May 4, 2019 SuperShowdown Round 5

What a weekend! Super Showdown Round 5 was very different from the previous 4 rounds. Every round we have let all the competitors know the judges are looking for smooth. It wasn't until this round it seemed everyone took note and really cleaned up the driving! I have to say I feel SoCal R/C Drift has taken it to the next level!

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

I really look forward to the Super Showdown events mainly due to the fact that it brings out our drift fam from all over SoCal. This weekend was no exception! Team DStyle, Tech1drift, SwiftSuns, RawFew, Drftndm, and Dory Dory all came together to throw down some sick battles.

The spec tire for the event was DS Racing - RWD FFFF Zero Mark II all around. It seemed everyone has become used to them and as expected, the runs were smoother and tighter.

Qualifying:
From the very beginning we knew we were in for some serious driving. The better part of the competitors were putting down some serious qualifying laps! We also implemented the new Super-G Style of Qualifying where the top 15 qualifiers move to the top 16, and the remainder of competitors, regardless of their qualifying score battle it out for the 16th spot. Our man Karlo Malabanan fought his way up and took the 16th spot in the Top 16!

Top Qualifier - Kevin Motter
2 - Alan Benites
3 - Tim Mulhmeyer
4 - Mikko Yang
5 - Alfredo Chan III
6 - Corey Carlstrom
7 - Jason Fordyce
8 - Colin Chambers
9 - Manny Campalans
10 - Albert Martinez
11 - Mark Santa Cruz
12 - Shaine Collins
13 - Sam Angulo
14 - Juan Duran
15 - Nick Lepisto
16 - Karlo Malabanan
17 - Aydin Angulo
18 - Josh Espinoza
19 - Don Hadix
20 - Jian Allen
21 - Tyler Hill

Tsuiso Battles:
The Tsuiso battles are the core of what the Super Showdowns are all about. The driving this time was nothing short of amazing! The judging became extremely difficult since the large mistakes were far and few in between. It was coming down to who was running the "closest to perfect", not who made the biggest error.

Speaking of judging, the judges for the event were Colin Chambers, Shaine Collins, and myself, Steve Fujita. Great job guys! This was not an easy one to judge.

As a judge we took a beating with the decisions coming down to the finer points of the runs. Luckily we were prepared with the Super-G Replay System as our main tool to clarify anything we may have missed.

Third and forth place were up first, with Tim Mulhmeyer battling Alfredo Chan III. Both guys were on point all day, so we knew this was going to be a great battle! We got a little hung up when Alfredo dragged his bumper on the rail of the sweeper which we allow, and Tim came in shallow and hot and rammed him. The issue was Alfredo MAY have been on the rail more than is allowed, but before the replay was able to show this, Tim came into the mix and hit him. Unable to determine if it was a crash on the rail or not, we went to a One More Time (OMT). In the OMT Alfredo put it down hard, his chase. With Tim not able to answer back, Alfredo was victorious and took home 3rd place!

Then it was the Grand Finale, Kevin Motter vs Jason Fordyce! Both teammates and both top level drivers. On Kevin's lead, he had a decent correction coming into the first clip, but he was able to avoid contacting the dreaded curb which had claimed many victims over the past month. The rest of his lead was amazing, but he did leave himself open to be overtaken by Jason. Jason was able to give a near perfect chase, really applying the pressure to Kevin. Then it was Jason's lead and right out of the gate you could tell these guys were serious. Both took the first 2 clips in perfect form, but as they rounded toward the 3rd clip, Jason's line was tight and Kevin found himself on the inside line going straight for the corner obstacle meant to keep people from taking the inside line. He made a big correction avoiding contact. That paired with the correction from his lead run was enough to lock him into 2nd spot and giving Jason a hard fought 1st place!

Congratulations to Jason taking his second win in a row at the Super Showdowns since his return to R/C Drift last month! Also a huge congratulations to Kevin for taking 2nd place, and Alfredo Chan III for taking 3rd! All 3 of these guys are regulars on the top of the podium here in SoCal!

Special thanks to our judges of the night, Colin Chambers and Shaine Collins for judging along side of me. This one was an interesting one for sure!

Official Point Standings:
1. 60 pts - Kevin Motter (12 pts Second Place + 2 pts TQ)
2. 53 pts - Mikko Yang (8 pts 9th)
3. 46 pts - Tim Mulhmeyer (9 pts Forth Place)
3. 46 pts - Manny Campalans (8 pts 5th)
5. 45 pts - Colin Chambers (8 pts 9th)
6. 44 pts - Alan Benites (8 pts 5th)
7. 38 pts - Mark Santa Cruz (8 pts 5th)
7. 38 pts - Shaine Collins (8 pts 9th)
7. 38 pts - Nick Lepisto (8 pts 9th)
7. 38 pts - Josh Espinoza (8 pts 17th)
11. 33 pts - Hao Huang
12. 32 pts - Jason Fordyce (15 Pts First Place)
13. 30 pts - Sam Angulo (8 pts 5th)
14. 25 pts - Aydin Angulo (8 pts 17th)
15. 24 pts - Jose Sanchez
16. 22 pts - Jeff Yang
16. 22 pts - Travon Yancy
17. 18 pts - Alfredo Chan III (10 pts Third Place)
18. 16 pts - Cory Carlstrom (8 pts 9th)
18. 16 pts - Albert Martinez (8 pts 9th)
18. 16 pts - Juan Duran (8 pts 9th)
18. 16 pts - Karlo Malabanan (8 pts 9th)
18. 16 pts - Mark Solnyshkin
23. 8 pts - Don Hadix (8 pts 17th)
23. 8 pts - Jian Allen (8 pts 17th)
23. 8 pts - Tyler Hill (8 pts 17th)
23. 8 pts - Michael Markentin
23. 8 pts - Jason Ragasa
23. 8 pts - Jeremy Meyer
23. 8 pts - Matt Caputo
23. 8 pts - Alex Dagondon
23. 8 pts - Jelani Robinson
23. 8 pts - Ethan David
33.