Maifield beats Cavalieri to register 1st win
Ryan Maifield kicked off Day 2 of the Reedy Race of Champions this morning by registering his 1st win at the 24th running of the unique event. Starting 6th on the grid for the fifth round of 4WD action, it was a loaded heat containing three World Champions with Ryan Cavalieri on pole and Spencer Rivkin 8th. While Cavalieri pulled clear from the front and looked on target to extend his lead in the points, Maifield quickly moved his way to the front and with relative ease reeled in his great rival setting up the first real ‘Ryan & Ryan’ show of this years event. Banging wheels and tangling cars, it was Maifield who came out with the win from Cavalieri with Rivkin working his way up to third. In the other big encounter Lee Martin held off a very determined Dustin Evans to win the second heat of the round while 2016 Champion Dakotah Phend claimed his first win the final encounter ahead of Joe Bornhorst and a recovering Ty Tessmann. Starting on the front row alongside pole sitter Joona Haatanen, the pair tangled on the drag into the first corner dropping the Canadian to the back of the field.
Commenting on his win Maifield said, ‘I started 6th but got by guys fast enough and made a good move around (2nd place start) Reno (Savoya). I made slight changes to my car and it was better and easier to go fast. I knew I was faster on the left side of the track than Ryan. Then I made mistake and tangled with him which allowed Spencer to catch us so then I backed it down. When Spencer dropped back I started to push again and landed on his (Cavalieri’s) inside and kept it there to the end’. Reflecting on his performances yesterday, the World Champion said, ‘there were a couple of driver errors on my part and I wasn’t feeling great but I got a early night and I’m feeling better today. The track is also better today but I have another hard race in the next’. Going up again Cavalieri and Rivkin again in the final 4WD encounter, the heat will also have Tessmann on the grid, the Yokomo driver will start behind them all in 9th position.
‘It was pretty good’ was Cavalieri’s thoughts on Round 5. Winning 3 of his four encounters yesterday with a third in the closing round, he said, ‘I knew my car was a little slower than needed to race Maifield. I had opportunities and it was a really good race but went wide on the triple’. The reigning champion continued, ‘I gave up too much time in the first minute. I should have been able to open up a bigger lead and hold that gap better’. For the last 4WD encounter the Associated driver will start on the front row along pole sitter and team-mate Rivkin.
Martin summed up his second win by saying, ‘It was pretty OK. It was good starting on the outside (of the front row) because it has a little more traction and I could get the holeshot’. He added, ‘the pack got held up a little behind me and by the time Dustin got through I had a cushion. He was catching but made a few mistakes so I didn’t have to push hard and risk wrecking my stuff’. With the win, the Yokomo driver moves up to second in the points standing on the same points as Rivkin and 1 point up on Evans.
‘From 6th that was good’, was Evans view of the race. The former Champion added, ‘I was super patient behind JP (Richards) and Chad (Due) and by the time I got by, Lee had a good gap but I was catching him. I was on a mission with that one’. Having clashed with Martin yesterday, ‘I clipped the triple coming onto the straight, I was pushing really hard. I probably didn’t need to be because I was catching him but I’ll take 2nd from 6th.’
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