Potter and Guggenheim win VX One North Americans

The fifth VX One North American Championship was held September 23-25, with 22 teams from throughout the continent and Chile traveling for the 9-race series in Holland, MI.

After John Potter and David Guggenheim jumped into the lead with three straight bullets, the South Caroline team stumbled mid-series before regaining composure to take the title.

Racing took place along the eastern short of Lake Michigan with full hiking upwind and fast planning offwind.

Day one had winds growing from 9 to 12 knots, and after four races, Potter/ Guggenheim led the fleet with 3 wins and a 8th, followed by the team of Sam Padnos/Grant Goman/Charlie Sligh with a 4-4-2-2 and the team of Tim Pitts/Joe Ferra with 2-2-11-1.

Day two had winds starting at 13 knots and diminishing to 10 knots. Three more races were completed with the team of Emily Billing/Matt Haddon/Justin Howard winning the day with 1-1-3, followed by Sam Padnos/Grant Goman/ Charlie Sligh and Phillip Norris/Anthony Norris/Eden Nykamp which alternated a very consistent 2-5-6.

On day three, with two more races required to complete the series, five teams were in contention for the title. As winds averaged 12 knot, the final day was won by former NA champion Christopher Alexander/ Brad Winslett with a 1-3, followed by Phillip Norris/Anthony Norris/ Eden Nykamp with a 4-2 and Potter/ Guggenheim with a 2-5.

With racing completed John Potter/David Guggenheim were crowned North American Champions with Sam Padnos/Grant Goman/Charlie Sligh finishing second and Phillip Norris/Anthony Norris/ Eden Nykamp finishing Third.

Final Results (Top 10 of 22; 9 races, 1 discard)
1. VX1, John Potter , USA – 1 -1 -1 -8 -[14] -3 -2 -2 -5 ; 23
2. TWD, Sam Padnos , USA – 4 -4 -2 -2 -5 -2 -[6] -5 -4 ; 28
3. Flash Rider, Phillip Norris , USA – 3 -5 -[6] -3 -2 -6 -5 -4 -2 ; 30
4. Cruzan Rhode , Timothy Pitts / Joe Ferra , USA – 2 -2 -[11] -1 -8 -9 -1 -3 -6 ; 32
5. Jailbird, Emily Billing , USA – 9 -[11] -7 -4 -1 -1 -3 -7 -1 ; 33
6. Isabelita Con Queso, Christopher Alexander , USA – 6 -7 -8 -5 -3 -7 -[10] -1 -3 ; 40
7. Kill Bill, William Griffin , USA – 11 -3 -3 -6 -4 -11 -11 -10 -[14] ; 59
8. merga, Drew Wierda , United States – 8 -6 -4 -[23] -6 -10 -9 -13 -8 ; 64
9. Angry Baboon, Rod Favela , USA – 5 -[12] -5 -12 -7 -8 -8 -11 -9 ; 65
10. This Side Down, Jeff Eiber , USA – 7 -[14] -13 -7 -10 -14 -4 -6 -7 ; 68

Event details – Scoreboard