Another TQ run for Schoettler

Michael Schoettler put in another flawless drive at his home track to TQ the second round of 2WD Buggy qualifying at the JConcepts Spring Indoor Nationals.  Having topped Q1, this time round the 18-year-old’s took the qualifier by an even larger 6.2-second advantage from Steven Hartson.  The Top 3 for the second of the four scheduled qualifiers at Tacoma R/C Raceway was completed by another quick local as Kyosho driver Ryan Matesa laid down his first 20-lap run ahead of TLR’s JR Mitch.

Again posting the fastest lap of the round with a new outright fastest lap time of 14.657, Schoettler was pleased to put in another clean run.  Running his B5M the same as he did in Q1, the 18-year-old said it felt good but with traction coming up a lot between rounds for Q3 he will go to a heavier shock oil for Q3.  With the increased traction he said tyre wear is increasing.  Set to run his JConcepts Dirt Web tyres for a third time he said he expects them to be done after the 5-minutes but said the run should also show whether slicks will work for the conditions.

Taking a slower approach to his driving for Q2, Hartson said other than a pretty spectacular flip at the end of the straight his second run was a lot better.  Having changed the receiver in his car before travelling out to Washington State for the race, he said a switch back to his older receiver after Q1 improved the feeling of his B5M which he described as being ‘really good now’.  Still the 4WD World Champion feels he is well of the pace of Schoettler saying even without his one mistake he wouldn’t have been able to close down the 6-second advantage.

Matesa said being able to see properly made a huge difference to his driving and he was very happy with his run. Having had problems judging the track from the position he was forced to use in Q1, he said his RB6 was again really good.  Planning to again leave it unchanged the 18-year-old said his focus is on trying to just repeat how he drove in Q2.

Leaving his TLR22 untouched JR Mitch said he just drove around looking for another strong points haul so as to lock himself into the A-Main.  Very happy with where his mid motored buggy is compared to yesterday he said there is definitely a few more seconds in his own driving.  Looking to save the set of JConcepts Dirt Web he ran in the opening two qualifiers the Florida driver will run a new set in Q3.

Having failed to make the Top 10 in Q1, Associated Team Manager Brent Thielke said Q2 was ‘quite a bit better’.  Running a different front tyre, switching from JConcepts Dirt Web to Barcode, he said this made his Reedy powered B5M much smoother to drive.  Starting the heat last and having to let Schoettler, who started first, by he said he learned a lot from following the local teenager who he said despite his blistering pace is not driving as hard as he expected.

Second fastest in Q1, Luke Smith completed the Top 6 with a ‘not so good’ second run.  Changing to a new set of AKA tyres for Q2 he said they ‘never really came round’.  For Q3 he will run the same set of rears but after he has run them on his 4WD in Q2 which he said should help break them into where they need to be at.

Rolling his B5M three times at the end of the straight, Tanner Denney could only manage 10th for the round.  The driver who gave the B5 its first big win when he won the opening race of the JConcepts Indoor National Series in St.Louis back in February, the 18-year-old said the front end is rolling too much and for Q3 he will switch to heavier front shock oil.

2WD Mod Buggy Qualifying Round 2
1. Michael Schoettler – Associated – 20/5:01.117
2. Steven Hartson – Associated – 20/5:07.341
3. Ryan Matesa – Kyosho – 20/5:08.642
4. JR Mitch – TLR – 20/5:10.612
5. Brent Theilke – Associated – 20/5:11.886
6. Luke Smith – Associated – 20/5:11.895
7. Mike Brown – Schumacher – 20/5:13.300
8. Tyler Vik – Xray – 20/5:13.978
9. John Walentia – Associated – 20/5:14.609
10.Tanner Denney – Associated – 19/5:02.757

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