Tessmann fastest in Q2
Team HB’s Ty Tessmann upped the pace in the second round of qualifying which brought Day 4 of the 1:8 Offroad Championships to a close in Argentina. The Canadian bettered Robert Batlle’s morning time by 1.3 seconds to top the Q2 time sheets ahead of Kyosho’s Jared Tebo with Batlle’s Mugen posting the third fastest in the hotter afternoon run.
Having made a mistake in Q1 which left him with the fifth fastest time, Tessmann said the second run was crash free. Switching to the X2 compound of Proline’s Bowtie tyre he said these suited the hotter conditions better. Happy with the run he said they ran shock oil that may have been a little too soft for the run and so if the track stays dry for tomorrow the US National Champion believes he can probably better the time. Team-mate Atsushi Hara said they may have got a little lost when choosing their set-up for the warmer conditions of Q2 which compared with the overcast morning run was held in much sunnier conditions. The 2008 World Champion & 2010 Runner-up said ultimately it was his driving that was the problem as he made too many mistakes claiming only the 19th fastest time.
Another driver that lost time in Q1 due to mistakes, Tebo was very happy with his second qualifier, the American saying he ‘kept it clean this time’. Running AKA Impact tyres on his Orion powered MP9 the Top Qualifier at the 2010 Worlds in Pattaya, said his buggy felt really good and everything worked really well and he declared himself ‘ready for tomorrow’. Kyosho/Orion team-mate & defending World Champion Cody King also had a better second qualifier as he managed to set the 8th fastest time. Running Proline’s X2 Blockade he said small adjustments to the set-up made the buggy a lot better but the big improvement came from his driving. Planning to switch to the Bowtie tyre, which Tessmann used to good effect, for tomorrow’s Q3 King said he will also try Kyosho’s new hub weights which he said should help the buggy to settle a little better and reduce the aggressiveness of the steering.
Overall the second qualifier was a good round for Kyosho with the company to hold the most 1:8 Offroad World titles getting five cars in the Top 12. FEMCA Champion & star of 2010 when he made his Worlds debut, 16-year-old Kyle McBride took his OS Speed powered MP9 to the sixth fastest time ahead of Jerome Aigoin while Warm-up Race Top Qualifier David Ronnefalk who had a difficult Q1 set the 9th quickest run. McBride, who didn’t attend the Warm-up race, said he got his tyre choice the wrong way round today running Proline Calibers in Q1 and Blockades in Q2. Starting the event with a set-up Kyosho came with after the Warm-up the Australian said he is now back at a very similar set-up to that he runs back home and he is confident of a better day tomorrow. Elliot Boots, who was the best placed Kyosho in Q1 with 4th, had a terrible second run, the British Champion saying he similarly made a wrong tyre choice using too soft a compound of the AKA Moto which caused his buggy to be very edgy.
Winner of the Warm-Up race at the end of September, Batlle described his second run as ‘OK’. Declaring himself happy to back up his Q1 TQ run with the third fastest time he said the rear end of his Novarossi powered MBX7 felt a touch too soft and for Q3 he plans to run a harder spring. Just behind the Spaniard was his Mugen team-mate Lee Martin, the British driver improving his Q1 time by 1.5 seconds.
After a disappointing Q1, Team Associated’s Yannick Aigoin put in a strong 10-minutes in Q2 to set the fourth fastest time. Team-mate Ryan Maifield once again completed the Top 10 despite one crash that required his LRP powered RC8 to be marshalled. Comfortable to drive the American is looking to get more speed from the buggy and following his run he promptly returned to his hotel to start rebuilding for tomorrow and to consider what set-up changes to make.
Having set the second fastest time in the opening heat, TLR’s young star Dakotah Phend made a wrong tyre choice for his second run, the Proline Bowtie rubber being to soft a compound for the conditions. Adam Drake would be the fastest 8ight in Q2, the American nitro offroad legend setting posting the 10th quickest time.
Having set the third fastest time in Q1, Team Xray’s Martin Bayer said his set-up just didn’t suit the hotter conditions with the Czech driver only able for the 12th fastest time. Team-mate Renaud Savoya had a difficult second qualifier. The French ace had a ‘big crash’ which he said cost him a lot of time and during his fuel stop he suffered a flame out. With his RB engine running fine in Q1, Savoya said they are having problems with it cutting out once the conditions get hot and have tried different pipes and a different fuel but he is not sure what is causing the problem. Having not been happy with his tyre inserts in Q1, Savoya tried a different type in Q2 but said they were ‘not good’.
With rain imminent the decision was made following today’s qualifying to revise the timetable for tomorrow with the start time brought forward to 08:30 local time so that 3 rounds of qualifying can be run rather than the 2 originally planned.
Round 2 Qualifying Top 12
1. Ty Tessmann – HB/OS Speed – 14/10:36.255
2. Jared Tebo – Kyosho/Orion – 14/10:38.130
3. Robert Batlle – Mugen/Novarossi – 14/10:41.999
4. Lee Martin – Mugen/Novarossi – 14/10:43.532
5. Yannick Aigoin – Associated/nVision – 14/10:44.068
6. Kyle McBride – Kyosho/OS – 14/10:44.150
7. Jerome Aigoin – Kyosho/Novarossi – 14/10:45.483
8. Cody King – Kyosho/Orion – 13/10:01.388
9. David Ronnefalk – Kyosho/Orion – 13/10:01.418
10.Ryan Maifield – Associated/LRP – 13/10:02.747
11.Adam Drake – TLR/Novarossi – 13/10:02.776
12.Martin Bayer – Xray/LRP – 13/10:03.170
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