Chassis Focus – Ryan Maifield

Chassis – TLR 22 2.0
Motor – Orion VST2 7.5
ESC – Orion R10.1 Pro
Battery – Orion 4500mAh Shorty
Tyres – JConcepts Gold Dirt Webs
Radio/Servos – Airtronics/Spektrum
Body – JConcepts Silencer
Remarks – TLR team driver Ryan Maifield is running the TLR22 2.0 with the same setup as Surf City but has gone down 2.5 weight on the front shocks to get the car to turn more on the OCRC Raceway track. Choosing to run the JConcepts Silencer bodyshell he says it gives good low speed steering compared to other options available to him.

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Maifield & Moller top practice at Reedy Race

Ryan Maifield and Drew Moller topped practice for the 21st running of the Reedy Race of Champions at OCRC Raceway today in California.  Last year’s runner-up, Maifield took his TLR22 to the fastest lap time in the third and final round of 2WD practice ahead of team-mate & last year’s 2WD Open class winner JP Richards.  In 4WD it was new HB signing Moller who set the pace from defending Champion Ryan Cavalieri and Maifield, the Ryans best lap time separated by 0.001 of a second.

Maifield declared himself happy with how he ended out practice.  Managing to find more steering, something he said everyone was struggling with today, he described his 2WD as having a good combination of speed and consistency.  Having had some issues with the triple, Maifield said moving to a different position on the drivers stand helped him get that figured out.  In 4WD he said he left his TLR22-4 unchanged other than a new set of tyres and like his 2WD he said it felt both fast and comfortable to drive.

Describing his D413 as ‘awesome’, Moller felt he got used to the track in the final practice.  Having missed the opening practices due to a school exam this morning but allowed to run with the open class so as to not be at a disadvantage in terms of breaking in tyres, the 18-year-old said he is very happy with both his cars. Running a Kyosho in 2WD, Moller would post the 6th fastest lap time in the final practice despite popping a dog bone after running too much droop.

Running for the first time in the invitation class, having booked his place in the 30-driver line-up with his win in 2WD Open last year, Richards was very happy with his day, in particular his 2WD pace.  With the real action set to get underway tomorrow with four rounds of heads up 2WD racing, he said his TLR22 is super easy to drive as well as being consistent.  In 4WD he said ‘some drastic’ set-up changes for the final practice had improved his TLR22-4 considerably.

Chasing a third consecutive Reedy Race title this weekend, having become its most winning driver when he took his third win last year, Cavalieri said it was just a case of driving his cars from here on in.  Happy with his 2WD, he said on his B44.3 a change to the rear pistons was ‘not as a good’ and he will revert to the set-up he ran in the opening two practices.  Also running a new set of tyres in his final practice, he said they came in good towards the end which was good should he need a second set later in the event.

Having set the pace in early 2WD practice, another of this year’s invitation class debutants Spencer Rivkin said a change to his B5M left him a loose car in the final practice.  Changing the car’s gearing so as to move the motor more forward the 16-year factory Associated driver will revert back to the set-up he started out with.  Having left his 4WD unchanged over the day, the said both cars are good for racing with them comfortable to drive but still having a lot of speed.

Having endured a tough Reedy Race last year when the race moved to his home track, Steven Hartson will be hoping for a better run at OCRC this time round. Claiming the fastest time over three consecutive laps in 2WD buggy today, the 4WD World Champion said now that his tyres are broken in everything is good and ready to go racing. In 4WD he said the car is good but he has ‘just got to stop breaking it’ and ‘calm down’ so as to be more consistent.

Completing the podium last year, Ty Tessmann was happy with both his cars.  Using the last 2WD practice to run in new tyres, the Canadian said while he expects to run just the same set of tyres for the event it was good to have a second set broken in should they be needed. In 4WD he said the anti squat and kick-up changes worked well and he is happy to leave it unchanged for the racing.  With drivers getting to practice a start in the final round of practice, the 1:8 World Champion said it is hard to pass and you have to force way through so he said the front row starts are going to be important.

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Tessmann heads 4WD practice at Reedy Race

After two rounds of 4WD practice at the Reedy Race of Champions in California, HB’s Ty Tessmann heads the pace with the Canadian setting the fastest lap time from Ryan Maifield and World Champion Steven Hartson.  Defending champion Ryan Cavalieri would end up fourth quickest despite pulling an arm off his Associated in the second practice.  With a best lap of 20.457, Tessmann was fastest by 0.140 from Maifield with Hartson running an almost identical time around the OCRC Raceway track to his former team-mate.

The reigning US National Champion, Tessmann described his D413 as being ‘really good’ around the OCRC track. Running the buggy unchanged for the opening two rounds of practice, for the third & final practice which brings Day 1 of the 21st running of the Reedy Race of Champions to a close, the 1:8 World Champion will use the track time try a kick up and the anti squat change with drivers not set to run their 4WD cars again until Saturday as the heads up racing gets underway tomorrow with 2WD.

‘(I) liked the way it felt and thats all that matters’ was how Maifield summed up his TLR22-4’s performance.  The Arizona driver said ‘I havent been watching the times but I thought it was good and its comfortable to drive’.  For the final practice he said might go down in the front oil and lower the rear roll.

Hartson said he thought his LRP powered B44.3 was good to drive but at the same time he felt something was not right with it. On stripping it down afterwards, he found that it had both a cracked t-plate and diff casing which he hopes once replaced will leave him with an even better car for the final practice.

Cavalieri said his B44.3 ‘was going good until he clipped the pipe’.  Suspecting he caught one of the pipe couplers leading to a broken front right arm, he said other than replace the arm he would again run the car unchanged as it ‘felt good’ to drive.

Having missed the opening two 2WD and first 4WD practice runs due to sitting final exams at school, Drew Moller got his Reedy Race off to a good start as he set the fifth fastest time on his first run around the track.  One of HB’s new signings to a greatly expanded team for 2015, Moller said his D413 was good with him adding that he is ‘loving the track’.  For P3, the 18-year-old plans to run his car unchanged and just let the tyres come in more.

With late Reedy Race invitation class entry Barry Baker completing the Top 6 times driving a D413, it was a strong overall showing for the HB team with David Ronnefalk making it four D413s in the Top 10 as he posted the 7th fastest time.  The Reedy Race debutant said while his car is very easy to drive he is making too many driver errors.  The Swede is over jumping a lot of the jumps and while he has improved this he said he still needs to work on his timing of the jumps adding he ‘should be alright’ once he gets it figured out.

Dakotah Phend would set the 8th fastest time with his TLR22-4.  Struggling somewhat with his 2WD, the 17-year-old said his 4WD is ‘really good’ and he has changed nothing on the set-up, focusing instead on just breaking in tyres, the 4WD classes running a handout Pro-Line Electron tyre front and rear.

Running Serpent’s soon to be released first entry in the 4WD buggy market, former Reedy Race Champion Billy Easton set the 9th fastest lap time with the Top 10 being completed by Kyosho’s Jared Tebo.

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