Q2 Truck Update

The second round of qualifying for the 2WD truck classes at the Pro-Line Cactus Classic saw Associated set the pace with Cavalieri and Maifield topping Mod Truck and 2WD Short Course respectively. Having dominated the morning’s opening qualifier, Maifield was unable to repeat his morning 13-lap run, taking third for the round behind defending champion Cavalieri and TLR’s Dustin Evans both of whom knocked 4 seconds off their 12-lap Q1 runs. Although he again set the fastest lap for the round, albeit slower then that he set in Q1, Maifield said the ‘track was really hurting’ second time round. Cavalieri who is the class’ defending champion said his T4.1 was ‘dialled’.

The US National 2WD Short Course Champion, Maifield took a convincing TQ run in the class finishing almost eight seconds clear of Kyosho’s Jared Tebo. Setting a new fastest lap the defending Cactus champion said his SC10 seems to always work irrespective of the track conditions. Cavalieri who set the third fastest time head of fellow Associated driver Kody Numedahl struggled with jumping at the quad section in front of the drivers stand. Running the same set of tyres he ran in the morning he said he struggled to get the traction he needed in the run up to the big air jumps. Due to the 400 plus entry for this the 26th running of the Pro-Line Cactus Classic, they are running a dry track which makes it very abrasive and heavy on tyres.

Round 2 Qualification (Top 6)
Mod Truck
1. Ryan Cavalieri – Associated – 12/5:02.005
2. Dustin Evans – TLR – 12/5:02.811
3. Ryan Maifield – Associated – 12/5:03.226
4. Mike Truhe – TLR – 12/5:09.394
5. Brian Kimwald – Associated – 12/5:09.506
6. Dakotah Phend – TLR – 12/5:09.791

2WD Short Course
1. Ryan Maifield – Associated – 12/5:08.844
2. Jared Tebo – Kyosho – 12/5:16.518
3. Ryan Cavalieri – Associated – 12/5:17.567
4. Kody Numedahl – Associated – 12/5:20.439
5. Dustin Evans – TLR – 12/5:22.033
6. Cody Turner – TLR – 12/5:25.095

View our event image gallery here.

Cavalieri fastest in first Buggy qualifier

Ryan Cavalieri has TQ’d the opening round of qualifying for both Buggy classes at the 26th running of the Pro-Line Cactus Classic. In 2WD the World Champion narrowly outpaced team-mate and dominator of the morning’s truck qualifying Ryan Maifield while in 4WD he had a decent advantage at the top of the time sheets over reigning US National Champion Jared Tebo.

Cavalieri said small changes to each of his buggies since yesterday’s practice had made them better.  Running a slightly harder front spring on his B44.1 and changing shock oil on his B4.1 he said they are both now where he wants them and they should be good for the rest of the event.  With all drivers reporting track conditions as loose, he said he adapted a smooth driving style to suit and this paid dividends as he was also able to take his Pro-Line equipped buggies to the fastest lap in each class.

Setting the third fastest time behind Maifield, Dustin Evans said while his TLR22 normally struggles in hot conditions when the track surface is as polished as it is here today at the Hobby Town Scottsdale R/C Speedway it felt really good.  Losing a little time when he got it wrong at the quad in front of the driver’s stand, the US Champion feels the cooler conditions of the second qualifier, which will run later this evening, should give him a real chance of a TQ run and other than changing to a different compound tyre he will leave his set-up as is.

One of the surprises of Q1, Cody Tuner was super happy with his run to the fourth fastest time.  Running a Novak powered TLR22, the 20-year-old said like everyone else conditions meant it felt a little loose but overall it was not a big problem for him. Looking to make his buggy a little easier to drive for Q2 he will move his rear hub positioning from the 1D to the 1B hole.

In 4WD Buggy Tebo said he was very lucky to even make the start of his run as he broke his receiver in the warm-up.  Super fast actions by his team, who pulled the receiver from his 2WD Kyosho and transferred it to the Lazer ZX5, meant he made the start and was able to set the second fastest time 2 second off Cavalieri.  Tebo, who was busy on the phone to KO Propo trying to arrange to get new receivers to the track, said his 4WD felt really good but his 2WD needed work as it struggled for grip resulting in him managing only the 13th fastest time for Q1.

Behind Tebo Team Durango’s Travis Amezcua set the third fastest time in 4WD despite his DEX410 needing to be marshaled during the 5-minute qualifier.  The Californian said his buggy was near perfect and the plan for Q2 is to leave everything alone and just drive it harder as in last nights second controlled practice it relished the cooler conditions.  Team-mate Joern Neumann was on a quick run until he broke a rear hub two laps from the finish.  Nursing the broken buggy to the finish the German still managed the 7th fastest time behind the Tamiya of fellow European Champion Lee Martin.

Fifth fastest for the Round behind defending Cactus Champion Maifield was Billy Fisher.  Having split with Team Durango, Fisher is running an Associated in 4WD this weekend and was another driver lucky to start the round.  On the run over the quad on the way to the start loop his B44.1 smacked hard on the landing causing his electrics to completely shut down. It eventually kicked back into life but with the computer giving him a forced start it cost him around 3 seconds in time.  Describing the run as ‘not perfect’ he said there is ‘definitely room for improvement in Q2’.

In 4WD Short Course Truck, which completes the round of 45 Heat groups, Team Losi Racing took a 1-2 with US Champion Dakota Phend setting the fastest time ahead of defending Cactus Classic champion Mike Truhe.  The TLR duo were the only drivers to run 13 laps.  The pace setter in yesterday’s practice Joern Neumann set the third fastest time followed by Durango team-mates Carson Wernimont and Hupo Honigl.

Round 1 Qualification (Top 6)
2WD Buggy
1. Ryan Cavalieri – Associated – 12/5:01.526
2. Ryan Maifield – Associated – 13/5:01.549
3. Dustin Evans – TLR – 12/5:05.815
4. Cody Tuner – TLR – 12/5:10241
5. Brian Kimwald – Associated – 12/5:10.351
6. Dakotah Phend – TLR – 12/5:11.228

4WD Buggy
1. Ryan Cavalieri – Associated – 13/5:10.648
2. Jared Tebo – Kyosho – 13/5:12.726
3. Travis Amezcua – Durango – 13/5:15.200
4. Ryan Maifield – Associated – 13/5:17.989
5. Billy Fisher – Associated – 13/5:20.871
6. Lee Martin – Tamiya – 13/5:21.880

4WD Short Course
1. Dakotah Phend – TLR – 13/5:22.052
2. Mike Truhe – TLR – 13/5:24.067
3. Joern Neumann – Durango – 12/5:01.896
4. Carson Wernimont – Durango – 12/5:02.819
5. Hupo Honigl – Durango – 12/5:03.615
6. Kody Numedahl – Associated – 12/5:10.844

View our event image gallery here.

Maifield tops opening truck qualifiers

Continuing on from setting the pace in yesterday’s practice Team Associated’s Ryan Maifield has topped the opening round of qualifying in both Mod Truck and 2WD Short Course at the Pro-Line Cactus Classic. The Associated driver who is the US National Champion and defending Cactus champion in 2WD Short Course TQ’d that class from Kyosho’s Jared Tebo while in Mod Truck he was the only driver to make 13-laps taking the round ahead of TLR’s Dakotah Phend.

A great morning for Maifield, for whom the Hobby Town Scottsdale R/C Speedway is his home track, he said both runs went pretty well although getting caught on a pipe on his final lap of Mod Truck lost him almost 4 seconds. Happy with the set-up of both trucks he said he wont make any set-up changes for Q2 but will on his Short Course tightening the diff and rebuilding the shocks just to ensure they stay fresh.

Despite flipping his Orion powered TLR 22T and losing around 3 seconds Phend described his opening Mod Truck run as a ‘good first run’. Running a mixture of used front Pro-Line tyres and new rears the 15-year-old said the truck felt good so he doesn’t plan on making any changes for his second run of the day.

Phend’s TLR team-mate Dustin Evans took his 22T to the third fastest time but he was not very happy with his driving. With lots of steering at the beginning of the 5-minute run he said he drove smooth which put him in the hunt for taking the round but then he started to over drive leading to a number of mistakes. Happy with the truck he said he doesn’t need to change anything but instead focus on cleaning up his driving. For TLR’s Mike Truhe the opening qualifier ended before it had even started after he broke a rear wishbone during his warm-up lap.

The defending champion of the Mod Truck class Ryan Cavalieri set the fourth fastest time ahead of Associated team-mate Brian Kinwald. The buggy World Champion said he didn’t drive well in the opening few laps resulting in two mistakes but once he found his rhythm he was happy with his pace saying his tyres got better through the run allowing him to set the fastest lap for the round on his final lap.

Second fastest in 2WD Short Course, Tebo described his run as ‘awesome’. The Kyosho team-leader said his Ultima SCR-SP felt ‘really really good’ but said having fitted a new Orion motor for qualifying the timing was slightly off but other than adjusting this he will run the truck the same for Q2.

Setting the third fastest time behind Tebo, Kinwald was content with his opening run. One of the greats of electric offroad racing, the Associated driver said the track is way off compared to previous events with the clay providing very little bite. Although he said his truck doesn’t feel good to drive he said it was down to the track rather than his set-up and rather than make set-up changes he hopes the track will eventually groove up. Cavalieri completed the Top 4 in Short Course followed by Evans and AE driver Kody Numedahl.

Drivers will now switch their attention to the biggest class of the event 2WD Buggy before Q1 is completed with 4WD Buggy and 4WD Short Course.

Round 1 Qualification (Top 6)
Mod Truck
1. Ryan Maifield – Associated – 13/5:28.114
2. Dakotah Phend – TLR – 12/5:06.009
3. Dustin Evans – TLR – 12/5:06.103
4. Ryan Cavalieri – Associated – 12/5:06.351
5. Brian Kimwald – Associated – 12/5:13.021
6. Charles Hicks – TLR – 12/5:13.664

2WD Short Course
1. Ryan Maifield – Associated – 12/5:12.095
2. Jared Tebo – Kyosho – 12/5:14.609
3. Brian Kimwald – Associated – 12/5:16.699
4. Ryan Cavalieri – Associated – 12/5:16.732
5. Dustin Evans – TLR – 12/5:18.071
6. Kody Numedahl – Associated – 12/5:19.066

View our event image gallery here.

Maifield completes clean sweep in practice

Ryan Maifield completed a clean sweep of controlled practice at the 26th Annual Pro-Line Cactus Classic steering his Team Associated buggies and trucks to the fastest three consecutive laps in all four classes he is contesting at the famous Arizona race. The defending champion of both buggy classes and 2WD Short Course, Maifield said he was helped by his ‘home field advantage’ but added it had been a good day with his equipment working well and needing little or no adjustments in terms of set-up. With two of the four scheduled rounds of qualifying on tomorrow’s timetable he said other than preventative maintenance his biggest job for the rest of the event will be making the right call on which tyre will best suit the conditions at the time of each of his heats.

In 2WD Buggy it was Kyosho’s Jared Tebo who was closest to Maifield’s pace with TLR’s young star Dakota Phend third fastest. Tebo was much happier with both his buggies in the second practice saying the day ended up ‘pretty good’. Planning to run a stiffer rear spring on his Ultima RB5 for qualifying he also plans to fit a fresh Orion motor, while on his Lazer ZX5, which he took to the 6th fastest time, he will run the buggy 4mm shorter.

Behind Maifield in 4WD Buggy it was Team Durango’s Ryan Lutz and Travis Amezcua with Tamiya’s Lee Martin completing the Top 4. Lutz said after his run that his DEX410 still felt loose but put that down to the fact that he was running a used set of tyres from a previous event but expects a fresh set of AKAs tomorrow will give him a even faster buggy.

The defending champion of Mod Truck Cavalieri had to settle for second behind his team-mate Maifield with Dustin Evans’ TLR 22T third fastest. Evans was best of the rest in 2WD Short Course with Associated driver Kody Numedahl setting the third fastest three consecutive laps for the class around the Scottsdale R/C Speedway track.

With Maifield sitting out 4WD Short Course, the fifth of the big classes that make up the Pro-Line Cactus Classic, it was German ace Joern Neumann who set the pace ahead of Team Losi Racing’s Frank Root and Phend with Amezcua fourth followed by defending Champion Mike Truhe.

View our event image gallery here.

26th Cactus Classic underway

First held in 1986, the Cactus Classic is one of the blue ribbon events on the international 1:10 Offroad race calendar and with a massive 423 entries this year the event is as strong as ever. Attracting some of the biggest names in the sport from around the world, the 26th running of the event marks the return of Pro-Line as title sponsor. The tyre company has a long history with the Arizona event and they are delighted to be back involved with the prestigious event which has been held at the current Scottsdale R/C Speedway track location since 1994. For former World Champion Mark Pavidis this will be his 24th time to contest the race, an honour he shares with Richard Lake, while for legendary race announcer Scotty Ernst 2012 marks his first time as race director of America’s longest running international offroad event.

Holding three of the five big titles up for grabs at this year’s Proline Cactus Classic, Ryan Maifield is the pre-event favourite as this is his home track. Living just 10 minutes from the Hobby Town owned track and shop, it was at the previous SRS track location in Scottsdale that the now factory Team Associated driver got his first taste of r/c racing. Competing in his 19th Classic, the 2WD Vice-World Champion, who appears very relaxed, said he is pretty confident ahead of the event adding his aim is to ‘have fun and see what happens’. Set to defend his 2WD & 4WD Buggy and 2WD Short Course titles, Maifield will also compete in Modified Truck, the class in which his team-mate Ryan Cavalieri is Champion. With enough work in preping four cars both Ryan’s will not run in 4WD Short Course, the other big class of the event.

Winner of 4WD Short Course last year Team Losi Racing’s Mike Truhe said his truck felt good to drive in open practice yesterday but added he expects the competition to be a lot tougher this time round especially from the Team Durango of German ace Joern Neumann.

Neumann is one of a number of top European drivers who have traveled over for the Classic and earlier this year created a major upset for the Americans when he beat them on their own doorstep to become the first ever European to win the Reedy Race of Champions. The current European 4WD Buggy Champion, Neumann has gained a lot of experience of racing on clay over the past year is confident he can get all three of his cars in their respective A-Mains as he competes in both Buggy classes and 4WD Short Course in which he finished runner up last year.

Team-mate Hupo Honigl, who had an event here last year he would prefer not to remember said things should be a lot better this year as their cars, in particular their 2WD Buggy, has seen a lot of development in those 12 months. Honigl is one of the most experienced Europeans to compete in the Cactus Classic, the Austrian having been a regular for many years now. European 2WD Buggy Champion Lee Martin has also made the trip over, this being his 6th Classic appearance. Racing only 2 classes, the Tamiya Racing Factory driver who finished on the podium in 4WD Buggy last year, said he is happy with how both his buggies have run in early practice.

While drivers had the opportunity to get in some track time yesterday, today the event officially kicked off with two rounds of controlled practice from which a drivers fastest three consecutive laps will be used to determine a reseed for qualifying tomorrow. After the first round of practice, which due to the size of the entry took 6 hours to run, the early pace is being set by Maifield in 2WD & 4WD Buggy and 2WD Short Course, by Cavalieri in Mod Truck and Neumann in 4WD Short Course. The second round of practice is set to end later tonight under spotlights.

View our event image gallery here.