Orlowski wins loaded heat to move into contention at RROC

The results of the penultimate round of 4WD action at the Reedy Race of Champions has mixed things up on the leader board with Schumacher’s Michal Orlowski claiming victory in a loaded race to move into contention as 2nd place through 5th all sit on 15 points, two off new points leader Jared Tebo.  Lining up on the front row alongside CJ Jelin for the last race of the 5th round, Orlowski came out on top with a late pass on his fellow teenager but it was the result of the drivers behind that really mixed things up.  With the back row made up Ryan Maifield and Ryan Cavalieri, Tebo starting 7th and David Ronnefalk 6th, the stage was set for the first big showdown of this year’s event.  Racing for third, Maifield and Ronnefalk would go at it with the Swede holding strong to any challenge from the American.  With just over a minute to go it looked like Maifield had found a way passed after Ronnefalk went slightly too hard into the raised corner and went wide but the HB Racing driver came back full punch leading to the contact that saw Maifield come off worse.  While Ronnefalk got third, Maifield dropped to 6th behind Cavalieri and 4th placed Tebo with the two exchanging words over the incident.  Ty Tessmann opened his day in the best way possible with a win in Race 1 over Lee Martin, Dakotah Phend and defending Champion Dustin Evans.  For overnight leader Joe Bornhorst it was a contrasting start to Day 2 as he ended up 9th, his race going downhill after an early mistake while running third.  The win would go to JP Richards who saw off Spencer Rivkin.

Claiming his first win at the Reedy Race, this his fifth time taking part in the legendary race, a very happy Orlowski said, ‘Tanner (Denney) got me on the start so I dropped to fourth. I was lucky to get through the crash and came out second behind CJ and then had David behind me.  Then I could see the battle between David, Maifield and Tebo and slowly started catching CJ.  We had a good battle the last few laps and I was able to pass him when he had a small mistake and finally get a win’.  He continued, ‘the car has always been there but I was just not delivering the results.  We are there now in the points and my next one I have a good starting position so I hope to finish off 4WD strongly’.

Becoming only the third driver to double his winning tally so far, this year’s track layout preventing any clear early points leaders, Tessmann who managed only a 6th in yesterday’s closing race, said, ‘Everything went to plan that time’.  The Xray driver continued, ‘My tyres are getting low so its getting a bit uncomfortable but Cavalieri and Maifield have similar thread left. I hope I can get good points from the next one. I am starting on the 2nd row behind Cav and Maifeld so it is going to be pretty high pace I think’.

Sitting 8th in the points, four down on leader Tebo, Evans summed up his fourth place with, ‘I done as good as I could have from there’.  Starting 7th, the Associated driver continued, ‘I still don’t have the speed I need but I don’t think even with more speed it would have made much difference that time’.  Looking forward to the switch to 2WD, he said, ‘I am going to change quite a bit of stuff again.  I can’t make it worse but the way it is now is not comfortable for me’.

The surprise star of Day 1, summing up his race Bornhorst said, ‘I made a good start but then I cased the the double double and dropped back to 6th or 7th and then I wasn’t driving good.  That’s the reason they have throw outs’.  He concluded, ‘the car is fine. That one was on me’.

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Evans gets first win of Reedy title defence

Reedy Race Champion Dustin Evans has claimed the first win of his title defence, the Team Associated driver convincingly winning his 3rd round encounter ahead of Joe Bornhorst and Brent Thielke. Opening the event with a P2 but suffering an 8th in Round 2, Evans made the most of his first pole position start, quickly pulling clear of the field.  Behind, Bornhorst once again turned around a back of the grid starting position to get up to second by the finish and with a win and 2 second places the Tekno drivers leads the points table from Ryan Cavalieri.  Multiple champion Cavalieri became the first double winner of the event winning the second race of the round ahead of 2017 Champion Dakotah Phend.  The same race saw joint leader after two rounds Ty Tessmann end up 5th, the Xray driver getting together with Schumacher’s Michal Orlowski entering the straight for the last time with the latter winning the drag race to the finish line.  Race 3 would see the first non-American winner of this year’s race with David Ronnefalk converting a front row start alongside pole sitter Kaito Kodera into a win.  Behind, fellow European Lee Martin took 2nd ahead of Jared Tebo, the Tekno driver now on the same points as third placed Tessmann with one more round of racing on the opening day’s schedule.

Reacting to his first win, Evans said, ‘I started up front which sometimes is the hardest place because it can easily go wrong but it worked out good. I could just drive around the track. It was good’. On his car, he said, ‘It was pretty good but it is still not as good as I would like. I made a few changes and it was better but it feels like it is on top of the track. The pace is good but I don’t want to screw with it.  My 2WD is awesome so I’m just trying to keep close in 4WD’. Asked about his starting position for the fourth round, the Colorado driver replied, ‘I’m going one race at time. I don’t want to think about it so I wait till it is time to go and then see what I have to do. I don’t want to be looking ahead’.

On his race, Cavalieri said, ‘I was able to get around the first corner and make a gap.  After that I just put in my own laps’.  On his previous round P5 result, the new Yokomo signing said, ‘there was nothing wrong with my second run. I did get turned around at the start but it was a clean heat and there was no chance to make up more time. The track is difficult to pass on. You get settled into the guy ahead of you’.  Starting the fourth of the 6 rounds of 4WD from 7th on the grid, the 2017 Champion , ‘I have just got to be patient. I have nothing to complain about in terms of my car or my driving.  What ever comes comes’.

‘It’s a lot easier starting up front. I had no mess at the start’, was Ronnefalk’s reaction to putting his first win on the board. The HB Racing driver added, ‘my car is really good. I didn’t change it today, I just had the most terrible luck in the first two races.  In the first I threw away a 3rd and and the second race was just carnage and I got the shit out of it’. The Swede continued, ‘You need luck in this race and I didn’t have it in Race 1 and 2. It doesn’t help that I have a 4 and a 7 but I will keep digging and stay out of trouble’.

View the complete event results here.

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