Isaacs goes fastest at NYGP with Round 3 TQ run
Sam Isaacs has moved into the TQ position of the AbsoluteHobbyz 1:12 Modified class at the Montech NYGP, the Awesomatix driver setting down a new fastest time in the third & penultimate round of qualifying. Having come close to bettering Kemp Anderson’s Q1 time in the second of yesterday’s qualifier, Isaacs became the first driver to run 58 laps of the 360v2 track as he took a hard fought Q3 from a much improved Donny Lia and Anderson, all three bettering their previous times and the only drivers to finish the top heat. On target for a new TQ pace CRC’s Ollie Payne would again have tyre issues with the British driver deciding to pull off early. Currently P4 with his Q2 time, he plans to switch tyre brand for the final qualifier. 1:12 Spec World Champion Max Mächler would retire after his motor came loose in his Awesomatix.
Visually pleased with his TQ run, Isaacs said, ‘That was a good run, just clean. I didn’t think my car was perfect but it is very consistent and stays the same for the whole run and I was able to put it all together that time.’ Looking to the final qualifier, the NYGP running FTQ format, the reigning US Champion said, ‘I will probably try to add some steering to it without trying to make it too hard to drive. It’s a tough line between having a drivable car that makes it around corners and one that spins out, so it’s a fine line but I’ll probably make some changes.’
After if he got the good night sleep he said he needed yesterday, Lia replied, ‘I’m a totally different driver today’. The man responsible for the NYGP, this the seventh edition of the race, he said, ‘We probably had something for TQ there but we started losing grip about half way through and I was kind of hanging on for the last 4-minutes and just trying to nurse it home. We just need to make a couple of small tweaks, we have a problem that is only on right hand turns so it’s just a matter of figuring that out. We might be a little heavy on camber on one side or something, literally it will be tiny adjustments to keep the car good for 8-minutes.’
Dropping from holding the overnight provisional TQ to 3rd despite going faster in the first of today’s two qualifiers, asked about his Q3, Anderson said, ‘The car was pretty good, real easy to drive but just a little pushy. Probably going to add some steering in it for Q4 and see if we can go any faster.’ On his own driving the 23-year-old World Championship Top Qualifier said, ‘I had a couple of bad laps. I got on the curbs a couple of times and got a little squirrely.’
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