All tied at the end of 4WD at Reedy Race

It is all tied at the top of the standings at the Reedy Race of Champions as the action gets ready to switch to 2WD at OCRC Raceway in California.  Wins for Dustin Evans, Lee Martin and Spencer Rivkin in the sixth & final round of 4WD bring the trio equal on points with early leader Ryan Cavalieri, the reigning champion concluding 4WD with 3rd in the most stacked heat of the round.  In the opening encounter Martin took advantage of a front row start getting the holeshot and going on to win comfortably from Rob Gillespie and back row starter Dakotah Phend.  The second heat was a similar story with Evans benefiting from the P2 starting spot to get the jump on JP Richards eventually finishing 6-seconds ahead of the Yokomo driver.  All attention was on the stacked 3rd heat, Rivkin & Cavalieri on the front row, Tessmann 6th and Maifield 8th.  In the end it was Rivkin who took it, capitalising on a mistake by Cavalieri with Tessmann getting up to 3rd while a fast Maifield couldn’t get a break.  Catching up to the leaders, his challenge came to an end when he collected an out of shape Tanner Denney leaving him to finish 4th.

Reacting to his third win, Martin said, ‘I looked at the heat sheet and it looked like it was one I could win’. Starting second, the Yokomo driver added, ‘2nd spot is better because its on the racing line and there is good drive so was aim was to get the lead on the first lap and control it from there and it worked out’.  Looking to 2WD, the World Championship podium finisher said, ‘My 2WD was good in practice but that was a couple of days ago but hopefully its all still good when we go out for our practice run but I’m looking forward to the 2WD racing’.

‘Pretty straight forward’ was how Evans summed up his race.  The Associated driver added, ‘JP gave me a lot of respect and I really appreciate that. Once I got a bit of gap I was just trying to cruise it home’.  A former Reedy Race Champion, the Colorado based driver said, ‘I’m in contention going into 2WD and my car was really good so I’m looking forward to racing it out’.

Rivkin called his latest win ‘a solid race’.  The 2015 World Champion continued, ‘I let the race fall into place and was not too aggressive at the beginning.  Pole is not a great starting spot so I followed Ryan and when he had a bobble coming onto the straight I got the drag on him and took the lead. After that I just made sure to hit my marks’.  On the switch to 2WD, the 2016 RROC podium finisher said, ‘I’m pretty excited for 2WD’.

‘I should of been able to better my points or at least get a 2 but a mistake cost me at the end’, was Cavalieri’s reaction after the race.  Chasing a fifth Reedy Race title, the Associated driver concluded, ‘2WD is always my preferred class and my car was good in practice so I’m looking forward to good heads up racing’.

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Maifield beats Cavalieri to register 1st win

Ryan Maifield kicked off Day 2 of the Reedy Race of Champions this morning by registering his 1st win at the 24th running of the unique event.  Starting 6th on the grid for the fifth round of 4WD action, it was a loaded heat containing three World Champions with Ryan Cavalieri on pole and Spencer Rivkin 8th.  While Cavalieri pulled clear from the front and looked on target to extend his lead in the points, Maifield quickly moved his way to the front and with relative ease reeled in his great rival setting up the first real ‘Ryan & Ryan’ show of this years event.  Banging wheels and tangling cars, it was Maifield who came out with the win from Cavalieri with Rivkin working his way up to third.  In the other big encounter Lee Martin held off a very determined Dustin Evans to win the second heat of the round while 2016 Champion Dakotah Phend claimed his first win the final encounter ahead of Joe Bornhorst and a recovering Ty Tessmann.  Starting on the front row alongside pole sitter Joona Haatanen, the pair tangled on the drag into the first corner dropping the Canadian to the back of the field.

Commenting on his win Maifield said, ‘I started 6th but got by guys fast enough and made a good move around (2nd place start) Reno (Savoya).  I made slight changes to my car and it was better and easier to go fast. I knew I was faster on the left side of the track than Ryan. Then I made mistake and tangled with him which allowed Spencer to catch us so then I backed it down.  When Spencer dropped back I started to push again and landed on his (Cavalieri’s) inside and kept it there to the end’.  Reflecting on his performances yesterday, the World Champion said, ‘there were a couple of driver errors on my part and I wasn’t feeling great but I got a early night and I’m feeling better today. The track is also better today but I have another hard race in the next’.  Going up again Cavalieri and Rivkin again in the final 4WD encounter, the heat will also have Tessmann on the grid, the Yokomo driver will start behind them all in 9th position.

‘It was pretty good’ was Cavalieri’s thoughts on Round 5.  Winning 3 of his four encounters yesterday with a third in the closing round, he said, ‘I knew my car was a little slower than needed to race Maifield.  I had opportunities and it was a really good race but went wide on the triple’.  The reigning champion continued, ‘I gave up too much time in the first minute.  I should have been able to open up a bigger lead and hold that gap better’.  For the last 4WD encounter the Associated driver will start on the front row along pole sitter and team-mate Rivkin.

Martin summed up his second win by saying, ‘It was pretty OK. It was good starting on the outside (of the front row) because it has a little more traction and I could get the holeshot’.  He added, ‘the pack got held up a little behind me and by the time Dustin got through I had a cushion.  He was catching but made a few mistakes so I didn’t have to push hard and risk wrecking my stuff’.  With the win, the Yokomo driver moves up to second in the points standing on the same points as Rivkin and 1 point up on Evans.

‘From 6th that was good’, was Evans view of the race.  The former Champion added, ‘I was super patient behind JP (Richards) and Chad (Due) and by the time I got by, Lee had a good gap but I was catching him. I was on a mission with that one’.  Having clashed with Martin yesterday, ‘I clipped the triple coming onto the straight, I was pushing really hard. I probably didn’t need to be because I was catching him but I’ll take 2nd from 6th.’

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Evans ends Cavalieri’s winning streak at RROC

Dustin Evans made a clear statement regarding his Round 3 treatment by taking victory in a very stacked Round 4 encounter at the Reedy Race of Champions.  Annoyed no call was made regarding his incident with Lee Martin, Evans would line up for his final race of the day against Ryan Cavalieri, Ryan Maifield and Ty Tessmann and from 7th on the grid came to take his second win of the event. With JP Richards the early leader from Malin Karlsen, Tessmann was the first to challenge Richards for the lead but the pair tangled coming onto the straight and somehow Cavalieri from 9th on the grid hit the front. Chased by Tessmann they would also make contact handing the lead back to Richards with Evans right behind. Holding the 2011 Champion at bay for 2 laps, the Yokomo driver would give up the lead to Evans in the steps section as the Associated driver got down his inside. An over jump at the Monster Energy Triple would further demote Richards allowing Maifield and Cavalieri through for 2nd and 3rd but Tessmann was less lucky tangling with Richards at the next corner and ending up 6th at the finish. In the other encounters Rivkin doubled his winning tally by taking the 3rd heat ahead of Dakotah Phend while Cole Tollard beat 2WD Open class champion Brent Thielke in Heat 2.

‘To have that stacked a heat and start 7th a Top 3 would have been a good result. Going up against Maifield, Cav and Tessmann it’s pretty insane to win’, was Evans’ reaction after the race.  The Associated driver continued, ‘the last one hurts but I need to forget that now and get onto to the next one’.  With 2 more rounds of 4WD to run in the morning before the switch to 2WD, Evans finds himself 3rd in the overnight standings behind leader Cavalieri and Spencer Rivkin.

With a two point lead at the end of the first day, Cavalieri wasn’t too disappointed he didn’t complete a perfect score. He said, ‘It was a good race. I’m super happy with my pace and that I was able to lead given the drivers in the race’.  The 4-time Champion continued, ‘there were are a few points I’m able to go quicker and then there was a few points Ty was quicker but to get good points when everyone was so close and getting spun around I’m happy with third.  It been a good day’.

Rivkin summed up his second win by saying, ‘It was a good race, that’s the best my car is going to be’.  The 2015 World Champion, who started from pole, continued,  ‘I had a good lead and made a small mistake. I find it easier to drive racing other people than driving by myself but I’m happy to get the win and I’m ready to go racing the other guys tomorrow’.  For his final two rounds of 4WD tomorrow, Rivkin goes up against Cavalieri and Maifield in both.

View the event image gallery here.