K1 Speed Canada’s new competition, the Challenger Series, gives racers wheel to wheel competition they’re looking for over the winter season. Daniel Demaras has signed up as one of 16 competitors to take part in the 16 man elimination tournament, scheduled for Thursday, January 31, 2019.
ROUND 1
The tournament begins with a total of 16 drivers. These drivers are randomly divided into two groups of eight (Group A and Group B) for the first round of competition. The 8 drivers in Group A will hit the track for a 14-lap time-trial heat. Every second lap (ie: lap 2, lap 4, lap 6, lap 8, etc…) will be an “Elimination Lap” whereby the racer with the slowest lap time in that interval will be eliminated from competition in that heat. At the end of 14 laps, 7 drivers will be eliminated, leaving 1 driver as the Last Man Standing. Racers are then awarded points based on the position that they were eliminated at (ie: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10–ranked in order of first eliminated to Last Man Standing). This process is repeated again for a second 14-lap heat with the same elimination rules and scoring system applied. Points earned for each racer from both heats will be added together to get a total score. The 4 racers with the best combined score will advance to Round 2. In the event of a tie in points between any of the racers, single best lap time will be the tie-breaker. This same process will take place for Group B, leaving 8 racers to advance to Round 2.
ROUND 2
This round will begin with 8 racers (Top 4 from Group A and Top 4 from Group B). All 8 racers will hit the track for two 14-lap time trial heats similar to Round 1. The same elimination format and scoring system will apply to this round. At the end of Round 2, the Top 4 racers with the best combined score will advance to Round 3
ROUND 3
The Semi-Finals consists of the Top 4 drivers competing against one another in two 7-lap time trial heats with a similar elimination format from the first two rounds. Scoring for this round will follow this point format: 3, 5, 7, 10–ranked in order of first eliminated to Last Man Standing. At the end of this round, two drivers will remain!
ROUND 4
The Final Eliminator! The Top 2 fastest and most consistent drivers going head-to-head in a single 7-lap time trial heat. This time, no points awarded, no second chances. Each lap counts, and the driver that posts the most top lap times after 7 laps will be The Last Man Standing, and the Eliminator Tournament Champion!
K1 Speed is providing racers with a chance to compete in new and interesting ways. This isn’t the same format as the previous K1NG of Speed tournament, but rather, quite similar to the elimination-style qualifying format Formula 1 introduced in 2016. Very Exciting!
