Rivkin cruises to A1 win at JConcepts Finals (2WD)

Top Qualifier Spencer Rivkin cruised to an unchallenged win in the opening A-Main of 2WD Mod Buggy at the JConcepts INS in North Carolina, heading an Associated 1-2 ahead of his team-manager Brent Thielke.  The World Champion got a huge break when a first lap pile-up behind him left second place qualifier Jared Tebo eight at the end of the opening lap.  While Tebo would work his way back to the front, Thielke made his B6 wide with the pairing connecting numerous times but he would hold on for second with Tebo right on his rear wing with Rivkin’s winning margin 6.5 seconds.

‘I thought I drove well by myself as that’s not usually the case and I’m looking forward to A2’, was Rivkin’s reaction to the first 2WD encounter.  With traffic his biggest challenge over the 5-minutes, the Arizona driver said, ‘I had to double single the triple a couple of times with traffic but I was just being smart rather then risk landing on another car and breaking.  I had enough of a cushion to do that’.

Starting from fifth on the grid Thielke said, ‘I’ll take it’.  He continued, ‘basically there was a pile up with the three cars ahead of me and I found a way through it’.  After that he said, ‘I tried to hang on to Spencer for as long as I could but I knew he was faster’.  With his Reedy powered B6 ‘pretty loose at the end’, he said, ‘but I was able to keep it ahead of Jared’.  For A2, he plans to ‘turn up (his) brakes’.

Tebo said, ‘I think after the Dash for Cash (held last night) I started with more intensity.  Alex and Spencer seem to start slow and I ran in the back of them’.  He continued, ‘my car was unreal and I made so many passes, it was really fun, and I should have got second but Brent was playing the brake check game on the last lap’.  He added, ‘Its frustrating that me and Spencer have not raced each other yet in 2WD but I think we will in the next one (A2)’.  Behind Tebo, TLR driver Max Flurer would finish 4th from 6th on the grid with Damion Borkowicz, who came out of lap 1 in second, completing the Top 5.

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Tebo takes easy A1 win (4WD)

Jared Tebo took an easy win in the opening 4WD A-Main at the JConcepts Indoor National Series Finals at Speed RC.  The Kyosho driver was left to take a Sunday drive after just four laps when his main rival Spencer Rivkin had a moment which dropped the No.2 starter back to third behind Associated team-mate Damion Borkowicz. Borkowicz would later have a moment of his own allowing Rivkin back through to second while all the time Tebo was pulling off into the distance.  Winning by over 8-seconds on the 16-second lap, Tebo headed a Top 6 that finished up as they started.

‘Awesome’ was how Tebo summed up his A1 win.  Running a new set of tyres in last night’s third & final qualifier, having secured the overall TQ in the second round, he said the only change he made was to switch back to his previous set of Pro-Line tyres.  Describing the track as feeling ‘pretty good’ he added ‘it was a little looser’ than yesterday but he was still ‘super comfortable’ with his Orion powered ZX6.6. With 11 cars lining up for the A-Main, he said at the start he was a little ‘worried’ about traffic but ‘everyone was super respectful’ as he lapped the field.  Looking to A2 he said he would ‘just try and repeat’ and in terms of his car he just needs to ‘charge the battery and clean the tyres’.

‘Didn’t go as planned’ was Rivkin’s summary of A1 adding, ‘my car bunny hopped off a hump and I just spun out and dropped to 3rd’.  Setting the fastest lap, the 18-year-old said, ‘I feel my car & tyres are better than Jared’s’.   Planning to leave his Reedy powered B6 unchanged he said, ‘I’ve one more chance at it and hopefully can make it go to A3’.

‘The track was definitely different and it was a little sketchier because it had more grip but I made a lot of mistakes on my own’, was Borkowicz’s view of A1.  The Florida racer said, ‘I managed to get up to second but had a mistake and went back to 3rd so I’m hoping for better driving on my part in A2’.  Behind the 16-year-old Alex Kosciuszek took fourth, 1-second back, while home favourite Max Flurer finished a distant fifth.

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Final qualifying update

With Jared Tebo securing the overall 4WD and Spencer Rivkin the overall 2WD TQ after two round of qualifying, the third & final qualifier at the JConcepts Indoor National Series Finals was about deciding how the rest of the field would line up behind them. In 4WD Tebo would complete a clean sweep with another TQ run ahead of Rivkin, his Kyosho again the only car to do 19-laps of the Speed RC track.  For Rivkin, who broke in Q1, another P2 would secure the Associated driver 2nd on the grid for tomorrow’s triple A-Mains.  While Daimon Borkowicz would have his worst run in Q3, the Associated driver’s opening two heats would give him third on the grid ahead of team-mate Alex Kosciuszek.  Enjoying his best qualifier in the final round getting a P3, TLR’s Max Flurer completes the top half of the grid at his home track.  In 2WD Mod Truck, Flurer will start 2nd behind Tebo who also got the TQ in the second round with Rivkin carrying the No.3 in the finals.

In 2WD Mod Buggy,  Alex Kosciuszek finally delivered a TQ run in Q3 ahead of Tebo and Rivkin but P2 for the round was enough to secure Tebo second on the grid. With P5 for the first two rounds, Kosciuszek’s TQ allowed him to jump ahead of team-mate Daimon Borkowicz to secure third on the grid.  Brent Thielke completes the top half of the grid.  In the biggest class at the Series Finals, 2WD Stock Buggy, the Top Qualifier was decided in the final round with Rob Meyer repeating his Q1 performance to run a second TQ round in Q3 to take it ahead of Q2 winner Chris Pace.

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