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Young US driver Mitchell deJong let its hang out in Louisville - he'd really impress in Connecticut

Rallycross, if you’re not familiar with the sport, is much like it sounds. Drivers compete in 600 horsepower purpose-built AWD race cars that retain the shell of the original Honda Civic, Subaru WRX, Ford Fiesta, or Volkswagen Beetle. Tracks are between 0.5 mile and 1.0 mile in length and feature a mixture of dirt and pavement, as well as a 70-foot jump.

The Olsbergs MSE Honda Civics draw intake air through a custom-molded carbon fiber air box into which the team thoughtfully molded the K&N logo. Inside is a nine-inch K&N RE-0870 filter wrapped with a K&N PreCharger.

After a seventh place finish at the season-opener in Memphis, Tennessee, Sebastian Eriksson and his Red Bull Olsbergs MSE Honda Civic turned the tables on the field in Louisville, Kentucky, and scored Honda’s first-ever Global Rallycross victory in one of the closest finishes in series history.

Olsbergs OSME Honda driver Sebastian Eriksson fought to the finish to take the win in Louisville

Eriksson led his teammates, American Mitchell deJong and Oliver Eriksson, who is no relation but is also a Swede, with a fourth-place qualifying result. Sebastian raised the stakes with a second-place finish in the second semifinal, which put him on the inside of the second row of the final.

Just prior to the drop of the green on the 10-car finale, a rain shower soaked the 0.7 mile course, shifting the advantage to Sebastian and the Honda-powered team and their custom AWD system. Sebastian rocketed away at start, grabbing third place going into the first turn. The front runners made contact in the first dirt corner, and Sebatian grabbed the opportunity to take the lead. Two drivers slipped past him, but then Sebastian caught them and moved back into first place, though he’d maintain a slim lead over second-place Steve Arpin for the final five laps.

Olsbergs OSME Honda driver Sebastian Eriksson celebrating his win at the GRC event in Louisville, KY

Honda Red Bull OSME teammates Mitchell deJong and Oliver Eriksson finished fifth and seventh, respectively.

After two events in the Mid-South, the Red Bull Global Rallycross circus made its way to the Northeast and Thompson, Connecticut, for a double-header event, where it would be young Mitchell deJong’s turn to shine.

Mitchell scored his first career Red Bull Global Rallycross podium at the Saturday race of a two-day Thompson double header. The 19-year-old Temecula, California, native became Honda’s first American rallycross driver to achieve a podium finish in the GRC, in his rookie season no less.

Over the course of Saturday’s competition Mitchell improved on his eighth-place qualifying result, finding speed in the jarring uphill dirt section. Rookie teammate Oliver Eriksson would claim a first-round heat victory.

Matt Coffman drifts the 30-degree banking of Wall Speedway at Formula Drift Round 4

Thursday’s practice session and Friday’s qualifying session both went smoothly for the team, with the 93-point qualifying run being a career high both in score and in placing for Coffman. The 30-degree banking of Wall Speedway is one of the most dynamic courses on the schedule, and a track that many of the top teams struggle with. Coffman Racing was able to setup the car to handle the difficult track conditions well, and Coffman was feeling more comfortable with each pass. The tandem ladder would pair Coffman up with Kyle Mohan in the Top 32 round of tandem, a matchup that allowed Coffman to showcase his steering angle and superior tire smoke in earning the unanimous decision from the judges. Prior to the Top 16 tandem round, Coffman would appear in his third Opening Ceremony of the season, matching the number of Top 16 appearances in the entire 2016 season.

Matt Coffman eliminated Robbie Nishida's Nissan GTR in the Top 16 round at Formula Drift NJ

Matt Coffman awaits the Top 16 opening ceremonies at Wall Speedway

As the clock on the competition timeout expired, all repairs had been completed. Unfortunately, the kill switch for the car had been flipped by the tow truck crew, which caused a slight delay in getting the car fired up. Upon locating this issue, the switch was flipped, the car fired right up, and Coffman made his way to the start line. He was then informed that since his car was not running and en route to the start line when time was expired, he was not allowed to continue. While Coffman was not happy with the decision, he respects that the rule was followed to the extent that it is currently written. The team was still satisfied with the Top 4 finish, especially since Coffman had retained unanimous decisions in all of his tandem battles leading up to the Final 4 round.

Looking ahead, Coffman and team are excited to take the strong results to the next round of Formula Drift, which takes place at Autodrome St. Eustache just outside of Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

The Coffman Racing S13 qualified in 6th position, a career best for Matt Coffman

Matt Coffman earned unanimous decisions from the judges in his Top 32, Top 16, and Top 8 rounds

Team Yoshimura finished 1-2 for the third time this season (Photo Brian J. Nelson)

Race 1

On Saturday, Hayden won Superpole for the second time this season, turning in a time of 2:12.864. The four-mile, 14-turn road course puts a premium on power and top speed, and the K&N-equipped 2017 Suzuki GSX-R1000 again showed that it is the machine to beat in MotoAmerica.

Hayden raced strong and sprinted to an early lead. He led the most laps of any racer in Saturday’s contest, but ultimately finished the day in a close third, just 0.153 seconds out of the lead.

“Road America is usually not my strongest track, but the team gave me a great bike in qualifying and I was able to put it on the pole,” said Hayden.

Elias showed his ability to make timely passes and deal with race traffic. He started 10th on the grid and made a hard-charging run to finish second. He pulled up in the draft on the final straight, but came up short by just 5/1000ths of a second. That finish marked one the closest margins in series history.

Elias (24) and Hayden (95) racing for the podium at Road America (Photo Brian J. Nelson)

Sunday’s sunny and warm conditions combined with the promise of great racing drew a big crowd to the classic Wisconsin circuit. Hayden and Elias once again put their Suzuki GSX-R1000 Superbikes up front and swapped the lead numerous times.

Unfortunately, the race was red flagged with two laps left due to a competitor’s bike spilling oil going into the first turn. Elias was leading at the time, giving him the victory. Hayden finished in the second position for the race, marking the third time that Yoshimura Suzuki has finished 1-2 this season.

“It’s not the way we like to win, but I am grateful for the victory and to build our points lead," said Elias. "Roger was very strong today and we had a good race and were trying to break away.”

The win was especially memorable for Elias since his mother and father came over from Spain to watch their first MotoAmerica event in person.

Roger Hayden showing the K&N SU-9915 filter that he runs in his 2017 GSX-R1000

Elias’ win was a series-leading fourth of the season which expanded his lead in the series standings to 14 points (160-146) over Cameron Beaubier after eight races. Hayden is a close third with 140 points.

Next up on the MotoAmerica Superbike schedule is round 5 at Utah Motorsports Complex in Tooele, Utah.

If you ride the 2017 Suzuki GSX-R1000, the K&N SU-9915 air filter is the smart performance filtration choice for your bike.

Vaughn Gittin Jr. drifts his Ford Mustang RTR along the apron at Wall Speedway

Gittin Jr. started the weekend off with a strong qualifying effort, scoring 90 points which put him in ninth position just 6 qualifying points behind his Ford Mustang RTR drift teammate Chelsea Denofa, who earned the top qualifier position. Both Mustangs were handling strong despite the huge transition from the 30-degree bank to the flat bottom track that happens after the highest speed portion of the Wall Speedway course, a testament to the BC Racing suspension that both cars utilize. Gittin Jr. was feeling confident going into the Saturday Tandem battles where he would be matched up with Kearney, a driver that Gittin Jr. has struggled to beat recently.

Vaughn Gittin Jr. finished in the Top 16 round at Formula Drift New Jersey

Vaughn Gittin Jr. practices against current points leader James Deane in practice at FD New Jersey

In the Top 16 round, Gittin Jr. would have some sort of brief loss of power shortly after initiating while following Essa, which caused him to lose drift. The car felt fine after the hiccup, and Gittin Jr. was able to make a full pass as the lead car before Essa was judged to be the winner. “Sometimes it’s just the way the cookie crumbles,” said Gittin Jr. about the brief loss of power. “I’m really proud about how everybody worked this weekend. We had a lot of unforeseen things come up, we got smashed into a few times, but we prevailed.”

Vaughn Gittin Jr. drifts the 30-degree banking at Wall Speedway in New Jersey

Vaughn Gittin Jr. awaits his top 16 tandem battle against Michael Essa in his Ford Mustang RTR

Vaughn Gittin Jr. pitches his Ford Mustang RTR into the first turn at Formula Drift NJ

Chelsea Denofa piloted his RTR Mustang to a pole qualifying position at Formula Drift New Jersey

Denofa started the weekend off feeling quite comfortable behind the Ford Mustang RTR, with changes between rounds being instantly noticeable. There’s a love/hate relationship between Denofa and the highly-banked Wall Speedway track as he has had several major crashes at the circuit over the years. Practice and qualifying went off flawlessly, with Denofa earning a 96-point run on his second pass that would take the top qualifier award, which came with a “bag of cash” from Black Magic tire care worth $500. The top qualifier also came with a bye directly into the Top 16, which turned out to be a huge stroke of luck.

Chelsea Denofa pitches his Ford Mustang RTR hard into the first turn at Formula Drift New Jersey

In his Top 16 battle, Denofa was paired with 2011 Formula Drift champion Dai Yoshihara. Denofa lead the first run, putting down a great run with plenty of steering angle and tire smoke. Unfortunately, on the second run, Denofa would over-rotate in the same location as his practice crash incident, but thankfully would emerge from the spin unscathed as he was in the chase position. Yoshihara would earn the win, while Denofa knew he had a car that could have earned a stronger finish.

Chelsea Denofa transitioning off the bank at Wall Speedway in New Jersey

The next round of the Formula Drift series will take place at Autodrome St. Eustache just outside of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Chelsea Denofa and the Ford Mustang RTR drift team proudly use K&N air and oil filters on their drift cars.

Denofa chases down eventual event winner Odi Bakchis during practice at Formula Drift New Jersey

Chelsea Denofa anxiously awaits to take his qualifying pass, which would put him on pole for FDNJ