Q2 2020 Results

For the first time in GP Cup history, Mike Hansen did not finish on the podium at the Q1 event. You could tell he was frustrated by the result, so much so that during that same day, he purchased his own racing setup so this would never happen again. This extra practice meant he came into the Q2 event as sharp as ever.

Hansen was on from the get go. The proof being that he qualified on pole position by over a second! This was his first pole position since Q2 2019 and meant that he already earned himself $10. On top of earning the best starting spot, the advantage for this event was magnified by the lack of participants. He earned himself a bye into the Winner's Semifinals and only need one match up victory to get back on the podium.

In that match up he went up against Brian Ackerson. On an American track, in an American car, Mike showed that he wasn't messing around by only needing one turn to better Flying Brian. Brian used an extra lap for purchase to try and force Hansen into the seat again, but after not being able to get within 1.5 seconds of the best time, he thought wiser to waste any more laps and would have to lick his wounds in the Loser's Bracket.

Just that quick, Hansen was back on the podium and in the money. He wanted to prove a point though, and what better way to make that point than in the Winner's Final match up against his rival Cooper Bright. Although Hansen's racing resume is impressive, Cooper is the one driver who he didn't have a winning record against. Heading into this race, they battled a total of six times with each taking home 3 wins each. This race lived up to the hype as they both were driving incredibly well. There wasn't much between them, but as the dust settled, Hansen was able to beat Cooper by less than half a second. Cooper really wanted this win, as he used all three of his extra laps for purchase to try and get into the Grand Finals.

Cooper would get his chance for revenge in the Grand Finals. This time though he would have to beat Hansen twice to take the event win. Mike, was having none of it. Once again, Hansen showed he had plenty of speed in hand to take out his rival with only one turn needed. This battled ended up being the closest one of the event as only 0.014 seconds separated the two. Hansen was able to once again prove his skills and send out a warning to his competitors.

Mike bounces back strong from his worst showing in the GP Cup to take home his first event win of the 2020 season. With his pole position and event win, he takes home $97 for his efforts (GP Cup record for an individual event). He also jumps up the driver's standings considerably and is now tied for third place with 14 pts. through two events.

Cooper comes into the Q2 event in a favorable position as he earned a podium in Q1 and with a smaller driver pool, was looking to earn his second one of the 2020 season. He started off a strong, but maybe slightly disappointing by his standards, 3rd in qualifying. Unfortunately for him this meant he did not have a bye into the Winner's Semifinals and would have to battle it out in the Winner's Quarterfinals.

In this match up, he would take on Preston Woods. After Preston's shocking victory against Mike Hansen in the previous event, he was not a driver to be underestimated. Cooper kept his focus and didn't give Preston a chance to repeat with another surprising result. After one turn on the twisty Suzuka Circuit East Course, Cooper was able to comfortably put in a time that couldn't be bested.

Cooper was now one match up victory away from his podium and would need to take on Travis Roof in his Winner's Semifinals encounter. On a new track for the Gran Potato Cup, Cooper had a more difficult time in this match up, but still was able to take out Travis in only 3 laps. He even forced Travis to use two of his extra laps for purchase to try and get his first ever podium.

Comfortable with the knowledge that he earned his second podium of the season, Cooper was now looking to better his 3rd place he earned in Q1. The driver in his way was Mike Hansen, and Cooper was determined to earn his way to the Grand Finals through the winner's bracket. Whenever these two rivals meet on track, there is always fireworks and this battle was no different. On the Racing: Supersoft tire compound they each put in competitive times lap after lap. Cooper was up against the ropes and decided to use all three of his extra laps for purchase to try and take down Hansen, but alas, he could get not find the time to be able to force his opponent back into the seat.

Now in the Loser's Bracket, Cooper would need to be able to regain his composure and form if he wanted his revenge on Hansen in the Grand Finals. For the second time in the event, he would need to beat Travis who was on a high after earning his first podium ever. In the first rally event of the year, the result was the same as the first time these two matched up on the day. Cooper needed only 2 turns and 3 laps to set a time that Travis couldn't better. In his attempt to try and catch Cooper, Travis used his last lap for purchase.

Cooper made the Grand Finals and earned at least one step higher on the podium than Q1, but he was going for the event win. The mountain was tall, as he would have to beat Hansen two times in a row to get that top step. On the city streets of Tokyo, the two titans faced off once again coming to grips with the circuit quickly. Cooper tried his best to force Hansen back into the seat for at least another turn, coming within 0.014 seconds of his best time, but couldn't find the pace to make it happen.

Cooper finishes the event in 2nd place and takes home $49 for his efforts. Coupled with his 3rd place in the Q1 2020 event, he takes the lead in the Driver's Championship with 17 pts. He will be determined to keep working his way up the podium and take home an event win in his own backyard at the Q3 2020 event.

Travis needed a very strong result after coming off his worst driving performance in the Gran Potato Cup at the Q1 2020 event. He was guaranteed a better result this time around because of the number of drivers in the field, but he was looking to shake up the Gran Potato Cup and it's established hierarchy. Things were going to plan after qualifying a personal best of 2nd. For this event, qualifying in this position meant Travis had an automatic bye into the Winner's Semifinals.

Only one win away from snatching his first podium ever in the Gran Potato Cup, Travis would have to take out Cooper Bright. They switched seats multiple times, and you could tell that Travis wanted this win badly. It got to the point where Travis was forced to use his extra laps for purchase and he decided to use two of the three. Even with all those opportunities, he couldn't get the better of Cooper and would have to work his way through the loser's bracket to get that elusive maiden podium.

The climb back up started in the Loser's Quarterfinals against Matt Johnson. Last event, Matt shocked the GP Cup community by placing a very impressive 2nd. Getting this match up win was going to be a tall task, and after coming off a disappointing loss, Travis would need to pick himself up quickly otherwise get knocked out of the event. Travis did not lose his desire to prove his skill to those that doubt him. Laser focused, Travis pulled a "Cooper" and in two turns was able to force Matt to use his last 2 extra laps for purchase and still not be able to clock a faster lap. Was this the moment that would propel Travis to greatness?

In the Loser's Semifinals, Travis took on Brian. The victor would earn a guaranteed podium position. This was exciting as both of these driver's have yet to step on the podium and get their first slice of the winnings. The tension was high as both of these driver's knew what was at stake. First in the seat, Travis set a very strong lap time. Brian then takes his first turn and lap after lap went by without any luck. For the second match up in a row, Travis forced his opponent to use their final 2 extra laps for purchase and still couldn't find a faster way around the track. For the first time in his career, Travis would have a podium in the GP Cup to add to the resume.

Travis was feeling good and driving even better. The knowledge that the Loser's Finals would be on a rally circuit and his track record on the dirt is pretty good, must have buoyed his spirit. The only problem was that he would have to exercise his demons and do something that he hasn't been able to do three times before. That problem? Beating Cooper. In almost a mirror of their first match up, Cooper set quick lap times the two times he was in the seat. Travis was having a difficult time keeping up and had to use his last extra lap for purchase. Unfortunately for Travis, he ran out of gas and laps to catch Cooper.

Travis will still feel like the trip to Liberty Lake was a memorable one and bounces back from a personal worst to a personal best finish of 3rd place. $20 in his pocket and more importantly 8 pts. to add to the driver's championship, Travis jumps from 10th in the standings to 6th place. If Travis can build off this result, then he will be in the hunt in both championships.

Brian comes into this event looking to build off his impressive Q1 performance. Chances were looking good as the field was small. That comforting fact was quickly popped when Brian qualified 5th. This was the same position he qualified at the last event which much have been a little upsetting seeing as how he was trying to do better this time around.

No worries for Brian though, it's not about where you start, but where you finish. The bad news with qualifying in the position he did, meant that he had to go up against Matt Johnson in the Winner's Quarterfinals. Matt put in a stunning performance at the last event and even though he had a tougher handicap going into this event, it was an intimidating first hurdle. Matt went first as the higher qualifier and put a good lap time down. Brian was unfazed in the '70 Dodge Challenger and put in a time that Matt couldn't beat in only his first turn in the seat. Matt was forced to use an extra lap for purchase to try and keep it going, but thought better of it to use another one once he still couldn't beat Brian's best lap.

Confidence was starting to build as Brian advanced to the Winner's Semifinals and one win away from earning his maiden podium. In this match up he went up against another teammate of The Baked Potatoes, this time Mike Hansen. Hansen was on a mission after his own disappointing performance in Q1. With almost ease, Hansen was able to wrangle in all the power of the Viper during is his first run. This time it was Brian chasing smoke as he decided to use an extra lap for purchase, but couldn't catch that lap time.

Now in the Loser's Quarterfinals, Brian went up against Preston Woods. This was one of the match ups of the day as it involved a lot of drama. For Brian, it was pretty straight forward, but not so much for Preston. Brian stepped into the cockpit as the higher qualifier and put in a respectable lap time. Preston got in and was so close to setting a new best time on multiple occasions. Preston had all three of his extra laps available, and used his first one. Preston almost sets a new best time and the crowd was really into it at this point in time. He decides to use his second one, and as he finishes the final corner and is on the start/finish straight, he was ahead but not by much! The pressure of the moment must have got to him as he forgets to up shift causing the ghost of Brian's best lap to pass Preston. The crowd was stunned and Preston used his last lap, but made too many mistakes to really pressure Brian.

Coming off that exciting victory, Brian went head to head against the last of The Baked Potatoes teammates at this event, Travis Roof. This was the Loser's Semifinals which meant that whoever won this race would make the podium; and because neither of these two have had that honor before, made it all the more sweeter. Travis was first and put in a very quick time right off the bat. Brian was quick but never really got on top of the Gr.4 Corvette. An unfortunate hardware malfunction of the pedals in the middle of his turn didn't help or add any confidence. Brian used his final 2 extra laps for purchase to try and catch Travis; but after his first one the pedals got so unreliable, that we had to take a 10-15 min. break to change them. This time might have cooled off Brian as he jumped back in for his last lap and wasn't on the pace.

At the end of the day, Brian held it down as the only representative from the John Muir Mountain Lions. He was probably expecting more, but can't be too upset with the result. With his second consecutive 4th place, Brian jumps into a tie for 3rd place in the driver's championship with 14 pts.!

The feelings were high coming into this event in the Johnson camp. To start the year, many expected Matt to be towards the bottom of the table. With his amazing 2nd place finish at the Q1 2020 event, he came into this event with the biggest change in handicap. It definitely made a difference, but the good times kept rolling as he qualified a personal best 4th.

In his Winner's Quarterfinals match up he would look to continue his good run of form against Brian Ackerson. Brian had different plans though as he took care of business in two laps. Matt used one of his extra laps for purchase to try and keep the battle going, but it wasn't enough. He saved his remaining two for a rainy day. The good thing about getting knocked down into the loser's bracket this early meant that Matt got two byes before his next encounter because of the low number of drivers. With four laps of free practice in progressively quicker cars, Matt was hoping to turn the tides and catch fire.

His target this time was one of his Baked Potatoes teammate, Travis Roof. It never is good to have to see a teammate get knocked out of the event by your own hands, but not as worse as getting knocked out yourself. With that in mind Matt was looking to tame the Mustang before his opponent. Things were looking good as he forced Travis back into the seat. Progress. Travis was not having any of it though as he set a new fastest lap on his first try during his second turn. This meant Matt was quickly back in the seat and was having a hard time coming to grips with the new time Travis set. Matt used his final two extra laps for purchase because you can't take them with you, but it just wasn't enough.

The handicap definitely made things more challenging for Matt, but it felt like he never got out of first gear and gain momentum like he did in the last event. Still a 5th place finish means that Matt maintains second place in the driver's championship and positions himself nicely for the homestretch of the season.

Preston and Chelsea played the gracious hosts for the Q2 2020 event. This was only the third different location to host an official Gran Potato Cup event and the first new one since Q3 2018. Leading up to the event, Preston was his jovial joking self, but when the lights came on, he was ready to duke it out with anyone and prove his Q1 performance was just the beginning of a new and improved driver. Unfortunately, Preston got off to a slow start by qualifying in last place (6th). Maybe it was because he didn't just drive 300 miles to travel to an event, but things were not clicking. With this qualifying position, he had the unlucky (some would call lucky) extra "match up" in the Winner's Round 1 which was basically free practice on the same track in the same car as qualifying. The trouble was that Preston set a lap time slower than his qualifying time...Things were going backwards.

In his Winner's Quarterfinals match up, he squared up against his Burnout teammate, Cooper Bright. On the twisty bits of the Suzuka Circuit, Cooper put in a very quick lap time during his first turn. Preston struggled at first, but was looking like he was starting to pick things up again. Still he wasn't able to set a quicker time in his first four laps and made the decision to save all of his extra laps for purchase for when he really needed them. Now in the loser's bracket Preston once again had a bye, which meant more free practice. Preston once again struggled with this free practice time and couldn't feel confident going into his next battle.

In the Loser's Quarterfinals, Preston would look to turn things around against Brian Ackerson. Brian was first in the chair and set a decent time, Preston then hopped into the cockpit. During this turn lap after lap Preston would have good speed in different parts of the track, but would make enough mistakes that he couldn't quite put it all together to beat Brian. Preston used his first extra lap for purchase and was close as he was all match up. He burned another extra lap for purchase and was in the lead as he rounded the corner and was on the start/finish straight. A minor lapse of focus meant that Preston missed an up shift and Brian's best time stood. This was a massive blow as the whole crowd was hyped at this point. With his final extra lap for purchase used, he never got close enough to really make Brian sweat and conceded defeat.

Preston finishes the event where he started it, in last place. With home field advantage, you could tell Preston was disappointed with the result even though it was still a 6th place. It's back to the drawing board of how he can regain some of the magic he showed at the beginning of the year, and prove that he is moving closer to the midfield and up the table.