Evans takes 1:8 Buggy TQ at JConcepts Clash

Making his JConcepts Clash debut TLR’s Dustin Evans is the Top Qualifier in 1:8 Nitro Buggy after taking his 8ight to a third TQ run in the fourth & final round of qualifying at the Flowood Indoor R/C Park in Mississippi.  Better known as one of Losi’s leading electric racers Evans pipped defending Champion Ryan Maifield in Q4 by 9/10ths of a second with the fastest 5-minute run of the event.

Having lost out on TQ honours to Maifield on a tie break in the other big ‘clash’ of this event, 2WD Buggy, Evans was very happy to secure the No.1 grid spot for tomorrow’s 30-minute Main.  Planning to run one less full stop than Maifield, knowing his rival will have to run three stops, Evans said based on his fuel calculations after his final qualifier and with no time to test a better engine tune it would be really close on making the 10-minutes and the risk was too high to go for two stops. Switching from JConcepts Hybrids to Stackers for today’s qualifiers in preparation for the final, Evans ran the same set of blue compound tyres in both qualifiers with the level of grip they produced getting better with every lap.  Finding the track surface abrasive, the Colorado drivers said by the end of the run the tyres could have too much grip which could result in a very edgy buggy in the final few laps of what he expects to be a very close race with Maifield.

Missing out on a hat trick of TQ honours having also secured pole in 2WD Short Course, Maifield is confident that he will have better pace in the final having discovered that his LRP powered RC8.2 had too much suspension up-travel.  With this being a World Championship year Maifield said the team’s focus has been on improving the buggy on outdoor tracks and he was trying to get that same set-up to work indoors, a surface that in the past it has worked really well on. Confident he knows what set-up he needs for tomorrow he said he thinks everything should be ‘OK’ to get the job of defending his title done.

Starting third on the grid will be 18-year-old Cole Odgen at the controls of his Murnan Novarossi powered TLR 8ight.  His first time competing at the Clash the Georgia driver said he is looking forward to a good race and is confident that he can come away with a podium finish.  Behind Odgen, JR Mitch will line-up fourth on the grid with his Orion powered version of the 8ight. The offroad veteran said the key to tomorrow’s race is going to be down to getting his tyre choice right, a decision he will make after he has seen what those starting ahead opt to run with.  Having suffered a flame out trying to extend the fuel mileage in Q3, Mitch said he thinks the motor is still a little tight and so will go for the cautious option of three stops.

A JConcepts Clash regular having only missed the 2008 event, Jason Smith is confident that his Novarossi powered TLR 8ight can run 10-minutes between fuelling a fact he hopes to be able to capitalise on.  Having shown some good lap times but made too many mistakes in his qualifier, factory Associated driver Tanner Denney starts sixth but the 17-year-old feels he can redeem himself in the final having come from down the grid last year to finish on the podium.

In 1:8 Electric Buggy Max Flurer topped Q4 ahead of Brent Thielke but with TQ runs in both of yesterday’s heats it is the latter who is Top Qualifier.  Fastest in Q3, 19-year-old Jake Dellinger who also made the 1:8 Nitro Buggy final will start third for the 6-minute triple Mains.

Elsewhere in electric 4WD classes Tanner Denney and Matthew Olson are Top Qualifiers for Buggy and Short Course respectively after both driver TQ’d 3 of their 4 heats.

1:8 Nitro Buggy
A-Main Grid
1. Dustin Evans – Team Losi Racing – 0 pts
2. Ryan Maifield – Associated – 2
3. Cole Odgen – Team Losi Racing – 6
4. JR Mitch – Team Losi Racing – 6
5. Jason Smith – Team Losi Racing – 8
6. Tanner Denney – Associated – 9
7. William McIver – Team C – 11
8. Jake Dellinger – Assocaited – 14
9. Tim Smith – Associated – 14
10.Kevin Hawkinson – Team Losi Racing – 14

View the overall results at the end of qualifying here.

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Maifield is 2WD Buggy Top Qualifier at ‘Clash’

Ryan Maifield has put himself in the best possible position to defend his JConcepts Clash 2WD Buggy title after he took the final round of qualifying to secure himself overall TQ honours for tomorrow’s final at the Flowood Indoor R/C Park in Mississippi.  The Associated driver set a new fastest time of the weekend in the fourth qualifier taking the round ahead of Q1 & Q3 winner Dustin Evans to tie with his big rival but having run 14-laps in both his TQ runs the Arizona driver secures pole position for the triple mains on tie-break.

Also setting the fastest lap of the weekend in Q4 with a 22.233 lap, Maifield said the event was so far going to plan with him also securing overall TQ honours in 2WD Short Course with him topping all four qualifiers with his SC10.  Needing to TQ the round to deny Evans TQ honours on his first Clash appearance, Maifield almost threw it all away when he clipped the pipe at the chicane sending his buggy shooting off the track losing him over 2 seconds.  Switching to a pre production version of JConcepts’ soon to be released Pressure Point tyre on the rear of his Reedy powered B4.1, Maifield said the new tyre gave him a ‘ton of traction’ but looking forward to the finals he said he plans to revert to back to Bar Codes as its a tyre that he knows well and which suits his aggressive driving style.  Asked about the finals, Maifield said Evans has the speed and he expects a good race between the two of them adding the track has a number of good passing places particularly on the left side but he said he hopes thats not something he will have to worry about.

Evans, who also ran the new Pressure Point tyre on the rear of his Orion powered TLR22 to record his only 14 lapper, said starting second wasn’t so bad as ‘it easier to follow than to be followed’.  The 2011 US National Champion and Reedy Race Champion said he needs to make his buggy easier to drive as it a bit too nervous on the right side of the track. If he can calm it down a little he is confident he can go faster as he wont be scared to push it harder.

Starting third on the grid will be Evans’ TLR team-mate JR Mitch with Maifield’s Associated team boss Brent Thielke lining up fourth, the pair set to battle it out for the final step on the podium.  Enjoying his best run in the final qualifier, 15-year-old Kyosho team driver Zack Genova will carry the No.5 on his Novak powered RB6 tomorrow thanks to his 3rd fastest time in Q4. Event organiser & JConcepts boss Jason Ruona starts 6th.

Despite dominating 2WD Short Course, Maifield said the finals are never a ‘walk in the park’ and with Evans and JR Mitch starting behind him nothing can be taken for granted.

2WD Buggy
A-Main Grid
1. Ryan Maifield – Associated – 0 pts
2. Dustin Evans – Team Losi Racing – 0
3. JR Mitch – Team Losi RAcing – 6
4. Brent Thielke – Associated – 7
5. Zack Genova – Kyosho – 8
6. Jason Ruona – Associated – 9
7. Max Flurer – Associated – 10
8. Tanner Denney – Associated – 11
9. Daimon Borkowicz – Associated – 15
10.Steve Bortolotti – Tamiya – 17

2WD Short Course
A-Main Grid
1. Ryan Maifield – Associated – 0 pts
2. Dustin Evans – Team Losi Racing – 4
3. JR Mitch – Team Losi Racing – 5
4. Daimon Borkowicz – Associated – 6
5. Max Flurer – Associated – 8
6. Paul Wynn – Associated – 10
7. Justin Cranford – Associated – 12
8. Chris Viesins – Team Losi Racing – 14
9. Tylor Weaver – Team Losi Racing – 17
10.Brian Abbott – Associated – 17

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1:8 Buggy Q3 Update

Dustin Evans has TQ’d the penultimate round of 1:8 Nitro Buggy qualifying at the JConcepts Clash, the Colorado driver setting a new outright fastest time in Q3 ahead of Ryan Maifield who he will now battle it out with in this evening’s final qualifier to decided which of the two great rivals with secure the overall TQ honours at the sixth running of event.  Behind the two favourites for the win here in Mississippi, 18-year-old Cole Ogden claimed his best round taking his Losi around the impressive indoor FRC track in the third fastest time.

The round saw Maifield produce a blistering fastest lap as he took his LRP powered RC8.2 to the first sub 21 second lap of the event with a 20.994, but the Arizona driver was not happy with the car’s handling. Having rebuilt the buggy for the second day of qualifying he said it was not nice to drive and was going to need a lot of changes for the Q4 showdown against Evans.

Completing the Top 3 in both of yesterday’s qualifier, Team Losi Racing’s JR Mitch became the first of the leading drivers to fail to finish a qualifier.  Looking to improve his fuel mileage they leaned out his Orion engine but it was a little too much and it flamed out on his 9th lap.

In 1:8 Electric Buggy Jake Dellinger, driving an Associated, ended Brent Thielke’s domination of the largest class at this year’s Clash, the 19 year-old Texan taking Q3 by half a second from the Associated team manager.  Fitting a fresh set of JConcepts green compound Hybrids on his RC8.2e for the round the set-up was not right for the new rubber and the buggy was difficult to drive but with the tyres now scrubbed in he said things should be fine for the final qualifier this evening.

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Maifield takes Q2 in 1:8 Buggy

Having lost out on a potential TQ run in the opening round of qualifying for 1:8 Buggy due to a problem with traffic on his final lap, Associated’s Ryan Maifield set the record straight in Q2 topping the time sheets with a new fastest 5-minute run at the sixth annual JConcepts Clash. Ending the day as provisional Top Qualifier at the Mississippi event, it was a successful day for last year’s champion as he also holds the honour in 2WD Buggy and 2WD Short Course setting himself on course for a successful hat trick defense of his titles.  Top Qualifier in Q1, Dustin Evans finished 2nd in the second 1:8 Buggy qualifier 8-seconds adrift of Maifield after the TLR driver suffered with a clutch problem in the evening run.

Making a number of small tweaks to his LRP powered RC8.2 and switching from blue to green compound JConcepts Hybrids, Maifield said the buggy was a little better than the morning run although he had a problem getting full steering.  With his buggy featuring a new prototype front end which is part of the team’s preparations for the World Championships, Maifield is hoping to find the problem when he freshens up the buggy for Day 2 of qualifying.

Losing 4-seconds on his second lap following a driver error, Evans said his Orion powered 8ight was difficult to drive due to a sticking clutch which caused the buggy to run on in the corners.  Despite the issue he was still able to post the fastest lap of the round with a 21.205 on his last lap which was over 2/10ths quicker than Maifield’s best around the Flowood Indoor RC Park track.  Also managing a faster lap than Maifield by just 1/1000th of a second, TLR team-mate JR Mitch said he found a better tune on his Orion engine which gave much better mileage. Managing to keep his tyres glued to the rims in Q2 the veteran offroad racers had to contend with the driver next to him ‘flipping out’ at the start of the run which he said was a huge distraction but when that driver called it a day he said he was happy with how his 8ight worked having decided not to switch to blue Hybrids and instead stick with Green compound using a set Evans had glued up!

Having had problems with traffic in Q1, JConcepts Clash regular Jason Smith set the fourth fastest time just 4/10th adrift of Mitch.  His fifth time to contest the Clash, missing only the second running of the event in 2008, the North Carolina driver said his Novarossi powered 8ight is working really well but more needs to come from the driver.  Like the three drivers ahead of him he also ran Hybrids and plans to stick with the same chassis & tyre set-up for tomorrow’s penultimate qualifier.

In the 1:8 Electric Buggy class Brent Thielke produced a second TQ run of the day taking Q2 1.7 seconds ahead of the similar RC8.2e of Max Flurer.  In 4WD Short Course, Flurer TQ’d the opening round but it is Matthew Olson who holds the overnight TQ honours after he ran a new fastest time in Q2.

View the overall results at the end of round 2 of 4 here.

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