Hateley Motorsports 2023 Formula Drift ProSpec Season Finale

The 2023 Formula Drift ProSpec season came to a close recently at the Utah Motorsports Campus in Salt Lake City where our friends at Hateley Motorsports were able to secure a 2nd place finish in the championship in their ProSpec E46. In the last 2 years driver Andy Hateley and his crew have been able to secure 4 podium finishes, 2 ProSpec Championship trophies as well as the 2022 Formula Drift Award for Most Improved Driver. For some, these accomplishments might be a destination but for Andy and the crew at Hateley Motorsports, this is only the beginning of their Formula D aspirations.

The 2023 Championship decider got off to a rough start when their Wednesday practice session ended prematurely with a hard hit which damaged a front shock shaft and bent a wheel stud. Luckily, this did not throw the team off much since they had an extensive spare parts supply and they were able to make it out for qualifying on the following day. Here they were able to position the car within the top 32, right where they wanted it.

Their first competitive session was against Jayden Mortorana in his Corvette. "We led first and we came in hot, Jayden made a major mistake behind me in the first corner and went 3 tires off giving us a major advantage" said Andy. By the end of this session the Hateley team secured a position in the top 16 and made it to the FD autograph session just in time.

The next battle for the team was against Kelsey Rowlings in her Nissan S14. "We had a great lead lap on this one! " said Andy, "Unfortunately Kelsey's car had mechanical issues and she couldn’t complete her lead lap. We were given the win and moved onto our top 8 battle with Trevor Root."The top 8 battle with the new ProSpec driver was another success. Here they had managed a sizable gap throughout the track and on Trevor's lead lap, he dropped a tire, which called for quick, on-the-fly reaction by Andy. Thankfully they were able to pull it off and advance to the Top 4 battle against Ben Hobson.

Ben and Andy have been battling each other for wins for a while now within the championship and it was fitting that they would be paired up to finish the season. "I pushed a little too hard on my lead lap which led to a few minor mistakes that stood out", said Andy. "In my opinion this was one of my worst lead laps of the day but sometimes that's what you get when you roll the dice out here." This session put them in 4th place for the event, just shy of their third podium of 2023.Fortunately, the 4th place finish was enough to secure them 2nd place overall in the championship and from here Andy and the entire Hately crew will be advancing to Formula D Pro for the 2024 season. Celebrations were in order as the team will now settle in to a well-deserved offseason before setting their sights on the Formula Drift Pro Championship in 2024.

The Hateley Motorsports organization is another example of a Condor equipped racing team that embodies our "by reason of by force" mentality. Their dedication and hard work over the years has propelled Andy and the crew to unbelievable heights within Formula D. We have been proud to support Hateley Motorsports throughout their journey and look forward to what the future has in store for them.

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