September 23, 2013

‘From Race Control’ – Day 1 of 2WD Buggy

From Race Control - Day 1 of 2WD Buggy

UPDATE (10:30 local time) – Due to the track having not fully dried the start has been now put back a further 2-hours to 13:00 local time.  We have been informed too by Masami that a recommendation has been made that timed practice be determined over 2-consecutive laps as the lap times are expected to be in excess of 30-secs.  The second delay to the start of the event means Day 1 will run under flood lighting so as to allow them get fully through the already reduced 7 rounds of practice.

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New to our event coverage we will post a short update under the heading ‘From Race Control’ at the start of each day giving a short run down of what lies ahead for the drivers.  Today is the first day of action at the 15th IFMAR 1:10 Electric Offroad World Championships here in Chico, California with seven 5-minute practice rounds on the schedule, down from the 10 rounds originally planned.  Due to heavy rain two days ago which resulted in the Silver Dollar RC Raceway track surface requiring to be repared and sugar treated, the start of the first day of 2WD action has been delayed until 11:00am local time to allow the track to dry.

Getting an update this morning just before 9am from r/c legend Masami Hirosaka, who is here as official race referee alongside Steve McLaughlin, he said he is confident that they should be able to get underway at the rescheduled 11am start time.  The multiple former World Champion said he expects the track to be ‘very dusty’ in the opening practice round with the plan being for track staff to clean the track with leaf blowers in the 1-minute between each heat adding this will only be done for FP1.  The closing practice of the day, set to start around 17:45, will be controlled with each driver’s 3-consecutive laps counting towards the only reseeding of the heats for tomorrow’s qualifying action which starts with one more controlled round of practice.

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September 23, 2013

Track Focus – Silver Dollar R/C Raceway

sun_panorama

Track Name – Silver Dollar R/C Raceway
Owner – A-Main Hobbies
Country – USA
Location – Chico, California
Direction – Clockwise
Surface – Dirt
Previous key events hosted – 2013 US Electric Offroad Nationals

The 15th running of the IFMAR 1:10 Electric Offroad World Championships takes place over the next 7-days in Chico, California, at the Silver Dollar R/C Raceway which is only in existence a year & a half.  Owned by A-Main Hobbies, the track came about simple out of the passion for racing of company founder Kendall Bennett who 7-years ago set up the now giant online r/c retailer.  Having catered for the electric racing community with an indoor track that took up part of the A-Main Hobbies warehouse, which is located just a short distance away, Bennett wanted to create a new facility that would allow the hosting of major events.  Talking to A-Main Hobbies team manager Marty Korn about the facility he said his boss went all out making a ‘huge investment’ never with the intention to make money from it but to give racers a great facility to race at.

Landing the World Championship and ‘fortunately’ the US Nationals, Korn said preparations have been intense with daily meetings of between 17-25 staff members over the last four months.  Since hosting the Pre Worlds he added it has been a very step learning curve for the ‘giant staff’.  Its been all hands on deck pointing out that staff have embraced new roles for the Worlds, giving the example that one of their Customer Service Managers has been tasked with looking after the Tyre Tech area, continuing that every aspect of the event has been gone through ‘so many times’ to ensure everyone knows their role to ensure a successful event. Looking to the future the annual Labor Day Shootout will be one of the track’s main events but looking longer term Korn said their goal is to host the 2016 1:8 Offroad World Championships.

Since hosting the Pre-Worlds, the track is now on it fourth layout change with former Norcal Hobbies owner Kevin Jelick the man responsible for designing the track which will decide the 2013 World Champions.  Unfortunately yesterday (Saturday) it rained heavily in Chico but Korn said it didn’t hurt the track only the finished surface.  A ‘sugar track’, he said they will have to prepare the surface for tomorrow’s (Monday) opening day of practice.  Having evolved the process of sugaring the track since the Pre-Worlds he said they now have the method ‘dialed’ with the plan to put the sugar down just after sunset follow a full rolling of the track.  As a result the start to Day 1 of the event has been delayed by 3-hours and will see practice reduced to seven runs for the day, the last one of which will be the first round of controlled timed practice.  For the record the Pre-Worlds, a very different and more open track to what awaits drivers tomorrow, it was HB’s Ty Tessman who won both classes, while at the ROAR Nationals held in August he took the 4WD win while TLR’s Dakotah Phend taking the 2WD title.

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September 9, 2013

Maifield does Buggy double at JConcepts Clash

LRSun-MaifieldGirl

Team Associated’s Ryan Maifield has done the double in electric buggy at the 7th running of the JConcepts Clash, the Arizona driver successfully defending his 2WD title and adding the 4WD title after winning each of the deciding third A-Mains over Team Losi Racing’s Dustin Evans.  Having also successful defended his 2WD Short Course title after A2, the first buggy title to go to Maifield was 4WD as he took his Reedy powered B44.2 to an easy win after Evans rolled on two occasions coming on to the straight, his XXX-4 struggling in the high traction conditions at the Flowood RC Indoor Park track.  The closing race of a packed race program and the blue ribbon class of the event, A3 of 2WD Buggy saw a blistering opening lap from Maifield with him getting his C4.2 passed Top Qualifier Evans’ also mid motored TLR 22 2.0.  While Evans fought back, a mistake on lap 3 would ultimately end his chances allowing Maifield to post the only 15-lap run of the finals.

Maifield Shell

Happy to take the wins, Maifield said while his 2WD was better than in Leg 2 without Evans’ mistake he said it would have been a tough race adding that had they run head to head he wouldn’t be so sure he would have been able to successfully defend his title.  Running a stiff shock set-up and moving them to a more laid down position, he also changed the rear inserts in his JConcepts Barcodes on which he applied extra additive, he said the changes did help a little to improve the corner speed he lacked in A2.  Although he has been ‘pretty comfortable’ with the change in driving style from the start of the switch over from rear to mid motor, Maifield said the weekend gave reassurance to the preparations they have been making for the up coming World Championships.

Dustin Evans

‘A frustrating day’ was how Evans summed up his second place buggy finishes.  Also runner-up in 2WD last year, he said that he struggled through the top left section which after the nitro finals had broken up since A2.  With his buggy strongest on the left side of the track he said he tried to make back up the time on Maifield there but eventually pushed it too hard.  ‘Of course I want to win’ but taking positives from the event he said he got a lot of valuable mileage with the mid motor this will be very beneficial to his World Championships hopes.

JR Mitch

Having his best run of the three finals in A3 to claim third which secured him the final spot on the podium, TLR’s JR Mitch was pleased with his end result joking that he was the first of the ‘non-cheater’ cars. Running his TLR22 2.0 in rear motor configuration he said the last run he figured out his tyres running a set of one run JConcepts Barcodes which made the car much more comfortable to drive. Having ran new tyres in A1 & A2 he said his buggy felt like it was floating around on the tyre’s pins.  Although he missed out on the win in the biggest class of the year’s Clash, e-Buggy, finishing 2nd overall having started as Top Qualifier, Mitch did take one overall win taking the 4WD Short Course title.

Daimon

Completing the podium in 4WD Buggy was up & coming talent Damion Borkowicz, the 13-year-old clearly delighted with the result.  The protege of JConcepts founder Jason Ruona, the Associated driver said he was pretty OK with finishing behind Maifield, who he ran impressively with in A2 before crashing out, and Evans.  The extremely mature Florida racer said the result, his best ‘Clash’ finish, is a good boost going into his next race which will see he him make his World Championship debut.

Expert Buggy

In the two main 1:8 buggy classes the nitro 30-minute Main was won by Team Associated driver Jake Dellinger after young TLR driver & Top Qualifier Tyler Jones retired as the race reached the 20-minute mark.  Second place went to Dylan Gerard with Ty Rogers completing the podium.  In e-Buggy Justin Cranford took the win over JR Mitch, who like in A2 had a terrible opening few laps, with Jake Dellinger completing the overall Top 3.

2WD Buggy Overall Result
1. Ryan Maifield – Team Associated – 200 pts
2. Dustin Evans – Team Losi Racing – 199
3. JR Mitch – Team Losi Racing – 195
4. Max Flurer – Team Associated – 193
5. Cody Hollis – Team Losi Racing – 193
6. Damion Borkowicz – Team Associated – 192
7. Ryan Eckert – Kyosho – 190
8. Justin Cranford – Team Durango – 190
9. Leon McIntosh – Team Losi Racing – 186
10.Paul Sinclair – X-Factory – 186
11.Paul Wynn – Team Associated – 184
12.Jason Ruona – Team Associated – 178

2WD Buggy A-3 Result
1.(2) Ryan Maifield – Team Associated – 15/5:23.183
2.(1) Dustin Evans – Team Losi Racing – 14/5:06.701
3.(3) JR Mitch – Team Losi Racing – 14/5:12.340
4.(4) Cody Hollis – Team Losi Racing – 14/5:20.661
5.(10)Damion Borkowicz – Team Associated – 14/5:21.536
6.(6) Max Flurer – Team Associated – 14/5:24.259
7.(12)Paul Sinclair – X-Factory – 13/5:08.491
8.(8) Leon McIntosh – Team Losi Racing – 13/5:09.583
9.(5) Ryan Eckert – Kyosho – 13/5:09.993
10.(11)Justin Cranford – Team Durango – 12/5:03.762
11.(9)Paul Wynn – Team Associated – 9/3:44.566
12.(7)Jason Ruona – Team Associated – DNS

4WD Buggy Overall Result
1. Ryan Maifield – Team Associated – 200 pts
2. Dustin Evans – Team Losi Racing – 199
3. Damion Borkowicz – Team Associated – 196
4. Cody Hollis – Team Losi Racing – 195
5. Ryan Eckert – Kyosho – 193
6. Alfredo Arrieta – Xray – 193
7. Brett Kingsbury – Team Associated – 192
8. Zack Genova – Xray – 192
9. Barry Goodwin – Team Associated – 188
10.Jimmy Vanderhaar – Team Associated – 188
11.Jason Ruona – Team Associated – 180
12.Blaine Cavin – Team Associated – 178

4WD Buggy A-3 Result
1.(1) Ryan Maifield – Team Associated – 15/5:11.644
2.(2) Dustin Evans – Team Losi Racing – 15/5:20.746
3.(3) Cody Hollis – Team Losi Racing – 14/5:00.229
4.(5) Damion Borkowicz – Team Associated – 14/5:02.029
5.(7) Ryan Eckert – Kyosho – 14/5:13.377
6.(11)Alfredo Arrieta – Xray – 14/5:17.333
7.(12)Barry Goodwin – Team Associated – 14/5:23.971
8.(8) Zack Genova – Xray – 13/5:01.276
9.(6) Brett Kingsbury – Team Associated – 13/5:02.708
10.(9)Jimmy Vanderhaar – Team Associated – 12/5:06.376
11.(4)Jason Ruona – Team Associated – DNS
12.(10)Blaine Cavin – Team Associated – DNS

View the complete event results here (PDF).

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September 9, 2013

Evans recovers to win A2 of 2WD Buggy

Dustin Evans

TLR’s Dustin Evans recovered from a mistake that left arch rival Ryan Maifield take the lead of the 2nd A-Main of 2WD Buggy at the JConcepts Clash to convert his TQ starting position into a win forcing the title to be decided in the 3rd & final Main of the Mississippi event.  Having lost the lead in A1 due to a mistake that handed Maifield the win, the second encounter looked like things might be repeated as Evans’ TLR22 got a landing wrong allowing the Associated C4.2 of Maifield into the lead.  This time however Evans was better able to regain his composure hauling in Maifield before getting back passed the Arizona ace with three laps to go to claim the win.  In a race of attrition, Maifield took the 2nd 4WD Buggy A-Main meaning it too will be decided in the final leg.

Evans

‘A really fun race’ was how Evans described the 2WD encounter. Leading away from pole position with Maifield in his shadows, the race really sparked into life when Evans missed his landing on the triple, opening the door for defending ‘Clash’ champion Maifield to move to the front.  Having over driven following his crash in Leg 1 leaving him unable to challenge to take the lead back, Evans said this time round he was able to regain his composure.  While dropping back a little over the following laps he said he got his head down allowing him to get right back up to Maifield, setting the fastest lap in the process.  Knowing his mid motored buggy was particularly good at the top left hand section of the track that is were he made his move getting successfully down the inside to retake the lead.

Maifield

Also describing it as a ‘good race’, Maifield said Evans made a good move and once he was down the inside he ‘let it happen’.  Feeling both his buggies were ‘missing a little speed’ for the second round of A-Mains, for the deciding 5-minute encounter he will try a different foam insert in his JConcepts Barcode tyres in the hope he can find some extra corner speed.  In 4WD, Evans pulled a surprise pass on Maifield on the second lap with his XXX-4 but on the next lap made a mistake allowing both Maifield and young charger Damion Borkowicz through to the front. Such was Borkowicz’s pace, the 13-year-old was actually pulling in Maifield but unfortunately on lap 6 it would all come to a crashing end when the Florida driver clipped the pipping through the fast top right hand section pulling a front corner off his Associated B44.2.  This allowed Evans up to second but he too would pull a corner of his TLR on lap 12 of 15.  In the hunt for 3rd position TLR team-mate Cody Hollis was another to hit trouble.  With two laps to go he popped a ball cup on his XXX-4 allowing the Xray of Jack Genova to cruise to second and fellow teenager & XB4 driver Alfredo Arrieta through to complete the Top 3.

Maifield Evans SC

In 2WD Short course Maifield ensured that he will go home with at least one JConcepts Clash winning trophy as he successful defended his title by winning his second A-Main over Evans.  The 4WD Short Course title was also decide in A2 as TLR’s JR Mitch took another win over John Bernard Jr’s Teckno truck. Mitch wasn’t able to repeat his A1 e-Buggy win after making a terrible start which allowed Justin Cranford to win by just .709 of a second.  Also going to the third leg is the Mod Truck title after Leon McIntosh got the better of Top Qualifier & A1 winner Cody Hollis who had to recover from an early incident.

2WD Buggy A-2 Result
1.(1) Dustin Evans – Team Losi Racing – 14/5:00.392
2.(2) Ryan Maifield – Team Associated – 14/5:01.590
3.(5) Ryan Eckert – Kyosho – 14/5:15.697
4.(3) JR Mitch – Team Losi Racing – 14/5:19.612
5.(4) Cody Hollis – Team Losi Racing – 14/5:20.485
6.(11)Justin Cranford – Team Durango – 13/5:12.166
7.(9) Paul Wynn – Team Associated – 13/5:14.028
8.(8) Leon McIntosh – Team Losi Racing – 13/5:15.319
9.(12)Paul Sinclair – X-Factory – 13/5:16.148
10.(6)Max Flurer – Team Associated – 5/2:14.751
11.(10)Damion Borkowicz – Team Associated – 3/1:27.469
12.(7)Jason Ruona – Team Associated – DNS

4WD Buggy A-2 Result
1.(1) Ryan Maifield – Team Associated – 15/5:09.354
2.(8) Zack Genova – Xray – 14/5:07.472
3.(11)Alfredo Arrieta – Xray – 14/5:13.981
4.(7) Ryan Eckert – Kyosho – 14/5:17.284
5.(6) Brett Kingsbury – Team Associated – 14/5:18.317
6.(9) Jimmy Vanderhaar – Team Associated – 14/5:18.474
7.(12)Barry Goodwin – Team Associated – 14/5:20.750
8.(3) Cody Hollis – Team Losi Racing – 14/5:22.405
9.(2) Dustin Evans – Team Losi Racing – 12/4:14.720
10.(5)Damion Borkowicz – Team Associated – 5/1:43.291
11.(4)Jason Ruona – Team Associated – DNS
12.(10)Blaine Cavin – Team Associated – DNS

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