Kobbevik & Zalewski secure TQ honours at MIBO

Schumacher’s Daniel Kobbevik and Xray’s Bartosz Zalewski are the buggy Top Qualifiers at MIBO International.  While the TQ honours on the onroad track were settled yesterday with Michal Orlowski dominating proceedings, it was an intense fifth & final qualifier this morning on the offroad track with four drivers vying for pole position.  In 2WD Buggy it was Sworkz’s Micha Widmaier who led away the decider from Xray’s Martin Bayer, Kobbevik and Team Associated’s Joona Haatanen.  Under pressure, with Kobbevik quickly on his rear wing, it was Bayer who was first to bow out with a mistake.  Shortly after Widmaier’s challenge was over with the two Scandinavians continuing the battle with Kobbevik getting it done by 6/10th as P2 secured Haantanen second on the grid ahead of Widmaier and Bayer.  In 4WD,  it was a three way battle which quickly became two as Kobbevik pulled up after a mistake.  A mistake from Bayer then took the pressure off Zalewski and last year’s 2WD Top Qualifier took the round and a 4WD pole position this time round.

Summing up his TQ securing run,  Kobbevik said. ‘It was good, it went as planned’.  The 19-year-old Norwegian continued, ‘It will be fun to try and defend in the finals but the car is good so it’s all on me to get the result’.

‘A perfect run from my side’, was Zalewski reaction after taking the 4WD TQ from his team-mate Bayer and Kobbevik with the top 4 on the grid completed by Haatanen.  The 17-year-old Polish talent said other than refresh the car it was the same set-up as yesterday and was able to run ‘a  clean qualifier and it was enough for the TQ’.  Looking to the triple finals, Zalewski admitted his car was ‘difficult to drive’ when he has to push hard adding, ‘I have to be careful not to do mistakes.  The finals are more stress but I will do my best.’

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