Schoettler tops 1st JConcepts qualifier

Having topped timed practice yesterday at the JConcepts Spring Indoor Nationals in Washington State, local ace Michael Schoettler backed it up with a TQ run in the opening round of 2WD Buggy qualifying at Tacoma RC Raceway.  The Associated driver dominated the round running a time almost 5-seconds quicker than fellow local Luke Smith.  Winner of the opening race of the series in St.Louis Tanner Denney was the best of the visitors the Associated team driver opening qualifying with 3rd for the round.

Pleased with his TQ run which proved very popular with onlookers, Schoettler said the run was the best his B5M has been all week.  Raising the rear inside ball set and switching to a softer front spring, to get the buggy to stay more on its nose rather than collapse on the rear, the 18-year-old said the two changes worked perfectly and he was very happy with the run.  Posting the fastest lap of the round with a 14.905, he will leave the car as is for Q2.  Running JConcepts Dirt Web tyres fitted with the company’s new closed cell foam insert he will also continue with the same set of tyres.

Switching from AKA Typo to their new Deja Vu tyres, Smith said his B5M was ‘a lot better than practice’.  With this in mind, for Q2 the 20-year-old plans to run a fresh set of Deja Vu tyres so to have a second set broken in for the rest of the event.  In terms of his chassis set-up he said with the car working well he will leave everything as is for now.

‘Better than yesterday but wouldn’t say magical’ was how Denney summed up his opening qualifier.  The 18-year-old says he is still lacking steering despite some changes made after last nights timed practice to make the rear end more loose. Not sure exactly what he will change he said he will focus now on making a change to the front end of his Reedy powered B5M.

Setting the fourth fastest time was JC Johnson.  Driving his TLR22, the local racer said his aim for the round was ‘just not to wreck’ and overall it was ‘a good safe run’.  Happy with his AKA Typo equipped buggy he plans to run it as is for Q2 and just drive a little harder.

The second fastest of the visitors, Steven Hartson took his LRP powered Associated to the 5th fastest time after he ‘crashed a few times’.  The 4WD World Champion said he was a little off the pace, lacking consistency.  Able to do ‘a couple of fast laps but not every lap’ he felt he overdrove a little and for Q2 his plans is to ‘slow it down a little’.  In terms of his B5M he said he is happy with how its working and he has no plans to change anything for the moment.

Driving a Kyosho RB6, Ryan Matesa described his opening qualifier to the sixth fastest time as ‘bad’.  The 18-year-old felt he drove too conservatively adding that he was also a little put off by his position on the drivers stand.  Happy that his car is good he said for his next run he will try to get a better spot on the stand and push harder.

Posting the 7th fastest time Xray’s Tyler Vik also felt he drove too conservatively.  Running in the lowest heat after missing the seeding run feeling a good nights sleep, after getting up a 4am to catch his flight to Seattle, would be better than any set-up changes, he said he had nothing to gauge himself against in the five car heat.  For Q2 his plan is to push harder after which a reseed of the heats should see him better positioned for Q3 & 4.

Team Losi Racing’s JR Mitch completed the Top 8.  Making a shock set-up change ahead of the heat which he just got done in time, Mitch said he didn’t get time to work on his TLR22’s slipper and it was too loose for the qualifier.  Having to drive wide lines to make the bigger jumps he lost time but the shock changes made the car a lot better with it not rolling as much and having much more side grip from the JConcepts’ Dirt Web tyres.  For Q2 he said with a proper slipper setting he should be able to make a big improvement over Q1.

2WD Mod Buggy Qualifying Round 1
1. Michael Schoettler – Associated – 20/5:04.634
2. Luke Smith – Associated – 20/5:09.510
3. Tanner Denney – Associated – 20/5:11.057
4. JC Johnson – TLR – 20/5:12.247
5. Steven Hartson – Associated – 20/5:13.948
6. Ryan Matesa – Kyosho – 19/5:00.028
7. Tyler Vik – Xray – 19/5:00.462
8. JR Mitch – TLR – 19/5:01.249
9. Mike Brown – Schumacher – 19/5:04.798
10.Chris Gould – X-Factory – 19/5:05.943

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