Truck Champions top first Cactus qualifier

Defending truck champions Ryan Cavalieri and Ryan Lutz got their Proline Cactus Classic campaigns off to the perfect start as they TQ’d the opening round of qualifying in Mod Truck and 2WD Short Course respectively this morning at SRS Raceway in Scottsdale, Arizona. For 4WD Short Course Champion Joern Neumann and Team Durango there was some controversy in the opening qualifier as the entire team with the exception of Ryan Lutz were disqualified from the top heat for running rear spoilers on their trucks but ultimately it was Team Losi Racing’s Billy Fischer who set the pace.

Driving his Orion powered T4.2, Cavalieri was pleased to put in a strong opening qualifier but said following the re-sugaring of the track after controlled practice last night conditions were a little tricky. Driving a safe round, the US National Champion said as there was ‘so much traction’ he did not push too much and that approach paid off. Second fastest in 2WD Short Course, he said the run was ok but he had a little understeer due to running different front & rear tyres and so for Q2 will run the same tyre pattern all around.

Setting the second fastest time, 1.8 seconds behind Cavalieri, Dustin Evans said after an early mistake at the triple he just tried to keep his Orion powered TLR 22T on all four wheels. The Team Losi Racing driver said traction was even higher today which makes for tricky driving conditions and even though the second qualifier will run at night he will change to a thicker oil in his shocks. Third fastest in 2WD Short Course, Evans said his truck was the best it has been yet but the run featured too many mistakes. For Q2 the Colorado driver said he will make some small set-up changes in an attempt to make it a little more stable in the high speed corners.

Neumann took his Durango to the third fastest time in Mod Truck, the German declaring it a ‘good’ first run. Running JConcepts Barcodes on the rear and Pressure Points on the front of his Speed Passion powered DEST210 he said he had a little understeer and so for Q2 will run Barcodes all round.

Having topped yesterday’s controlled practice in both 2WD truck classes, Maifield was not happy with his own performance in the Mod Truck. Describing his Reedy powered T4.2 as really good, the Arizona driver who is one of the most straight talking drivers in the sport said he was a ‘retard’ and ‘crashed like a dip shit’. At the end of the 5-minute qualifier he would post the fourth fastest time. In 2WD Short Course there was no such issues as he cruised to the fastest time 3.8 seconds ahead of Associated team-mate Cavalieri.

In 4WD Short Course Pro-Line equipped Fischer lead a TLR 1-2 from his young team-mate Dakotah Phend with Lutz, who retired from his 2WD Short Course qualifier when he popped a rear dog bone, completing the Top 3. An issue that also surfaced last year, the rules on the use of spoilers/wings in Short Course appears not to be very clear but as race director Scotty Ernst announced throughout yesterday’s practice that spoilers were not permitted he had no choice but to exclude the offending drivers.

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Matsukura top seed for qualifying

Team Yokomo’s Naoto Matsukura is the top seed for tomorrow’s qualifying at the Proline Cactus Classic after the Japanese driver set the fastest 3-consecutive laps in both 2WD & 4WD buggy practice today at the SRS Raceway track in Scottsdale, Arizona. Fastest in 2WD at the end of the first round of controlled practice with a time of 64.364, the World Championship finalist couldn’t better his pace during his second run but did still manage to top the CP2 times sharing an identical time with Team Associated Ryan Cavalieri who improved from being 6th fastest to ending the day as the 3rd seed. In 4WD Cavalieri had set the pace in CP1 but having changed to softer shock oil Matsukra was able to knock 8/10ths off his previous time to run a 62.278 and go fastest ensuring both his B-Max buggies start the opening qualifier from the No.1 spot.

Commenting on his form, Matsukura said he was happy with how his day had gone and feels he is in good shape for qualifying – each round set to take a minimum of 7-hours to run meaning just two outings per class per day. Able to improve his B-Max 4 for the second practice he said in 2WD he found the track a little loose hence his best time being 3/10ths slower than the previous round.

Improving his 2WD time by 6/10ths, Cavalieri said his Orion powered B4.2 was ‘on rails’ but in 4WD he lacked power. Having reduced the power profiles on his speedo for his opening run due to the hot sunny conditions at the time he said he could have used a little more power when running at night under the track’s flood lights. The World Champion said this led to him over driving a little but overall he said it was a decent day at the office. Team-mate & defending champion Ryan Maifield ended the day sixth fastest in both buggy categories but will be the number 1 truck in both Mod Truck & 2WD Short Course ahead of Cavalieri and Team Durango’s Ryan Lutz respectively.  Lutz will be the top seed in 4WD Short Course after posting the fastest time in both practice rounds.

Finishing the day second fastest in 2WD and fourth in 4WD, Tebo said the track was a lot different second time round. Switching from running under the beating Arizona sun to driver under night skies, the factory Kyosho driver said it was hard to determine if his set-up was right but he thinks he has it ‘figured out for tomorrow’. Switching back to the foam inserts he ran in Thursday’s free practice he said these where much better than the choice in made for the opening controlled practice.

In 4WD, Joern Neumann is the top European at the end of practice with the 3rd fastest time ahead of Tebo, Dakotah Phend and Maifield. In 2WD the German struggled somewhat where he ended up 8th fastest behind Britian’s Lee Martin. Factory Tamiya driver Martin said his 4WD was ‘not the best’ with it going soft over the run despite the conditions being cooler.

Despite having a motor wire come unsoldered early on in his second 2WD practice, Phend is the top TLR driver with his 22 laying down the 4th fastest time just ahead of team-mate Dustin Evans who is very positive about his 5-minute pace for tomorrow. In 4WD Phend managed to post the fifth fastest time to be the only Team Losi Racing driver to book a spot in the top heat.

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Matsukura & Cavalieri set pace at Cactus Classic

Naoto Matsukura and Ryan Cavalieri set the pace in the opening controlled practice at the Proline Cactus Classis at SRS Raceway in Scottsdale, Arizona, with the Japanese ace fastest over 3-consecutive laps in 2WD Buggy while World Champion Cavalieri topped 4WD. America’s longest running race and one of the most prestigious events on the international 1:10 Offroad racing calendar, the 27th running has attracted a massive 490 entries, a 16% increase on last year, meaning a total of 51 heats with today’s opening day made up of 2 controlled practice runs which will determine heats for tomorrow’s first day of qualifying.

The big talking point of this year’s event has been the sugaring of the track. Using a lawn seeder to cover the track with dry sugar and afterwards water the white track, the result is what most drivers have described as ‘crazy traction. Yokomo team manager Robert Itoh gave a good description of track surface when he said it was like a ‘creme brulee’ but the high grip & fast layout is a hit with his young driver. Over 3/10ths of a second faster than Kyosho’s Jared Tebo, who was second fastest in 2WD, Matsukura said he really likes the unusually high traction. Running his B-Max2 MR in mid motor configuration he said his buggy, which is running on Losi BK Bar Red compound tyres on the rear and silver Taper Pins on the front, feels really good. For the second practice he said he doesn’t plan to make any changes but with the run set to take place at night, each round of heats taking 6 hours to run, he may have to change his shock oil to suit the cooler conditions. Setting the 5th fastest time in 4WD Buggy, the 19-year-old said while the B-Max 4 was easy to drive it suffered a little under steer and for CP2 he will go down in the shock oils feeling a softer buggy would work better.

Runner-up to his Associated team-mate Ryan Maifield last year in both buggy classes last year, Cavalieri said he was happy with how his B44.2 ran. Having dropped the profile settings on his Orion speedo due to the very hot conditions at the time of his first 4WD practice, he said it was a little awkward to drive at the beginning but once he found his rhythm everything felt good. Running AKA Handlebar tyres all round on his Orion powered B44.2 he said he planned to stick with everything the same for tonight’s run. Asked about the track layout and grip, the reigning US National Champion said ‘maybe the layout is a little too quick’ and while the grip is good it is leading to ‘ridiculous tyre wear’. In 2WD, Cavalieri set the 6th fastest time. Starting the run with Handlebar tyres all round switched to a Losi Taper bar in silver on the front which made his B4.2 easier to drive.

Setting the 5th fastest time in 2WD and 6th fastest in 4WD, defending champion Maifield said all was good and that his 2WD time was better than expected considering everyone ahead of him was running a mid motor configuration, an option that is not available to the Associated drivers. Running JConcepts Barcode tyres in Orange compound all round on his Reedy powered B4.2, he said due to the rear motor position he can’t run as fast a laps as the mid motor buggies but his buggy is very consistent and this is what is going to count most over the full 5-minutes of the qualifiers. Living just 10-minutes away from the Hobby Town owned track, Maifield should know the track better than most but says the sugaring of the track is something new and has made it a level playing field for everyone. Having sugar treated the old track and had the opportunity to run on that he said since building the new track and adding the sugar the traction is ‘just crazy’. Commenting on his 4WD, he said overall it was decent but for CP2 he plans to try a different tyre along with freshening up his shocks. Also the defending champion of 2WD Short Course, Maifield topped the times sheets ahead of Ryan Lutz, who was fastest in 4WD Short Course from TLR’s Billy Fischer. In Mod Truck the Arizona driver was also the driver to beat setting the quickest time ahead of team-mate Cavalieri who is the class’s defending champion.

Relishing the high traction, Tebo said overall he was pleased with his RB6 but trying a different foam insert to what he ran in yesterday’s free practice he will revert back for CP2. Running AKA Handlebar tyres in hard compound on the front and medium on the rear he said he will stick with that combo but in addition to the foam change he will also run a harder rear spring to account for today’s higher traction. In 4WD, the former World Champion was only 11th fastest again having also changed foam inserts for CP1.  Planning to go back to what he ran last night he is confident he will be able to improve in CP2.

Scoring a podium double here 12 months ago, Team Losi Racing’s Dakotah Phend set the third fastest time in both 2WD and 4WD Buggy in the first controlled practice. Running Proline’s Ion front tyre and Suburbs on the rear, the teenager said his TLR22 felt really good but even with it set in mid motor configuration the high traction caused a few moments when it wanted to roll over. Planning to stick with the same set-up for CP2 he said his aim is just to work on improving his driving. Describing his 4WD as a ‘little tippy’, he said he will change his shock oil for the next outing. Team-mate Dustin Evans set the fifth fastest time in 2WD. Running JConcepts Barcodes (V2 on the rear) in orange compound the former US National Champion said the track was easy to get around but one needed to be very disciplined to go fast due to the traction and high speed layout. Working more towards his 5-minute pace rather than outright pace the Colorado driver said he is very confident he has a good set-up for qualifying. Unfortunately in 4WD he broke before he got up to speed ending up only 16th fastest.

Top European in the first practice was Joern Neumann. Fresh from his double win at the Euro Offroad Series in Austria last weekend, the German set the second fastest time in 4WD Buggy but had steering issues in 2WD. Used to racing on high traction tracks with most European indoor racing run on carpet, the Team Durango driver said the grip here is different and more edgy to drive on. Running JConcepts Barcodes all round the European Champion said his Speed Passion powered DEX410 was good but could have done with a little more rear side bit. In 2WD Neumann said he couldn’t get three lap together before suffering a broken motor rotor.

Fellow European Lee Martin took his updated kit version Tamiya TRF511 to the 4th fastest time. Just back from racing in Hong Kong last week, the British driver said he lacked power and having run a 7 turn motor will switch to a 6 turn for CP2 as the high traction is draining the power. Running Proline Scrubs fronts and Suburb rears with two stage foam, he said the sugaring of the track evens out the playing field especially for the Europeans and Matsukura. 7th fastest in 2WD he will change his set-up so as to give himself more on-power steering.

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