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Race 11 - January 20, 2008
Welcome to 2008!!! It’s been almost 10 years since I last wrote an Autocross article – I’m sure some of you remember ‘Solo II Talk’. I’ve had to think of a new name since it’s now called Solo or Autocross. January 20th’s event was our 11th race of the 2007-2008 season. That means only 1 more event to rack up those points for the Points Championship & Runoff Events! For those of you who are unfamiliar with these events, here’s a quick rundown: There are 2 main season events. The Points Championship and Runoffs. The Points Championship is an ongoing competition. Every race you participate in, you accrue points (provided you place in the top 10 in your class). If you participate in the minimum number of races (7 for this season), you qualify to win a trophy in the Points Championship. Since the number of races per season (April - February) can vary between 10-12 events, the number of required races can vary from season to season. At the end of the season (February), if you are one of the top 5 points winners, you get a trophy for the Points Championship. The Runoffs is a season end race. In order to qualify for runoffs, you need to have participated in at least 7 regular races. Only the top 5 qualifiers in each class can participate in the Runoff Race in March. Thus, even if 6 or more people in a class qualify with the minimum number of races, only the top 5 points winners get to race in the runoff. Points are accumulated each regular race - 10 pts for 1st, 9 pts for 2nd, etc. So even if you win the Points Championship, the tables can turn during the Runoff Race. It is not uncommon to have someone win the Points Championship but lose the Runoff Race. All participants in Runoffs also get a trophy. These trophies are presented at the SCCA Banquet in June, along with a special gift given only to season winners (must be present to receive gift). In past years, we've given SCCA Chairs, Umbrellas & Duffle Bags. Got it? I’m sure it’s clear as mud. Now you’re ready for the Runoff event that will be taking place on March 2nd, 2008. Although only qualified drivers can participate in the Runoff event, afterwards, we will be having fun runs for the rest of the day! More information will be posted on our website. Now, back to the event at hand… The New Year brought 121 drivers to Aloha Stadium looking to test their cars and their driving skill. The track setup crew rose to the challenge. Even with a limited amount of space, they always provide a balanced and exciting track.  Drivers needed to have a good take-off since the start lights didn’t leave much room to gather speed. A few minor turns, then get around a right hand pointer cone leading to a 4-cone directional slalom. Quite a few cones were smashed in this section (me being one of the culprits) so many kudos to corner 1 and 2 workers! The original track design called for a sweeping turn at the top turnaround, but one of the track setup crew decided to change it up with a couple ‘Doritos’ otherwise known as triangles. From the worn chalk marks during the lunchtime course walk, it seemed as though both sides of the Doritos were used. Next, a small 3-cone slalom leading to the infamous drain section. Rumor has it, one of our 3-wheeling (sometimes 2-wheeling) vehicles felt a conspiracy against him… Now why would we do that??? We just enjoy the show you give us when going through those off-camber, high speed turns! After the drain section, you come screaming (literally) into the bottom left-hand sweeper. This was a great turn to watch since it was right in front of the grid. It was also an area to lose or gain a lot of time. The last turn gave the trailer peeps quite a thrill as most people didn’t realize that the timing lights were situation sooner than they thought. I think a certain black Camaro can attest to the thrill-provided action… right Elliot?  With 121 drivers, all 4 heats were loaded with 25+ cars each. Props to the grid workers for keeping them organized! Street Prepared and E Modified set the pace for the day with Curtis Lee putting down a 29.589, which would prove to be FTD. Street Modified classes battled it out in second heat and the afternoon heats provided lots of Stock and Street Touring action. No big surprises in Stock classes with Jayson Guzman, Charlie Lindemann, Tom Richards, Tim Mehlhorn and Rodney Raganit taking the win in their respective classes. Dexter Lum managed to grab top spot in CS and graciously lent his car out veteran racer, Karl Rolfing, who jumped into the highly competitive CSP class. Mike Ward & Mike McCabe wrestled their Mini Coopers in GS – Ward getting the win by 0.7 seconds. Both earned top 10 PAX, 6th & 9th, respectively.
HS is quickly becoming a popular class with the 2 Toyota Corollas screeching their tires for victory. This time, Sean Bellapianta bested Jeff Okinaka by 0.4 seconds for top honors. Not far behind was Sara Cox representing the Mazdas.
BSP was no surprise there, however there was new hardware on scene. Curtis Lee finally got his new rims which means he finally got to use his new Hoosier A6s! Most people were fearing this day, I myself was praying for this day! After 4 long months of waiting, the Lee family got their new rubber and Curtis took FTD with a 29.589.  Jason Tokunaga vs. Ken Van Orman, Round 11! Jason put down a smoking first run of 30.131 but was unable to improve it. Ken had some cone trouble on his first 2 runs but managed to get down to a 30.168 leaving 0.037 seconds between them! So Jason takes home the blue cone this round. There seems to be a resurgence of the Chevys, both Camaro and Corvette. In ESP, it’s a battle between the Mustang and Camaro. Jon Matsushige grabbed first place in his infamous black Camaro in spite of hitting cones on all 4 runs. Looks like he’s trying to retain his title of “Cone Killer”. EM was another heated battle between Robert Igarashi and Francis Lining. Robert had some car trouble on his after his first run that caused him to call a mechanical for his second run. Francis smacked a cone on his second run but redeem himself on his third run by dropping 1.5 seconds for a 30.619. Robert answered back with a 31.146. Fourth runs were the final say and Francis came out on top by 0.151 seconds. I guess he gets to add another blue cone to his repertoire. Soon he’ll be able to line the entire perimeter of his car!  STS has a hodgepodge mix of cars varying from Lexus to Mazda to Subaru. Aaron Strom laid down the fastest first run with a 35.492 in his Lexus IS300 but had cone trouble on his next 2 runs. Meanwhile, Gregg Serikaku took advantage of all the conage and put down a 34.888 to take the lead in his Mazda 6-Wagon. But fourth runs proved to be the winning ticket and Aaron stole away first place by 0.242 seconds. Ironically, Gregg’s third run was good enough for first place but was marred by a cone. Now here’s a giant of a class – SM had 16 drivers duking it out for the little blue cone. Early on, Brad Lau laid down a 31.902 for a 1.013 second lead over Cliff Goto with Tyler Sato only 0.038 behind in third. Mark Pacpaco was the wild card borrowing Larry Hoggan’s Civic due to a pothole dented rim on his car. He was sitting in fourth only 0.118 behind Tyler. Second runs: Brad knocked off another tenth while Cliff, Larry & Mark jumped into the 32s. Everyone managed to improved slightly on third runs except Brad, leaving a glimmer of hope for the rest of the class. The tides changed on fourth runs with Mark dropping 0.528 seconds jumping from fourth place to first place! Brad held onto second by 0.152 seconds. Tyler snagged third place but get this – he could have had first but coned it away on his last run. Pwned!! No blue cone for you! SM2 is another massively competitive class with big shot drivers like Mike Parker, Barry Lai and Cory Tomoyasu in a perennial battle for the top spot. Mike with the lone 240Z had the fastest raw time but smashed a slalom cone putting him behind Barry’s 30.662. Cory had cone issues as well, hitting 2 cones somewhere in the field. By second run, all three were in the 30s with Mike in first, Barry in second and Cory in third – and that’s the way it would stay. Mike and Barry snuck into the mid 29s but Cory continued to have cone trouble, eventually spinning in the last sweeper.
Out of the 121 drivers, we had 8 novices – Welcome Andrew McIntyre, John Kendrick, Eric Kenney, Kyle Abraham, Chris Bunten, Tim Hill, Taylur Harmon and Jack Tan! It’s always nice to meet new people and check out new cars. For all our non-SCCA members, remember that all participants must be a SCCA member. That means you must purchase a weekend membership for $15 in addition to your event fee of $25. This weekend membership is good for 5 days from the date of purchase and can be use as a $15 voucher towards purchasing a regular SCCA membership. Up to 2 $15 vouchers can be used towards your regular membership. For more information regarding our events, visit our website at www.sccahawaii.org. I’d like to end my first article with a stolen limerick written by the multitalented, Barry Lai: Twas a nice day in Hawaii, when all through the track, Came a sweet blue 240Z rims blingy, all that. King Lee laid the smack down as usual with calm driving no flair, All the while welcome winds blew through 2nd place Prince Parkers dark hair. Volunteers running around, chasing cones, left and right, Hoping a certain black Camaro's 4th run end would soon be in sight. CSP vets Tokunaga, KVO held their own taking PAX two and three, And then 4th and 5th held by Parker and me. Pacpaco dropped his type R for a civic, a sweet EG, And took down SM class leader doc Lau, Bradley. Newcomers gave it a go, the cones took a blow, Of course all forum users who talk trash were again a no show. I feel my inbox filling now with gripes and complaints, "you forgot about me"...blah, blah, blah So I’ll end this post while there's still light, To all racers and spectators see you Feb 16+17th, good night.
The next race is February 17. Pre-registration will begin on the morning of February 9, so check out the link on the main page that morning. Also, if you're want to order a t-shirt, contact Amy!! Don't forget that on February 16 is Test & Tune!! Check here for more details. Eleventh Race Results (Jan 20) |
