Naoto sets early 4WD practice pace

Team Yokomo’s Naoto Matsukura set the early pace in practice for the 4WD Electric Buggy World Championship in Chico, California, the Japanese driver posting a fastest time of 27.643 in the second of 10 practices run on today’s schedule. Close to the 2WD A-Finalist was defending World Champion Ryan Cavalieri, the Associated driver posting a 27.704 lap with 2WD podium finisher Ryan Maifield just behind him with a 27.733 lap around the Silver Dollar R/C Raceway.

Recently crowned back to back Japanese National Champion Matsukura said he was happy with his second run but added it suffered with a little understeer on his B-Max4 III.  Planning to run a gear diff for his next run the 20-year-old said this should give him the extra steering he is looking for.

Cavalieri was very positive about his opening runs saying his B44.2 was good and ‘right now (he is) just driving around the track now’.  The 3 time 4WD World Champion added that his focus for the moment is just to ‘figure out a few lines’ and work on improving his driving in a few sections.  Team-mate Maifield was also happy with his runs summing it up by saying  it was a much ‘better start’ than he had to 2WD practice.  Recovering from that troubled start to finish 3rd overall in 2WD, he said for now he is just bedding himself in with his Reedy powered B44.2 working well.

Setting the fourth fastest lap, Tamiya’s Lee Martin was ‘happy enough’ with his opening runs with his TRF511 which features a number of key new parts. The British ace, who finished runner up in 2WD, said he would prefer less rounds of practice with less cars as it very rushed between rounds drivers having only around 50 mins between runs once the have marshalled.

US National Champion Ty Tessman posted the fifth fastest lap time with HB’s new unveiled D4-13.  The Canadian, who won his title here in August with the car then kept closely under wraps, said a change after FP1 had made the buggy a lot better for his second run.  While the buggy is ‘pretty good’ it is still ‘lacking a little’ and he plans on make a couple of small changes for the third 5-minute outing.

Another team to unveil a new car for the Worlds, Team Losi Racing haven’t had the best of starts to their campaign.  Off their top drivers only Dustin Evans completed the full run, most of team-mates breaking their TLR22-4.  In terms of times Darrem Bloomfield posted the fastest lap with a 27.993 before breaking an arm.  The British driver said he is looking to make his buggy smoother through the sweepers but overall it was a good start in terms of a base set up.  For his next run he will change the rear camber links.  Evans who only posted a best lap of 28.275 said his car was ‘way too soft’.  Mike Truhe suffered a broken front shock tower while TLR young gun Dakotah Phend also broke in the second run after just three laps.

Newly crowned 2WD World Champion Jared Tebo could make the 27 second laps but declared himself saying he is ‘still changing a few things here in there’ on his set-up.  Running a pre production version of Kyosho up coming 4WD buggy release, of which no body off photos are being allowed, he said the main features are a new chassis plate, shock towers and different mounting position, adding that further changes are planned however they ran out of time to have them here.  Team-mate and 2WD A-Finalist David Ronnefalk managed only one lap in FP2 as his slipper shaft broke.

2011 World Championship runner up Joern Neumann, who was on target for the world title before suffering a motor failure, posted the 7th fastest lap time with a 27.814.  In front of the German was fellow European Neil Cragg, star of A1 of the opening A-main in 2WD buggy, who posted a 27.793 lap.

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