DriftTime!

After 13 years of devoting every working hour to the search for maximum grip, the nine-time SCCA SPEED World Challenge team is throwing their hat into the slip sport of drifting. Behind the wheel of the RealTime Racing Honda S2000 that will debut at Round 2 of the 2006 Need For Speed Formula Drift championship will be none other than three-time World Challenge Touring Car champion Pierre Kleinubing.

While drift fans might not recognize Kleinubing or RealTime, fans of Touring Car competition need no introduction for the 31-year old driver originally from Brazil. As a member of the latest generation of fast Brazilians (think Tony Kanaan, Helio Castroneves, Bruno Junqueira) that have erupted into the American speedscape since Emerson Fittipaldi trail blazed the way a couple of decades ago. Like most Brazilian racers, Kleinubing worked his way from the go-kart system – winning three straight karting championships before jumping straight into touring cars. After winning the 1992 and 1995 Brazilian Touring Car Championships, Kleinubing moved to the U.S. and secured a ride with RealTime Racing with their SPEED Touring Car program. Success was instant as he won the championship in his rookie season (1997) and then won back to back championships in 2000 and 2001. His victories (21) and pole positions (26) rank only second to RealTime boss/teammate multiple World Challenge champion Peter Cunningham. So how will Kleinubing stack up against the top drifters in the country? While Kleinubing won’t be coming into the series as a complete newcomer – his car control skills from racing as well as doing driving clinics around the year assure that, the odds are stacked against him – at least for his first event at Road Atlanta.

In fact, Kleinubing has never competed in a drift competition before this weekend and practice has been limited. Adjusting to the specialized techniques of drifting, as well as adapting to different driver’s styles during tandem runs, will no doubt take some time. As well, Kleinubing has to adjust to a brand new car that sees daylight only a day or two before the event. While the RealTime team has ice racing and rally racing experience that will help in someways, the Real Time Honda S2000 will be their first stab at producing a drift-spec competitor. Using a Vortech-supercharger and a fully ported, polished and built 2.2 L S2000 mill, the RealTime team have extracted over 450 hp for their Atlanta debut. As well, the car has been reinforced, seam welded, and lightened. Using tips from friends in the drift scene (including Rhys Millen’s company), RealTime also swapped out the stock steering rack for one that will allow more steering angle. Sponsor Bridgestone is supplying high performance Potenza RE-01R tires to smoke.

RealTime program manager Nathan Bonneau had this to add, “This S2000 drift car is an exciting new project—something very different from our Touring Car effort, so the team is chomping at the bit to launch this rocket in Atlanta to see what it’ll do.

“With limited testing and experience in the art of drifting, we’re expecting to learn a lot at our first event. We’re hoping that the knowledge we gain will allow us to improve quickly. With a driver like Pierre and the combination of Bridgestone, Honda and the RealTime crew, we have all the ingredients needed to drift our way to the front!”

Kleinubing’s personal goals though are pretty humble given his long list of credentials. Recognizing the challenge that might lie ahead (especially after talking to friends in the series including Samuel Hubinette, Tanner Foust, and Rich Rutherford), his told us his ideal weekend would be to just make the Top 16 cut. Road Atlanta Formula D attendees will find out in person when