Remembering: Lester Donis - King of the Ae86

Author/Photos : Tj Sanethong

Today is a tough day to remember, we lost a real gem in the automotive community. I did not have the luxury of knowing him very well but from the little time I spent with him and hearing the stories from others he was a kind, passionate soul. The kind of person that lights up the room when entering one. He was humble, helpful and showed love to everyone around him.
My fondest memory of him was from the last Lock City Drift Night Stage event in 2021. I was going in a whole new setup, low confidence and my anxiety peaking at 100%. I had Anthony Duong there to coach my through the skid pad, and Eric Clark to show me what a ZN6/ZC6 chassis felt like through clubhouse. I had pit next to Lester without realizing it. He was watching my pile what looked like half of my apartment into the corner while he was going over one of his corollas. He usually brings out his beams swapped corolla to lock city events. He gave me a quick “Nice car, good luck out there” and proceeded to strap in his car for his session. I went on to have the best session of the year and called it a bit early to catch up with Eric. He ended up rolling out before I did which left me to pack up alone. I left some stuff a bit too close to his pit zone which left him a bit confused as to why there were a set of wheels there since most of the folks had packed up and left already. I cleared up the confusion which led to a small conversation. We exchanged compliments and spoke briefly about our experiences with both chassis. I had hoped to give him the opportunity to drive my car this season with the changes to give him the experience of a newer version of his beloved chassis. It looks like that day will never come.

I wish I had gotten to know you more but I would like to say thank you for being so kind during the brief interactions we had. Your passion and love for cars, especially the corolla was well known. You deserved every milestone you reached. You will be missed, we love you Lester. Rest easy my friend.