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More controversy in the first battle of the Great 8 as Fredric Aasbo led first and Vaughn Gittin, Jr gave chase. Into turn 10a, Vaughn's car suddenly straightened out and literally ran over the front of Aasbo's car, putting Vaughn on to two wheels and passing Aasbo! Even though that occurred, both drivers continued on the course as if nothing had happened. This stunned the judges, the announcers, and even the fans! Aasbo was given time to fix his car as it was judged that it was Vaughn's mistake that lead to the severe damage to the Hankook tC.
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| So, how do you know that your Mustang wants to become a Raptor? When it decides to climb over a tC! Sudden grip just before 10a caused Vaughn Gittin, Jr. to nearly jump over Fredric Aasbo. Photo by Dan Jenkins of Fueled Culture |
Once the repairs were done, Aasbo took a follow run with the advantage since the Nitto Tire/Monster Energy Mustang was judged a zero run. During his follow run Aasbo straightened out after 10b when he broke third gear. This called for a One More Time. While both drivers pulled off great follow runs with Aasbo keeping up with Vaughn despite the broke car, the judges favored the Nitto Tire/Monster Energy Ford Mustang RTR of Vaughn Gittin, Jr.
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| The damage was done and Vaughn Gittin would move on to the Final Four! Photo by Dan Jenkins of Fueled Culture |
Kyle Mohan in the Mazdatrix/Nexen Tire Mazda RX-8 faced off against the Achilles Radial SC430 of Daigo Saito. A correction on his follow run put Mohan at a disadvantage against Daigo. Then, while Mohan was leading he hit the inside clip at the end of the horseshoe giving Daigo Saito his entry into the Final Four.
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| Daigo Saito is victorious against Kyle Mohan. Photo by Dan Jenkins of Fueled Culture |
Mike Essa in the GSR Autosport BMW M3 used extreme angle on the Fatlace Nissan 240SX of Matt Powers. Matt would go off course on his follow run and give the advantage to Essa. Matt's lead run wasn't enough to overcome his zero, despite the stalled drift by Mike Essa on his follow run. Essa was in the Final Four.
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| Matt Powers would throw the win away against Mike Essa with a spin. Photo by Narisa Masermsin of MotoIQ.com |
Darren MacNamara and Ryan Tuerck would try to put the period on the Great 8. It wouldn't be much of a period as Ryan Tuerck would take himself out after going off course and doing enough to break his car. That meant that Darren MacNamara would move onto the Final Four!
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| Ryan threw his Final Four chances away by going off course and breaking his car. Photo by Dan Jenkins of Fueled Culture |
