Super Showdown Round 3

This past weekend was Round 3 of the  Super-G SuperShowdown point series. The SuperShowdowns are the Super-G Monthly Competitions which are open to anyone at any time during the season. The points will only count at the end of the season. Everyone who competes will accumulate points.

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 the first one. 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

Could it possibly be NO RAIN this comp day? Believe it or not, there was no rain this time. It was the first time since last year I think. Hopefully we get back to our normal SoCal weather now.

The spec tire for the event was Yokomo DRC all around. A pair of rear tires were supplied with every entry.

It was a special Super Showdown for us this round with 2 of our regulars celebrating their birthdays with us! Jeff Yang and Kevin Motter were both adding another year.

Qualifying:
The first order of business was qualifying. As everyone's skills are coming up and people are learning the rules and what the judges are looking for, the qualifying is becoming more and more intense! Congratulations to Kevin Motter for putting down some of the best laps we have seen in qualifying, giving him the Top Qualifier position for the comp!

Top Qualifier - Kevin Motter
2 - Hao Huang
3 - Mikko Yang
4 - Colin Chambers
5 - Tim Mulhmeyer
6 - Mark Santa Cruz
7 - Alan Benites
8 - Jeff Yang
9 - Aydin Angelo
10 - Manny Campalans
11 - Nick Lepisto
12 - Sam Angulo
13 - Shaine Collins
14 - Travon Yancy
15 - Josh Espinoza
16 - Jelani Robinson

Tsuiso Battles:
The Tsuiso battles is where all the real action happens with the head to head competition. The best of what SoCal has to offer come together here at Super-G to show was they have. This round was no excepetion.

The battles were awesome with a lot of great driving! It came down to the Top 4 with Tim Mulhmeyer vs. Alan Benites for 3rd and 4th spot, and Kevin Motter vs Mikko Yang for 1st and 2nd spot.

First up was Tim and Alan. On their first battle, both drivers were on point. So much that we could not determine a winner and we had to go for an OMT (One More Time). On the OMT Battles, again these two were very close. By the narrowest of margins, Alan pulled off the win by being more consistent on his chase and maintaining slightly better proximity. This was a perfect case of winning by squeezing out the very last of what you can possibly do. Alan locked down 3rd place in a hard fought battle!

Then it was the finale, Kevin vs. Mikko for that Top Podium Spot! This is a battle we are all familiar with and there's no telling what will happen with these guys. Both put down some amazing runs making the judging extremely difficult, but for the top spot, we would expect nothing less. It came down to the very first clip (and the most difficult) with Kevin leading and chasing deeper and with more angle to seal the win once again!
The top 4 battles were so close, the decisions came down to the finer details of each run. When the competition hits this level, the Super-G Instant Replay System really shows its worth! Without being able to go back and review at multiple angles, there would be no way to make the correct call. This in turn would rob someone of the win they had rightfully earned. With the replays in place, the spectators and judges can feel comfortable in the calls being made!
Congratulations to Kevin Motter for taking 1st place in a very competitive field, as well as Mikko Yang taking 2nd and Alan Benites taking 3rd!

Special thanks to our judges of the night, Colin Chambers and Shaine Collins for judging along side of me. This one really put us to work!

Official Point Standings:
1. 46 pts - Kevin Motter (1st Place 15 pts + TQ 2 pts)
2. 35 pts - Mikko Yang (2nd Place 12 pts)
3. 29 pts - Tim Mulhmeyer (4th Place 9 pts)
4. 28 pts - Colin Chambers (5th Place 8 pts)
5. 27 pts - Alan Benites (3rd Place 10 pts)
6. 26 pts - Manny Campalans (9th Place 8 pts)
7. 24 pts - Hao Huang (9th Place 8 pts)
8. 22 pts - Mark Santa Cruz (5th Place 8 pts)
8. 22 pts - Josh Espinoza (9th Place 8 pts)
8. 22 pts - Nick Lepisto (9th Place 8 pts)
8. 22 pts - Sam Angulo (9th Place 8 pts)
8. 22 pts - Jeff Yang (9th Place 8 pts)
8. 22 pts - Shaine Collins (9th Place 8 pts)
8. 22 pts - Travon Yancy (17th Place 8 pts)
15. 17 pts - Aydin Angulo (5th Place 8 pts)
16. 16 pts - Jose Sanchez
16. 16 pts - Mark Solnyshkin
17. 8 pts - Jelani Robinson
17. 8 pts - Ethan David
17. 8 pts - Albert Martinez
1