Donald Lui: Beyond Car Fascination

When you meet someone who seems almost untouchable, larger than life, and too close to living the dream, it is quite satisfying to discover that - in spirit - they are just like every enthusiast that was ever born. A human with a simple desire to follow that dream, work hard, and find personal victories that serve as their biggest reward. Watching Donald Lui pull off the track and into his team's spot at the paddock after capturing a successful time, the first thing you will notice is the outward display of calm, confidence, and determination on his face. First meeting Donald after this observation, even though somewhat intimidating at first, was like reuniting with an old friend. During those first few moments around his car on what would become a warm Saturday morning at this year's Grid Life Circuit Legends event, it seemed like this driver was in his own bubble of preparation with no time or desire to escape towards an uninvited distraction from a hovering journalist. The chaos of the Lime Rock morning, the dust choked air, and the roaring sounds was no obstacle for Lui as he scanned the environment. Unexpectedly, with a break in the after track hustle, we were greeted into his busy world and opened the door to a new story that will be inspiring to everyone.

Like all drivers who have dedicated themselves to this life, Lui's background has a very familiar foundation of passionate youth, growing up with a love for cars, and that initial bite on the soul that developed into obsessive enthusiasm for speed, thrills, and victory. "I am originally from Hong Kong." Lui confirmed. "I moved to the United States at age of 11 where we settled in Queens, New York. I always loved mechanical things as a kid.", he remembered. “My earliest memories of me being fascinated about cars are of my grandfather driving me in a Mazda 323." Again, just like millions of young, excited enthusiasts before and after him, Donald fell into some of the same familiar slots which groomed his mind and soul to follow the motorsports muse more closely. "I played all the video games like Gran Turismo when I was younger," Lui confessed. With all this attention and focus placed on the skills promoted within a popular video title, this drive did not seem to the outside as a viable pursuit like becoming a professional athlete or olympic champion. "Driving was never seen as a sport in my household.", he said. "It was only seen as a waste of money."

Many true individuals who pursue unconventional interests either as a hobby or profession will confront some push back from those closest and most influential to their life. Some of us are very fortunate to have the support needed to get over some of the most difficult and discouraging humps that come at the beginning of any passionate journey. Any musician will tell you about the smirks, frowns, and giggles they confronted when they first proclaimed that they were "going to be a rock star." Well, this rut was not foreign to Donald as his early hopes and dreams came with a big serving of discouragement. "I remember wanting to own a car (S2000), but that thought was quickly erased by my parents." Donald reflected. "I am one of the outliers where I didn’t buy a car and/or learn how to drive a manual transmission until I graduated college. Racing as a sport always seems to be expensive.", he said. "As a kid growing up in Queens, you would never really think about going racing. There was limited space, congested traffic, and parents that do not understand the amusement of driving in circles." , he said with humor. "Yes, they said 'we don’t understand why driving in a circle is fun', further confirming how they were not an encouraging factor at all."

Without that extra boost of support that is often a valuable spark to launch something great, Donald chose to tap into inspiration from another familiar channel that fueled his passion through simple recreation. "Learning from playing Gran Turismo", he remembers, "I would memorize all the horsepowers, the makes and models. I was more of a 'memorizing all the facts' about cars kind of a kid growing up.", Donald remembers. "Watching videos about Rally Racing and playing racing video games like GT, Need for Speed Underground and growing up." Lui was educating himself and building up his passion within this virtual world of speed, competition, and sport even though his reality was far from where his heart resides. As he grew older and his childhood thoughts turned into adult needs, he finally connected the wires that would bring him closer to his future. "The first car I bought was a 2014 Scion FRS on February 22nd 2014. That was my first manual and first car. I was 22 at that time. This FRS was the car that started it all. Owning my FRS led me to learning AND applying theory to the test. I didn’t plan to do any track day or autocross at first, but three months into ownership, I decided to take it to the track." At this point, Donald was not letting any more obstacles get in his way.

The spirit of this young man was being fueled by hours of inspiration and creative wonder built so mysteriously within the idea of competing and feeling the need for speed as seen by the child inside. An example for anyone holding back from taking their first chance at something new, Lui's tactic was to move boldly and act mightily as the biggest rewards come to those who take big steps. "I still remember I would ask a lot of people to come to the track with me," he said. "I was always hit with, 'I'll do it next time bro' or 'I'm not ready but I'll be ready soon'. I ended up just going to the racetrack by myself and 3 months in I started on the HPDE journey." With fear, lack of confidence, and doubt clearly brushed off his shoulder, Donald moved forward quickly, almost to make up for the lost time he felt was holding him back years before. Reflecting on his launching point, Lui proclaimed, "I started with NASA NE, attended autocross school, and then did about 3 events my first year. The second year I decided to join a club called EMRA and did a track day with them.", he said. "I was doing both NASA NE and EMRA during year number 2 and did about 7 track days. I made a lot of friends along the way as a typical weekend track warrior. The years 2014 and 2015 were my track day phase."

Someone who is so driven and so focused on being the best they can be will create an ongoing pull for self improvement, targets for quicker success, and an energy to always be one step ahead of even those dreams you work so hard to help blossom. Donald was quickly becoming a passionate competitor who not only wanted to get things done, but also get things done right. "I was always a bit hard on myself, I would buy car parts and not allow myself to upgrade until I hit a certain goal lap time wise.", he exclaimed. "I remember at one point, I would have car parts in my room waiting to be installed. I want to keep improving as a driver." Within a year after his track day phase and next leg of his journey, Lui would look to the horizon and set an even larger goal to meet for his future. "I vividly remember my friends Anthony, Binish and Ken Eviner at Pocono Raceway in May 2016.", he remembered. "They were very supportive of my passions. They also would teach me about driving and my lap time would quickly improve. They suggested that I do Skip Barber Racing School.", he said gratefully. "I attended 3 days of racing school at Laguna SECA choosing to learn in a Formula Car because I wanted to experience something different. Driving fast is great but I always wanted to learn how to drive fast. ‘The Art of Driving’ is what I would call it."

Any serious enthusiast that graduates into the thrilling lane of motorsports or extreme performance in any genre within this world will tell you about the moment in time where things began to expand in their life and new doors began to open. It was not different for our friend Donald when he entered the Skip Barber universe. "Definitely one of the most raw experiences I ever had. I completed the school, gained some confidence, and felt better as a driver." he said with gratitude. "I continued to do time trials with EMRA 2016 and ended up winning their ST-6 class championship competing against my friends." At this point on his motorsports timeline, Donald felt a definite shift in his path of destiny. Like many others before him, he knew in his heart that this experience would change his life forever. "After completing my first three days of race school, I learned about the Skip Barber Shootout that happens annually." Due to some convenient circumstances presenting themselves through a 30% discount on event registration, Lui again had an opportunity to push forward to another level. "The pre-requisite was a 3 day school and a two days advance school. Skip Barber was having a sale, so I proceeded to book the cheapest advance school registration which landed me in Willow Springs.", he remembered fondly. "This event was pivotal in my Subaru life." 

Lui was now gaining critical experience driving a Formula car. He learned a lot about throttle application and what it really takes to be a fast, competent and confident driver. "I had a driver like Luke Gabin chasing me and telling me I was quick.", he said proudly. "This made me feel like I was on the right path of learning." Between 2016 and 2021, Donald would see important victories while taking major leaps in his driving journey and in his role spearheading new ideas based on the inspiration from those who were teaching him to succeed. "Upon completing the three days and two days school, I would ultimately enter the 2017 Skip Barber Shootout at Atlanta Motorsport Park on Feb 21 2017, competing against 35-40 other drivers." At this point, having gotten a late start in the game compared to many of those competing, Lui was already in his mid twenties, which caused some humble reflection on his life when experiencing the intense level of performance from those on the track. "Everyone I competed with was with their parents or guardians," he remembers. "I learned then that speed can come from all ages. I never had a chance to compete as a much younger person, but this made me wish I could have had that opportunity.", he said. "I didn’t win the shootout and I ended up in the mid pack after making two mistakes. I wouldn’t say I was discouraged after not winning, but more so open my eyes on how you should never stop learning about driving."

Turning back to the Willow Springs event, it is important to remember that Lui had been running time trials with his faithful Scion FRS while being instructed by a major influencer in his journey, Mike Kang. "I first noticed Mike and his turbocharged Subaru BRZ in the paddock," he remembered. "Meeting him led me to learn about a West Coast series called the 86Cup, a class base series that attracts drivers of the same car. The 86Cup also uses spec tires for two classes and the other two are not limited to spec tires." , he informs. "As I was finishing up the two days of advanced racing school, Mike pitched me the idea of bringing the 86Cup series to the East Coast." With this idea, encouragement, and inspiration firmly planted during an already accelerated journey on course, Donald would continue to grasp the true enthusiast spirit by both remembering his own awakening in this sport, but also cultivating a desire to expand upon something that may bring others like him into the fold in a different region. Lui would pitch this idea of running a series similar to the 86Cup with four friends. "Our goal was to attract drivers and build a similar series on the East Coast," he remembers proudly. This band of like-minded individuals had a specific goal based on the inspiration born from a past conversation, which proves what can happen when motivated enthusiasts with the desire to create put their heads together.

"Emil, Ciri, Andrew, Harry and I kicked it off by running as a group with EMRA, and ended up piggybacking on another organization, SCCA, to have them run their time trial event, but we would bring drivers to run our class.", Donald added. Lui and his group of visionaries would then compile the results and then create classes and competition just like the 86cup event on the West Coast. "Creating the Northeast 86Cup has led me to many good memories and friends.", Lui explained. "When you get a group of drivers who have similar cars and just want to drive faster, knowledge transfer spreads extremely fast." A long way from sitting in his room dreaming through video games, Donald had quickly graduated from enthusiast to driver to organizer in a short few years. "This experience taught me about track organization, how to keep things smooth and what drivers want when they get to the track," he explained. "The NE 86Cup helped me gain a lot of insight into how modification affects the car. For example, different tires, even if they are both 200TW, no aerodynamics with aftermarket shock set ups versus aerodynamics on stock suspension, tuning with OTS versus customer tuner, all makes a big difference." , he gratefully confirms. "There was a vast knowledge base being built. The more you learn, the more you don’t know. Maximizing your driving to a certain setup. It is always a driver plus car combination," he said. "I still don’t know a lot about set up, but I know what it feels like to have a good set up."

Thanks to Lui and his tight group of inspired enthusiasts, the NE 86Cup still exists and is alive and well today, even though Donald has moved on from the organizational leadership, but is the first to voice his ongoing support. "After running the NE 86Cup since 2017, I retired as the last founder at the end of 2021 and handed the reins over to my successors.", Lui stated proudly. "During my time at the NE 86 Cup, I have driven the car NA and SC. Learning and competing at the same time. My FRS was the car that taught me everything between 2014 to 2020.", he added. Donald would eventually sell the car that started his motorsports journey as he began to redirect his journey with the iconic Subaru BRZ that he competitively pilots in the present day. With this change, much more learning and adaptation would take place over the next four years bringing Lui into a new category of driver and developer which helps him stand firmly on his foundation as a mechanical kid. "My current car, the 2015 Subaru BRZ, was originally my friend Bill’s car," he remembered.“We competed against each other in the past. He always mentions how his car is always better built, but I would always edge him out by a few tenths. One event, my car broke down and Bill offered me to take a drive in his newly set up BRZ. He wanted data from me," he explained. Before my car broke down, my best in my car was a 32 flat at NJMP, however getting into his car I did a low 31 right away. Proving his point that his car is quick.” he said with fondness. “He would proceed to take my AIM data, studied it and came back to run a 30.9. He eventually asked me if I wanted to buy his car in 2020.” Now we understand how Subaru came into his life.

After stepping away from the NE 86Cup in 2021, Lui decided to compete with other organizations and both strengthen and stretch his performance capabilities. Between 2021 and 2024, Donald would build on his new Subaru platform, compete on multiple levels, found Team Slowbro (during Global Time Attack in 2021) with his friends for racing, and experiment with mechanics to push the envelope even further than he had during his somewhat rapid climb within the competitive community. "In 2021, I merged two cars into one and ended up with a Edelbrock supercharger in the BRZ.”, Donald explained. “I would compete an entire season in SCCA WDCR Max 2 class. I ultimately won class champion at SCCA WDCR. I also won numerous SCCA National events in Max 2 class that same year while competing in Global Time Attack at Palmer, where I won their street class as well.” he remembers fondly. ”Looking back, my setup could have been improved as well.” he said with regret. “A HKS Header O2 bung weld, unfortunately which was aimed at the block, failed, blowing a hole into and warping the block, and therefore killing my engine at the end of that year." Examining the past year closely, Donald decided to take another detour at the beginning of 2022 into 2023 on a path through endurance racing. "A friend and I got a Honda Civic, caged it and started doing AER,”he explained. “We also entered the car into GLTC at Gridlife. Even though we (Team Slowbro) had some success in AER and in other enduro series, the car was not particularly fun to drive." During those years, Team Slowbro invested much of their time tweaking the Honda but ended up neglecting the BRZ of attention. As he had experienced in his past, Lui's course would again change with the outcome of a simple conversation sparked by ideas and suggestions pitched by another enthusiast and influencer while in the midst of a competitive environment.

During his GLTC run, Donald met Ben from FCP Euro and discussed his experiences with the 86 chassis and struggles with the Honda. Ben questioned Donald about why he hadn't turned his BRZ into a GLTC race car. "I would do occasional track days with the BRZ and enjoy it much more than the Civic. I originally didn’t want to destroy my BRZ since it is fun to drive. I knew that committing to a race car means the potential total loss of the car." By 2024, Donald caged the BRZ and took another serious step forward. "I studied the rules and decided that a turbo FA20 would be a fun build in the GLTC field," he said. "However, some issues with importing needed parts would slow down my car build process. In 2024, my car was not ready until a week before Gridlife Circuit Legends that year. Unfortunately, the car would struggle due to lack of testing after a heat issue." Lui remembered. "We then entered Pitt Race in October later that year where the car engine failed during race number one. We found that running minimal boost was not the way to go." he added. "Towards the end of 2024, I was left with a fully caged BRZ - but, with no engine." By early 2025, after a number of frustrating occurrences, Lui discovered an article that outlined swapping a FA24 into his BRZ. The article detailed out how to swap FA24 into his first generation platform using the RS Motor kit. "When I did additional research, it seemed like a promising fit." he exclaimed gratefully. "With Team Slowbro’s help, the caged BRZ was reborn—now mated to a fresh FA24. Big thanks to Rumble Strip Garage for the workspace; the whole swap took only two days."

Donald Lui’s journey should be a great example of the timeless phrase, “When first you don’t succeed, try, try again.” The spirit of the true enthusiast, and in even more general terms, the most inspired human being, should never be taken for granted when the ultimate goal is more than accolades, awards, or praise. Donald’s journey spells out the truth about what can be accomplished if only to prove the value of one’s ability to reach personal goals just to feel the satisfaction of internal victory. “Once you get into driving you start to realize there are a lot of physical aspects and techniques. On top of that are the parts that improve performance. This makes you want to go give it a try. It’s almost like a scientific experiment but you get to control what you test and you can provide variables to it. When asked about the pursuit of the motorsports life and what advice he would give an enthusiast who may want to take those first steps into a very intimidating world, Donald responded in a way that could only be delivered from a driver with such a unique and quickly evolving history. “Just do it. Do it as early as you can. Fail as much as you can. No one comes out of the gate as Schumacher - but the journey of learning how to drive is very rewarding.", he said proudly. "I’m grateful for all the friends I’ve made—every bit of help at events, free fuel, emergency fixes, and the last-minute trackside wrenching. Team Slowbro deserves special thanks for reviving the BRZ, drilling with me in Assetto Corsa, and last minute wrenching at the track when it is crunch time. These days I try to give back with help and insight where I can. I might’ve started late, but the joy’s the same.”

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