June 1, 2019 SuperShowdown (Round 6)

This was our first competition since we killed off the weekly fun comps, so we didn't know what to expect. The week leading up it became clear the turnout was going to be light. Vacations, graduations, parties, etc. seemed to be the flavor of the weekend, but in the end it's really about having fun with the SoCal drift fam, so we we confident it would still be a great event. It definitely was!

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

The spec tire for the event was DS Racing - RWD FFFF Zero Mark II all around.

Qualifying:
This months qualifying was on another level! On a scale of 0-30 we normally see a spread from 12-28 points, but this month was a spread from 18-27.5 points. Talk about some really good runs! The skill level in SoCal is definitely on the rise! This round we had a 2 way tie for TQ between Manny Campalans and Kevin Motter. This lead to a tie-breaker with a final run each to be the deciding factor. The pressure was intense!!! In the end, Kevin was able to maintain his cool and pulled off the win by the narrowest of margins. Congratulations Kevin!

Top Qualifier - Kevin Motter
2 - Manny Campalans
3 - Mikko Yang
4 - Shaine Collins
5 - Alfredo Chan III
6 - Tim Mulhmeyer
7 - Jason Fordyce
8 - Mark Santa Cruz
9 - Jason Ragasa
10 - Ethan David
11 - Colin Chambers
12 - Nick Lepisto
13 - Mark Solnyshkin
14 - Jay Jay Ragasa

Tsuiso Battles:
The Tsuiso battles are the core of what the Super Showdowns are all about. The battles were about as good as it gets this month. What I personally enjoyed was the fact that the winners were winning based on their driving, not winning because the other driver made a miscalculation and scored a zero. This was driver against driver, skill against skill.

The judges this month were our normal judging panel. Shaine Collins and Colin Chambers along side of myself. Great job as always guys! The judging felt very upbeat this time around since we weren't forced to judge against anyone with a disappointing call for a mistake made. The hardest calls we have to make is when a very capable driver pulls a zero for the smallest of miscalculations. We must keep it fair so we make those calls, but make no mistake, we don't like doing it. This round seemed to be all about who was outdriving who!

Third and forth place were up first, with Alfredo Chan III battling Jason Fordyce. The first run was too close to call, forcing an OMT. Even after reviewing the runs, we were unable to make a call. They matched up again and laid down some great laps again! Again, after reviewing the footage, we could not make a call and had to call for another OMT! This time we were able to make a call. Jason decided to go DEEEEP in the clips giving him the advantage on the lead runs and ultimately landing him 3rd on the podium! These guys seemed so well matched, it probably could have gone a few more OMTs if nobody made a move to do something out of their comfort zone. Congratulations Jason!

Then it was time for the final bout. Mark Santa Cruz vs. Mikko Yang for the first and second spots! Both these guys were on fire all night, putting down some serious runs! Mark takes the lead and lays down an amazing run! It was about as perfect as it could get. Mikko's chase was right there matching angle and with great proximity! Really a mind blowing run for both competitors! Then it was Mikko's lead with Mark on the chase. Mikko answers back to Mark's lead with an equally impressive and perfect run! This is what I was talking about earlier, this is what the judges want to see! Mark's chase was impressive as well, but in the last clip ended up losing proximity and being forced to go shallow to keep up. This was enough to give the decisive win to Mikko!!!

Congratulations to Mikko from Team DStyle x Tech1Drift, as well as Mark from RawFew and Jason also from RawFew for some hard fought wins and we deserved spots on the podium!

S

Official Point Standings:
1. 70 pts - Kevin Motter (5th - 8 pts + 2 pts TQ)
2. 68 pts - Mikko Yang (1st - 15 pts)
3. 54 pts - Tim Mulhmeyer (5th - 8 pts)
3. 54 pts - Manny Campalans (5th - 8 pts)
5. 53 pts - Colin Chambers (9th - 8 pts)
6. 50 pts - Mark Santa Cruz (2nd - 12 pts)
7. 46 pts - Shaine Collins (5th - 8 pts)
7. 46 pts - Nick Lepisto (9th - 8 pts)
9. 44 pts - Alan Benites
10. 42 pts - Jason Fordyce (3rd - 10 pts)
11. 38 pts - Josh Espinoza
12. 33 pts - Hao Huang
13. 30 pts - Sam Angulo
14. 27 pts - Alfredo Chan III (4th - 9 pts)
15. 25 pts - Aydin Angulo
16. 24 pts - Mark Solnyshkin (9th - 8 pts)
16. 24 pts - Jose Sanchez
18. 22 pts - Jeff Yang
18. 22 pts - Travon Yancy
20. 16 pts - Jason Ragasa (9th - 8 pts)
20. 16 pts - Ethan David (9th - 8 pts)
20. 16 pts - Cory Carlstrom
20. 16 pts - Albert Martinez
20. 16 pts - Juan Duran
20. 16 pts - Karlo Malabanan
26. 8 pts - Jay Jay Ragasa (9th - 8 pts)
26. 8 pts - Don Hadix
26. 8 pts - Jian Allen
26. 8 pts - Tyler Hill
26. 8 pts - Michael Markentin
26. 8 pts - Jeremy Meyer
26. 8 pts - Matt Caputo
26. 8 pts - Alex Dagondon
26. 8 pts - Jelani Robinson
35.