Cavalieri Top Qualifier for JConcepts Finals

Ryan Cavalieri is the 2WD Mod Buggy Top Qualifier at the JConcepts Indoor National Series Finals in Omaha, Nebraska.  The Associated driver claimed an early pole position for the biggest class at the Hobby Plex hosted event when he backed up his Q1 topping performance with another TQ run ahead of Jared Tebo in the second of the three qualifying rounds.  The Top 4 for Q2 would be a repeat of Q1 with World Champion Spencer Rivkin again completing the Top 3 ahead of his mentor Ryan Maifield.

Happy to wrap up the overall TQ early, on what is his first race on the facilities’ indoor dirt track, Cavalieri said he ‘just drove the same (as Q1), made no mistakes, and got around traffic’.  The reigning US National Champion who was the only one to do 16-laps in Q1 admitted however he ‘was pushed a little more this time’ and referring to pressure from Tebo added ‘I worked for it this time’, Tebo managing a 16-lap pace the second time of asking even with a mistake on the final lap.  With the final qualifier effectively now a 5-minute test for Cavalieri, he said the only change he would make would be to switch tyres so as to save his current set of AKAs for tomorrow’s finals.  Asked about racing on the track he said with drivers throwing the cars around more than normal he is happy to be starting out front as its hard to follow when the car in front is sliding around.

Despite setting the fastest lap, Tebo said he was a little frustrated with his car in Q2.  With the grip coming up, he said the rear end of his RB6 was leaning too much as a result.  This in turn was causing the rear end to snap out, leading to his two mistakes over the 5-minutes and its a problem he said he ‘need(s) to figure out’ for Q3.  Although on target for second on the grid with his P2 runs, a TQ run from Rivkin in Q3 could push him back to third.

Commenting on his second qualifier a much happier Rivkin said ‘OK it wasn’t a TQ run but it went really well as I finally got a clean run with no wrecks’. Despite some ‘difficulty with traffic’,  the 17-year-old said ‘I’m driving better now so thats good’ and ‘if I TQ the next one I can get second (on the grid) so thats what I’ll be targeting’.

Having been unhappy with his Q1 performance Maifield said ‘it went better but I’m still trying to figure out everything with the new car’.  Racing the new TLR22 3.0 on dirt for the first time this weekend and having changed his set-up after suffering from no rear grip in Q1 he said he now ‘had way too much traction so the car can’t get around 180 corners’. He said he just needs more time to figure out getting the right balance with set-up changes and ‘what the new beast likes’ adding that its harder when your up against quys who know their cars better.

Wisconsin driver Brad Shearer would set the fifth fastest time.  The Associated driver said his improved pace came from ‘just getting the tyres right’.  Planning to go to a taller pin for Q3 due to it being later in the day he said ‘other than that its been all standard procedure’.  Suffering one little bobble in Q2 he said that was something he would work on cleaning up for the next one.  Behind Shearer, Kyosho driver Kendall Welch completed the Top 6 just ahead of TLR’s Taylor Larsen.

View our event image gallery here.

Video – 2wd Buggy Qualifying Rd2

Maifield TQs first round of 4WD at Hobby Plex

After a frustrating opening 2WD qualifier, Ryan Maifield bounced back in the first of the three rounds of 4WD qualifying at the JConcepts Indoor National Series at Hobby Plex in Omaha to post a convincing TQ.  The TLR driver would be 5-seconds faster than 2WD Q1 pace setter Ryan Cavalieri with last year’s winner Jared Tebo posting a P3 run.  Behind the big three big names of offroad, teenagers Spencer Rivkin, Austin Horne and Damion Borkowicz would complete the Top 6.

After breaking his TLR22-4 in the warm-up for the single seeding round and having to do a rush job to fix the steering rack for the short 3-minute run last night, Maifield said he knew going into today’s first qualifier that he would have a better car.  P2 in seeding behind Cavalieri, he said his car was ‘easy to drive’ and he was ‘able to push really hard and it sticks’.  Having got by Cavalieri after a mistake by the Associated driver, the Arizona driver would also suffer one small mistake.  Getting out of shape at the double double, the mistake would also delay Cavalieri with Maifield admitting he ‘got a little lucky’ not to have lost more time.  Asked if he planned any set-up changes for Q2 he replied ‘wash tyres, sauce tyres and run it’.

Cavalieri said his B44.3 was inconsistent for the first few laps leading to the mistake that would let Maifield passed.  Getting caught up then with Maifield, he said he benefited from a mistake by Tebo with ‘2nd position Ok for a not very good run’.  Suffering with his car having too much initial turn-in but not enough mid corner steering, the multiple World Champion will change his front diff oil for Q2.

Tebo said his ZX6 was good for most of the track but at the switch back following the triple he was struggling with a little understeer.  This would lead to mistakes twice through the section with his fastest lap 3/10th off that of Maifield’s.  Planning to make changes for Q2 he said he was not sure what but with a few hours between rounds he said he would ‘do lunch first and then figure it out’.

Rivkin reported similar issues to Cavalieri, the AE team-mates running the same diff set-up.  Inconsistent at the start he said it improved towards the end. Looking to get greater consistency over the 5-minutes, the 17-year-old will change back to ‘how we would normally run the diffs’.

15-year-old Horne described his P5 as a ‘clean run’ saying he ‘didn’t push too hard’.  Struggling a little with how his B44.3 is landing he will make a suspension change for Q2 which he hopes will give him the confidence to push a little harder.

Describing his Associated as ‘a little weird to drive at the beginning’, JConcepts protege Borkowicz put the early ‘twitchy’ feeling down to having rebuilt his B44.3 diffs for Q1.  Getting passed by Maifield during the qualifier and with the car improving and getting more grip, the 15-year-old said he was able to keep with the TLR driver.  Also feeling his tyres got better over the run he plans to change nothing and just focus on his driving.

View our event image gallery here.

Cavalieri takes first qualifier at JConcepts Finals

Ryan Cavalieri has TQ’d the opening round of 2WD Mod Buggy Qualifying at the JConcepts Indoor National Series Finals in Omaha.  Racing for the first time on the HobbyTown USA Hobby Plex indoor track, the Associated driver was the only one to run 16-laps to top the times from practice top seed & last year’s winner Jared Tebo.  9/10th back on Tebo, World Champion Spencer Rivkin would complete the Top 3 ahead of Ryan Maifield, the TLR driver clearly unhappy with his opening performance.

Second fastest in practice yesterday, Cavalieri said ‘I just drove a little better than last night. The car had the same speed but I was a little more awake today’.  Starting behind Tebo but managing to get passed his rival early on, he said once in front his focus was to ‘maintain it (the TQ pace) and do nothing stupid’ adding ‘traffic in front was (his) biggest worry’.  While he felt the track was a little drier today he will leave his Orion powered B5M unchanged for Q2.

‘Pretty good’ was how Tebo summed up his Q1 performance.  Suffering a couple of mistakes, one costly one coming through traffic near the end which required him to be marshalled, the factory Kyosho driver said ‘I’m having a hard time being really consistent in spots (of the track)’.  He added ‘the car felt good but its missing a little something’ and he will ‘try a couple of things for the next one’.

After catching the piping on his opening two laps, Rivkin said he needs to drive a little more conservative at the start of Q2.  The 17-year-old said after his untidy start, he was able to catch the leaders and setting the fastest lap of the race he said ‘if you take away mistakes I would have been really close with them’.  Happy with his Reedy powered B5M he will leave it unchanged for Q2.

Fifth fastest, having struggled in seeding practice leaving him to run in the second fastest heat, Brent Thielke described his result as ‘not too bad’.  Making a number of changes to his B5M, the Team Associated Team Manager said ‘in the warm-up it didn’t feel that good’ and so he took it easy over the 5-minutes but ‘for the heat (he’d) take it’.  Feeling his tyres were ‘too squirmy’ for Q2 he will run a different set of JConcepts Dirt Webs feeling his current set was possibly over sauced.

Completing the Top 6, Taylor Larsen said he ‘wasn’t expecting it’.  The 17-year-old TLR driver said he ‘didn’t think the consistency was going to be there’ but his 22 3.0 felt really good adding he was ‘not sure if the track had come to the car’.  Planning to leave the car as is for Q2 he said the only thing he would be doing different would be to ‘drive a little harder’.

View our event image gallery here.