August 3, 2019 Super Showdown Round 8
This past weekend was SuperShowdown Round 8 and it seemed like everyone was ready for a comp. The weather was pretty warm when we opened, so it seemed like waiting till it cooled down a little was the trend. There were a few people anxious to break in their tires, so we were glad we were open early.
Monthly Competition (Point Series is separate)
The point series is run in the background of the monthly comps and at the end of the season, at the Super-G Anniversary Session the West Coast King of Drift will be crowned.
Don't fear if you missed any of the SuperShowdowns. We (the official judges) have been ironing out the details, and we have decided since everyone has an off day, people get sick, and basically life happens, each competitor will have their 2 worst event scores dropped. What this means is, you can miss up to 2 events and still not be penalized. Beyond 2, and you are on your own.
Points are as follows:
15 pts- First Place
12 pts- Second Place
10 pts- Third Place
9 pts- Forth Place
8 pts- Fifth Place and lower (Participation Points)
2 pts Bonus- Top Qualifier
This month our good friend Jeremy Meyer from Driftwell in Fresno, CA was able to come and join us for the comp. He's a Super-G regular and no stranger to our comps. We were also lucky enough to have Philip Lucas, the owner of Skyhunter Hobby in Lancaster, CA come and get some slides on with us! They have a R/C Drift Track in their store and often host fun comps on Sundays, as well as being well stocked on drones and off-road R/Cs! Check them out if you have a chance.
The spec tire for the event was DS Racing - RWD FFFF Zero Mark II all around.
The Previous Layout Returns
Since last month seemed to catch everyone a little off guard, we decided we would run the same layout and same line as last month. We expected to see everyone well adjusted and able to put together some good runs. We were not disappointed! The driving this month was top-notch!
Qualifying:
Qualifying was smooth as always. This time around everyone's driving was on point, with 11 drivers within a couple points of each other. The end of the straight had the tricky semi U-turn with wall ride, but everyone seemed to take to it comfortably this round. Jason Fordyce, last month's TQ threw an amazing entry and wall ride, but it wasn't enough to lock down TQ again this month since Kevin Motter went ahead and laid down a near perfect run on the entire course. Congratulations to Kevin for being Top Qualifier of this round!
Top Qualifier - Kevin Motter
2 - Jason Fordyce
3 - Has Huang
4 - Mikko Yang
5 - Nick Lepisto
6 - Tim Mulhmeyer
7 - Manny Campalans
8 - Mike Underwood
9 - Sam Angulo
10 - Aydin Angulo
11 - Shaine Collins
12 - Alan Benites
13 -Josh Espinoza
14 - Kris Steele
15 - Jelani Robinson
16 - Ethan David
17 - Alfredo Chan III
18 - Jason Ragasa
19 - Mark Santa Cruz
20 - Philip Lucas
21 - Colin Chambers
22 - Jeremy Meyer
23 - Don A
24 - Mark Solnyshkin
Tsuiso Battles:
The Tsuiso battles are the core of what the Super Showdowns are all about. This month we had 9 people to battle it out for the last spot in the Top 16. The Super-G Bracketing System has been working well for us. In qualifying the top 15 are seeded in the Top 16, the remainder of competitors are put into a separate bracket to battle for the 16th spot in the Top 16. This month Colin Chambers was victorious and went on to battle this month's TQ, Kevin Motter!
The Judges for this event were the usual gang of thugs, Colin Chambers, Shaine Collins, and myself (Steve Fujita). Shaine and Colin always do such a great job. I go back after every comp and review the calls to improve our judging and also to see if we missed anything. I am proud to say we have been on point now for what is probably approaching 80 or so comps. Great job as always guys! We the community, owe these guys a huge thanks for always providing the best and most unbiased judging I have ever seen.
The Top 4:
This month battling for 3rd and 4th was Mikko Yang vs. Tim Mulhmeyer. Both drivers had great lead runs, almost equal. However, these battles were decided on the chases. Mikko was able to maintain great proximity and matching Tim's angle. Tim had great proximity, but at one point Mikko started to get away from Tim and so Tim shallowed on the Super-G Round-about to keep up, sealing his fate and giving Mikko the win! Congratulations to Mikko Yang for a solid and well deserved 3rd Place!!!
Then it was time for the finals, Kevin Motter vs his RawFew Teammate, Manny Campalans. This isn't the first time these guys have gone head to head, and I personally think they both make each other nervous. First run, Kevin lays down his signature lead, deep deep deep in every clip, pinpoint accuracy piloting his car within mere millimeters of the rails, and all while holding mad angle! Manny snapped back with some great proximity for the entire run! Then it was Manny's turn to lead. Out of the gate and to the straight things were looking great! The suddenly as Manny goes for the wall ride at the end of the straight, he made a slight miscalculation and hit the wall. The rest as they say is history. Kevin Motter takes home another First Place win! Manny had to be happy with his solid 2nd Place spot on the podium.
Congratulations to Kevin Motter (RawFew) for bringing home the win once again, as well as Top Qualifier for this month! To Manny Campalans for bringing home 2nd Place with some impressive runs, and last but not least, Mikko Yang for taking home 3rd Place! Definitely not an easy task when you have a house full of skills like we had this past weekend! These guys were on their game and deserved their spots on the podium!
Official Point Standings:
1. 102 pts- Kevin Motter (1st - 15 pts + TQ 2 pts = 17 pts)
2. 86 pts- Mikko Yang (3rd - 10 pts)
3. 74 pts - Manny Campalans (2nd - 12 pts)
4. 71 pts- Tim Mulhmeyer (4th - 9 pts)
5. 69 pts - Colin Chambers (9th - 8 pts)
6. 66 pts - Mark Santa Cruz (17th - 8 pts)
7. 64 pts -Jason Fordyce (5th - 8 pts)
8. 62 pts - Nick Lepisto (9th - 8 pts)
8. 62 pts - Shaine Collins (9th - 8 pts)
10. 60 pts- Alan Benites (5th - 8 pts)
11. 54 pts - Josh Espinoza (9th - 8 pts)
12. 51 pts - Hao Huang (9th - 8 pts)
13. 46 pts - Sam Angulo (5th - 8 pts)
14. 43 pts -Alfredo Chan III (17th - 8 pts)
15. 41 pts - Aydin Angulo (9th - 8 pts)
16. 40 pts - Mark Solnyshkin (17th - 8 pts)
17. 32 pts - Ethan David (17th - 8 pts)
18. 24 pts - Jelani Robinson (9th - 8 pts)
18. 24 pts -Jason Ragasa (17th - 8 pts)
18. 24 pts - Jose Sanchez
21. 22 pts - Jeff Yang
21. 22 pts - Travon Yancy
23. 21 pts - Albert Martinez
24. 16 pts -Jeremy Meyer (17th - 8 pts)
24. 16 pts -Don Hadix
24. 16 pts -Cory Carlstrom
24. 16 pts -Juan Duran
24. 16 pts -Karlo Malabanan
29. 10 pts - Daniel Tragner
30. 8 pts - Kris Steele (5th - 8 pts)
31. 8 pts - Mike Underwood (9th - 8 pts)
31. 8 pts - Philip Lucas (17th - 8 pts)
31. 8 pts - Don A (17th - 8 pts)
31. 8 pts -Jay Jay Ragasa
31. 8 pts -Jian Allen
31. 8 pts -Tyler Hill
31. 8 pts -Michael Markentin
31. 8 pts -Matt Caputo
31. 8 pts -Alex Dagondon
40.