Tebo takes 4WD win at JConcepts Finals

Jared Tebo claimed the 4WD Buggy win at the JConcepts Indoor National Series, the Kyosho driver completing a perfect weekend when, like in qualifying he wrapped things up early, by securing the overall victory with another win in A2. Having dominated the opening A-Main, it looked like he was going to repeat the performance in the second of the three encounters but riding the curbing he rolled his ZX6.6 allowing Spencer Rivkin to the front. Rivkin however would make a carbon copy of Tebo’s mistake and with his Associated on its roof letting Tebo resume the lead where he would stay to the finish for the win. Going on to take A3, Rivkin would get second in North Carolina which was enough to secure him the overall JConcepts INS title. Daimon Borkowicz would complete the race podium on the series’ first visit to Speed RC.

‘I’m really happy to win 4WD. We are going to be competitive next year with this car’, was Tebo reaction to sewing up the overall win. With race hosts Speed RC one of his sponsors and him pitting for the weekend next to its 1:1 racing driver owner Scott Speed, he added, ‘it’s also nice to win here for them’. Running back over A2, the former World Champion said, ‘the car was really good and I pulled out at the beginning but then I had a driver error and hit the curbing’. With Rivkin going by and Alex Kosciuszek getting a pass on him as he got back into his rhythm, Tebo said, ‘I was feeling quite a bit faster than Spencer and was trying to force a pass but then he hit the same curb I did’. Setting the fastest lap of the race as he closed down on Rivkin, it almost 2/10th of a second better than his rivals best, he would cross the finish line with 1.6 seconds advantage. Summing up the weekend and the performance of his Orion powered ZX6.6, he said, ‘my car was perfect and I’m already looking forward to 2017’.

Summing up the 4WD outcome, Rivkin said, ‘my car was good but I couldn’t make it go to A3’. Having got a break in A2 and led after Tebo rolled early on he said, ‘I hit the same part of track as Jared but he did it at the start and did it at the end so I had no chance to comeback’. Associated/Reedy/JConcepts team-mate Borkowicz declared himself ‘pretty happy’ to get on the podium. Challenging Rivkin for win in A3, setting the fastest lap as he closed down on the leader, he said, ‘It was going really good but I made a mistake on the last lap and that cost me the chance of winning but I’m happy to be on the podium which also gets me a Top 3 in the overall series’. While he came into the weekend with high hopes as one of the series’ overall title contenders, Alex Kosciuszek while showing flashes of speed, failed to make the podium ending up fourth ahead of TLR’s Max Flurer and the Associated of Mike Cline.

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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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