Surprise Q4 as Wheeler TQs round

The fourth round of qualifying threw up a surprise with Xray driver Josh Wheeler setting the pace ahead of the Kyosho of A-Main Hobbies team driver Dylan Rodriguez with Jared Tebo third fastest.  Running in the 5th group of 12 which was the opening group of Q3 & 4, Wheeler benefited from the timing of his run with the second of today’s runs really taking a toll on the track.  The former World Championship Finalist admitted he got lucky with track conditions but said having followed in the same direction with his set-up as Xray team-mate Martin Bayer his OS powered XB9 worked really well for the run.  Running medium compound AKA iBeam tyres he said other than going for a longer rear arm he will leave everything else as is for the final run of the day.

18-year-old Rodriguez said changes to his MP9 including adding more caster improved the buggy but overall it was a change of his driving style that made the biggest change.  Running Proline Blockade tyres the American said they gave him a very consistent buggy.  Planning to run the buggy the same for Q5 he said he will only make a few small adjustments to keep up with the increasingly bumpy track conditions.

Behind the two surprise names at the top of the timing sheets, Tebo was best of the title favourites followed by Yannick Aigoin who laid down the fastest time in the Top heat where track conditions lead the majority of drivers to require marshalling.  Ty Tessmann who had a difficult run said the track ‘completely blew out’ for Q4 and said the key to the rest of qualifying is going to be staying on your wheels rather than trying to be ‘super fast’.

Just .065 behind his Associated team-mate, Ryan Maifield took fifth for the round despite loosing 8 seconds due to some very poor standards of marshalling.  The same marshall cost Q3 top qualifier Elliot Boots dearly and left him 7th behind Kyosho team-mate Jerome Aigoin.  A coming together with Tessmann which saw both buggies end up on their roofs on the concrete step, Warm-up Race Top Qualifier David Ronnefalk set the 8th fastest time.

Q1 pace setter Robert Batlle made a wrong last minute tyre choice for Q4 and eventually decided to pit during the run to change to the Procircuit Marathon & Sweet Shot combo he was originally planning to use.  The Warm-up race winner said he will stick with these on his Mugen MBX7 for the penultimate qualifier.

Qualifying Round 4 – Top 12
1. Josh Wheeler – Xray/OS Speed – 13/10:14.317
2. Dylan Rodriguez – Kyosho/OS Speed – 13/10:15.559
3. Jared Tebo – Kyosho/Orion – 13/10:15.771
4. Yannick Aigoin – Associated/nVision – 13/10:16.073
5. Ryan Maifield – Associated/LRP – 13/10:16.138
6. Jerome Aigoin – Kyosho/Novarossi – 13/10:16.906
7. Elliot Boots – Kyosho/Novarossi – 13/10:18.263
8. David Ronnefalk – Kyosho/Orion – 13/10:19.290
9. Davide Tortorici – Mugen/Bliss – 13/10:19.847
10.Renato Tradardi Jr – Associated/Novarossi – 13/10:19.709
11.Taylor Peterson – Mugen/Alpha – 13/10:20.139
12.Travis Amezcua – Xray/Novarossi – 13/10:21.793

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Boots fastest in Q3

Elliot Boots became the third driver to post a TQ run at the 1:8 Offroad World Championships with the Kyosho driver getting Day 5 in Argentina off to a perfect start by topping Q3 ahead of Q1 pace setter Robert Batlle and Ty Tessmann who was fastest in Q2.

British Champion Boots had a couple of moments over his latest 10-minute run but said overall he was pleased with the result. Running AKA iBeam tyres on his MP9, the 19-year-old said the track was getting really unpredictable and it was important to be patient with the buggy and let it do its own thing over the increasing number of bumps because if you push too hard you end up having moments.  With two more qualifiers to run today following a decision to change the timetable last night in the hope of getting 5 of the 6 qualifiers in before Thursday’s predicted rain, Boots said he will continue with the same set-up and tyre choice for Q4.

Mugen’s Batlle was very happy to end the qualifier with the second fastest time, the Spaniard saying with three mistakes in the run he didn’t expect it.  Running a new as yet unnamed Procircuit tyre the Warm-up Race winner said the tyre was good but with the track getting more bumpy as well as more grippy he will switch tyres for Q4 to Marathon on the front and Sweet Shot on the rear.  Batlle’s team-mate Lee Martin enjoyed another competitive run taking his MBX7 to the fifth fastest time, the European Electric offroad champion proving very consistent with Top 6 runs in all three qualifiers.

Despite one crash at the end of the straight, where a lot of drivers are now having moments, and another big bobble Tessmann described the run as ‘alright’.  Having switched to thicker shock oil for the run he said his OS Speed powered D8’12 didn’t feel as good with it being edgy to drive.  Team-mate Hara set the sixth fastest time, the Japanese ace a lot happier with his performance today.  Running a softer shock set-up for Q4, he said he had better overall grip than yesterday and the buggy handled the bumps better however on the bigger jumps he added the softer shocks meant it was a little bouncy on landings.

Having set the 10th fastest time in both of yesterday’s qualifiers, Ryan Maifield posted the fourth fastest time in Q3.  The American said he did a lot of ‘Home work’ last night and the run was the best his heavily modified RC8 has been at the event so far. Switching to JConcepts Red compound Crossbow he said he would have been better with a larger pin tyre for the round.  With the buggy easy to drive, Maifield said they are very close in terms of the set-up he is looking for and for his next run he will make some very minor changes to try and get just a little more speed from it.

Top Xray for the round was Martin Bayer who was set the 8th fastest time just behind FEMCA Champion Kyle McBride who wasn’t happy with his tyre choice for the round.  Bayer said the run could have been ‘way better’ but he just lacked consistency.  Suffering one small mistake he said the track is getting more difficult and they need to adjust his LRP powered XB9 to better suit the conditions.

Elsewhere Jared Tebo ended the round with the 10th fastest time his Kyosho collecting a spun out buggy on the sweeper at the end of the straight which put the Orion powered MP9 on its roof.  TLR’s Dakotah Phend set the 12th fastest time after the 15-year-old, who had good pace, suffered three mistakes of his own doing.  Team-mate Adam Drake lost time in his run when he and defending World Champion Cody King had a coming together and them on the last lap he had an more costly incident with team-mate Darren Bloomfield.  The American ended up 21st for the round. Top Qualifier of the Worlds Warm-up event here in Buenos Aires Kyosho’s David Ronnefalk had a rear wheel fall off his MP9.  The young Swede said it was frustrating because his MP9 felt ‘really good’.

Qualifying Round 3 – Top 12
1. Elliot Boots – Kyosho/Novarossi – 14/10:39.259
2. Robert Batlle – Mugen/Novarossi – 14/10:41.101
3. Ty Tessmann – HB/OS Speed – 14/10:43.192
4. Ryan Maifield – Associated/LRP – 13/10:01.809
5. Lee Martin – Mugen/Novarossi – 13/10:02.283
6. Atsushi Hara – HB/OS Speed – 13/10:03.450
7. Kyle McBide – Kyosho/OS Speed – 13/10:04.028
8. Martin Bayer – Xray/LRP – 13/10:04.400
9. Yannick Aigoin – Associated/nVision – 13/10:05.874
10.Jared Tebo – Kyosho/Orion – 13/10:07.983
11.Taylor Petersen – Mugen/Alpha – 13/10:08.913
12.Dakotah Phend – TLR/Orion – 13/10:10.694

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Tessmann fastest in Q2

Team HB’s Ty Tessmann upped the pace in the second round of qualifying which brought Day 4 of the 1:8 Offroad Championships to a close in Argentina. The Canadian bettered Robert Batlle’s morning time by 1.3 seconds to top the Q2 time sheets ahead of Kyosho’s Jared Tebo with Batlle’s Mugen posting the third fastest in the hotter afternoon run.

Having made a mistake in Q1 which left him with the fifth fastest time, Tessmann said the second run was crash free.  Switching to the X2 compound of Proline’s Bowtie tyre he said these suited the hotter conditions better.  Happy with the run he said they ran shock oil that may have been a little too soft for the run and so if the track stays dry for tomorrow the US National Champion believes he can probably better the time.  Team-mate Atsushi Hara said they may have got a little lost when choosing their set-up for the warmer conditions of Q2 which compared with the overcast morning run was held in much sunnier conditions.  The 2008 World Champion & 2010 Runner-up said ultimately it was his driving that was the problem as he made too many mistakes claiming only the 19th fastest time.

Another driver that lost time in Q1 due to mistakes, Tebo was very happy with his second qualifier, the American saying he ‘kept it clean this time’.  Running AKA Impact tyres on his Orion powered MP9 the Top Qualifier at the 2010 Worlds in Pattaya, said his buggy felt really good and everything worked really well and he declared himself ‘ready for tomorrow’.  Kyosho/Orion team-mate & defending World Champion Cody King also had a better second qualifier as he managed to set the 8th fastest time.  Running Proline’s X2 Blockade he said small adjustments to the set-up made the buggy a lot better but the big improvement came from his driving.  Planning to switch to the Bowtie tyre, which Tessmann used to good effect, for tomorrow’s Q3 King said he will also try Kyosho’s new hub weights which he said should help the buggy to settle a little better and reduce the aggressiveness of the steering.

Overall the second qualifier was a good round for Kyosho with the company to hold the most 1:8 Offroad World titles getting five cars in the Top 12.  FEMCA Champion & star of 2010 when he made his Worlds debut, 16-year-old Kyle McBride took his OS Speed powered MP9 to the sixth fastest time ahead of Jerome Aigoin while Warm-up Race Top Qualifier David Ronnefalk who had a difficult Q1 set the 9th quickest run.  McBride, who didn’t attend the Warm-up race, said he got his tyre choice the wrong way round today running Proline Calibers in Q1 and Blockades in Q2.  Starting the event with a set-up Kyosho came with after the Warm-up the Australian said he is now back at a very similar set-up to that he runs back home and he is confident of a better day tomorrow.  Elliot Boots, who was the best placed Kyosho in Q1 with 4th, had a terrible second run, the British Champion saying he similarly made a wrong tyre choice using too soft a compound of the AKA Moto which caused his buggy to be very edgy.

Winner of the Warm-Up race at the end of September, Batlle described his second run as ‘OK’.  Declaring himself happy to back up his Q1 TQ run with the third fastest time he said the rear end of his Novarossi powered MBX7 felt a touch too soft and for Q3 he plans to run a harder spring.  Just behind the Spaniard was his Mugen team-mate Lee Martin, the British driver improving his Q1 time by 1.5 seconds.

After a disappointing Q1, Team Associated’s Yannick Aigoin put in a strong 10-minutes in Q2 to set the fourth fastest time.  Team-mate Ryan Maifield once again completed the Top 10 despite one crash that required his LRP powered RC8 to be marshalled. Comfortable to drive the American is looking to get more speed from the buggy and following his run he promptly returned to his hotel to start rebuilding for tomorrow and to consider what set-up changes to make.

Having set the second fastest time in the opening heat, TLR’s young star Dakotah Phend made a wrong tyre choice for his second run, the Proline Bowtie rubber being to soft a compound for the conditions.  Adam Drake would be the fastest 8ight in Q2, the American nitro offroad legend setting posting the 10th quickest time.

Having set the third fastest time in Q1, Team Xray’s Martin Bayer said his set-up just didn’t suit the hotter conditions with the Czech driver only able for the 12th fastest time.  Team-mate Renaud Savoya had a difficult second qualifier.  The French ace had a ‘big crash’ which he said cost him a lot of time and during his fuel stop he suffered a flame out.  With his RB engine running fine in Q1, Savoya said they are having problems with it cutting out once the conditions get hot and have tried different pipes and a different fuel but he is not sure what is causing the problem.  Having not been happy with his tyre inserts in Q1, Savoya tried a different type in Q2 but said they were ‘not good’.

With rain imminent the decision was made following today’s qualifying to revise the timetable for tomorrow with the start time brought forward to 08:30 local time so that 3 rounds of qualifying can be run rather than the 2 originally planned.

Round 2 Qualifying Top 12
1. Ty Tessmann – HB/OS Speed – 14/10:36.255
2. Jared Tebo – Kyosho/Orion – 14/10:38.130
3. Robert Batlle – Mugen/Novarossi – 14/10:41.999
4. Lee Martin – Mugen/Novarossi – 14/10:43.532
5. Yannick Aigoin – Associated/nVision – 14/10:44.068
6. Kyle McBride – Kyosho/OS – 14/10:44.150
7. Jerome Aigoin – Kyosho/Novarossi – 14/10:45.483
8. Cody King – Kyosho/Orion – 13/10:01.388
9. David Ronnefalk – Kyosho/Orion – 13/10:01.418
10.Ryan Maifield – Associated/LRP – 13/10:02.747
11.Adam Drake – TLR/Novarossi – 13/10:02.776
12.Martin Bayer – Xray/LRP – 13/10:03.170

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