Vik doubles up in second 4WD qualifier

Tyler Vik made it two out of two at Tacoma R/C Raceway as he topped the second round of 4WD Buggy Qualifying at the JConcepts Spring Indoor Nationals again outpacing World Champion Steven Hartson, both drivers pulling off 21-lap runs.  Only 9th fastest in Q1, Team Losi Racing’s JR Mitch improved his pace by almost a full lap to complete the Top 3.

Fitting a front swaybar to his Xray XB4 for Q2 as well as removing screws from the chassis for more flex, Vik said the ‘changes were good’.   The San Francisco racer said the track had become ‘super abrasive’ and for the penultimate qualifier, which brings today’s proceedings to a close, he will run a different set of tyres saving the set he ran in the opening two qualifiers for tomorrow’s finals.  Having run in the lowest heat, something he said he quite liked, a reseed after Q2 will now see Vik running in the top heat but set to start first he said he should be fine.

Posting the fastest lap of the round with a 14.392 second lap, Hartson said his Associated B44.2 was on pace but once again he made too many mistakes. Running his car the same as he did in Q1, when he switched to geardiffs, he said he will continue to run at as is but added that with the traction coming up a lot ‘which is better to a point’ he may have to make some small adjustments for the morning’s final qualifier.

JR Mitch was very happy with his second run.  Struggling with his TLR22-4 on the step-up to the table top he said his front shock oil was ‘way too light’.  Going up ‘a lot’ in oil weight for Q2, he said it transformed how the buggy landed on the table top.  With the track getting more abrasive like Vik, the Florida driver plans to save his current tyres for tomorrow and so will run a new set of JConcepts Dirt Webs for Q3 to see how the car works on fresh tyres should that be needed.

Fourth fastest John Walentia headed the local challenge in Q2.  Changing his set-up after Q1 he said his B44.2 felt weird at first to drive.  Taking some time to figure out how to drive it he said once he did it was faster and by the end of the 5-minutes he was pleased with the changes.  For Q2 he plans to switch to a slightly lighter rear spring as he looks to make the buggy a little more comfortable to drive.

Posting the fifth fastest time local racer Anthony Honstain said he is enjoying the opportunity to run with some of the sports top racers, the JConcepts Spring Indoor Nationals being the biggest event for Scott Brown’s track to host.  Running a stock kit B44.2, he said the buggy is running well and for Q3 he doesnt plan on making any changes.

4WD Mod Buggy Qualifying Round 2
1. Tyler Vik – Xray – 21/5:10.107
2. Steven Hartson – Associated – 21/5:13.723
3. JR Mitch – TLR – 20/5:02.024
4. John Walentia – Associated – 20/5:04.068
5. Anthony Honstain – Associated – 20/5:07.976
6. Luke Smith – Associated – 20/5:09.052
7. Chris Gould – X-Factory – 20/5:09.669
8. Brent Theilke – Associated – 20/5:10.372
9. JC Johnson – TLR – 20/5:12.779
10.Dion Denison – Associated – 20/5:15.452

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