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As I mentioned, there was trouble brewing in the judges’ tower. Chris Forsberg, with money and paperwork in hand, filed protest against the judges' decision as he felt that he did not go off course. This was announced and reviewed just before Robbie Nishida and Mike Essa were to fight for their spot into the finals. This could have meant that Mike Essa didn’t really win and that he would have to give up his spot in the final four if the judges were wrong.
Everyone waited patiently as the judges viewed the replays of Mike Essa and Chris Forsberg’s runs. The first viewing angle was inconclusive and it looked like Chris’ argument was valid. A second angle was called upon and found, in that angle the cone was clearly seen as being hit by Chris Forsberg. The judges said “Thank you for the tip, see you next round, Chris!” Mike Essa was now clear to fight it out against Robbie Nishida.
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First, let me start out by saying that Mike Essa won this battle against Robbie Nishida. I wish I could say how, but I can’t. I wasn’t there in person and I have to depend on the Driftstream to watch this event. At the very start of this round, the Driftstream went down for everyone. It wasn’t our network, it wasn’t the connection, the stream itself went down.
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I wish I could say “Mike Essa drove the greatest line in Formula Drift,” but I can’t. I would like to be able to tell you that Robbie went off or not, but I can’t. All I can tell you is that Mike Essa won. That’s it. Sorry.
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| What I didn't miss, though, was the hit heard around the world. With a mistake in Vaughn's lead run and mistakes in Daigo's lead run, a One More Time was required to see who would make it into the finals. In that OMT, it would be Vaughn Gittin, Jr. hitting another car, but this time he didn't climb over Saito's car and instead would end up destroying the fiberglass door of Saito's SC430. |
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| What bothered the fans at the Driftstream viewing party wasn't the first hit while both drivers entered into the final front clip. It was the hit after where Vaughn tried to keep going. This not only caused additional damage against Daigo's car, but on Vaughn's car as well. At first, the Monster Energy/Nitto Tire crew called for a Competition Time Out. However, it was soon apparent that Vaughn's car was done and could not be repaired. They forfeited the round and Daigo would face Mike Essa for the overall win. |
