SUPER LAP SERIES ROUND 9

Season winds down with one event to go

A decent turnout of competitors combined with some close results and a few new diversified entries made for another successful event for organizers of the Super Lap Series. Would you believe a Chevrolet Caprice was brought out to see what it was capable of? And, finally, our first Volkswagen entry (another "Sonic Garage" car) was there to round out the field of imports and domestics.



In addition to the field of sedans was a small group of Formula Ford drivers who squeezed in practices, qualifying and races on the 1.32 mile long course between the short course lapping sessions taking advantage of preciously affordable track time. This has always been a nice diversion for formula owners to the rather costly wheel to wheel racing they have been bound to in other local series. The weather was fair and although many drivers experienced somewhat slower practice times (due to the nasty track conditions left behind by the previous nights drag races) four entries dipped into the 39-second range during "Time Battle" once the track developed a clean groove. Unfortunately, a number of mechanical gremlins sidelined various competitors in the timed competition know as "Time Battle" but this, in turn, provided opportunity to first time winners and dramatic point shuffles.

Limited All Wheel Drive proudly recognizes the first winning female

It was a somewhat disappointing turnout of All Wheel Drive competitors for Round 9 and, combined with the damage suffered to Kalani Thompson's Mitsubishi Eclipse, it gave sole remaining competitor, Stacy Ota, a golden opportunity for maximum points and provides her with a realistic opportunity to win the 2005 LAWD Championship. Stacy is the only woman to score points, so far, in Super Lap Series "Time Battle" competition and her persistent positive performances are finally being rewarded. Stacy bettered her previous best lap time by over a second and the 45.51 second lap time, moved her into 2nd in the season standings and assured her a place of no lower than 4th in the final standings even if she doesn't show for round 10. A bitterly disappointed Kalani Thompson could do nothing but sit back and watch his points get whittled away by Stacy, who is considered the top female driver in this increasingly competitive road racing series. Although still in 1st place with 30 points, Egmar Klemmer will probably fall as low as 3rd in the final season standings. If both Stacy and Kalani score more than 6 points in the final event this will be the case as Egmar has sold his Subaru STI and will be unable to better his points total.

Limited Front Wheel Drive crown up for grabs

Robert Igarashi shocked everyone by improving by over two seconds to a 40.21 in his Honda CRX and he seems to have come to terms with not only his car and the .75 road course, but also the demanding competitive nature of the Time Battle format. Robert's win and the 10 points it earned him has moved him to 6th in the season standings and he is now just 1 point back from Mini Cooper driver; Dirk Minami. Dirk put in a decent 43.07, but was unable to improve on his best result in Round 8 where he had managed a time of 42.65. One of the series most consistent and persistent competitors, Barry Raff, scored 6 points this day for his 2nd place finish and his cumulative total of 48 puts him 2 points back from leader, Reid Morimoto, who didn't show for the 3rd straight event. Barry, 2004 Limited Front Wheel Drive Champion, could repeat the feat with ease unless Reid returns and betters him by more than the 2 points that currently separates them. With Robert Igarashi's recent dramatic improvements he may end up being the determining factor in this "super close" battle for the LFWS Championship.



During practice; Lincoln Loo fried the clutch in his Honda Civic which unfortunately eliminated him from competition in Round 9, but he still has the opportunity of a top 3 finish in the final season standings. Lincoln appeared somewhat dejected joining Kalani Thompson as a mere bystander once the Time Battle competition started. Finishing 4th in the day was the silver Saturn Redline piloted by Kevin Flanders who improved to a 43.36, closely followed by the Mini Cooper of Andrew Young and Troy Morioka in his Honda Accord.

Limited Rear Wheel Drive Group "A", a close competition for 2nd through 4th

Mike Turolla came back with a vengeance in his red Corvette Z-06 to win the day's competition after the surprising loss to Mike Ward's Infinity G-35 in the previous round. Turolla posted "best time" for the day; a 39.08, even though giving himself a bit of a scare when looping the car at the exit of the Off Camber during morning practice. We now assume he doesn't use the traction control available to him as we had previous speculated (at least during practice). A surprise finish to many was Tom Bryant in his FD Mazda RX7 who decided to make the move to Group "A" after completing his exhaust upgrades. Tom turned an impressive 39.57 in the little red two seater and is continuing to improve at every event. Mike Ward was just over 1/10th of a second back from Bryant and his 3rd place finish for the day all but secures 2nd in season points barring some unfortunate circumstance. Ward was unable to match his impressive Round 8 competition time and the slight slip backwards has provided the day's 4th place finisher, Terry Nelson (BMW M3) renewed hope towards next season (for those of you who missed it; Terry damaged the car's rear suspension in Round 8 an by scoring no points eliminated himself from any chance for 2nd place in the LRWD 2005 Championship).



Another surprise was Egmar Klemmer, who was only able to muster up a 5th place finish in his Porsche 911, however, the 2 points that he managed to earn helped him significantly, bringing his season total to 35 and leaving him in a solid 3rd place overall. It's still a tight battle for 2nd through 4th in the Championship, but the stage has become ever more clearly set for the final standings. Other notable performances in class were the "stock" G-35 of Chris Billete who jumped into the 41-second bracket and there was also a good improvement by Mike McCabe in his Ford Mustang.

Limited Rear Wheel Drive Group "B" crowns a Champion

Corey Tomoyasu put in yet another solid performance in his Mazda Miata turning a 41.80 and, although unable to improve on his personal best, the 10 points earned combined with the reclassification of Tom Bryant's RX7 gives him a 32 point total and has secured him the season's LRWD Group "B" title. Finishing in 2nd for the day and scoring his first points in competition was the extremely quick Lotus Elise of Mathias Busch who was back after making repairs the car which he wrecked in Round 6 practice at the infamous exit of the Chicane. Mathias is the 1st Elise owner to score points and he ended up a scant 3 hundredths of a second back from Corey in the "Time Battle" competition and has provided us with an omen of things to come in the 2006 season. Another typically solid performance by Elliot Loo in his charcoal grey Turbo Volvo (otherwise known as the flying brick) grabbed 3rd place for the day and his current total of 17 points assures him 2nd in the 2005 season. Our congratulations also go out to both Corey and Elliot for their fine performances in the 2005 season. Other first time point earners for the event were (brothers?) Frank and Matt Hammerle. Frank in his Lotus Elise and Matt in a Mazda Miata finished 4th and 5th scoring 3 and 2 points respectively.

Disappointing Unlimited Front Wheel Drive turnout

Sy Kodama took full advantage of an otherwise invisible field of Unlimited Front Wheel Drive class and scored 10 points snatching 2nd place season points from Roy Cabibo whose inconsistency has been his only weakness. Although Roy has an outside chance of regaining the lost position, it is looking more and more as though Kodama will secure the final season ending 2nd place. For those who may have missed it; Marcus Ho already secured the UFWD Championship by winning in Round 8 and can continue to sit out the rest of the season if he chooses to do so. Marcus currently has 40 points, 4 wins, the Championship in class and will receive the coveted trophy to be handed out at the 2005 Super Lap Series awards banquet. The banquet is scheduled for the middle of January and more information will be forthcoming.

Unlimited Rear Wheel Drive competitors tied for the Championship lead

Osamu Manabe in his race prepared Ford Mustang also achieved an easy win due to the minimal class turnout as he was the only competitor. Osamu didn't just roll around the track for the win, however, and improved on his previous best time by over a half a second to a 39.44 and second fastest time of the day. The victory gives him a total of 30 points tying Egmar Klemmer for the points lead and ensuring the Championship chase will go down to the final event to be held on December 17th. I was unable to compete in my IROC Z28 due to my absence while visiting my wife in the Philippines, but having secured 3rd place in the season standings and unable to sort out the handling problems the car is experiencing, I plan on running my NASCAR Monte Carlo in the final round of the season.

Round 10 and the final points battles

Only three of the six categories are yet undetermined for the 2005 season and it will be very interesting to see how the final round determines the outcome. Up for grabs are the limited classes of All and Front Wheel Drive and the Unlimited Rear Wheel Drive category and, although there are many predictions, no one can say positively who will win. It has come down to a battle between friends Stacy Ota and Kalani Thompson for the LAWD crown, rivals Reid Morimoto and Barry Raff for LFWD and the ever improving Osamu Manabe and Egmar Klemmer in URWD. The excitement swells in anticipation of these final few results.

It has been a terrific sophomore season for the Super Lap Series, which grew from six events in 2004 to ten events this year, and plans are already underway for the 2006 including a few possible rule changes to further improve the competitiveness of the events. Super Lap Series organizers are grateful for dedication shown by drivers and workers throughout the season and look forward to the continuing support by both groups in upcoming events. We look forward to seeing you on December 17th and ask that you keep an eye open for upcoming news regarding the 2005 awards banquet. This will be a classy and fun-filled event with awards for all categories of points Championships as well as some special recognition for outstanding performances not related to points totals. We hope to get a good turn out to recognize the achievements of this very special group of individuals and welcome your attendance.

Aloha!
Chris Messer
Events General Manager,
Drift Session, LLC

2005 Round 9 Final Results

LIMITED - ALL WHEEL DRIVE
CAR #	DRIVERS NAME	CATEGORY	VEHICLE DESCRIPTION	COLOR	BEST TIME	POSITION	POINTS
17A	STACY OTA	L/AWD	SUBARU IMPREZA	BLACK	45.51	1ST	10
LIMITED - REAR WHEEL DRIVE CLASS A
CAR #	DRIVERS NAME	CATEGORY	VEHICLE DESCRIPTION	COLOR	BEST TIME	POSITION	POINTS
77R	MICHAEL TUROLLA	L/RWD	CHEVY CORVETTE	RED	39.08	1ST	10
70R	TOM BRYANT	L/RWD	MAZDA RX-7	RED	39.57	2nd	6
51R	MIKE WARD	L/RWD	INFINITY G35	BLACK	39.71	3rd	4
45R	TERRY NELSON	L/RWD	BMW M3	WHITE	39.99	4th	3
2R	EGMAR KLEMMER	L/RWD	PORSCHE 911	WHITE	40.49	5th	2
57R	CHRIS BILLETE	L/RWD	INFINITY G35	BLUE	41.94	6th	1
60R	MIKE MCGABE	L/RWD	MUSTANG GT	GREY	42.62	7th	0
59R	RICHARD GUESS	L/RWD	MUSTANG GT	SILVER	43.26	8th	0
92R	GILBERT VALDEZ	L/RWD	FORD MUSTANG	BLUE	44.26	9th	0
102R	LONDON PARIS	L/RWD	CHEVROLET CAPRICE	WHITE	48.07	10th	0
LIMITED - REAR WHEEL DRIVE CLASS B
CAR #	DRIVERS NAME	CATEGORY	VEHICLE DESCRIPTION	COLOR	BEST TIME	POSITION	POINTS
27R	CORY TOMOYASU	L/RWD	MAZDA MIATA	SILVER	41.80	1ST	10
62R	MATHIAS BUSCH	L/RWD	LOTUSE ELISE	BLUE	41.83	2nd	6
18R	ELLIOT LOO	L/RWD	VOLVO	CHARCOAL	43.23	3rd	4
79R	FRANK HAMMERLE	L/RWD	LOTUS ELISE	GREEN	44.81	4th	3
81R	MATT HAMMERLE	L/RWD	MAZDA MIATA	SILVER	52.08	5th	2
LIMITED - FRONT WHEEL DRIVE
CAR #	DRIVERS NAME	CATEGORY	VEHICLE DESCRIPTION	COLOR	BEST TIME	POSITION	POINTS
21F	ROBERT IGARASHI	L/FWD	HONDA CRX	BLUE	40.21	1ST	10
1F	BARRY RAFF	L/FWD	MINI COOPER	BLUE	41.35	2nd	6
8F	DIRK MINAMI	L/FWD	MINI COOPER	SILVER	43.07	3rd	4
49F	KEVIN FLANDERS	L/FWD	SATURN REDLINE	SILVER	43.36	4th	3
16F	ANDREW YOUNG	L/FWD	MINI COOPER	GREEN	43.78	5th	2
14F	TROY MORIOKA	L/FWD	HONDA ACCORD	WHITE	44.31	6th	1
UNLIMITED - REAR WHEEL DRIVE
CAR #	DRIVERS NAME	CATEGORY	VEHICLE DESCRIPTION	COLOR	BEST TIME	POSITION	POINTS
70UR	OSAMU MANABE	U/RWD	FORD MUSTANG	ORANGE	39.44	1ST	10
UNLIMITED - FRONT WHEEL DRIVE
CAR #	DRIVERS NAME	CATEGORY	VEHICLE DESCRIPTION	COLOR	BEST TIME	POSITION	POINTS
3UF	SY KODAMA	U/FWD	HONDA INTEGRA	GREY	42.83	1ST	10

 

Current Point Standings For 2005 (As of Round 9)

LIMITED - ALL WHEEL DRIVE
CAR #	DRIVERS NAME	VEHICLE DESCRIPTION	COLOR	BEST TIME	POSITION	POINTS
9A	EGMAR KLEMMER	SUBARU WRX STI	SILVER	40.29	1ST	30
17A	STACY OTA	SUBARU IMPREZA	BLACK	45.51	2nd	25
14A	KALANI THOMPSON	MITSUBISHI ECLIPSE	BLUE	44.48	3rd	24
25A	JEROME RAMOS	MITSUBISHI EVO	BLACK	43.13	4th	18
8A	PATRICK OLSEN	SUBARU LEGACY	SILVER	41.05	5th	16
31A	BRUCE RUSSELL	SUBARU STI	WHITE	41.32	6th	10
26A	RON SWENSON	AUDI S4	GREY	42.45	7th	6
33A	OLIVER JACINTO	SUBARU STI	BLUE	42.72	8th	6
11A	NATHAN KEIRN	SUBARU WRX STI	BLUE	42.98	9th	6
12F	BEN SUMMERLIN	AUDI S4	RED	43.50	10th	4
30A	BRIAN MCCARTHY	SUBARU IMPREZA	BLUE	46.37	11th	4
22A	BURT MATSUSHIMA	EAGLE TALON	SILVER	NT	NP	0
3A	CHRIS MORLEY	SUBARU WRX STI	BLUE	NT	NP	0
24F	JASON FUNG	TOYOTA CELICA	SILVER	NT	NP	0
LIMITED - REAR WHEEL DRIVE CLASS A
CAR #	DRIVERS NAME	VEHICLE DESCRIPTION	COLOR	BEST TIME	POSITION	POINTS
77R	MICHAEL TUROLLA	CHEVY CORVETTE	RED	38.15	1ST	86
51R	MIKE WARD	INFINITY G35	BLACK	39.18	2nd	39
2R	EGMAR KLEMMER	PORSCHE 911	WHITE	39.58	3rd	35
45R	TERRY NELSON	BMW M3	WHITE	39.99	4th	28
70R	TOM BRYANT	MAZDA RX-7	RED	39.57	5th	10
57R	CHRIS BILLETE	INFINITY G35	BLUE	41.94	6th	7
9R	RON SWENSON	CHEVY CORVETTE	YELLOW	41.67	7th	5
357R	PATRICK OLSEN	FORD MUSTANG	BLACK	41.37	8th	3
46R	MATHIAS BUSCH	PORSCHE 911	RED	44.59	9th	3
48R	OSAMU MANABE	INFINITY G35	SILVER	41.95	10th	1
22R	RAMON LUMAPAS	LEXUS LS300	BLACK	42.77	11th	1
92R	GILBERT VALDEZ	FORD MUSTANG	BLACK	44.26	12th	1
15R	MITCHEL LOO	TOYOTA MR2	RED	43.43	13th	0
54R	NICK CASTILLO	INFINITY G35	SILVER	43.49	14th	0
43R	NORM WADE	FERRARI 375	CHARCOAL	43.66	15th	0
74R	FRED PULEO	NISSAN 350Z	SILVER	44.21	16th	0
60R	MIKE MCCABE	MUSTANG GT	SILVER	43.24	17th	0
59R	RICHARD GUESS	FORD MUSTANG	SILVER	43.26	18th	0
28R	SY KODAMA	LEXUS	CHAMPAGNE	45.33	19th	0
35R	NATHAN HECK	PORSCHE 911	BLACK	45.53	20th	0
23R	GRAHAM HENDERSON	NISSAN 240SX	GREY	46.09	21st	0
34R	ERIC SCHMIDT	CHEVY S-10	COPPER	46.22	22nd	0
50R	BRENT HELGESON	72 CHEVY CHEVELLE	BEIGE	46.65	23rd	0
102R	LONDON PARIS	CHEVROLET CAPRICE	WHITE	48.07	24th	0
58R	AARON MIWA	TOYOTA MR2	SILVER	50.15	25th	0
55R	AARON GALION	CHEVY CAMARO	RED	NT	NP	0
61R	ABE PINEHAKA	NISSAN 240SX	GREY	NT	NP	0
47R	ED KEMPER	SPORTS 2000	BLUE/YELLOW	NT	NP	0
91R	JACK EVANS	912 PORSCHE	GREY	NT	NP	0
25R	JASON TOKUNAGA	MAZDA MIATA	WHITE	NT	NP	0
45R	KIRSTEN NELSON	BMW M3	WHITE	NT	NP	0
49R	MATT HODGES	VOLVO 240	GREEN	NT	NP	0
44R	MIKE BERGER	DODGE VIPER	RED	NT	NP	0
53R	SHIGEOMI HIRABAYASHI	NISSAN 240SX	WHITE	NT	NP	0
LIMITED - REAR WHEEL DRIVE CLASS B
CAR #	DRIVERS NAME	VEHICLE DESCRIPTION	COLOR	BEST TIME	POSITION	POINTS
27R	CORY TOMOYASU	MAZDA MIATA	GREY	41.52	1ST	32
70R	TOM BRYANT	MAZDA RX-7	RED	40.40	2nd	20
18R	ELLIOT LOO	VOLVO	CHARCOAL	43.02	3rd	17
62r	MATHIAS BUSCH	LOTUS ELISE	BLUE	41.83	4th	6
79R	FRANK HAMMERLE	LOTUS ELISE	GREEN	44.81	5th	7
52R	KEN PETERS	MAZDA RX7	RED	43.18	6th	4
72R	CHAD MIYASHIRO	HONDA S2000	SILVER	43.79	7th	4
86R	GRAHAM HENDERSON	NISSAN S14	GREEN	45.55	8th	4
94R	MITCHELL PRECHT	NISSAN S14	GREEN	43.62	9th	3
81R	MATT HAMMERLE	MAZDA MIATA	SILVER	49.90	10th	2
73R	PRASONG SANGIAMUONGS	MAZDA MIATA	WHITE	47.40	11th	1
LIMITED - FRONT WHEEL DRIVE
CAR #	DRIVERS NAME	VEHICLE DESCRIPTION	COLOR	BEST TIME	POSITION	POINTS
15F	REID MORIMOTO	ACURA INTEGRA TYPE R	YELLOW	40.10	1ST	50
1F	BARRY RAFF	MINI COOPER	BLUE	41.15	2nd	48
9F	LINCOLN LOO	HONDA CIVIC	RED	40.15	3rd	22
3F	MARK PACPACO	ACURA INTEGRA	WHITE	41.87	4th	21
8F	DIRK MINAMI	MINI COOPER	SILVER	42.65	5th	17
18F	BARRY LAI	HONDA CIVIC	BLACK	40.88	6th	16
21F	ROBERT IGARASHI	HONDA CRX	BLUE	42.69	7th	16
9F	REID MORIMOTO	HONDA CIVIC	RED	41.31	8th	10
49F	KEVIN FLANDERS	SATURN REDLINE	SILVER	44.15	9th	7
10F	TROY MORIOKA	HONDA ACCORD	MAROON	43.19	10th	5
14F	ANDREW YOUNG	MINI COOPER	GREEN	44.38	11th	5
48F	RYANN BILLETE	ACURA INTEGRA	RED	48.58	12th	4
2F	SY KODAMA	ACURA INTEGRA	GREY	42.06	13th	3
27F	CLAYTON RUDER	DODGE NEON	BLACK	44.02	14th	2
9F	JASON HOKAMA	SUZUKI AERO	WHITE	45.21	15th	2
24F	GREG TAKAHASHI	HONDA PRELUDE	BLUE	44.09	16th	1
43F	EDGAR MADRID	HONDA CIVIC	BLACK	45.21	17th	1
22F	TERRY BOWLDEN	HONDA CIVIC	RED	44.59	18th	0
20F	KEITH KATO	HONDA CIVIC	WHITE	44.75	19th	0
13F	MATT TALBOT	MAZDASPEED PROTÉGÉ	SILVER	44.98	20th	0
7F	ERIK TANAKA	MINI COOPER	BLACK	45.51	21st	0
28F	DAVID FORSYTY	CHEVY COBALT	WHITE	NT	NP	0
23F	IKAIKA SILVA	HONDA CIVIC	WHITE	NT	NP	0
UNLIMITED - REAR WHEEL DRIVE
CAR #	DRIVERS NAME	VEHICLE DESCRIPTION	COLOR	BEST TIME	POSITION	POINTS
1UR	EGMAR KLEMMER	DATSUN 240Z	RWB	38.36	1ST	30
12UR	OSAMU MANABE	FORD MUSTANG	ORANGE	39.44	2nd	30
4UR	CHRIS MESSER	CHEVY CAMARO	WHITE	41.63	3rd	20
13UR	STEVE EGGAR	FORMULA FORD	BLACK	41.60	4th	10
7UR	MITCH PRECHT	MAZDA RX-7	WHITE	41.60	5th	6
10UR	DAVE SUGAI	NASCAR TRUCK	WHITE	44.21	6th	6
11UR	CHRIS MESSER	WINSTON WEST	WHITE	43.53	7th	3
3UR	KEL KOMATSUBARA	MAZDA RX7	WHITE	45.18	8th	3
6UR	CARL DEBO	MAZDA RX7	WHITE	NT	NP	0
8UR	SCOTT SCHULTE	PORSCHE 911	BLUE	NT	NP	0
UNLIMITED - FRONT WHEEL DRIVE
CAR #	DRIVERS NAME	VEHICLE DESCRIPTION	COLOR	BEST TIME	POSITION	POINTS
2UF	MARCUS HO	HONDA CIVIC	GREEN	40.12	1ST	40
3UF	SY KODAMA	HONDA INTEGRA	GREY	42.60	2nd	26
1UF	ROY CABIBO	HONDA CIVIC	BLUE	42.29	3rd	22
5UF	LINCOLN LOO	HONDA INTEGRA	YELLOW	41.56	4th	10
4UF	MARTIN LAU	HONDA CIVIC	BLACK	44.92	5th	7