So, we started taking passengers in lap 2! The track layout was a fast entry, into a tight transition, flowing into a straight with a Manji right before a long wall ride in front of the crowd. With the new turbocharged V8, lighting up the tyres is no longer a problem. Slowing the car down is now more needed than ever!”

“Still on stock A4-sized brakes all around to keep the weight as low as possible on the S4, along with a non-booster braking system, the pad and rotor combination is hyper-critical on placing the car on the right line. Transitioning on the throttle, headed right at a concrete wall in front of 5000+ people, I had all the confidence to stand on the throttle and rest my left foot on the brake pedal. Slowing down the front of the car precisely to ride the wall and keep the rear tyres smokin’.

“I love my Bluestuff pads! Complete confidence in the bite of the brakes throughout the run.

“Sadly, we had an oil cooler failure late in the night, causing us to retire the car. We repaired the car and loaded it back in the trailer. Bright and early, we were back on the road headed to FCP Euro in Mesa, AZ, for their morning motoring meet. Featured in the Liqui Moly booth, we received a wild response to the car from the euro community, a lot of head scratching followed by the biggest of surprises when following the charge piping through the car into the trunk, revealing the massive turbo. What a weekend!�

“Saturday was round 7 of Time Attack UK at Knockhill Circuit. Getting here was a real struggle after oil pump failure destroyed the crank and rods, but I knuckled down and made it happen with the help from others.

“The car went awesome; from the warm-up session trying to do some steady laps to run the engine in, pushed at the end to find I already broke my personal best time.

“Attack 1: I did a few steady laps, then turned it up a bit and pushed on, and got a personal best of 54.4, sitting 5th in class.

“Attack 2: turned it right up and pushed hard, trying to drop into the 53-sec laps, but tried too hard and broke a driveshaft, but managed a 54.5 before that, still sitting 5^th.”

“Super Attack: with the driveshaft sorted but rain pending, I knew I had to push hard as soon as I could. Tyres were shot and the rain came down, a 54.7 was the best I could do before the rain came – 4th in the championship but 5th on the day with a single round entry in the mix.

“I was so happy with how the day went with what I had to do to get there. Just a broken driveshaft was the only problem of the day to contend with.

“2nd fastest front wheel drive of the day, and fastest manual gearbox car overall!�

Oulton Park International – Round 4

“Weather looked warm for the weekend – a nice change from the monsoon conditions of Donington where we scored the car’s maiden victory! We readied the car for qualifying. With very little changed from the last round apart from basic setup changes to adapt to the dry conditions, the ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ RP-X front pads combined with the Apollo 6 pot brake kit barely showing any signs of wear from the last round up front. The Ultimax 2 pads in the rear also showing signs of fantastic durability after 2 rounds in the rear. Again, we didn’t test prior to round so we had to make sure everything was on point prior so we could hit the ground running in Qualifying.

“The car instantly felt good, with a nice balance. This was the first proper use of the 6 pots in the dry. With some big braking zones at Oulton, it was clear good stopping capability would be essential as well as consistent feel for optimum performance. Managing to put the car right in the mix at the front was going to be critical to ensure we could capitalise. With 3^rd place secured we did exactly that.”

“A quick bleed of the brakes to ensure fresh fluid was in the system, Henry lined up for the race start. With an aim of consolidating a podium finish, he set about the race start. Managing to defend some early attacks round the first corner he settled into the rhythm of the first lap. A committed move from fellow ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½-backed stablemate, Nicole Drought, into cascades saw us momentarily drop down to 4^th place. The first 4 cars pulling away from the pack it was clear this was going to be a race of 2 halves! With a safety car intervention, the cars streamed into the pits bumper to bumper. A mis-judged stop by the Civic of Nicole would leave them unfortunately out of contention from that point onwards. Leaving the top 3 cars battling for the top step after Kev had taken over from the pit stop. With an impressive move on the Mk6 Golf of Jack and George Wright into Lodge Corner on the brakes early in his stint Kev set about chasing the super consistent Matt Swaffer in his 130i BMW. His pace was to be rewarded with the victory having defended a late charge from Kev finishing a mere 2 seconds behind. 2^nd place! A great result. Making it 3 podiums finishes in row from the newly acquired Golf.

“The back-to-back podiums feeling very rewarding after all the hard work and early development with the car. – There’s still so much more to come too! Safe to say we’re very much in the right ballpark in the braking department though. The ability to drive hard all race long with such consistent pedal feel, and wear characteristics that are extremely impressive given their use and weight of the car. Next round Cadwell Park!�

Cadwell Park – Round 5

“Cadwell Park: not a firm favourite of Henry’s. However, Kev seems to enjoy it! You can guess who will be starting the race here for us… Despite not having a bad record here and generally going well, it’s not been a place I’ve ever really gelled with. This all changed a little bit when we rolled the car out for qualifying. Again, with no testing prior, we bolted a set of new tyres (the first new set since we started testing in April) and set about trying to get ourselves in contention with the host of front running cars that had tested the previous day. The car felt absolutely superb, With Henry and Kev both managing to lap within 2 tenths, albeit making time in totally different ways and sections of the track having looked at the data! The session finished with us 4^th overall. Knowing that there was plenty left on the plate performance wise. The car’s brake balance with multitude of different corners and elevations was confidence inspiring to say the least.

“Kev started the race with it being one of his preferred tracks, and immediately got off to a good start making short work of 3^rd place round the outside into turn 1. Immediately setting his sights on the BMW of Matt Swaffers who appeared to be struggling to get up to speed straight away. A challenge that lasted another 4 corners before Kev committed an excellent move down the inside into the downhill left hander at Mansfield, finishing the move into the entry of the mountain section. Up to second place on lap 1.”

“This set the tone for the whole first half of the race. With Kev and the Mk6 Golf of Jack and George Wright pulling clear of the rest of the pack. With the pit stops completed, Henry jumped in hoping to consolidate to great work Kev had started. After a couple of laps of adjustment to how the car was handling, and the gap to 1^st stable, Henry set about narrowing the gap to the Golf. Keeping an eye on the hard charging Civic of Nicole behind. With 1 lap to go, Henry was right on the bumper of the Golf having stabilised the gap to 3^rd. A back marker decided to place himself right in the wrong place into turn one defusing any chance of lining up a pass at the end of the Park Straight frustratingly! With the narrowness and twistiness of the Cadwell Park Circuit, another passing opportunity wasn’t to present itself. Crossing the line a mere 0.2 seconds off the winning Golf.  

“Another fantastic result in the bank. With the championship starting to take place, this leaves us leading Class B and 2^nd overall. With 2 rounds to go, it’s going to be important to maintain the momentum! It’s all to play for! Next round Croft Circuit!�