16-year-old Sontag crowned World Champion in Arizona

A new 2WD Offroad World Champion has been crowned in Arizona with 16-year-old Tater Sontag becoming the 14th different winner of the sport’s most prestigious Title with a flawless win in A2 ahead of outgoing Champion Spencer Rivkin.  Showing moments of promise in 4WD but just missing cut with P11 in qualifying, when the event switched to 2WD the Team Losi Racing driver found a form that put the American right in the mix with the World’s RC establishment.  Two TQ runs in qualifying en-route to becoming overall Top Qualifier was an indication of what was to come.  Winning A1, the nerves of the big occasion highlighted by some mistakes he would survive, that result just sent his confidence even higher.  Despite the pressure of Rivkin and newly crowned 4WD Champion Davide Ongaro taking turns at chasing him down, Tater drove a near perfect race to secure the World Title on his Championship debut.  A3 would decide who joined him on the podium at Hobby Action RC Raceway, second place qualifier Rivkin dominating from the front to lock in 2nd overall.  Holding off Schumacher team-mate Ryan Cavalieri for second in A3, Broc Champlin completed the all American podium line-up.

With the realisation of what he just achieved not yet fully set in, summing up the event Sontag said, ‘My goal coming here was just to make the Main.  I just wanted to dip my toe in the sand.  We got close in 4WD so I was super bummed to qualify 11th, then from the start of 2WD everything clicked for me.  I never expected this this year’.  Explaining 1:8 Offroad has been his main focus the last 2-years, he said he has only raced 1:10 four or five times in the last year.  Asked about the A2 win that gave him the Title, he said, ‘I had a pretty clean start with myself and Spencer getting a gap. He then had a mistake at the triple which gave me some breathing space but then Ongaro started closing me down until he had a mistake at the same place’.  He continued, ‘Spencer was coming very fast at the end but I knew if I could just keep in on four wheels and between the pipes I would be good’.  A Title TLR has been chasing for 20-years, Sontag said, ‘my car was phenomenal and super easy to drive around’.  Starting with the iconic race brand when beginning in the hobby at the age of ‘6-ish’, he said they are the only chassis sponsor he has ever had and he acknowledged the contribution team-mate Dakotah Phend has made to today’s success.

Asked to sum up his 2WD campaign,  Rivkin said, ‘Congrats to Tater, he drove an awesome race.  I gave everything I had but came up a little short’.  A driver who was widely tipped to dominant at his home track due to its very unique dirt, finishing runner-up in both 4WD and 2WD the Team Associated driver said, ‘I’m happy how it ended.  It couldn’t have been any better.  Sure I could have TQ’d but all you need to do is give yourself a chance and that’s what I did.  I put it all out there so I can be happy with that.’

Having missed the A-Mains four years ago at the last World Championships in Slovakia, Champlin said, ‘I’m happy with the podium.  We had the pace and car to be able to win.  If I had qualified better who knows’.  Posting a TQ run in the final qualifier to line-up fourth on the grid, the Las Vegas driver said A1 was a set back, his race coming undone on the opening lap.  A driver who has really come to the fore, just missing the podium in 4WD behind team-mate Michal Orlowski, he concluded, ‘it has been awesome year and we’ll try to keep it going’.

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Video – 2WD A-Main Leg 2

Video – 2WD A-Main Leg 1

Sontag converts in A1

World Championship Top Qualifier Tater Sontag has converted his pole position into a win in the opening A-Main of 2WD.  The Team Losi Racing driver  survived a number of moments including one on the opening lap to lead a chaotic race from start to finish.  Getting a few opportunities to challenge Sontag at the front, sixth place qualifier Aydin Horne would finish 2nd after seeing off a challenge from multiple World Champion Ryan Cavalieri, the Schumacher having to give back a place to the Team Associated after they made contact.  Starting second on the grid defending Champion Spencer Rivkin had a rough opening lap that dropped him to last with the Arizona driver only able to recover to 6th behinds team-mate Davide Ongaro.

With the emotional pressure of starting from pole on his 1:10 Worlds pouring out as he sealed the A1, Sontag summed up his winning effort with, ‘It was a little rough for sure.  I had a moment on the first lap but lucky still came out in front.  I had one more bobble myself so for sure getting that race done is a lot of weight off my shoulder.’

‘Honestly it was a surprise to move up the field like and I was caught off guard by my position’, was Horne’s reaction to the first of the three A-Mains.  The 21-year-old continued, ‘I went defensive instead of offensive but it was a good race’.

Cavalieri said, ‘I got a great start man and drove around the carnage’.  He added, ‘I thought I could get around Aydin but clipped the pipe and we made contact.  I didn’t feel it warranted a penalty but I had to give the spot back.’  Fired up by his race, the Californian said, ‘I’ll try do the same thing and try not be in the carnage’.

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Sontag is 2WD World Championship Top Qualifier

Tater Sontag will line-up as Top Qualifier on his 2WD World Championship debut, the 16-year-old securing pole for the title deciding A-Main with a P3 for the fifth & final round of qualifying this morning in Arizona.  With several drivers desperate for a strong round this morning to make the cut for the A-Main, it would be Broc Champlin who came out fastest from Davide Ongaro and Sontag.  Reigning European Champion Marcus Kaerup had been on target to TQ the round until he came upon traffic.  With no call from the race control, onlooker calling for the call to be made by officials for the traffic to open on, as the Dane tried to execute a pass they tangled.  Losing almost 2-seconds, a clearly frustrated Kaerup would finish P5 for the round.  Having TQ’d the opening qualifier Dakotah Phend would need to be marshalled and Q4 pace setter Spencer Rivkin would have a mistake meaning they didn’t better their points tally.  Overall Rivkin will try to defend his World Title from P2 behind Tater and ahead of newly crowned 4WD Champion Ongaro who lines up third followed by Champlin.

Commenting on Q5, Tater said, ‘It went well.  I knew that Spencer and Dakotah were going to  push for the TQ but I could see in my peripheral vision that Dakotah had a bad first lap and then Spencer had a mistake.  After that I just tried to run a decent round and hit my marks like I have been trying to do every other run’.  Asked about the finals, the 16-year replied, ‘I’m going to freshen up my car and just do what I can.  I’ll try to hit my marks and see what happens’.

‘I was going good but made a driver error all on my own’, explained Rivkin.  Looking to the finals, the Team Associated driver who is chasing a third 2WD World Championship Title today, said, ‘Congrats to Tater on the TQ but think we are in a good position.  We are starting P2 and we’ll let it rip.’

Ongaro said, ‘I’m happy with 3rd place in the A-Main.  We arrived at our goal to make the A-Main’.  The Italian continued, ‘I tried for the TQ but I think 3rd place is a better position for the start.  It will be a close race but 2WD you can make more mistakes so let’s see’.

Making it four different drivers to post a TQ run over the five rounds of qualifying, Champlin said, ‘my car car was easy to drive and felt fast.  The run put us 4th for the Mains’.  Confident he can race at the front in the finals,  the Schumacher driver said, ‘there will be a lot of opportunities as everyone is having bobbles over a run so we’ll aim to capitalise on that and try to move forward in the race’.

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