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The Octane Academy is a reality show developed by Ford that’s centered around a new generation of moto enthusiasts who want to be the next action star. Just send a video explaining why you should be one of thirty-two finalists and if you make the cut, you’ll attend one of four race weekends hosted by Vaughn Gittin Jr., Ken Block, Tanner Foust and Brian Deegan. The events will feature both hands-on instruction and a series of challenges designed by the drivers to test the finalists’ skills, personality and desire to win. Points are awarded based upon the results of each challenge, and at the end of the weekend, a winner takes home the glory and their very own tricked-out Ford.
The first race weekend isn’t until November, but Ford hosted the Octane Academy Invitational last week at their 4,000 acre Michigan Proving Grounds to give the media a taste of what lucky finalists have in store. It was condensed into one day and sadly, no one took home a car, but it was a ridiculous amount of fun spending time with Ford’s talented stable of drivers. If my experience is anything like the actual event, they are in for one helluva ride.
If you’re going to learn how to drift, there is no better teacher in the world than Vaughn Gittin Jr. Not only does he have an endless reservoir of energy, patience and tiger blood, he’s one of the most iconic figures in the sport. He drives balls out and it’s why he’s the only American to ever win a D1 Grand Prix event, not once, but twice, and claimed the Formula D title in 2010. He’s drifting the dream.
I started by riding along with Vaughn in a souped-up Ford Mustang for a “hot lap”. It involved accelerating until our eyelids peeled back and drifting a course marked by cones, punctuated by the severe weight shifts of the car. Although Vaughn makes it look easy, it isn’t.
The goal of my challenge was to drift around a wide circle of cones continuously. To set it up, you’d accelerate hard in a straight line, steer right then in the same motion, steer left and floor the gas. This quickly brings the rear of the car around and before you spin the car, you carefully feather the throttle to ride the line between control and chaos. The hardest thing is anticipating the car’s behavior because you can’t afford a single mistake. I made so many that Vaughn gave me a video game so I could practice at home. True story.
If you are looking to practice drifting in the real world, you’ll want a closed parking lot the size of Rhode Island with absolutely no obstacles like light posts. Luckily, Ford had one of those. You’ll also want a tire sponsor. This is very, very important. There was a crew on hand to change them which was a good thing since we burned through twenty over the course of the day.
Ken Block is co-founder of DC Shoes and recently teamed up with Ford to become the first American to campaign in the World Rally Championship. Ask anyone if they know Ken Block though and you’ll inevitably hear about Gymkhana. His insane driving in the video series for DC Shoes has racked up over 100 million views and has made him and the sport household names. The latest video was staged at Universal Studios in Los Angeles and is so over-the-top, it’s hard to imagine how Block will outdo himself in the next one.
A few weeks before the Octane Academy Invitational, Block gave fans ride-alongs in a rally car and cameras captured their expressions. I saw the video and the simultaneous look of terror and enjoyment reminded me of riding a roller coaster for the first time. For that reason alone, I was especially looking forward to what promised to be a helluva good time.
Although we spent a lot of time in tricked out Fords over the course of the day, the rally car used by Block was the only one with a roll cage, five-point belts and LED gear indicator. I belted in and Block advised “don’t get overwhelmed” before speeding off into the morning mist. I don’t think he had driven the car before, but his motions were fluid and the car was fast. I really enjoyed sliding down a loose gravel road in top gear. It’s clear the car is in control, although it’s hard to believe what the car is doing at times. The course was fast at under 2 minutes and Block unsatisfied, blew past the finish line and gave it his all through the cool down area before our inevitable return.
I got some additional hands-on instruction and took a rally car around the course to set my own time. Although there were plenty of room to pick up speed, chicanes slowed your progress so it was a game of getting speed and waiting until the last moment before braking as hard as possible in a straight line, without locking the brakes. Since the car was front wheel drive, you had to use the gas to direct the car as you navigated the course. It was the only thing keeping the car tracking correctly on sweeping high speed turns. Rally driving also reinforced a concept from motocross I learned the hard way – gas is often the savior, brakes are usually the devil.
Tanner Foust had the most varied resume of anyone at the Octane Academy. His resume is so long, it won’t fit inside a normal PDF. You have to pay for an upgrade. Most people know him as the co-host of Top Gear USA, but he’s also a serious driver outside of TV. He began working as an ice driving coach of all things. He’s competed in open wheel, drifting, rally, sport car, SCORE Baja, Pikes Peak Hill Climb, X-Games and on and on. He’s a stunt driver who worked on Tokyo Drift and Dukes of Hazzard. He jumped a truck a world record 322 feet at this year’s Indianapolis 500. He makes the common man look like the common man. Show boat.
For the common man, revenge is a dish best served cold with heaps of goose shit and christmas lights. Here’s how the story unfolds. Tanner was teaching us stunt driving, namely how to do a 180 J Turn and a 360 spin using a combination of throttle, steering and hand-brake. There were nearly 20 of us over the course of the day which meant Tanner had to endure something like 120 separate 360 degree spins. This alone would put a stomach in knots, but it gets worse. We were driving on a Jennite surface that when flooded with water acts just like ice. The water came from a nearby reservoir and along with hydrogen and oxygen came a decent amount of goose business. The car was completely covered. They had also pulled a number of fuses to disable features like traction control so the car’s dashboard was lit up and flashing like Times Square at night. Combine all of those ingredients with a proper hangover and you end up with a disaster or an example of a man overcoming all odds. Tanner Foust is that man. He may even be a Jedi.
Well, Jedi or not, he’s the man to teach stunt driving. We covered the intricacies of the maneuvers and he gave us pointers as we learned the steps. A 360 degree spin involved acceleration, quick left turn while pulling the hand brake, letting the steering wheel come back to center while the car spins 180 degrees, then releasing the hand brake while turning into the spin and applying gas to bring the car around. It’s a fairly logical progression, but the trick is to keep calm and wait. You have to fight the instinct to do everything quickly. The pace is much slower than what feels natural and it requires an incredible amount of finesse to end up exactly where you want to end up.
“The General” Brian Deegan is best known for the work he’s done on two wheels. He worked his way into Supercross and when he won his first event at the L.A. Coliseum in 1997, he jumped off his bike, letting it ghost ride by the checkered flag. The crowd went bananas and Freestyle Motocross was in the public eye. Bryan went on to become the most decorated Freestyle Motocross rider in X Games history with 14 medals, landing tricks along the way like the first 360 spin. Brian recently partnered with Ford to race in multiple series on four wheels, including the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series, Global RallyCross Championship and X Games 17. He’s also a founding member of the Metal Mulisha, a team that branched out into a successful clothing line and video production company. Brian may very-well be the hardest working man in show business.
When I met him he was sporting a huge shiner and looked like a pirate. Turns out he had trained with Mike Tyson’s camp for the past six weeks and had just come from a boxing match in Las Vegas against fellow X-Games star, Dave Mirra. Brian had come out on top and although he may have looked worse for wear, he didn’t show it. He took us around an off-road course in a Ford Raptor sliding around corners, screaming across whoops, burying the nose into dips and catching tons of air. It’s easy to tell that Brian enjoys his job because he’s laughing the entire time. It’s like racing with the Joker. My course was clear – give in and grin like a wild man too.
My experience at the Octane Academy represents just a peek of what the contestants have in store. I only spent a day in the saddle, but the race weekends will take place over four days. I’m jealous just thinking about it. If this sounds like something you might be interested in, visit Octane Academy for more information.
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