We got the opportunity to sit down with Zoltan Hajdu, Formula Drift rookie, at the final event of the season. He was kind enough to give us a few minutes of his time so we can discuss who he is and where he came from and where he intends to go…
EverythingDrift: First of all, thank you so much for the Ride Along yesterday. It was so much fun and I was a little bit nervous when it started raining. The track became so slick and you handled yourself and the car really well. How did you stat drifting and how long have you been drifting for?
Zoltan Hajdu: I started drifting back in 05’; I just started with parking lots and stuff like that. I started to find out that their were event’s going on, so that’s when I pretty much bought a roll cage and a limited slip differential. Then I went out and did my first event.
ED: Tell me a little bit about yourself, where are you originally from?
ZH: I’m from Hungary. Now I am living in San Antonio,Texas. The team is based out of Florida. But I was born in Hungary.
ED: Would you ever like to go back to Europe to compete in some of the competitions going on over there? Would you run the same setup or would you want to have a different type of car and setup?
ZH: Of course, absolutely! I would use the same setup. If I could ship my car there and probably use the same setup there.
ED: So can you please describe your current setup for us and the readers?
ZH: We are running a LS2 out of a Pontiac 06’ GTO. It came out of junk car. We bought the car for 1000.00 basically. With a Stage 6 Motorsports twin turbo setup, it’s a unique one of a kind twin turbo setup that they made for the car and we have been running it ever since.
ED: Yeah, we noticed the twin turbo and thought it was very unique. Not many drivers run a twin turbo V8 out here.
ZH: Nobody really attempts to do this, but at Stage 6 we had really good resources. We were able to know that if we had any problems with our setup we could always count on them. They had already experienced building turbo parts so we were confident that it was going to work.
ED: So we know in Europe they build and run diesel motors in drift cars out there. Would you ever attempt to run a diesel setup out here and run it in Formula Drift?
ZH: I would, it’s just that it’s a little bit of a heavier engine so that’s the only down side of diesel. I don’t know if I would run it. I really like my 4 cylinder sr. It’s a little more reliable and cheaper, even with a crazy twin turbo setup it’s still more affordable.
ED: So what’s your opinion on American vs. European drifting?
ZH: Europe is getting better; they started a few years after the U.S. I think about 2-3 years behind them. They are getting better and better and it’s very popular. Europe is very compact so you can just go see it on TV or what not. Compared to like here in the U.S. where let’s say for Rally you have to travel state to state and in Europe all can be in one place.
ED: I know you had mentioned that you did rally, or that you started off in rally. So did that kind of help you skill in drifting in making you more comfortable?
ZH: Yes it definitely did. The speed and sliding part as well with the control of the car like when going sideways. So it definitely did. I started when I was 14 then moved to the states. So it definitely helped me get a good base and help with the car control when I did that, so I am happy I did. On rally you focus on the time a lot so I still had to learn to drift. It’s not all about sliding the car. As well the setup is setup more to allow to slide over smooth surfaces so I am better prepared then let’s say a Time Attack driver.
ED: Is there any particular Formula Drift driver that you would like to run against?
ZH: Pretty much everybody, like all the big guys. The most probably Jr, Vaughn Gittin, I would really love to drive with him. As well as Daijiro Yoshihara, Chris Forsberg and I did get 1 run against Daigo Saito yesterday. That was fun as well.
ED: That must have been exciting! Were you a little nervous that you were going to get slammed into the wall?
ZH: No, not really. I just got smoked at the gate and he drives a little bit funny, maybe because he is running a V8. I thought he was going to be a little faster. But he’s fast on some parts of the track. It was very challenging to follow him. He has to be the guy that’s the hardest to follow. He just keeps the pedal to the floor and does his thing.
ED: So where do you ultimately see yourself in your drifting career?
ZH: Everybody’s here to win, but I just want to do good. Get out there and make more Top 32’s and some Top 16’s. Just to maintain that and do well.
ED: I’m sure were going to see a lot more of you because that ride a long was really intense! We definitely look forward to seeing you next season and good luck out there!
ZH: Thank you I really appreciate it.
(Interview By: Emma Yvette “a.k.a. The Drift Bunny”)
(Photos By: Paul Lopez)
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