Tebo goes top in Finland

2007 World Champion Jared Tebo have gone to the top of timing sheets having just produced a new fastest lap on the final lap of his sixth 4-minute practice run.  The Kyosho driver hasn’t made any changes to his Orion powered Lazer ZX-5 FS2 today saying it feels really good.  Describing traction levels as being now decent Tebo said the track is very fast and this can make it difficult when running around other cars. Expecting condition to start to stay much the same as they are now for the final two runs of the day the US driver said he will use P7 to test a different spring but otherwise plans no changes to his set-up.

Also improving his time in P6 to move ahead of early pace setter Ryan Maifield, Team Durango’s Joern Neumann took his DEX410 to the second fastest lap time.  The German Champion, who is just .003 off Tebo, switched to the same set-up he ran at the Warm-up race which he said while it made the buggy more difficult to drive it produced much faster lap times.

Running a best lap of 23.680 compared to fastest lap of 23.665 set in P5, Maifield used the round to play with his lines.  Seeking his first World title, the factory Associated driver said he is still trying to learn to not crash on a track which is proving a challenge to run consistent laps.

Putting in a lap which he admitted was a ‘bit of surprise’ Joseph Quagraine is delighted with his early showing at these World Championship.  Better known for his 1:8 Offroad exploits where he races his own JQ Products creation, the Finn said he loves the track surface and the jumps.  Having made the Main at the Warm-up he has been working towards a set-up that makes his Durango easy to drive and focus on clean runs rather than outright pace.

Unable to better their P5 times American’s Ryan Cavalieri and Dustin Evans drop to fifth and sixth fastest respectively.

Two drivers to improve their pace were Naoto Matsukura and Elliot Boots.  Matsukura took his factory Yokomo to the seventh fastest time with a 24-second dead lap moving him ahead of British pairing Lee Martin and Neil Cragg who failed to better their P5 times.

Former European 1:8 Offroad Junior Champion Boots, who is running in Group 8 of 12, found almost a second in P6 to set the 10th fastest lap just ahead of senior Durango team-mate Hupo Honigl who having changed nothing on his DEX410 went slower dropping to 11th.

Top 10 lap times after P6
1. Jared Tebo – Kyosho – 23.657
2. Joern Neumann – Durango – 23.660
3. Ryan Maifield – Associated – 23.665
4. Joseph Quagraine – Durango – 23.772
5. Ryan Cavalieri – Associated – 23.851
6. Dustin Evans – Losi – 23.875
7. Naoto Matsukura – Yokomo – 24.000
8. Lee Martin – Tamiya – 24.011
9. Neil Cragg – Associated – 24.080
10.Elliot Boots – Durango – 24.164

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Ryan Maifield quickest

Ryan Maifield is quickest after 5 rounds of practice on the opening day of the 4WD Electric Buggy World Championship in Finland topping newly crowned 2WD World Champion Ryan Cavalieri and Kyosho’s Jared Tebo who recorded his fastest lap in P4.

With the sun now shining over Vaasa track conditions came good for P5 with the Top 5 able to run 23-second lap times.  Behind the trio of American’s who filled the 2WD Podium on Wednesday, Losi’s Dustin Evans and top Finnish offroad racer Joseph Quagraine, who is driving a Durango, set the fourth & fifth fastest time respectively.

Just missing out on breaking a 24-second lap, Team Durango’s Joern Neumann was sixth fastest with a 24.007 followed closely by Warm-up Race winner Lee Martin who managed a 24.011 with his Tamiya.

Top Qualifier in 2WD, England’s Neil Cragg set the 8th fastest time with his LRP powered B44.1 while team-mate Steven Harston set the 10th fastest time making it four Associated’s in the Top 10.  Proving a very popular choice of buggy this year, Hupo Hönigl used his DEX410 to post the 9th quickest lap.

Top 10 lap times after P5
1. Ryan Maifield – Associated – 23.665
2. Ryan Cavalieri – Associated – 23.851
3. Jared Tebo – Kyosho – 23.856
4. Dustin Evans – Losi – 23.875
5. Joseph Quagraine – Durango – 23.992
6. Joern Neumann – Durango – 24.009
7. Lee Martin – Tamiya – 24.011
8. Neil Cragg – Associated – 24.080
9. Hupo Hönigl – Durango – 24.171
10.Steven Hartson – 24.251

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4WD Worlds underway in Finland

Having crowned Ryan Cavalieri as the new 2WD electric Buggy World Champion on Wednesday attention now turns to 4WD in Finland today with a day of practice on the Vaasa track which has had the layout changed from that used in the first half of the week.

The most successful driver contesting the event, having won back to back 4WD titles in 2003 & 2005, Team Associated’s new 2WD Champion Cavalieri goes into the event full of confidence.  Having run three of the eight 4-minute practice runs that make up today’s schedule, the American said the new layout is longer and more tricky but he found the main feature of the track, the quad, not to be as difficult as thought it would be.  Admitting that getting it wrong could easily lead to a broken car he expects the competition to be a little different to 2WD.  With an amazing eleven 2WD titles to their credit Associated have only a single 4WD title, won with Jared Tebo in 2007, but between Cavalieri, Ryan Maifield and 2WD top qualifier Neil Cragg the American company are serious contenders for their 26th IFMAR World Championship title.

Describing the track as ‘really cool’ and the quad as ‘insane’, Team Kyosho’s Jared Tebo said he wants nothing less than to repeat his 2007 victory.  The winner of the last full blown World Championships, the 2009 event having only attracted little more than a dozen drivers, Tebo said he is ‘bummed’ after his 2WD result and is going to stick to what he learned from that – to leave his set-up alone.  Running the set-up he found in testing after the Warm-up having stayed on in Vaasa for a few extra days he said the Lazer ZX-5 FS2 felt good this morning.

The winner of the Warm-up race in May, Tamiya Racing Factory’s Lee Martin says he feels really good about his 4WD chances.  Finishing 7th in the 2WD final,  the current European Champion said the layout of the 4WD track flows more and his buggy felt really smooth to drive in the opening practices.  Expecting the laps times to tumble later in the day, when and if the track dries out, the British ace feels the quad jump is going to play a factor as it going to lead to mistakes and ultimately broken cars.  Team-mate Marc Rheinard, a former European 4WD Champion, said while 4WD is the better of the two buggy classes for him he feels it is going to be tough to beat his 2WD result which saw him finish a respectable 18th overall.

Another former European Champion aiming for glory is Team Durango’s Hupo Honigl.  The Austrian won the 4WD European title at this very track in 2007 and believes this is one of his best chances of adding a first World title.  Honigl said he has a good package having shown good speed at the Warm-up race and now he just needed to bring that through over the next three days.  A finalist in 4WD in Japan and coming off the back of making the A-Main in 2WD, team-mate Joern Neumann should also be a contender for the reigning champions Team Durango.  Martin Achter secured the title for Durango two years ago after the South African event was boycotted by most drivers and the German knows his reign is going to come to an end in 3-days time.

The most successful company in 4WD with six World titles to their credit, Team Yokomo are pinning their hopes for the 14th running of the IFMAR event on young Japanese National Champion Naoto Matsukura.  TQ’ing a round of the 2WD qualifying, the 19-year-old said he is much more comfortable with 4WD summing up the difference in two words ‘maximum power’.  A World finalist in 2007, when he finished 9th, Matsukura doesn’t lack self belief and wants to bring his tally of World titles to three having last year won back to back 1:12 World Championships.

Having focused all their attention on trying to win the 2WD title with their new 22, Losi may have three World titles to their credit in 4WD but with an aging buggy their drivers are not expected to be serious contenders for the win on Sunday.

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