October 5, 2019 SuperShowdown Round 10
IF YOU WEREN'T HERE FOR SUPERSHOWDOWN ROUND 10, YOU MISSED OUT!!!
REMEMBER - IF YOU ARE PARTICIPATING IN THE POINT SERIES:
OCTOBER 5 - SuperShowdown Round 10 = DOUBLE POINTS!!!
OCTOBER 19 - SuperShowdown Finals = DOUBLE POINTS!!!
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.
We Used The Entire Track:
For the final 2 rounds we decided to run the entire Super-G lower level track, under the bridge and all. I had to set up cameras for that, but once it was set, we were ready to go.
Qualifying:
As always, the qualifying is impressive. It's apparent it's been figure out that you need to get on the board with a decent run, then try to lay down the best you can do to shoot for that Top Qualifier position. There was no doubt there was at least one run from most everyone that was meant to be the run of runs! In the end, Kevin Motter threw down a ridiculous set of qualifiers that left little room for anyone to top. Mad angle, deep in every clip, and all but touching every rail possible. Congratulations to Kevin for a well deserved TQ of the event!
Top Qualifier - Kevin Motter
2 - Mikko Yang
3 - Alan Benites
4 - Tim Mulhmeyer
5 - Manny Campalans
6 - Shaine Collins
7 - Jason Fordyce
8 - Ethan David
9 - Sam Angulo
10 - Nick Lepisto
11 - Daniel Tragner
12 - John Brasko
13 - Corey Carlstrom
14 - Josh Espinoza
15 - Hao Huang
16 - Jason Walker
17 - Manny Castaneda
Tsuiso Battles:
The Tsuiso battles are the core of what the Super Showdowns are all about. This month we had 17 competitors, so the last qualifiers battled for the 16th spot in the top 16. Manny Castaneda came out victorious and grabbed that last spot!
This month we were missing our third judge, Colin "Cool Breeze" Chambers, so it was left to Shaine Collins and myself. Again, since we have the Super-G Replay System, there was no issues with judging with two. Really it comes down to the judges having a firm grasp on the rules and what applies where. The rest is on the replay for everyone to see. The Super-G Replay System is a very necessary judging tool, as we have found the human eye misses quite a bit.
The Top 16:
When I started by saying if you weren't here, you missed out, I wasn't kidding! These guys all came out swinging! The mood in the pits prior to the battles was light and friendly as always, but when it came down to throwing down against friends, the gloves came off. Was it the double points? Was it that everyone was feeling their tune? Whatever it was, these guys were out for blood this time around! This weekend was full of the tightest transitions, closest proximity, insane wall rides, and the most aggressive driving we have seen thus far. After each battle, it was back to hanging out with the homies. In all seriousness, this is what we want to see.
The Top 4:
After some wicked battles, the Top 4 came down to Corey Carlstrom vs. Jason Fordyce for 3rd and 4th, and Kevin Motter vs. Alan Benites for 1st and 2nd! Tension was high since all these drivers had been on fire all evening. We knew we were in for some serious battles!!!
First up was Corey vs. Jason. Long time friends from different teams, Corey representing Team DStyle and Jason representing RawFew. The first run was very interesting. Corey was on the lead, Jason on the chase. Corey had a great lead going on, and Jason was right his door with a spectacular chase. Coming into the Super-G Roundabout, Corey went right to the rail, and Jason answered with a smooth bumper drag along the pickets on the rail. We as judges were impressed as we heard the clicks, but the pass was smooth! Then the unthinkable happened, Corey over-rotated and it caused a spin. Jason cruised to a clean finish. Then it was Jason's turn to lead. The run was clean on both sides since both these guys put down a great lap!
It was obvious who won since Corey had spun on his lead, but as judges and since we have access to the Super-G Replay System, we wanted to make sure what we saw was really what took place with that super sick bumper drag.
Not wanting to take any chances of cheating anyone out of a win, we hit the replay. Keep in mind, there wasn't a single person who thought there was anything out of the ordinary until the spin, but the replay ended up telling a different story! Upon review, Jason cleanly dragged the first 2 pickets on the rail, but the third caught his rear bumper just enough to bounce his car back. Definitely enough to be deemed a crash. This negated Corey's spin which happened after Jason's crash and effectively ended the run.
This gave Corey the win and 3rd place for the night!
Then it was time for the Final Battle! Kevin vs. Alan! Both these guys are capable of putting together some serious runs. This would turn out to be a crazy battle for 1st and 2nd!
First out was Kevin leading and Alan chasing. Alan put serious pressure on Kevin down the straight, forcing Kevin out of his comfort zone and causing him to make contact with the rail on the first hairpin earning him a Zero on his lead run. Something we rarely see from Kevin. Next up was Alan's lead. In typical fashion, Kevin puts the pressure on Alan, and as fate would have it, Alan makes contact on the rail coming into the hairpin, earning him a Zero for his lead as well. Both chases were about the same length, so it was all about the OMT for these guys!
This time around these guys weren't playin'! Kevin puts down a flawless lead, and Alan answered back with one of the most amazing chases we have seen here at Super-G! Then it was Alan's lead, and Kevin gave him no room to one up him. The runs were nothing short of AMAZING, and worthy of the battle for 1st in our Double Point Round. Unfortunately for Alan, he had been just a tad too aggressive on the first straight and inhibited Kevin's initiation into the hairpin. This was enough to be deemed a crash caused by Alan, giving him a solid 2nd Place finish, and putting Kevin at the Top Podium Spot with First Place!!!
Congratulations to Kevin Motter for landing Top Qualifier of the event, and also earning First Place!!! The field of competitors he needed to work his way through were without a doubt some of the best SoCal has to offer!
Congratulations are also in order for the remainder of the Podium winners as they too had to fight through some insanely good driving!
If this is any indication of what is to come for the Finals on October 19th, it's going to be MINDBLOWING!!! Come out and test your skills against the best SoCal has to offer!
(Corey being Corey!)
Official Point Standings:
1. 151 pts- Kevin Motter (1st - 30 pts + TQ - 4 pts = 34)
2. 112 pts- Mikko Yang (5th - 16 pts)
3. 98 pts -Jason Fordyce (4th - 18 pts)
3. 98 pts - Manny Campalans (9th - 16 pts)
5. 95 pts- Tim Mulhmeyer (9th - 16 pts)
6. 92 pts- Alan Benites (2nd - 24 pts)
7. 86 pts - Shaine Collins (5th - 16 pts)
7. 86 pts - Nick Lepisto (9th - 16 pts)
9. 79 pts - Josh Espinoza (9th - 16 pts)
10. 75 pts - Hao Huang (9th - 16 pts)
11. 74 pts - Mark Santa Cruz
12. 70 pts - Sam Angulo (9th - 16 pts)
13. 69 pts - Colin Chambers
14. 51 pts -Alfredo Chan III
15. 49 pts - Aydin Angulo
16. 48 pts - Ethan David (5th - 16 pts)
16. 48 pts - Mark Solnyshkin
18. 44 pts -Cory Carlstrom (3rd - 20 pts)
19. 30 pts - Jeff Yang
20. 26 pts - Daniel Tragner (9th - 16 pts)
21. 24 pts - Jelani Robinson
21. 24 pts -Jason Ragasa
21. 24 pts - Jose Sanchez
24. 22 pts - Travon Yancy
25. 21 pts - Albert Martinez
26. 16 pts - John Brasko (5th - 16 pts)
26. 16 pts - Manny Castenada (9th - 16 pts)
26. 16 pts - Jason Walker (17th - 16 pts)
26. 16 pts - Philip Lucas
26. 16 pts -Jeremy Meyer
26. 16 pts -Don Hadix
26. 16 pts -Juan Duran
26. 16 pts -Karlo Malabanan
34. 8 pts - Kris Steele
34. 8 pts - Mike Underwood
34. 8 pts - Don A
34. 8 pts -Jay Jay Ragasa
34. 8 pts -Jian Allen
34. 8 pts -Tyler Hill
34. 8 pts -Michael Markentin
34. 8 pts -Matt Caputo
34. 8 pts -Alex Dagondon
43.