Cavalieri, Matsukura & Volker win opening RROC encounters
The opening round of racing at the Reedy Race of Champions produced pretty straight forward wins for Ryan Cavalieri, Naoto Matsukura and Ronald Volker, with only World Champion Matsukura forced to work for his win. Starting the opening race of the 19th running of the iconic event from 3rd on the grid, early patience from Cavalieri would pay with mistakes from pole sitter Rick Hohwart and early leader Eric Albano on the same lap handed the Associated driver the lead. Hohwart would get second followed by Reedy Race debutant Viljami Kutvonen who came through from 6th on the grid. Race 2 would prove to be the most entertaining of the 3 as a recovering Chrstopher Krapp put in a huge charge in the final minute to catch his Tamiya team-mate Matsukura who probably wouldn’t have held off the German had the race gone an extra lap. Having started on pole Andrew Hardman would complete the Top 3. The most heavily loaded of the races, Race 3 would see reigning champion Marc Rheinard and Volker go head to head. Volker had the advantage of starting from pole and dominated the race while contact at the start from P4 left Rheinard at the back. The Tamiya driver would recover to take a distant 2nd with team-mate Akio Sobue 3rd.
Commenting on the first of the 12 races that make up the Reedy Race, 10 counting for the final standings, Cavalieri said, ‘it was actually really good’. The reigning US National Touring Car Champion, a title the Cali driver won at Tamiya Raceway, the Offroad star said despite the track being ‘looser’ his TC7 had ‘good steering and overall feeling’. On the race action, the multiple Offroad Reedy Race Champion said, ‘I was just being patient behind Rick. He got a bit out of shape and I got through and then on the same lap Albano made a mistake so I went from 3rd to first in one lap ‘.
‘Good start’ was how Matsukura summed up his opening race but the Japanese driver added his car was ‘super difficult to drive’. With ‘super traction at the start’, he said towards the end his TRF419 was ‘loose and pushing’. Running an aluminium chassis when all his team-mates are using carbon, he said ‘on this type of track I prefer carbon but its my mechanic’s decision to run alu so we will try a different set-up for Round 2 to try improve it’. Providing the main entertainment of Round 1, Krapp said, ‘for the first one I will take 2nd’. Star of the event last year on his RROC debut, the German who started 6th would get caught up in an error by Felix Law on the opening lap. Making his way back through the field he said he was ‘surprised (he) reeled in Naoto so fast’ so he ‘pushed like crazy but needed one more lap’.
Champion in 2014 when the Mike Reedy created race returned to the popular Tamiya Raceway track in 2014, Volker said they were ‘difficult track conditions’ adding ‘but I expected that due to the 9am start as there was no sun and the track was sugar watered this morning’. Starting on pole with team-mate and 2015 podium finisher Meen Vejrak alongside the ETS Champion said ‘I knew I had to win the first and after 2 corners I was out front and just kept it going to the finish’. With Vejrak retiring Volker was ‘disappointed for Meen as we had a chance of a 1-2’. Admitting Rheinard’s first lap drama made things easier he said the win was a good start but added ‘there is a long way to go’. Commenting on his recovery to 2nd, Rheinard said, ‘I’m not fast enough to beat Ronald’. Suffering a ‘pretty shit start’, after getting spun out which left him at the back, the 5 time RROC champion ‘just focused on finishing 2nd to get points’.
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