20th Reedy Race underway at OCRC
The 20th running of the World famous offroad Reedy Race of Champions has gotten underway at OCRC Raceway in Huntington Beach, California with drivers getting their first taste of the track with a round of 2WD and 4WD practice. Overall the feedback on the track from drivers is a positive one the majority agreeing while not the most technical of layouts it should produce good racing for the heads up racing format which the Reedy Race is all about. 2WD World Champion Jared Tebo however was one driver not so complimentary describing the track as ‘not good at all’ adding it was ‘way too easy’. In terms of times on the freshly laid track it was Team Losi Racing’s Dustin Evans who set the pace in 2WD with a 20.373 second lap while in 4WD Absolute Hobbyz driver Barry Baker topped the times with a 18.991 lap.
Winner of the title in 2011, Evans said both his cars were ‘awesome’ going on to describe his 2WD as ‘incredible’. Commenting on the track he said compared to how it is to look at it actually turned out to be a lot more fun to drive. Team-mate Dakotah Phend said his buggies felt good once the tyres came in but his 4WD run lasted only 2-minutes after a heavy impact with another car broke a front corner off his TLR22-4.
Second fastest in 2WD Maifield said his Centro converted B4.2 was ‘really good’ while his B44.2 was ‘decent’. Planning to leave his 2WD as is for the second of today’s three rounds of practice, the Arizona driver will instead just let the controlled JConcepts Barcodes, Silver compound on the rear and Gold on the front, break-in further. Posting the 8th fastest time in 4WD, Proline’s ION in MC compound the controlled tyre of this class, he will change his front shock setting to fine tune the set-up. Describing the track as ‘not overly complicated’, the World Championship Podium finisher said the track has one or two good spots for overtaking but also has a few other sections were you can be slowed if you get stuck behind any driver but the combination should make for ‘interesting racing’.
Defending champion Ryan Cavalieri, who was 5th fastest in 2WD, was happy with his morning saying it was a ‘really good start’. The most successful driver in the history of the Reedy Race, winning the title 3 times, he said it took about a minute for his tyres to come in but after that he was happy with the feeling of his B4.2 and his B44.2. A driver who does the majority of his testing here, he said the layout makes for a much quicker pace than he is used to but for now he will just leave both his buggies as they are and wait for the track to come in.
Heading the European challenge in the 30 driver invitational class, an open class which use the more regular heats & finals format also running as part of the event, is Team Durango’s Joern Neumann. Champion in 2012, the first European to ever win the title, the German said his DEX210 was a little loose but talking to other drivers after the run he said that should be ok for the next one once the tyres come in. Describing his 4WD DEX410 as being ‘good as always’ for the next run he will just up the power of his Orion electrics.
Fourth fastest in 2WD behind HB/HPI driver Ty Tessman, Tebo said his RB6 had low forward grip but the balance felt good. With the fresh track and new tyres a contributing factor, he said he will make just a minor set-up change for his next outing. Running a prototype 4WD, he said the car was very good and he plans to run it the same for its second run.
Posting the 4th fastest time in 4WD, World Champion Steven Hartson, who lives just down the road from the track, said his Associated B44.2 was ‘good off the start’. In 2WD he said the run started off with his Centro converted B4.2 sliding around a bit but he said that was down to the fresh track. Sponsored by OCRC, he said the track layout they run here is normally more difficult and while the new layout has a good flow he thinks with the number of 180 degree corners it could detract from the racing.
Making his dirt racing debut for new team Yokomo, having made his race debut with them at last weekends Euro Offroad Series round in Berlin, Lee Martin took his 4WD to the 3rd fastest time. The British driver said his B-Max 4 was a little hard to drive and so he will change to a softer shock set-up. With his 2WD, he said it suffered from understeer and while not fully up to speed with the car yet on proper dirt he said he will adjust his front shocks.
Fastest in 4WD, Baker said while its only the first practice he was happy to be on the pace. Having recently signed back to run Reedy products in his cars, he said both cars are good and he expects his 2WD to improve as the tyres break in. Another driver who is local to OCRC he said while the track is ‘less technical’ it should make for ‘awesome racing’.
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