Maifield wins exciting final RROC 2WD encounter

The sixth & final round of 2WD at the Reedy Race of Champions produced the most exciting encounter yet with a race that saw Team Associated’s Ryan Maifield snatch the win from HB’s Ty Tessman on the last lap, the Canadian also getting passed the No.10 starting TLR of Dustin Evans in the final dash to the finish.  In the other two races Team Durango’s Ryan Lutz and TLR’s Mike Truhe claimed their first wins of the event which after 18 races using 2WD buggies will now switch over to 4WD.

Race 1 of the round saw pole position starter Neil Cragg lead away the field with fellow front row starter Lutz in close pursuit.  The American soon found a way passed the British driver when his B4.2 ran wide but later in the same lap he went back to the front following an error from Lutz.  Once in front Cragg looked to have control of the race but with just over a minute to go the former World Champion got it wrong a number of times allowing Lutz to come through for his first win. Taking wins in Rounds 3 & 5 Steven Harston completed the Top 3 benefiting from a rough last lap from TLR’s Matt Castellano.

Packing the strongest line-up of the round with Maifield, Jared Tebo, Evans and Atsushi Hara among the 10 starters, race 2 was lead away by Tessmann who took early control of the proceedings, initially leading from last year’s Reedy Race 2WD Open class winner Chad Due.  Behind however the cream of the electric offroad scene was working its way to the top.  In a rather forceful move on Due, Maifield who started 6th had worked his way up to second by lap 4 with Tebo and the No.10 starting Evans in toe. A series of wide landings by Tessmann off the whoop section allowed Maifield to close the gap to the lead B4.2.  On the final lap Tessmann again ran wide and Maifield was there to pounce but having led the majority of his previous race Tessmann was not going to give it up that easy making a lunge back at the American in the next corner. The pair came together and as a result had to single single the double coming onto the main straight allowing Evans to join the drag race to the finish, Maifield taking it by 8/100th from Evans with Tessmann having to once again settle for third a further 3/10th behind.

Bringing the 2WD action to a close, Mike Truhe won Race 3 from pole position after seeing off a challenge from Travis Amezcua who after a couple of crashes would fall back to finish 4th.  Just over a second behind Truhe’s TLR22, Associated’s Josh Numan finished second with the No.8 starting Associated of Brent Thielke finishing third.

The final round of 2WD was a tough one for current standings leader Ryan Cavalieri the World Champion has a tough run in Race 1, only managing to finish 8th in the nine car encounter.  The round is also set to be defending Champion Joern Neumann’s dropped score as starting from 10th on the grid in Race 3 he could only cross the line in 6th.

Round 6 2WD Buggy
Race 1
1.(2) Ryan Lutz – Team Durango – 15/5:14.431
2.(1) Neil Cragg – Associated – 15/5:17.200
3.(8) Steven Hartson – Associated – 15/5:18.461
4.(3) Matt Castellano – Team Losi Racing – 14/5:19.276
5.(9) Lee Martin – Tamiya – 15/5:19.404
6.(7) Rene Trauner – Yokomo – 14/5:00.077
7.(10)Peter Pinisch – Associated – 14/5:00.589
8.(6) Ryan Cavalieri – Associated – 14/5:00.912
9.(4) Dakotah Phend – Team Losi Racing – 14/5:01.558

Race 2
1.(6) Ryan Maifield – Associated – 15/5:05.702
2.(10)Dustin Evans – Team Losi Racing – 15/5:05.784
3.(1) Ty Tessmann – HB/HPI Racing – 15/5:06.143
4.(7) Jared Tebo – Kyosho – 15/5:08.506
5.(3) Tanner Denney – Associated – 15/5:13.323
6.(5) Cody Tuner – Kyosho – 15/5:14.746
7.(9) Kohta Akimoto – Kyosho – 15/5:15.097
8.(8) Brian Kinwald – Associated – 15/5:15.675
9.(2) Chad Due – Associated – 14/5:09.660
10.(4)Atsushi Hara – HB/HPI Racing – 6/2:11.827

Race 3
1.(1) Mike Truhe – Team Losi Racing – 15/5:09.885
2.(5) Josh Numan – Associated – 15/5:10.929
3.(8) Brent Thielke – Associated – 15/5:13.601
4.(4) Travis Amezcua – Team Durango – 15/5:16.053
5.(6) Kody Numedahl – Associated – 15/5:16.270
6.(10)Joern Neumann – Team Durango – 15/5:17.065
7.(2) Hupo Honigl – Team Durango – 14/5:05.02.814
8.(3) Stefan Pfeihofer – Associated – 14/5:02.871
9.(9) Rick Hohwart – Associated – 14/5:04.129
10.(7)Paul Bradby – Associated – 14/5:11.803

View the overall invitational standings after 6 rounds here (PDF).

View our event image gallery here.

Evans claims first win in Round 5

2011 Reedy Race Champion Dustin Evans claim his and Team Losi Racing’s first win of this year’s event winning the most entertaining race of what was an otherwise uneventful 5th round of racing.  The other two races saw Kyosho’s Jared Tebo and Associated’s Steven Harston become the only drivers thus far to join Ryan Cavalieri as a multi winner at the 19th running of the famous event.  Achieving the perfect result yesterday with four wins from four races, 2009 Champion Cavalieri could not keep up his 100% winning run. Starting from the back of the grid and needing to be marshaled on the opening lap he did well to come away with 4th.

The first race to get Day 2 of racing at the Reedy Offroad Race of Champions underway, and the race with the biggest hitters this round, was to turn out to be a pretty easy affair for Tebo who benefited from an early coming together at the end of the straight between pole starter Tanner Denney and defending champion Joern Neumann.  Neumann who would go onto to finish 2nd just ahead of Associated’s Ryan Maifield while Tanner ended up back in 8th position.

With no pole sitter for race 2, which due to the 29 entries was the 9 car race, Ty Tessmann looked like he might claim his first win as he led away from the No.2 spot on the grid.  Leading for 11 of the 15 laps a mistake by the Canadian allowed his HB/HPI Racing team-mate Atsushi Hara to go to the front but on the last lap the Japanese star too made a mistake on the last lap.  This allowed Evans to come through to take the win with the two HB drivers throwing their respective Kyosho and Associated buggies across the line for the runners up spot. Hara getting it by 15/100th from Tessmann.

Race 3 was looking processional with Hartson leading TLR’s Mike Truhe but a mistake by the pole starter allowed the latter to take over the lead.  It was short lived however as a mistake by Truhe allowed Harston to go back to the front and claim his second win of the event.  Starting 3rd Josh Numan completed the Top 3.

Round 5 2WD Buggy
Race 1
1.(5) Jared Tebo – Kyosho – 15/5:08.180
2.(3) Joern Neumann – Team Durango – 15/5:10.365
3.(7) Ryan Maifield – Associated – 15/5:10.838
4.(8) Peter Pinisch – Associated – 15/5:17.511
5.(6) Neil Cragg – Associated – 14/5:03.497
6.(10)Rick Hohwart – Associated – 14/5:03.988
7.(9) Brian Kinwald – Associated – 14/5:04.159
8.(1) Tanner Denney – Associated – 14/5:04.767
9.(2) Ryan Lutz – Team Durango – 14/5:12.070
10.(4)Hupo Honigl – Team Durango – 13/5:05.031

Race 2
1.(5) Dustin Evans – Team Losi Racing – 15/5:10.270
2.(6) Atsushi Hara – HB/HPI Racing – 15/5:14.712
3.(2) Ty Tessmann – HB/HPI Racing – 15/5:14.847
4.(10)Ryan Cavalieri – Associated – 15/5:15.385
5.(4) Lee Martin – Tamiya – 15/5:15.575
6.(3) Cody Tuner – Kyosho – 15/5:15.622
7.(7) Travis Amezcua – Team Durango – 15/5:16.120
8.(8) Kody Numedahl – Associated – 15/5:16.720
9.(9) Rene Trauner – Yokomo – 13/5:00.082

Race 3
1.(1) Steven Hartson – Associated – 15/5:08.962
2.(2) Mike Truhe – Team Losi Racing – 15/5:09.656
3.(3) Josh Numan – Associated – 15/5:19.752
4.(10)Paul Bradby – Associated – 15/5:20.797
5.(4) Stefan Pfeihofer – Associated – 15/5:23.150
6.(6) Brent Thielke – Associated – 14/5:00.471
7.(7) Kohta Akimoto – Kyosho – 14/5:02.934
8.(8) Matt Castellano – Team Losi Racing – 14/5:04.410
9.(5) Chad Due – Associated – 13/5:03.330
10.(9)Dakotah Phend – Team Losi Racing – 13/5:03.630

View the overall invitational standings after 5 rounds here (PDF).

View our event image gallery here.

Cavalieri completes perfect day at Reedy Race

Team Associated’s Ryan Cavalieri completed the perfect result on the first day of racing at the Reedy Offroad Race of Champions, the World Champion winning all four of his 2WD encounters at West Coast RC Raceway in La Mirada, California.  The only driver to claim multiple wins today, the fourth round of racing saw Cavalieri’s fellow US offroad stars Ryan Maifield and Jared Tebo take their first wins at the 19th running of the event which will be decided over 12 rounds of heads up racing.

First race of the fourth round had Maifield on pole position but the Associated driver struggled for traction off the line allowing the No.2 starting Tamiya of Lee Martin to take the early lead. The European Champion managed to keep the lead for almost 3-laps but a bobble coming onto the straight allowed a very patient Maifield to slip through and into a lead he would extend to 4-seconds by the end of the 5-minute encounter.  Maifield who described is start as being like that of Top Fuel drag car burn out said the pole spot had ‘zero traction’.  With Martin in front of him he said he decided to play ‘follow the leader’ for a while hoping for a mistake and he got one.  Adding the win to his earlier 2nd places finishes in Rounds 2 & 3 he said with 6th in Round 1 hopefully his ‘throw out’, the event is still very much wide open.

Martin, who was lucky to make the start after he lost a front wheel in the warm-up due to a loose wheel nut, said he found the track ‘a bit slick’ in the final race of the day and was unable to push to catch Maifield instead focusing just on holding onto his TRF201 as he settled for second.  The race saw the Top 3 starters finishing in that order with Kyosho’s Kohta Akimoto claiming his best finish off the day with third spot. The race was a bad one for defending champion Joern Neumann who starting from 6th, finished in that position, the German saying he just made too many small mistakes.

In Race 2, Team Durango’s Travis Amezcua took an early lead from second on the grid before a mistake allowed the pole starting Associated of Kody Numedahl to lead for two laps before a mistake dropped him back behind Amezcua.  In the end Cavalieri’s World class shone through and he found a way passed Amezcua to win by 4.5 seconds with former Reedy Race double winner Brian Kinwald completing the Top 3 with his best finish of the day.  Cavalieri said ‘everything was good today’ and that being patient in each of his races had paid off.

The day’s closing race produced a tone to tone win for Tebo whose Kyosho started from pole with Team Losi Racing’s Dustin Evans coming through from sixth to take second.  Pleased to finish off the day with a win, Tebo said the earlier races just didn’t fall his way but on pace it is very close between him, Cavalieri and Maifield and he just hopes Race 4 was his turning point in the event. In a last lap move in which he passed Round 1 race winner Brent Thielke by jumping over the Associated team-manager, Josh Numan completed the Top 3.

Tomorrow will be made up of four more races with the final two 2WD encounters before the event switches over to 4WD.

Round 4 2WD Buggy
Race 1
1.(1) Ryan Maifield – Associated – 15/5:04.520
2.(2) Lee Martin – Tamiya – 15/5:08.515
3.(3) Kohta Akimoto – Kyosho – 15/5:12.144
4.(8) Dakotah Phend – Team Losi Racing – 15/5:13.066
5.(5) Atsushi Hara – HB/HPI Racing – 15/5:13.505
6.(6) Joern Neumann – Team Durango – 15/5:15.863
7.(9) Mike Truhe – Team Losi Racing – 15/5:21.672
8.(7) Hupo Honigl – Team Durango – 14/5:01.091
9.(10)Chad Due – Associated – 14/5:07.688

Race 2
1.(7) Ryan Cavalieri – Associated – 15/5:08.028
2.(2) Travis Amezcua – Team Durango – 15/5:12.546
3.(4) Brian Kinwald – Associated – 15/5:13.173
4.(1) Kody Numedahl – Associated – 15/5:15.813
5.(8) Cody Tuner – Kyosho – 15/5:15.975
6.(6) Stefan Pfeihofer – Associated – 14/5:02.387
7.(3) Matt Castellano – Team Losi Racing – 14/5:02.623
8.(5) Rene Trauner – Yokomo – 14/5:06.622
9.(10)Tanner Denney – Associated – 14/5:16.665
10.(9)Rick Hohwart – Associated – 14/5:17.529

Race 3
1.(1) Jared Tebo – Kyosho – 15/5:03.235
2.(6) Dustin Evans – Team Losi Racing – 15/5:09.611
3.(9) Josh Numan – Associated – 15/5:13.249
4.(2) Brent Thielke – Associated – 15/5:13.738
5.(7) Neil Cragg – Associated – 15/5:14.059
6.(4) Ty Tessmann – HB/HPI Racing – 14/5:01.179
7.(3) Paul Bradby – Associated – 14/5:02.379
8.(10)Steven Hartson – Associated – 14/5:02.843
9.(5) Ryan Lutz – Team Durango – 14/5:06.933
10.(8)Peter Pinisch – Associated – 14/5:08.723

View the overall invitational standings after 4 rounds here (PDF).

View our event image gallery here.