Another TQ run for Tessmann as Ronnefalk breaks

It was another TQ run for Ty Tessmann at the 1:8 Offroad World Championships in Australia as the Canadian opened Day 2 of qualifying with a considerably slower time for the 10-minute compared to yesterday.  Topping Q2 with a time of 10:08.083 compared to today’s pace of 10:12.716, Tessmann led an Xray 1-2 with Bruno Coelho topping his heat for his best points so far. Having taken the opening round of qualifying, it wasn’t to be a good start to Wednesday’s action for reigning champion David Ronnefalk.  On his third lap, the HB Racing driver ‘donkey flipped’ his buggy on the right side of the track leading to a broken suspension arm.  A strong run from Spanish Mugen driver Juan Carlos Canas would see him complete the Top 3 ahead of team-mates Ryan Maifield and Robert Batlle.  Former Worlds Top Qualifier Elliot Boots, who so far hasn’t featured strongly, would be the top Kyosho for the third round with his first Top 6 run.

Commenting on his latest run, Tessmann said, ‘It went ok. We changed some stuff on the car, some was good, some was bad.  We have more stuff to try in the next round’.  The 2014 World Champion added, ‘It wasn’t my cleanest run. I had a bobble on the back stairs and also some traffic so I’m happy to be on pace’.  Choosing to run Pro-Line’s Buckshot S2 tyre, the current ROAR Champion said, ‘it was the right tyre for the conditions. The track was pretty dusty without being blown off (between rounds)’.

A rather pleased looking Coelho said, ‘It was a very good run. Even though I had three big mistakes I still finished second’.  The versatile Portuguese driver continued, ‘All the mistakes were my own fault and they cost me maybe 5-6 second so without it could have been a TQ run.  I need to improve on that part (his driving)’. Asked about his car, he replied, ‘finally I had a very good feeling from the car.  I’m very happy with the whole package. We changed a lot. The shocks, toe-in, camber, a lot of things. We are on a good way’.

Reacting to his Q3 performance Canas said, ‘the track is difficult and the car too’.  The 16-year-old, continued, ‘I am fighting with the car today. It was better yesterday. We need to make it more comfortable to drive’.  Having changed to less toe-in in the rear for the latest run, he will go back adding ‘the run could have been faster’, his time only 0.057 off Coelho.

A content Maifield described the round as ‘OK’ adding, ‘we made a lot of changes to the car to make it safe for the mains but it was probably too safe’.  The American continued, ‘overall it was a relatively clean run. Nothing crazy. I had a mistake in the pits when I braked for another car and hit the wall which cost me a second’.  For the second of the day’s qualifiers, he will ‘make a rear shock change and go up in the rear diff again’.

‘Overall it was OK, it was a Top 5 run the car is not so good’, was Batlle’s summary of his performance.  The 2012 World Champion explained, ‘the rear is squatting even more than yesterday.  We had good speed but we need to improve the squat more for the next one’.  The Spanish driver said he also had ‘a lot of traffic with Ty’,  I let him passed and he crashed and then I had to let him go again. At least we have 3 good results and we need one more to make a good final.  That is the target for now’.

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Tessmann tops Q2 in Perth

Ty Tessmann has topped the opening day of qualifying’s second round at the 1:8 Offroad World Championships in Perth, Australia. Fifth in Q1, the Xray driver was fastest on his second attempt ahead of fellow Heat 1 runner Ryan Maifield by 9/10ths of a second.  Running in Heat 2, the track getting one of its scheduled waterings before the first two heats, Q1 Top Qualifier David Ronnefalk was fastest of that group to complete the overall Top 3 ahead of Robert Batlle, Dakotah Phend and Juan Carlos Canas.  Quickest in yesterday’s controlled practice to go into qualifying as the Top Seed, the day didn’t improve for Davide Ongaro. The Team Associated driver suffered a costly error in Q1 but ended up with a DNF for Q2 as he lost a wheel while on a TQ pace run.

I think we can get more out of the car so we will make changes for tomorrow.”

Ty Tessmann

Reacting to his TQ run, Tessmann said, ‘I thought it went pretty good. It was a little dusty but the guys after had it dusty too. On the down steps I got a little squirrelly and had to correct it but otherwise it was a clean run’. The former World Champion continued, ‘I tried a different tyre, S2 Invader, and it was good for these kind of conditions. We will keep an eye on how the track develops and the dust’. Looking to Q3, drivers from the top 5 heats not up until midday compared with the 08:00 start today, he said, ‘I think we can get more out of the car so we will make changes for tomorrow’.

I played a little strategy at the start and stayed in the pit so as to be on my own.”

Ryan Maifield

Commenting on his run Maifield said, ‘It was good. I tried to put in another clean run. I played a little strategy at the start and stayed in the pit so as to be on my own’.  The Arizona driver continued, ‘I drove pretty conservative. One or two laps I didn’t hit my marks but it cost 1 to 2 seconds most’.  On his car the Mugen driver said, ‘we made a few changes to improve the drivability for long runs. For tomorrow we will make a spring change and maybe also the rear diff but the big thing is to work out what tyre to be on’.  For Q2 he ran the same set of JConcepts’ new Blockers tyre he used in the opening qualifier saying they ran the same set to get an understanding of how the tyre, which is also an all new compound, wears’.

We kept the car the same to see how it was in the day time conditions and it felt good for the entire run.”

David Ronnefalk

‘It was not bad’ was how Ronnefalk summed up Q2. The defending World Champion added, ‘It was a good run with no mistakes although I touched the wall coming into the pits. I lost 1 to 1.5 seconds there but overall the car was very consistent again. I had a lot off traffic which cost me more time there. Without this and the pitlane mistake it would have been a TQ again for sure’. On his car the HB Racing driver said, ‘We kept the car the same to see how it was in the day time conditions and it felt good for the entire run. We can fine tune some fine details but we have the car for the final which is for sure the most important thing’.

We have enough speed and now we are already working on the final and what tyre to use.”

Robert Batlle

Only 11th in Q1 after two crashes on the triple, former World Champion Batlle was happier with Q2 describing the run as ‘not bad’. Describing his Mugen as quite easy to drive, the Spaniard added the car was ‘a little squatty on the rear’ and they need ‘to work on that for the next one’. Suffering a mistake that cost him 5-seconds and ending up 5-seconds off the TQ, he said, ‘we have enough speed and now we are already working on the final and what tyre to use’. Asked what he planned for Q3, he replied, we wait what and see. We have plenty of time. We have nearly 24-hours before we run again’.

There was a bunch of cars racing each other and I want to stay out of that tomorrow and race my ow race.”

Dakotah Phend

‘That was a little better. Less mistakes on my part. I drove a lot better’, was Phend’s view of his second qualifying attempt. The TLR driver added, ‘I will try to get a better starting position at the start. There was a bunch of cars racing each other and I want to stay out of that tomorrow and race my ow race’. On his car, the US driver said, ‘It got a little edgy at the end so we will try fix that. It just was just the last few laps so we’ll do nothing crazy of a change. Maybe in the shocks we’ll go with a thicker oil.’

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Champion Ronnefalk TQs first qualifier

World Champion David Ronnefalk has got the defence of his 1:8 Offroad title off to the best start possible by the TQ’ing the opening round of qualifying in Australia.  Running in the second heat, the HB Racing driver topped the 10-minute qualifier by a significant margin, more than 5-seconds from Naoto Matsukura in turn was 6/10ths quicker than Bruno Coelho, the two onroad World Champions also in the same heat as Ronnefalk.  The big surprise of the first of the six scheduled qualifiers was that of young American CJ Jelin who took his Xray to the fourth fastest time for the round ahead of team-mate Ty Tessmann, the Canadian being the highest place driver from Heat 1.  Seeded in Heat 3, Joern Nuemann would complete the Top 6 just ahead of Ryan Maifield and Dakotah  Phend.

‘I’m super pumped to TQ’, was Ronnefalk’s reaction after Q1. The Swede continued, ‘I knew we had the better track that round and that I had to make the most of the opportunity. It was a safe run although a couple of laps I was on the limit. All my laps except one was in the 33s (seconds).’ Only 7th in seeding, he said, ‘we improved the car from last night and it is now more comfortable to drive’. Choosing JConcepts’ Reflex tyre in R2 compound for the qualifier he added, ‘we were debating which tyre to go with and I was thinking of going for a softer compound but after I saw the first heat I went with the R2. We probably could have went harder’.

Summing up his opening effort, Matsukura said, it was ‘not too bad’ adding ‘I’m feeling now the offroad driving style’. The newly crowned 1:10 Nitro Touring Car World Champion continued, ‘the engine was very good and we made no refuelling’ but added than any advantage gained was negated by ‘2 times mistakes’. The Infinity team driver, who is running a Mugen, admitted that even without any mistake he wouldn’t have been able to match Ronnefalk’s TQ pace. Describing the car as ‘difficult’, he said ‘we need to make easier to drive’. Asked what changes he planned for Q2 he replied, ‘I let Miura decided’ – the Onroad World Champion of 3 different categories being looked after by legendary mechanic Masayuki Miura.

Coelho described his qualifier as ‘a solid run’. The Electric Touring Car World Champion continued, ‘the car was working good. I tried not to go super fast and take it down one gear and finish good. It worked out’. The Xray driver, who earlier this year became the European 1:8 Offroad Champion in his home country of Portugal, said for Q2 ‘maybe we will make some small changes but the car is good so we will leave it more of less the same’.

Having made his Worlds debut in Las Vegas two years ago at the age of 12, Jelin was taking his P4 in his stride. Splitting his World Champion team mates, the American said, ‘I started off fast but then backed it down. I tried to stay ahead of David (Ronnefalk) but he got passed but then I tried to pace myself off him. I had just one mistake so overall it was a clean run and I’m happy’. Running the same Pro-Line Buckshot tyre as Coelho, he said they were really good but for the day’s second qualifier he might go up in diff oils and the watering of the track would ‘dictate if we do or not’.

‘I thought it was good’, was Tessmann’s response when asked about his run, the 2014 World Champion having topped the times for the opening heat. He continued, ‘the car was too stiff for the cold conditions and I thought there would be good grip but the car was pretty loose’. Ending up almost 9-seconds off Ronnefalk, he said, ‘I drove round as fast as the car would let me. That was all I had to give’. He concluded, ‘I hope it’s dry the next and we can do better’.

Pleased with P6, Neumann said, ‘It was good. No big problems, just 1 or 2 times on 2-wheels because there was so much grip. Otherwise it was a clean run’. The Sworkz driver continued, ‘we made small adjustments to the car for this round and it was even better than practice’. Looking to Q2, the German said, ‘the next round, depending when it is, I need to decide if I will change anything but I think I will keep the same and maybe try some adjustments tomorrow’.

Pushed out of the Top 6 by Neumann, Maifield was content with his opening run after a mistake on the final lap cost him a Top 3 run. The Mugen driver said, ‘It was OK just first race blues I guess’. Out in the first heat, the 1:10 Offroad World Champion said, ‘in the shadows it was loose and it was also hard to judge where the car was. I crashed on the last lap. I was nervous and driving a little tight. It’s hard to wake up and just drive easily at the Worlds’. With 18 heats to get through because of the over 200 entries, the first heat of the day hit the track at 08:00 local time in Perth.

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