SUPER LAP SERIES ROUND 8

Cool weather and another great turnout

Cool weather prevailed for Round 8 of the scheduled ten-event 2005 Super Lap Series at Hawaii Motor Sports Center. The return of a few drivers missing from the previous event ensures that various season points battles will continue through to the very last round. The weather may have been nice, but there were a few incidents that blemished the otherwise perfect day of high performance competition. JN Chevrolet once again brought out a contingency of Lotus Elise and some new Maserratti owners and many of them were allowed to jump straight into the Group A practice sessions. The Formula Ford group was back (in large part) and had a few good races as well as some valuable track time during their interim between SCCA regional race events.

Forty participants and many points battles

It was a well-balanced turnout of veterans and novices lined outside the gate; stretched out to Kalaeloa Ave. prior to its 8:00 am opening. Eight Formula Fords filled the open wheel category and there were six drivers new to the Super Lap event joined up with the strong contingency of consistent regulars all vying for the opportunity to excel at this increasingly demanding venue. It seems as though nothing can stop the shuffle of points positions in most classes and that, battles for 2nd and 3rd position and the championship in four classes still remains (the limited rear wheel drive championship is the only class determined for Championship so far). It appears as though what was intended to be a fun series at first has now turned into one of the most serious and competitive streetcar competitions imaginable with street legal cars outpacing all competition other than the formula racers.

A bit of carnage for Round 8

Although there were some surprisingly good performances it wasn't without a considerable cost to a few of the car owners and unfortunately, not all competitors managed to survive their practice sessions and move on to Time Battle. Amongst the list of casualties/victims were: Terry Nelson, who mentioned that he had felt his BMW M3 handling go off after posting his personal best lap time at the beginning of the day. After checking the car thoroughly he found he had bent the right rear control arm and was done for the day. Terry's chances of battling out the remainder of the series with fellow limited rear wheel drive competitor, Mike Ward, were dashed and he had to sit out the Time Battle competition.

Recent newcomer, Edgar Madrid smacked the guardrail at the exit of the sweeper with the front of his Honda Civic, but was able to make repairs and continue. Edgar was pretty lucky to do little damage from this skirmish with this notorious section of the track as this was ten feet from the location of the first crash of 2004 where Reid Morimoto shortened his BMW M3. Edgar managed to repair the damage and, although not competing in Time Battle, he (and other race prepared cars) ran some laps on the long course at the end of the day and everything still seemed to be working. Lincoln Loo, unfortunately reported a rod-nock in the debut of his Honda Civic. This car is an impressive replacement to the car lost in the rollover he experienced in Round 5 and promises to challenge for an event win before the end of the season. The worst incident that we've seen in quite a while was that of an unfortunate Lotus Elise suffering considerable damage from a tangle with the infamous "Exit Chicane". So far the scorecard for crashes of significance is: Sweeper 2, Exit Chicane 3 with no other serious crashes reported.

Limited All Wheel Drive Class Gets Another New Winner

Only two drivers competed in Time Battle in Limited All Wheel Drive cars with Kalani Thompson taking his first class victory and moving himself up nicely in the points standings to 2nd. Kalani now has 24 points and is only six out of the championship lead With the sale of Egmar's (the points leader) STI he is within striking distance of the Championship. Kalani knocked almost half a second off of his previous personal best to post a 44.48 and moves past Patrick Olsen who is now two points back in 3rd. Stacy Ota took advantage of a small field to post the second best time of the day although nearly a second off her personal best and has moved up to 5th in the series standings.

Mini's run 1,2 in Limited Front Wheel Drive class

Once again, points leader Reid Morimoto gave opportunity to a new winner (in class) for the 2005 season when he failed to compete in Round 8. Reigning Champion, Barry Raff, turned in a solid 41.11 scoring ten points in his quest to repeat for the title. Barry now has 42 points, just eight behind Reid, and has pretty much clinched at least 2nd place in the season standings after the damaged motor of 3rd place contender, Lincoln Loo. Lincoln was unable to compete in Time Battle and improve on his 22 points. Mini driver, Dirk Minami, had a great outing and shaved half a second off his previous best time moving solidly into the 42-second bracket taking second place for Round 8 and finds himself 6th in the points.

Mark Pacpaco was unable to get the six-speed transmission into his Acura Type "R" in time for the round and last event winner, Barry Lai didn't show so neither of them improved on their respective 4th and 5th place standings. In 3rd place I was happy to see the ever pleasant, Kevin Flanders, driving his new, factory supercharged Saturn Redline and the car performed remarkably well for a complete stock model. Kevin turned a 44.15 his first time out and seemed to be enjoying the change over from his older Eagle Talon mentioning the available upgrades being promoted at this year's Sema show.

Mike Ward edges past Mike Turolla in Limited Rear Wheel Drive class

In the upset of the season, Mike Ward snuck past Mike Turolla by .02 seconds to ruin Mike's chance at a season sweep. The winning lap of 39.18 overshadowed a similarly impressive lap by Tom Bryant, who stepped up in class, and also managed to attain the elusive 39 -second lap. Mike Ward has consistently improved throughout the season and the 10 points he earned adds to a total of 35 and vaults him ahead of, not only the misfortunate Terry Nelson, but also 2nd place, Egmar Klemmer. Mike Turolla has won by a wide margin throughout the season, but today was an awesome display for the G-35 and the RX7 of Tom Bryant who was close in 3rd just .55 seconds back. This display of close competition indicates a potential showdown towards the 2006 Super Lap Series Championship as all cars and drivers continue to develop. Egmar Klemmer scored 3 points for his fourth place finish but this drops him to 3rd in the standings with 33 points and this will, no doubt, add to the competitive battle over the last two remaining events. In 5th was DriftSession's own Chris Billete who ventures ever closer to the 41 second bracket in what is basically a stock Infinity G-35.

Eight Entries In Limited Rear Wheel Drive Group "B"

The move in class of Tom Bryant gave birth to a new class winner and points leader. Corey Tomoyasu has been one of the most consistent and progressive drivers throughout the season and is seeing the rewards to all of his hard work come to fruition. Turning laps in the mid 41's on a regular basis, Corey has racked up an impressive 22 points in the short season since Group "B" was developed three events ago. Also jumping forward in prominence is Elliot Loo who's low 43-second laps provided a nice 2nd place event finish and this consistency and dedication has placed him in a good position to finish in the Championship. New to the series and posting a 3rd place in Round 8 was Gilbert Valdez who turned a 44.97 and has now tied with the absent Ken Peters. We were happy to se the Lotus Elise of Frank Hammerle in Time Battle since it is the first of the JN Chevrolet group to stay for the competition. It payed off too, since he scored a 4th place with a lap of 45.08 and was just a tenth of a second back from 3rd. In 5th and with a lap of 45.55 was the improving Nissan of Graham Henderson that could probably benefit from a brake upgrade according to the smoking brakes I observed.

Unlimited Front Wheel Drive sees a battle

Winning in Unlimited Front Wheel Drive was the "Endless Garage" Honda Civic of Marcus Ho who battled it out with the returning Sy Kodama in the turbo charged Acura Integra. Marcus scored yet another win securing his 1st place position in the points with 40 and is now 18 points ahead of Roy Cabibo in 2nd. Sy has a good chance to take second now that he has earned 16 points and the return of Roy's car is questionable, but Marcus' win all but secures the Championship which will go back to back with his Limited rear Wheel Championship of 2004 if he can pull it off. Also competing and taking 3rd this day was, Martin Lau in his Honda Civic, a little off the pace with a 44.92, but adding 4 points to the 4 earned in the previous round and giving him a shot at 3rd place season points if he does well over the remaining events.

Klemmer returns in Unlimited Rear Wheel Drive

Egmar Klemmer had the Datsun 240Z back out after his Laguna Seca race trip for Round 8. He put down the fast lap of the day with a 39.09 which was over a second better that the ever-improving Osamu Manabe. Osamu gave a valiant effort and posted a 40.31 to score six points and move into a tie for 2nd season points with me. Although slightly improving over Round 7, my Z-28 and I still continue to struggle with rear end grip into and out of slow corners. Finally and unfortunately somewhat amusingly Kel Komatsubara competed in the hybrid Mazda RX7 to a decent finish in the mid forty fives. This would have been considerably improved upon had he remembered to release his hand brake when leaving the paddock, still the fourth place finish provides him with some points to show for his efforts.

Off to Round 9

There are a number of tight battles and Championships yet to be determined and Lady Luck is sure to show her hand in favor or against some lucky or unlucky competitors before the season is completely played out. I won't be able to be with you all at the next event due to a prescheduled visit to see my wife in the Philippines, but I am sure you all will not disappoint me. So make haste in your lapping ambitions and I hope the benefit of good luck, health and fortitude be by your sides always.

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

2005 Round 8 Final Results

LIMITED - ALL WHEEL DRIVE
CAR #	DRIVERS NAME	CATEGORY	VEHICLE DESCRIPTION	COLOR	BEST TIME	POSITION	POINTS
14A	KALANI THOMPSON	L/AWD	MITSUBISHI ECLIPSE	BLUE	44.48	1ST	10
17A	STACY OTA	L/AWD	SUBARU IMPREZA	BLACK	46.57	2nd	6
LIMITED - REAR WHEEL DRIVE CLASS A
CAR #	DRIVERS NAME	CATEGORY	VEHICLE DESCRIPTION	COLOR	BEST TIME	POSITION	POINTS
51R	MIKE WARD	L/RWD	INFINITY G35	BLACK	39.18	1ST	10
77R	MICHAEL TUROLLA	L/RWD	CHEVY CORVETTE	RED	39.20	2nd	6
70R	TOM BRYANT	L/RWD	MAZDA RX-7	RED	39.75	3rd	4
2R	EGMAR KLEMMER	L/RWD	PORSCHE 911	WHITE	40.51	4th	3
57R	CHRIS BILLETE	L/RWD	INFINITY G35	BLUE	42.11	5th	2
92R	GILBERT VALDEZ	L/RWD	FORD MUSTANG	BLACK	44.97	6th	1
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	41.82	1ST	10
18R	ELLIOT LOO	L/RWD	VOLVO	CHARCOAL	43.33	2nd	6
79R	FRANK HAMMERLE	L/RWD	LOTUS ELISE	GREEN	45.08	3rd	4
86R	GRAHAM HENDERSON	L/RWD	NISSAN SILVIA	GREEN	45.55	4th	3
LIMITED - FRONT WHEEL DRIVE
CAR #	DRIVERS NAME	CATEGORY	VEHICLE DESCRIPTION	COLOR	BEST TIME	POSITION	POINTS
1F	BARRY RAFF	L/FWD	MINI COOPER	BLUE	41.15	1ST	10
8F	DIRK MINAMI	L/FWD	MINI COOPER	SILVER	42.65	2nd	6
49F	KEVIN FLANDERS	L/FWD	SATURN REDLINE	SILVER	44.15	3rd	4
16F	ANDREW YOUNG	L/FWD	MINI COOPER	GREEN	44.38	4th	3
12F	JASON HOKAMA	L/FWD	SUZUKI AERIO	WHITE	44.47	5th	2
48F	RYANN BILLETE	L/FWD	ACURA INTEGRA	RED	48.58	6th	1
UNLIMITED - REAR WHEEL DRIVE
CAR #	DRIVERS NAME	CATEGORY	VEHICLE DESCRIPTION	COLOR	BEST TIME	POSITION	POINTS
1UR	EGMAR KLEMMER	U/RWD	DATSUN 240Z	RWB	39.09	1ST	10
70UR	OSAMU MANABE	U/RWD	FORD MUSTANG	ORANGE	40.31	2nd	6
4UR	CHRIS MESSER	U/RWD	CHEVY CAMARO	WHITE	41.63	3rd	4
3UR	KEL KOMATSUBARA	U/RWD	MAZDA RX-7	WHITE	45.18	4th	3
UNLIMITED - FRONT WHEEL DRIVE
CAR #	DRIVERS NAME	CATEGORY	VEHICLE DESCRIPTION	COLOR	BEST TIME	POSITION	POINTS
2UF	MARCUS HO	U/FWD	HONDA CIVIC	GREEN	42.41	1ST	10
3UF	SY KODAMA	U/FWD	HONDA INTEGRA	GREY	42.83	2nd	6
4UF	MARTIN LAU	U/FWD	HONDA CIVIC	BLACK	44.92	3rd	4

 

Current Point Standings For 2005 (As of Round 8)

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
14A	KALANI THOMPSON	MITSUBISHI ECLIPSE	BLUE	44.48	2nd	24
25A	JEROME RAMOS	MITSUBISHI EVO	BLACK	43.13	3rd	18
8A	PATRICK OLSEN	SUBARU LEGACY	SILVER	41.05	4th	16
17A	STACY OTA	SUBARU IMPREZA	BLACK	46.57	5th	15
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	76
51R	MIKE WARD	INFINITY G35	BLACK	39.18	2nd	35
2R	EGMAR KLEMMER	PORSCHE 911	WHITE	39.58	3rd	33
45R	TERRY NELSON	BMW M3	WHITE	41.01	4th	25
57R	CHRIS BILLETE	INFINITY G35	BLUE	42.11	5th	6
9R	RON SWENSON	CHEVY CORVETTE	YELLOW	41.67	6th	5
70R	TOM BRYANT	MAZDA RX-7	RED	39.75	7th	4
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	44.97	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
28R	SY KODAMA	LEXUS	CHAMPAGNE	45.33	17th	0
35R	NATHAN HECK	PORSCHE 911	BLACK	45.53	18th	0
23R	GRAHAM HENDERSON	NISSAN 240SX	GREY	46.09	19th	0
34R	ERIC SCHMIDT	CHEVY S-10	COPPER	46.22	20th	0
50R	BRENT HELGESON	72 CHEVY CHEVELLE	BEIGE	46.65	21st	0
60R	MIKE MCCABE	MUSTANG GT	SILVER	43.24	22nd	0
58R	AARON MIWA	TOYOTA MR2	SILVER	50.15	23Rd	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
59R	RICHARD GUESS	FORD MUSTANG	SILVER	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	22
70R	TOM BRYANT	MAZDA RX-7	RED	40.40	2nd	20
18R	ELLIOT LOO	VOLVO	CHARCOAL	43.02	3rd	13
52R	KEN PETERS	MAZDA RX7	RED	43.18	4th	4
72R	CHAD MIYASHIRO	HONDA S2000	SILVER	43.79	5th	4
79R	FRANK HAMMERLE	LOTUS ELISE	GREEN	45.08	6th	4
86R	GRAHAM HENDERSON	NISSAN S14	GREEN	45.55	7th	4
94R	MITCHELL PRECHT	NISSAN S14	GREEN	43.62	8th	3
73R	PRASONG SANGIAMUONGS	MAZDA MIATA	WHITE	47.40	9th	1
81R	MATT HAMMERLE	MAZDA MIATA	SILVER	49.90	10th	0
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	42
9F	LINCOLN LOO	HONDA CIVIC	RED	40.15	3rd	22
3F	MARK PACPACO	ACURA INTEGRA	WHITE	41.87	4th	21
18F	BARRY LAI	HONDA CIVIC	BLACK	40.88	5th	16
9F	REID MORIMOTO	HONDA CIVIC	RED	41.31	6th	10
8F	DIRK MINAMI	MINI COOPER	SILVER	42.65	7th	13
21F	ROBERT IGARASHI	HONDA CIVIC	WHITE	42.69	8th	6
10F	TROY MORIOKA	HONDA ACCORD	MAROON	43.19	9th	4
49F	KEVIN FLANDERS	SATURN REDLINE	SILVER	44.15	10th	4
48F	RYANN BILLETE	ACURA INTEGRA	RED	48.58	11th	4
2F	SY KODAMA	ACURA INTEGRA	GREY	42.06	12th	3
14F	ANDREW YOUNG	MINI COOPER	GREEN	44.38	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	40.31	2nd	20
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
1UF	ROY CABIBO	HONDA CIVIC	BLUE	42.29	2nd	22
3UF	SY KODAMA	HONDA INTEGRA	GREY	42.83	3rd	16
5UF	LINCOLN LOO	HONDA INTEGRA	YELLOW	41.56	4th	10
4UF	MARTIN LAU	HONDA CIVIC	BLACK	44.92	5th	7