Tebo tops seeding at JConcepts Final
Jared Tebo has topped seeding at the JConcepts Indoor National Series Finals in Omaha, Nebraska. In the short 3-minute single seeding round, the Kyosho driver set the fastest three consecutive laps around the Hobby Plex track to top the 2WD Mod Buggy times from Ryan Cavalieri who was the only other driver to do a 59-second time. Running a time of 60.039, half a second off Tebo’s pace, Ryan Maifield completed the Top 3 with World Champion Spencer Rivkin fourth a further 3/10ths off.
Winner of the event last year, Tebo was happy to open official proceedings at the top of the time sheets. Running the same prototype chassis on his RB6 as he used to TQ the World Championships as well as JTP shock towers, the former World Champion said ‘once I got tyres sorted my car was really good’. Running AKA clay compound Chain Link tyres all round he said ‘I drove a little better too’ feeling he was now driving a cleaner line through the sweeper at the end of the straight. Also setting the fastest single lap of the seeding round, he said all he would be doing for Q1 tomorrow would be to ‘clean tyres and sauce them up’.
‘It was good’ was Cavalieri’s response when asked how the seeding run had gone. The Team Associated driver, who pretty much matched Tebo’s fastest lap with a 19.769 compared to 19.744, added ‘its very close, we have the same speed’. Running the same tyre as Tebo, he said his B5M had ‘tons of traction’ and for the seeding run the ‘track felt good’. With the car ‘really good’ the reigning US National Champion plans to leave everything as is for the first qualifier tomorrow.
Making his dirt race debut with the new TLR22 3.0, Maifield said his first few laps were perfect but as his lap times came down traffic prevented him from bettering his 3-consecutive lap pace. Running JConcepts Dirt Webs on his car, the reigning series champion said it felt easy to drive and he could still do fast laps predicting that over a 5-minute run and with less traffic to deal with he is ‘in it for the win’. Adding ‘all (drivers are) very close’, he said is was going to be down to which driver made the least mistakes and could get in the greatest number of 19-second laps.
Having issues with traffic, an attempt to jump over one backmarker not working out, Rivkin said his ‘car was good’ and he had ‘good grip’. The 17-year-old added he ‘couldn’t have asked for more’ in terms of the car and fourth was ‘OK’ as it was ‘just seeding’.
Behind the factory Associated driver, local racer Derek Wood posted the fifth fastest time. The Kyosho driver said the run ‘started off a little rough’ but once he got clear of traffic and didn’t over drive he managed to get 3-good laps in. Having started out the day with no front wing on his RB6 he said fitting one improved steering in particular allowing him to carry more speed through the sweeper.
Completing the Top 6 for the 2WD seeding was Austin Horne. Describing the track as a ‘really fun layout’, the 15-year-old said he has done little to his Associated B5M over the day with tyre prep being the biggest thing they worked on. Competing in the 60 entry 2WD Mod buggy class against his brother and his father, he said with the car and his JConcepts Dirt Webs tyres working well his focus for Q1 is to ‘just drive it’.
In 4WD Mod Buggy, it would be Cavalieri who would top the seeding, 3/10th up on Maifield and Tebo. Again Rivkin would end up fourth ahead of fellow Team Associated teenager Damion Borkowicz fifth with Nick Gibson completing the Top 6.
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