Tessmann opens Philippine Masters with TQ Truggy run
Ty Tessmann has opened the 7th running of the Philippine Masters with a TQ run, the Xray driver topping the first of the five qualifiers from Kyle McBride. The biggest edition of the Manila based event with drivers from 14 countries making up the record 140 entries, Tessmann would run 10-laps on the CV Offroad Track to outpace the Team Associated of McBride by 4 and a half seconds with the race’s most experienced international competitor, Adam Drake completing the Top 3.
On his first trip to the Masters, Tessmann was pleased to open with a TQ run, but commented that his truck’s oils were too soft for the 40 degree temperatures that greeted the drivers in today’s opening qualifier. Getting his first taste of the track in the morning practice, he said his Pro-Line Electro Shot equipped XT9 was ok then but now ‘it’s just so hot here’. Suffering ‘a little traffic issue’ which he was ‘not too upset about’, the Canadian described the track as ‘challenging but fun’ and with 1-hour Mains he said ‘that’s going to be tough on this track, especially in truck.
‘A pretty good run’ was how McBride summed up Q1. The Australian, who was another of the international drivers to get his first lap of the track this morning, continued, ‘my truggy is pretty good but I could do with a little more corner speed’. Suffering ‘one run-in with a back marker’, he plans to go up in shock oil for Q2 to give his RC8T ‘more support’ while he is also considering going down in diff oils. Describing the track layout as ‘really fun’ with the ‘jumps built nicely’ making it ‘flow well’, he said having tried different tyre options in practice he ran Pro-Line X2 Blockades and he was happy with that choice.
On his 3rd visit to the Philippine Masters, a race he said has provided a great opportunity for him to interact with customers from around Asia, Drake summed up Q1 with, ‘it was ok’. The Mugen driver, ‘I got on the brakes too hard on a bump and blew out’ adding ‘everything is too soft for how hot it is’. He continued, ‘with limited practice I have got stuff I still need to figure out. I need to stiffen up the truck because now the track is clean were as in practice it was dusty. The grip is really good now’.
Another on his first visit to the country, Atsushi Hara would set the fourth fastest time. Running all HB Racing this weekend, saying, ‘I don’t remember the last time I raced a Hot Bodies truggy’, he summed up the run with, ‘the pace is not too bad and the car is ok’. One of the first of the international drivers to arrive for the race giving him the advantage of extra practice in the days leading up to the event, he said, ‘I had one stupid crash at the beginning (of the heat) by myself and then on the last lap the front drive broke which cost me a position’. Running Electro Shots but having run Blockades in practice he said he will switch to the latter for Q2.
Completing the Top 5 would be Aaron Stringer. The Australian who ran a full day of testing yesterday described his opening heat as ‘pretty shit’. Running in the second fastest heat, the Mugen driver said ‘I crashed 5-times with back markers in the first three laps’. Describing his MBX7 as ‘good for the heat’, that was reflected in him posting the fastest lap of Q1. With the heats being reseeded after each round this will put Stringer in the top heat and planning to leave his car unchanged he will be hoping for a ‘better run’.
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