Video – 4wd Invitational Rd2

Maifield & Neumann double up in Round 2

Bringing Day 2 of racing at the 21st running of the Reedy Race of Champions to a close, Round 2 of 4WD netted double wins for Ryan Maifield and Joern Neumann with Jared Tebo, points table leader at the end of 2WD, claiming his first 4WD win.  A round that saw all three drivers take straight forward wins, the biggest drama was for Steven Hartson, the World Champion suffering a DNF having started out his preferred class with only a fourth from a front row start in Round 1.  The round would also see Cavalieri lose ground to now points leader Maifield as he took third in his race behind Neumann and Travis Amezcua.  The result also sees Neumann go ahead of Cavalieri in the points table.

Opening the round was Neumann’s race with Travis ‘Peanut’ Amezcua starting on the pole.  Keeping his Durango out front for nine laps Amezcua would eventually relinquish the lead to his former team-mate Neumann, who started 4th, with the German going on to win by 3.3 seconds.  Behind the two Durangos, the battle for third would be fought out between Associated team-mates Cavalieri and Carson Wernimont.  Starting 7th on the grid, Cavalieri found himself 9th after lap 1 but working his way back to the front his progress would end when he ran with Wernimont as the two battled it out. Setting the fastest lap of the race new team recruit Wernimont challenged his senior team-mate hard until an error on the last lap.  Also making a last lap mistake, Amezcua almost handed away his equal best finishing position of the event crossing the line just 0.6 of a second in front of Cavalieri.

Race 2 would have Hupo Honigl on pole, the race marking the Austrian’s debut for Serpent although in 4WD he is running a Durango here as he waits on their soon to be released 4WD chassis which Easton is running in the event.  Pulling an early lead, once Maifield got passed Joona Haatanen, the American star expressing to AE team-manager Brent Theilke after the race that he was impressed by the Associated supported 11-year-old Finn, that lead would quickly diminish.  Going to the front on lap 11, the TLR driver would pull clear to win by 2.7 seconds with Honigl in turn finishing 1.4 up on Haatanen with Dustin Evans coming through from 10th to claim a fourth.

The closing race would turn out to be a very easy win for Tebo.  Lining up on pole position, the Kyosho driver, even with only the fifth fastest lap time of the race, cruised to a 7.2 seconds win over Associated’s Spencer Rivkin with Ty Tessmann completing the Top 3.

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Video – 4wd Invitational Rd1

Neumann, Phend & Maifield win opening 4WD encounter

The opening round of 4WD at the Reedy Race of Champions would see wins for Ryan Maifield, Joern Neumann and Dakotah Phend but it was Neumann’s win from the back of the grid that would be the biggest talking point.  While Maifield’s relatively straight forward win from 10th of the grid would move the TLR driver to the top of the points table, and Phend converted pole position into a convincing win over Ty Tessmann, the action all happened in the opening race.

With David Ronnefalk starting on pole position the new HB signing would lead away Ryan Cavalieri for the first lap until a bad landing off the triple on lap 2.  Next lap however new leader Cavalieri, who started 3rd, would make a mistake at the lumps leading onto the straight handing the lead back to Ronnefalk.  All the time 2012 Champion Neumann was working his way to the front.  Closing in on the two leaders, the German got his Durango past Cavalieri after the defending champion made an error in the bowl, Neumann surviving head on contact with the Associated. Closing in on Ronnefalk, Neumann would make a move on the inside at the Esses but touching wheels the Swede would roll over.  Waiting for for his fellow European to resume position as Neumann opened the door he blocked Cavalieri and the three exited the Associated Esses in the order they entered it.  A second incident would again see Neumann and Ronnefalk again come together as the race entered the final minute.  Entering the top right corner Neumann would make contact with Ronnefalk with the D413 ending up in the piping with Neumann driving over him to take the lead, Cavalieri also able to slip through leaving Ronnefalk to finish 3rd.

‘My hardest race of 4WD starting from the back and I won so I am very happy’.  Having ‘hoped for a Top 3 finish’, the European Champion said once I saw I was faster than the leaders I tried to overtake them’.  Of the first incident he said ‘David went wide and went for the pass but hit him. I waited on him and then Cavalieri hit me, what was I supposed to do’.  His view of the second incident was that Ronnefalk was already out of shape and hit the pipe before he hit him so he didn’t need to wait.

Ronnefalk who after a tough run in 2WD, this being his first Reedy Race appearance, said ‘it was a going good as I had the lead but then Joern hit me’.  Getting the lead again he said ‘then he ran into the back of me and I end up third which sucks when you know you could have won was it not for an incident outside your control’.  Adding that ‘everyone has their own version of what happened but looking forward my car is really good and I feel really confident with it’.

Cavalieri said he made a great start and then threw it away with a crash.  Calling Neumann’s block of his car after his move on Ronnefalk a ‘bogus move’, he said the second move was a ‘bummer for Ronnefalk’.  ‘Obviously I would have liked the win but happy to get away with a second for the first round (of 4WD)’.

Commenting on his win over Drew Moller and Dustin Evans, Maifield said his ‘start was a little shakey’ but then he ‘got moving’.  With 4WD getting a practice run after the completion of 2WD, he said with his TLR22-4 needed a little more steering he made a change to the set-up but when the first race came around the track had more traction and so for the Round 2 he will go back to his previous set-up.  In the same race having started second on the grid and holding the lead after a mistake from pole sitter Chad Due, Steven Hartson race would go downhill with the World Champion ended up a distant 4th.  In Phend’s race the main battle was for second between back row start Ty Tessmann and Carson Wernimont who started 3rd with Tessmann getting second.

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Video – 2wd Invitational Rd6