Maifield takes Q2 in 1:8 Buggy
Having lost out on a potential TQ run in the opening round of qualifying for 1:8 Buggy due to a problem with traffic on his final lap, Associated’s Ryan Maifield set the record straight in Q2 topping the time sheets with a new fastest 5-minute run at the sixth annual JConcepts Clash. Ending the day as provisional Top Qualifier at the Mississippi event, it was a successful day for last year’s champion as he also holds the honour in 2WD Buggy and 2WD Short Course setting himself on course for a successful hat trick defense of his titles. Top Qualifier in Q1, Dustin Evans finished 2nd in the second 1:8 Buggy qualifier 8-seconds adrift of Maifield after the TLR driver suffered with a clutch problem in the evening run.
Making a number of small tweaks to his LRP powered RC8.2 and switching from blue to green compound JConcepts Hybrids, Maifield said the buggy was a little better than the morning run although he had a problem getting full steering. With his buggy featuring a new prototype front end which is part of the team’s preparations for the World Championships, Maifield is hoping to find the problem when he freshens up the buggy for Day 2 of qualifying.
Losing 4-seconds on his second lap following a driver error, Evans said his Orion powered 8ight was difficult to drive due to a sticking clutch which caused the buggy to run on in the corners. Despite the issue he was still able to post the fastest lap of the round with a 21.205 on his last lap which was over 2/10ths quicker than Maifield’s best around the Flowood Indoor RC Park track. Also managing a faster lap than Maifield by just 1/1000th of a second, TLR team-mate JR Mitch said he found a better tune on his Orion engine which gave much better mileage. Managing to keep his tyres glued to the rims in Q2 the veteran offroad racers had to contend with the driver next to him ‘flipping out’ at the start of the run which he said was a huge distraction but when that driver called it a day he said he was happy with how his 8ight worked having decided not to switch to blue Hybrids and instead stick with Green compound using a set Evans had glued up!
Having had problems with traffic in Q1, JConcepts Clash regular Jason Smith set the fourth fastest time just 4/10th adrift of Mitch. His fifth time to contest the Clash, missing only the second running of the event in 2008, the North Carolina driver said his Novarossi powered 8ight is working really well but more needs to come from the driver. Like the three drivers ahead of him he also ran Hybrids and plans to stick with the same chassis & tyre set-up for tomorrow’s penultimate qualifier.
In the 1:8 Electric Buggy class Brent Thielke produced a second TQ run of the day taking Q2 1.7 seconds ahead of the similar RC8.2e of Max Flurer. In 4WD Short Course, Flurer TQ’d the opening round but it is Matthew Olson who holds the overnight TQ honours after he ran a new fastest time in Q2.
View the overall results at the end of round 2 of 4 here.
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