Ronnefalk opens final day of qualifying with second TQ run

After a tough day yesterday, David Ronnefalk has opened the final day of qualifying at the 1:8 Offroad World Championships with a TQ run.  Having kicked off the event with a TQ in Q1, the HB Racing driver topped the times for a second time in the penultimate round ahead of last night’s Q4 winner Davide Ongaro.  Building on his big improvement in the fourth round, Spencer Rivkin completed the Top 3 being just 0.034 behind Associated team-mate Ongaro.  Robert Batlle would be the best of the Mugen runners setting the fourth fastest time ahead of top Xray for the round CJ Jelin while Jared Tebo once again completed the Top 6.  Having held the overnight TQ, it was a rough round for Ty Tessmann who made a number of mistakes that resulted in being 7th fastest – his first time being outside the Top 6.

‘It feels like back to where we should have been yesterday’, was Ronnefalk’s reaction to his TQ run.  Having broke in Q3 and then had an engine issue in Q4, he added, ‘we had some back luck yesterday but got a good night sleep and rest for today’.  The defending World Champion continued, ‘I just had a roll on the step down on the right side where I broke yesterday but I was able to save it. Other than that it was clean’.  On his car he said, ‘I think we could have went on the different tyre.  I ran (JConcepts) R2 Reflex and probably should have ran R2 Detox but I can’t complain because it was a TQ run’.  With a P70 from Q4 as one of his counting scores, 4 of 6 round to count, the Swede concluded, ’Now I got to go out there in the next one and make sure I put it in the Semi’.

Commenting on his run Ongaro said, ‘It was good. I just had one mistake, I flipped, which cost me 3-4 seconds’.  Running an unchanged package from when he put in a TQ run in the second of yesterday’s runs, the only difference the Italian reported was, ‘there is one new bump at the step up step down’.  Asked about the final qualifier, he replied, ‘I drive again at the same time like yesterday. In the evening after they water the track so we will leave the car as is because it worked good last night’.

‘A lot better run for sure. We picked the right tyre and right compound’ was how Rivkin summed his best qualifying run so far.  Running JConcepts Stocker in O2 compound, the American went on to say, ‘there is still a lot more improvement to be got from my driving. I had a bobble that cost me maybe 2-seconds but I am excited to drive the car now and not have to change it.  The next one I can just go and drive and pick the tyre accordingly’.

Batlle, who was second fastest behind in Ongaro in Heat 1, described his performance as ‘not bad’ but added, ‘I think we again had a slower track. Ours was so dusty’.  Having had issues with how his car was squatting yesterday, the former World Champion said, ‘I think the car was a little better today. I had to push less to go fast but we still having the squat issue. It’s cost me about half a second (a lap) and if we can find that we can fight for the win’.  Comparing the rear of his car with that of team-mate Ryan Maifield, afterwards he said, ‘Ryan and me run quite a different set-up and he is not having the same issue so I will try to get a set-up somewhere in the middle of the two’.

Having impressed with his opening qualifying run in which he was 4th fastest, Jelin was pleased to be able to back that up with a P5 in Q4 after issues in Q2 and Q4.  Suffering an engine flame-out last night, the 14-year-old changed engine, pipe and fuel tank for Q5 and was pleased with his performance.  He said, ‘the run itself was really good. I picked up the pace half way through and kept it to the end. The car was really consistent and easy to drive. It was a good run’.  Looking to the final qualifier, drivers having almost a 7-hour wait between runs, he said, ‘I think we will leave it the same, tyres, everything’.

A rather upbeat Tebo said, ‘that was really good’.  He added, ‘We made no changes again.  My package felt awesome but I just crashed again.  I think I was leading but at the table top on the left I hit the jump weird and crashed. I got into my rhythm again but at the double I jumped too far to the right and came up short for the triple’.  The multiple Electric Offroad Champion, for who the nitro title has eluded him, said, ‘I was really on pace and had a Top 2/TQ run. I just need to get a clean run finally’.

Asked about his run Tessmann explained, ‘we tried a different tyre and it was super good for the first 4-minutes but then I had a couple of mistakes.  I had to be marshalled 3-times. They were all mistakes on my own. If it had of been a clean run it would have been ok’.  The former Champion concluded, ‘it sucks as it was the best track we’ve had and we threw it away’.

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Ongaro comes good to take Q4 in Perth

Davide Ongaro came good on his Top Seeding at the 1:8 Offroad World Championships to TQ the fourth round of qualifying in Perth.  The Italian led a Team Associated 1-2 in the evening run with Ryan Cavalieri enjoying a much improved performance as the American manufacturer’s drivers on the whole showed strong.  Having failed to run inside the Top 10 in the opening three qualifiers, Spencer Rivkin would take his RC8 to the fourth fastest time.  For defending champion David Ronnefalk, who broke in the previous round, his day was not to get any better as he suffered a plug failure during Q4.  Another of the title contenders to hit problems was reigning 1:10 electric Offroad World Champion Ryan Maifield who suffered a flame out after he was released from his fuel stop during the 1o-minute heat. Naoto Matsukura would set the third fastest time for the round with his second Top 3 of the event.  Behind him and Rivkin, Jared Tebo would have his best result so far with P5 ahead of Ty Tessmann, who having topped his heat was later demoted to 6th.

‘Better than this morning’, was Ongaro’s reaction to finally delivering on the pace he showed in practice.  With Heat No.1 running after a track watering, the 17-year-old said, ‘in the beginning it was slower because of the wet track but at the end it was good. I had two big mistakes in the last round (Q3) but we changed from 42.5 to 45 oil in the shocks and this made the car better on the bumps. I was able to make a clean run and the wheel nut stayed on’ – his Q2 ended early when he lost a wheel nut.  Again running AKA Double Down tyre, he said for tomorrow he plans to leave everything the same with his focus being to ‘make no mistakes’.

Reacting to his improved pace, Cavalieri said, ’That was pretty good to be honest.  The car was good today and we made good choices on tyres’.  Having claimed his first Top 10 run with 10th in the day’s opening round, the American feels his lines still need working on saying, ‘there are definitely a couple of spots I am leaving a few tenths out there’.  He concluded, ‘its been a much better day for our whole group and we’ll try build on that tomorrow’.

On his run, Matsukura said, ‘I had two big mistakes but the car was good and also the tyre was good’.  He explained, ‘in the first one I also had mistakes because the car was difficult to drive. The shock oil was a little soft and also the tyre but this time the car was good’.  Running JConcepts Stacker tyre he said he planned to run the R2 compound but given the watered track and colder conditions he will switch to the softer blue compound which he said matched the conditions perfectly.

‘It was a start in the right direction’, declared Rivkin after his P4 run.  The former Electric Offroad World Champion continued, ‘there is still a lot of driver improvement to do but the result gives us confidence for tomorrow. We are going to take small steps at a time’.  Explaining the jump in performance, he said, ‘we ran a completely different set-up and went back to what I know’.  His mechanic Richard Saxton added, ‘we still need to get the car working as well as it did there when we are on a dry track’.

Having improved on his previous position every run, Tebo said, ‘I haven’t had a super good run where I am proud of the effort but that time I felt I drove pretty well’.  The Kyosho driver added, ‘It was fairly tame but I fell apart at little at the end so I know I can drive it better’.  On his car, the former Worlds Top Qualifier said, ‘I haven’t changed anything because the car feels good’.

’Not good’, was how Tessmann described his 4th qualifier.  Having TQ’d Round 2 and 3 of qualifying, the Xray driver said, ‘I was expecting high grip but instead it was the lowest I have experienced so far.  We were set-up for high grip. It was hard to drive and was slow’.  The 2014 Champion concluded, ‘we won’t have to run on anything like this again.  The car is good in the day so we’re not too worried’.

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