Orlowski fastest in Q4

Having impressed with a P2 behind already confirmed Top Qualifier Davide Ongaro in Q3, Schumacher’s Michal Orlowski went one better in the penultimate round of qualifying to post his first TQ run of the 1:10 Offroad World Championships.  The reigning European Champion joined Ongaro as the only driver to run 17-laps being just 3/10th off the Italian’s Q3 time.  With Ongaro having a mistake in the centre triple which cost him 3-seconds, Orlowski took control of the fourth qualifier with Dustin Evans and Dakotah Phend in tow but the Polish driver was never really challenged by the Americans.  His team-mate Broc Champlin would post the fourth fastest time backing up the same result registered in the previous round.  Having recorded his best run of P3 in the third round, pre race favourite Spencer Rivkin would set the fifth fastest time 4/10ths up on the reigning Champion Bruno Coelho who completed the Top 6.

Commenting on his TQ run Orlowski said, ‘That last round was awesome’.  He continued, ‘We had a difficult start to qualifying.  Q1 I was 6th with a mistake which was OK but I didn’t start Q2 as I broke on the first lap’.  Suffering a failure on the car, something he thinks he may have initially damaged in Q1,  he said Q3 was extremely good and a much needed boost to his confidence.  ‘The car felt really nice but I had one mistake and now after that last one I am really looking forward to tomorrow.  It feels good to have turned things around’.  He added, ‘Everyone has used their tyres but I have been saving mine for tomorrow so hopefully I can get myself at the sharp end of the grid for the final’.

Evans was happy to take a P2 for the round.  The American driver said, ‘My stuff was good.  I had a 5 and a 5 with mistakes in the first two but had a big mistake in Q3 gave me a 15 but I should now be locked into a Top 5 start.’  He continued, ‘they were announcing it was close but I didn’t go for the TQ and just kept it in cruise control as I know if I kept it clean I get a 1,2 or 3 for the round.  I will try to improve my overall tomorrow’.

After a tough third round Phend summed up his Q4 performance with ‘I just managed to get a good run’.  Asked about his car he said it was ‘decent’ but later elaborated that that was the worst it has been throughout qualifying.  Runner up to Bruno Coelho at the last World Championship four years ago in Slovakia, the TLR driver added, ‘I’ll try to get second tomorrow and give myself a shout for the Main’.  Looking to improve the car for the fifth & final qualifier he said he will use the morning’s free practice to try something to improve his buggy.

‘We improved a ton on consistency’ was Champlin’s reaction to his pair of P4 runs.  The American continued, ‘we just need to get a little more grip out of the car and we are good’.  Having really found his form this year with his Schumacher buggies, he said he will make a few changes he wants to try in practice in the morning and go from there in terms of how he will set up the car for the final qualifier.

Asked how qualifying was going, Rivkin said he had ‘no complaints, I just need to drive better’.  The Team Associated driver added, ‘there are a lot of quick guys here so it’s going to be tight at the top but I am looking forward to it’. Counting 3 from the four rounds the 2WD World Champion is provisionally holding 4th on the grid.

Explaining his disappointing Q3 result, Coelho said, ‘we changed something and it didn’t work.  It was very difficult to drive’.  With the car changed again for today’s final run he said it was ‘now good’ but explained a bobble cost him 2-seconds and a potential Top 3 run.  Sitting 5th on the grid overnight, he said, ‘It is very tough out there. It’s the same for everyone but the aim for tomorrow is to put in a good solid run and try improve our grid position’.

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Ongaro Top Qualifier at 4WD World Championship

Davide Ongaro is the Top Qualifier for the 2023 Offroad Worlds, the Italian securing the pole position for tomorrow’s 4WD finals with his third TQ run in as many rounds at Hobby Action RC Raceway.  Having had a good battle with Dakotah Phend for the fastest time in Q2, the Team Associated driver made Q3 his own being the first & only driver to run 17-laps over the 5-minutes.  On a track that many expected would strongly favour the US drivers and challenge the Europeans, the round would see a European 1-2 as Schumacher’s Michal Orlowski set the second fastest time ahead of Spencer Rivkin and Broc Champlin.  Having shown promise with a P3 in the second round, defending Champion Bruno Coelho had a rough round finishing well down the order and it was a similar case for Top seed Phend, the TLR driver classified 21st for the round.

Reacting to his latest run, Ongaro said, ‘Finally no mistakes and I did 17-laps.  I also had that pace in the second one but two bobbles cost me a lot’.  Having found himself in the B-Main at the last 4WD Buggy Worlds in 2019 at the Hudy Arena, the reigning 1:8 Buggy World Champion didn’t seem phased by the significance of his overall TQ.  Asked if it came as a surprise, he said, ‘Yes it is a US style track but I like it and I am able to drive good here.  We still have two more rounds of qualifying to go so we will get them out of the way first and then think about the finals’.  While best known for his 1:8 racing exploits and back to back World Championship titles, Ongaro has a strong CV in 1:10 Electric Buggy having finished runner-up to team-mate Spencer Rivkin at the last Worlds and having also been a European Champion in the category.  Asked about his driver’s performance Team Associated Team Manager Brent Thielke said, ‘It was not expected but it’s not a surprise’.

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Ongaro takes opening qualifier at Worlds

David Ongaro has taken the opening round of qualifying at the World Championship in Arizona.  The Team Associated driver, who was second fastest in practice, took the first of the five rounds of qualifying ahead teenagers  Tater Sontag and Marcus Kaerup.  Leading out the field as Top Seed for qualifying, Dakotah Phend would end up on his roof in the whoops section early in the run forcing Ongaro to go the long way around his TLR as he went to the top of the times sheets.  With the drivers super close on pace, a moment would then drop the Italian back off the top as Kaerup, Sontag and Dustin Evans all took turns at setting the TQ pace.  In the end a late charge from Ongaro gave him the TQ by just 6/10oths over Sontag with Kaerup 1.9-second further back.  Running in the second fastest heat Ty Tessmann would post the fourth fastest time ahead of Evans who gave away a potential TQ run with a late mistake at the end of the main straight.

‘A close one’, was Ongaro’s reaction to his TQ run.  He continued, ‘I had a few bobbles on my opening lap and then when Phend flipped I had to go around but my car was comfortable to drive’.  The back to back 1:8 Buggy World Champion added, ‘It’s hard to not make mistakes and everyone is super close.  For the next one we will just put on another set of new tyres and thats it.  Try to make no mistakes’.

16-year-old Sontag described his opening performance as a ‘really clean run’.  Changing the diff oils on his TLR for Q1 he his buggy was really good and he was able to just focus on hitting all his likes but he would experience some issues with laps traffic at the end that cost him time’.  Planning to leave his car unchanged for Q2 he will also run the same set of tyres saying they wants to ‘see how they are aging’.  Summing up his qualifier team-mate Phend said, ‘the whoops were never an issue before but that time they got me twice.  I need to clean her up for the next one’.

2022 European 4WD Champion Kaerup described his Q1 as ‘very clean’ adding ‘I didn’t want to do anything silly and just stay calm but Davide (Ongaro) came like a rocket ship at the end’.  The 15 year-old Dane is looking to get a few more solid runs in to getting settle and if that goes well he might consider going ‘all out’ for the last two.

In the same heat as team-mate and defending Champion Bruno Coelho, Tessman was happy with Q1 saying ‘a good opening run always  makes you more confident going forward’.  While admitting he still needs to find more speed, the Xray driver said his buggy was ‘100 times better than early practice’.  Asked what they are lacking he replied, ‘we need more turn in the 180 degree corners but we are working on getting that and its better each run’.

Completing the Top 5 ahead of Michal Orlowski, Evans, ‘I got to the lead and then hit the pipe at the end of the straight’.  He continued, ‘the double at the end of the straight is tricky and I was trying to keep a tight line to get it right but I turned to early’.  The Reedy team driver said, ‘5th for a round at the World Championship with a crash shows I have the speed so I am confident for the next one but I need to decide what tyre choice to make for it’.

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