Super Drift Championship 2023 - SoCal Round 2
March 20, 2023
The first thing that comes to mind when I’m going to start writing about Round 2 is MIND BLOWING!!! I have closely watched literally hundreds of comps and thousands of battles, and I have to say this was some of the best driving I have seen so far. Jason Fordyce and Bret Trevino have left a lasting impression on me. I hope this is only the beginning, but even if this is the pinnacle of driving, it’s still amazing!
This past weekend was Round 2 of the Super Drift Championship 2023 - SoCal Region.
Jason Fordyce of Team Super-G (Acuvance, Team Futaba USA, Rhino Racing, and Scale Reflex) was coming in as the SoCal Region’s Point Leader after putting down a solid performance in Round 1. Not only did he take home First Place, but also secured the Top Qualifier (TQ) Position for the event. He was followed by Alan Benites of Team Zenshin in Second Place, and Mikko Yang of Team DStyle / Team ReveD in Third Place. All eyes were on these guys, and everyone also knew these were the guys to beat.
The Judges
The Judges for the event were none other than Shaine Collins, Manny Campalans, and Colin Chambers. This round in particular put their skills to the test. With driving at such a high level, spotting the details was something to be left to the professionals. I was pleased to see they were quickly calling out the incidents that would affect the outcome of each battle. Top level judging in anyone’s book. Thank you guys for making this all possible!
Qualifying
This round had a little different flavor with the layout chosen. In the effort to force everyone to raise their skill levels even higher, the judged zones were all placed strategically where the way the drivers left the previous zone would greatly impact the entry to the next. Not to mention the majority this time were inside clips rather than the usual “get on the wall” lines. Everyone stepped up and by the time qualifying began, it seemed to not even be an issue.
Jason Fordyce being TQ of the last round did not disappoint. He threw down a solid 83 point run! Shaine Collins, who has been really turning up the heat recently answered back with a score of 83 of his own! Both were amazing runs! Both Zero’d on their second runs, probably trying to better their first runs, but that really didn’t matter. So per the SDC Rules, the judges called for a tie-breaker of a single run each. No warm up, just cold runs. Rock, Paper, Scissors to decide who goes first. Fordyce wins the call, then states, “I’ll go first!”. Normally everyone wants to go second so they know what they need to do to win, especially if the first happens to contact a barrier. It was a gutsy move, and one that showed what Fordyce is about. Fordyce threw down an even more impressive run. Next up was Shaine Collins! With the pressure on, Shaine put down a seriously good run as well! In the end, Fordyce pulled a 87 point run vs. Collins with a solid 80! Fordyce was awarded an extra point on his original 83, giving him a 84 and TQ for the second comp in a row!!!
Congratulations to Jason for securing a hard fought for Top Qualifier position!
Tsuiso
Next it was on to the Lower Brackets. As with every competition here at Super-G, the top 15 are seeded in the Top 16 battles. The 16th spot is reserved for the winner of the Lower Bracket. Again, as seems to be the theme with Round 2, there was some really great driving going on in the Lower Bracket. Two in particular stood out above the rest, Jr. Hawks who is a first time competitor here at Super-G, and Vittorio Santiago of Tech 1 Drift! Both of these guys battled it all the way through 4 rounds to finally meet at the top of the Lower Bracket. In the end, Vittorio was able to secure the win and advance to the Top 16! That was no easy feat with the line up in the Lower Bracket. There were some strong competitors in there that are no strangers to being in Top 16 on a regular basis.
Congratulations to Vittorio for winning the Lower Bracket!
Top 16
Then it was on to the Top 16 Bracket! The majority of the line up in the Top 16 Bracket were competitors who are often part of the podiums at any competition. I could see anyone of the 16 taking home the win. Right out of the gate, the battles were fierce! I don’t think there were any battles that would be considered one-sided. It was really anyone’s to win! Every battle was exciting and well matched. First up was Vittorio Santiago (the winner of the Lower Bracket) vs. Jason Fordyce (TQ). Although Vittorio put up a good fight, he had some contact on his lead run. This gave Jason the win and ended Vittorio’s winning streak for the day.
It all boiled down to the Top 4! Jason Fordyce - Team Super-G vs. Bret Trevino - Slidelines RC / Tech 1 Dirft, and Alfredo Chan III - Team Razr / Tech 1 Drift vs. Jonathan Belda - Tech 1 Drift. First up was Alfredo vs. Jonathan! The battle was close, but on Jonathan’s chase he made contact with a barrier giving Alfredo the win, and the 3rd Place Spot on the Podium.
The it was time for the battle for First and Second. It was Jason Fordyce vs. Bret Trevino! In my personal opinion, these are the two most dynamic drivers I have ever had the pleasure to see drive! The video online does not do these guys any sort of justice when it comes to the aggressiveness these two can put down. Jason was leading first, Bret on the chase! Into the turn at the rack, Jason throws some mad angle and is right up on the fence! Bret is right there with him! Throughout the rest of the course Jason puts down a near perfect run, with Bret right on his door! Coming off the first run, it was obvious Bret and Jason wanted this bad! There was very little room for improvement on both the Lead and the Chase. Then Bret takes the lead and Jason on the Chase. Bret throws it in hard into the turn at the rack, Jason was obviously watching what had been going on all day, and he initiates at almost the exact same time as Bret and is on his door the entire way around. Bret pulls an almost identical lead line, but Jason turns up the wick on the next two transitions and leaves NO space between them! We all know that feeling when the transition is so close it feels weird the car doesn’t hit. He did this not once but twice! It was one of the best runs I have seen. Both drivers made this possible and is really the very definition of outstanding performance!
Congratulations to Jason for taking the win and securing First Place with an exceptional run.
Also congratulations to Bret for an amazing run and a well deserved and hard fought Second Place!
Last but definitely not least, Alfredo for securing Third Place! Not an easy task when the house of full of skill like this!
Overall, I need to say the level of driving this season has far exceeded any expectations I had going into it. Bret Trevino and Christian Defalco (C-Note) deciding to make SoCal their region to compete in and bringing the heat from Vegas has really leveled up the competition here. Alfredo Chan III also making SoCal his region this season also makes a big contribution to the level of competition. Competing with drivers like this, you will only grow and build skills even faster!
Remember, even if you are not in the SoCal Region, you are always welcome to show up and compete.
Congratulations to:
First Place - Jason Fordyce - Team Super-G (Acuvance, Futaba USA, Rhino Racing, Scale Reflex),
Second Place - Bret Trevino - Slidelines RC / Tech 1 Drift, and
Third Place - Alfredo Chan III - Team RAZR / Tech 1 Drift!
See You All In Vegas April 21-23 for King Of The Streets Drift 2023! Then Super Drift Championship 2023 Round 3 - SoCal Region on May 13!
