MICHAEL ESSA ON EXOTICS, LIFE AFTER FD & DRIFTING BLIND.
Photo courtesy of Michael Essa
FD Champ Michael Essa Returns To The Track With Moxie.
When we heard Michael Essa would be back out on the track competing at the LZ World Tour stop at Kern Raceway in Bakersfield, Calif., we made it a priority to get a quick interview with the former FD icon. Here’s a snapshot of what Essa has cooking now and a look at his unexpected (but super fun) practice round with FD PRO Matt Field (@mattfield777).
After so many years of professional drifting, what was the hardest part about leaving Formula DRIFT?
You know, the hardest part about leaving after my 14 seasons was not seeing all the people and good friends I made over the years. It was really hard to watch everyone at the track while I was out doing something else and not there. I really miss the driving, but all of the prep going into and after the events, traveling - it’s a lot. After doing it for 14 years, I was at a point where I needed to change the pace, I needed to do something different, and it kind of worked out for me, working with the Daily Driven Exotics guys now. We are still obviously out at the track. We are still having fun, but it's very different, and a little less stressful. So, I’m happy I did leave, but I was also happy that I was able to do it for so long.
Photo courtesy of Daily Driven Exotics
What have you been up to and working on since?
I didn’t run at all in 2023, and basically, just started working with Daily Driven Exotics. We are building some insane exotic cars over there. One of the big projects we are working on currently is a Ferrari F12 Twin-Turbo, 1500 horsepower, sequential-lever shift transmission. It’s just really wild, and it’s built kind of like an FD car, but we are going to add some special stuff to it. It's going to be a car we use to film videos - like, in honor of Ken Block. I’m looking forward to getting that wrapped up in the next few months, so if you guys wanna catch up, go to the DDE YouTube page, and watch those videos. There’s a lot of content that we’ve put up already, and we’re going to be uploading a lot more, and I’m having a lot of fun doing it.
Are you excited to get back on the track here at the LZ World Tour against some of your long-time peers?
It’s really good to be back out here at the track. This is a fun event, but it's also a competition, and I’m a very competitive person. So, even if we are practicing, I'm still trying to win. It’s also really a show for the spectators and we want to put on a good show. I'm having a blast being back in the car driving door-to-door with some of my buddies like Dmitriy Brutskiy (@dimabrutskiy). I’ve known him for years now and built a few cars for him. He’s bought a few of my cars, so it’s fun to get to go out there and tandem with him, and also tandem with Margaritis Katsanidis (@tgdmargaritis). He came from Greece and was my crew chief for a while. He worked for me for a bit, and now he has his program, and is running his car. So, just being out on the track with all these guys is a ton of fun.
Will we see any more of you this year?
So, I’m not sure yet what my schedule looks like, but I’m sure I’ll be out at some events. We're looking at some GRIDLIFE stuff, and hopefully, we can make some of those events. I’m not sure what car we’ll bring yet, but maybe if we get the F12 done, we’ll bring that. But, we have a lot of exotics! We have two [Ferrari] 599s now with handbrakes in them. We’ve got the supercharged [Lamborghini] Huracan we just put a handbrake in. So, we’ll definitely be at the track. We also have a couple road race cars. We have a Lamborghini Super Trofeo EVO2, which is insane, and then Dave has a McLaren 570S GT4 factory race car also. So, we’re all over the place all the time, so just keep up with me on social media at @michealessa and also @dailydrivenexotics. Follow us, watch the YouTube channel, and I’m sure you guys will enjoy it.
Speaking of fun, in one of your practice runs here, your hood flipped up. What was that like?
Actually, on my first practice run of the day, we had some issues with the car. We got it all patched up, and in the rush to get things done, the hood latches didn’t get pinned. So, I went down to grab third gear and the hood came up, and I’m like, “You know what, I’m going for it!” I knew it might be the only practice lap I got before qualifying, and I couldn’t really see, but I still threw down a run. Putting on a show for the fans and just having a blast out here. It happens, it’s racing, but yeah, the car is ok. The hood is actually not even bad. It didn’t damage the windshield either, so we’re good to go, and I’m looking forward to the rest of the day!
Is there anything else you’d like to add?
If you guys are looking to get into drifting, do it! It’s a blast, but start out with a low horsepower car with small tires on it. Save your money, get good at driving, something like that. Don’t build this insane car without any seat time. The car is going to sit in the garage, or you get out there and burn up tires all day long, and spend a ton of money doing it. So, start out grassroots style. That’s what I love about this, there’s a lot of guys out here with 400 horsepower cars that are still out here shreddin!
