Q3 2019 results

Brian Ackerson - 7th (Record: 0-2) (Qualified: 4th) Handicap - TCS [3]

• Drivin' Brian came crashing back to Earth after his amazing Q2 2019 Event. Once again Brian shows he has the one lap pace by qualifying a very respectable 4th. Unfortunately, he couldn't keep the momentum going as he lost to Greg McKeever in the Winner's Quarterfinals. He used all 3 of his extra laps for purchase on his race against Stephen in the Loser's Round 2, but couldn't find the time in McLaren and lost again to finish in last place (7th). He will need to regroup and build his confidence back up for the next event, but if anyone can, it's Drivin' Brian!

Cooper Bright - 3rd (Record: 1-2) (Qualified: 1st) Handicap - TCS [0]

• Cooper Bright started the day off with securing his first ever Pole Position in the GP Cup and the reward of premium parking for the next event. It got even better as whoever qualified 1st, also got a bye into the Winner's Semifinals. He matched up against Greg McKeever and was able to beat him in the Aston Martin One-77 '11 thus attaining 3rd podium in a row (of events he competed in). He matched up against the winner from the last event in Mike Hansen in the Winner's Final. This time it was around an oval track and although he used all 3 of his extra laps for purchase to get the W, he fell short. An interesting note about the Winner's Final was that Cooper set an identical best lap time to Hansen's. This has only happened one other time in the GP Cup's short history. Now in the Loser's Final, he went up against another tough driver in Stephen Trigueiro. It was on the same oval and unfortunately for Cooper, it was the same result. He finishes in 3rd place with $15 and puts himself back in the conversation of getting a piece of the GP Cup Championship pool!

Greg McKeever - 4th (Record: 2-2) (Qualified: 5th) Handicap - TCS [3]

• Greg had a much better day on the course than the last event. It didn't start that way though as he qualified in 5th. This put him up against Brian Ackerson in the Winner's Quarterfinals and after a number seat changes, Greg was able to pull out the victory. This put him one win away from getting back on the podium, all he had to do was beat Cooper Bright. This task was too tough to overcome as he lost and was dropped down into the Loser's Quarterfinals. He pulled out a nice win against Preston Woods and another chance to make the podium via the Loser's Semifinals. On the oval track, we witnessed the closest battle of the day and unfortunately for Greg he was on the wrong end of the 0.042 second margin. Greg will be feeling good though after finishing in 4th place (his best result of the year) and jumping from 9th in the standings up to 6th!

Mike Force - 6th (Record: 1-2) (Qualified: 7th) Handicap - TCS [1]

• Force had maybe his worst day of racing since joining the GP Cup. He started off horribly by missing his qualifying and starting the day from last place (7th). Things were looking like they were going to turn around as he beat Stephen Trigueiro, who qualified 2nd, in the Winner's Quarterfinals needing only 1 lap in the process. In the Winner's Semifinals, he went up against his rival in Mike Hansen. He has yet beat Hansen in the two other tries and this attempt was no different. He was smart to save his extra laps though for the Loser's Bracket. In his first match up in the Loser's Quarterfinals he went up against Stephen again. This time though after using all 3 of his extra laps for purchase, he just couldn't navigate the chicanes as well as Stephen could in Monza (aka the Temple of Speed). He finished a personal worst of 6th place and will need to go back to the drawing board and regroup his mentality for the last event of the year.

Mike Hansen - 1st (Record: 4-0) (Qualified: 3rd) Handicap - JC Method (TCS [0] + In Car View) + No Driving Aids

• Hansen has been dominant so far in the GP Cup, so it was time to increase his handicap. Unfortunately for the rest of the competition, he was just as focused and ready to take another event win. The day started not great by his own high standards as he qualified 3rd. He was able to come to grips with the new handicap though in his Winner's Quarterfinals match up against Preston Woods. He cleared the first hurdle and was through to the Winner's Semifinals. He needed the win to automatically secure another podium (which he has done for every event so far). Mike Force was the driver in the way, and he was able to handle the pressure to get the W. Another Winner's Final showing for Hansen as he went up against the event winner from the Q1 2019 Event in Cooper Bright. The handicap might have not been as big a deal as the other match ups seeing this was an oval, but he still needed to nail the lap. After 7 seat changes and 20 total laps, Hansen was able to just find the extra time and get a spot in the Grand Finals. He went up against Stephen Trigueiro in another Grand Finals, and this might have been their best one yet. After another 7 seat swaps and this time 17 total laps, Hansen was able to win the whole thing and beat Stephen for the 3rd time in a row. He takes home $54 for his efforts, and now has a commanding lead of the GP Cup 2019 Championship. He already has one hand on the trophy, and is really pushing the other driver's to step up to his level if they want any sniff at the championship!

Preston Woods - 5th (Record: 0-2) (Qualified: 6th) Handicap - TCS [5]

• Although Preston set personal best for both qualifying and event finish, I would say this event was not as good of a showing for him as the last event. He started off by qualifying in 6th and a tough first match up in the Winner's Quarterfinals against Mike Hansen. After the loss, he dropped to the Loser's Round 1 which he won by a bye. Then because of the odd number of driver's, he got another by into the Loser's Round 2. This put him up against Greg McKeever in the Loser's Quarterfinals, but he had a hard time controlling the raging bull of the Lamborghini Veneno '14. Thus he finished in 5th with a bit of luck, but hey, you need luck as well as skill to win the GP Cup. Preston will look to the last event of the year to get that elusive match up victory!

Stephen Trigueiro - 2nd (Record: 4-2) (Qualified: 2nd) Handicap - TCS [0]

• Stephen had a great day behind the wheel. He started by barely making it in time for his qualifying spot and was able to take a strong 2nd seed after he took an extra lap for a shot. The shot might not have helped, or maybe it was the car, but in his Winner's Quarterfinals match up, he lost to Mike Force in the Chevy Nova. Thus started his long climb back to the Grand Finals. His first step was taking out Brian Ackerson in the Loser's Round 2. After that win, he went up against Force again, this time in the Loser's Quarterfinals. He was more comfortable and warmed up this time around and took the win to move one step away from another podium. The hurdle was Greg McKeever on an oval track in the Loser's Semifinals. He took the win in the closest match up of the day and now only needed one more victory to get into the Grand Final. He took on Cooper Bright in the Loser's Finals and surprisingly, this was the first time these two have raced against each other in the GP Cup. Stephen was able to once again figure out the oval a little better than his opponent and secure a top 2 finish minimum. In the Grand Finals he was up against a very hot Mike Hansen and with a 2 race losing streak against him, things were gonna be tough. He made things even harder for himself, by basically giving himself the same handicap as Hansen had (minus the in car view + ghost). This was the match up of the event though as Stephen really pushed Hansen and almost forced a bracket reset winner take all last race, but fell just short. Still Stephen takes home $29 for his efforts and is the closest threat to taking away the 2019 GP Cup Championship from Hansen!

FUN FACTS:

Match Ups

• Most total turns - 7 Turns: Race #3 (Brian Ackerson vs. Greg McKeever), Race #15 (Cooper Bright vs. Mike Hansen), & Race #18 (Stephen Trigueiro vs. Mike Hansen)

• Most laps (individual) - 15 Laps: Race #15 (Cooper Bright

• Most total laps - 20 Laps: Race #15 (Cooper Bright vs. Mike Hansen)

• Closest margin - 0.042 Seconds: Race #16 (Stephen Trigueiro vs. Greg McKeever)

Event

• Most match ups - 6: Stephen Trigueiro

• Most turns - 12: Stephen Trigueiro

• Most laps - 32: Stephen Trigueiro

Link to Bracket

More Info on the Car/Circuit Combos

Final standings of the Q3 2019 GP Cup Event: