Matsukura & Cavalieri set pace at Cactus Classic
Naoto Matsukura and Ryan Cavalieri set the pace in the opening controlled practice at the Proline Cactus Classis at SRS Raceway in Scottsdale, Arizona, with the Japanese ace fastest over 3-consecutive laps in 2WD Buggy while World Champion Cavalieri topped 4WD. America’s longest running race and one of the most prestigious events on the international 1:10 Offroad racing calendar, the 27th running has attracted a massive 490 entries, a 16% increase on last year, meaning a total of 51 heats with today’s opening day made up of 2 controlled practice runs which will determine heats for tomorrow’s first day of qualifying.
The big talking point of this year’s event has been the sugaring of the track. Using a lawn seeder to cover the track with dry sugar and afterwards water the white track, the result is what most drivers have described as ‘crazy traction. Yokomo team manager Robert Itoh gave a good description of track surface when he said it was like a ‘creme brulee’ but the high grip & fast layout is a hit with his young driver. Over 3/10ths of a second faster than Kyosho’s Jared Tebo, who was second fastest in 2WD, Matsukura said he really likes the unusually high traction. Running his B-Max2 MR in mid motor configuration he said his buggy, which is running on Losi BK Bar Red compound tyres on the rear and silver Taper Pins on the front, feels really good. For the second practice he said he doesn’t plan to make any changes but with the run set to take place at night, each round of heats taking 6 hours to run, he may have to change his shock oil to suit the cooler conditions. Setting the 5th fastest time in 4WD Buggy, the 19-year-old said while the B-Max 4 was easy to drive it suffered a little under steer and for CP2 he will go down in the shock oils feeling a softer buggy would work better.
Runner-up to his Associated team-mate Ryan Maifield last year in both buggy classes last year, Cavalieri said he was happy with how his B44.2 ran. Having dropped the profile settings on his Orion speedo due to the very hot conditions at the time of his first 4WD practice, he said it was a little awkward to drive at the beginning but once he found his rhythm everything felt good. Running AKA Handlebar tyres all round on his Orion powered B44.2 he said he planned to stick with everything the same for tonight’s run. Asked about the track layout and grip, the reigning US National Champion said ‘maybe the layout is a little too quick’ and while the grip is good it is leading to ‘ridiculous tyre wear’. In 2WD, Cavalieri set the 6th fastest time. Starting the run with Handlebar tyres all round switched to a Losi Taper bar in silver on the front which made his B4.2 easier to drive.
Setting the 5th fastest time in 2WD and 6th fastest in 4WD, defending champion Maifield said all was good and that his 2WD time was better than expected considering everyone ahead of him was running a mid motor configuration, an option that is not available to the Associated drivers. Running JConcepts Barcode tyres in Orange compound all round on his Reedy powered B4.2, he said due to the rear motor position he can’t run as fast a laps as the mid motor buggies but his buggy is very consistent and this is what is going to count most over the full 5-minutes of the qualifiers. Living just 10-minutes away from the Hobby Town owned track, Maifield should know the track better than most but says the sugaring of the track is something new and has made it a level playing field for everyone. Having sugar treated the old track and had the opportunity to run on that he said since building the new track and adding the sugar the traction is ‘just crazy’. Commenting on his 4WD, he said overall it was decent but for CP2 he plans to try a different tyre along with freshening up his shocks. Also the defending champion of 2WD Short Course, Maifield topped the times sheets ahead of Ryan Lutz, who was fastest in 4WD Short Course from TLR’s Billy Fischer. In Mod Truck the Arizona driver was also the driver to beat setting the quickest time ahead of team-mate Cavalieri who is the class’s defending champion.
Relishing the high traction, Tebo said overall he was pleased with his RB6 but trying a different foam insert to what he ran in yesterday’s free practice he will revert back for CP2. Running AKA Handlebar tyres in hard compound on the front and medium on the rear he said he will stick with that combo but in addition to the foam change he will also run a harder rear spring to account for today’s higher traction. In 4WD, the former World Champion was only 11th fastest again having also changed foam inserts for CP1. Planning to go back to what he ran last night he is confident he will be able to improve in CP2.
Scoring a podium double here 12 months ago, Team Losi Racing’s Dakotah Phend set the third fastest time in both 2WD and 4WD Buggy in the first controlled practice. Running Proline’s Ion front tyre and Suburbs on the rear, the teenager said his TLR22 felt really good but even with it set in mid motor configuration the high traction caused a few moments when it wanted to roll over. Planning to stick with the same set-up for CP2 he said his aim is just to work on improving his driving. Describing his 4WD as a ‘little tippy’, he said he will change his shock oil for the next outing. Team-mate Dustin Evans set the fifth fastest time in 2WD. Running JConcepts Barcodes (V2 on the rear) in orange compound the former US National Champion said the track was easy to get around but one needed to be very disciplined to go fast due to the traction and high speed layout. Working more towards his 5-minute pace rather than outright pace the Colorado driver said he is very confident he has a good set-up for qualifying. Unfortunately in 4WD he broke before he got up to speed ending up only 16th fastest.
Top European in the first practice was Joern Neumann. Fresh from his double win at the Euro Offroad Series in Austria last weekend, the German set the second fastest time in 4WD Buggy but had steering issues in 2WD. Used to racing on high traction tracks with most European indoor racing run on carpet, the Team Durango driver said the grip here is different and more edgy to drive on. Running JConcepts Barcodes all round the European Champion said his Speed Passion powered DEX410 was good but could have done with a little more rear side bit. In 2WD Neumann said he couldn’t get three lap together before suffering a broken motor rotor.
Fellow European Lee Martin took his updated kit version Tamiya TRF511 to the 4th fastest time. Just back from racing in Hong Kong last week, the British driver said he lacked power and having run a 7 turn motor will switch to a 6 turn for CP2 as the high traction is draining the power. Running Proline Scrubs fronts and Suburb rears with two stage foam, he said the sugaring of the track evens out the playing field especially for the Europeans and Matsukura. 7th fastest in 2WD he will change his set-up so as to give himself more on-power steering.
View the event image gallery here.