Ongaro Top Qualifier at 4WD World Championship

Davide Ongaro is the Top Qualifier for the 2023 Offroad Worlds, the Italian securing the pole position for tomorrow’s 4WD finals with his third TQ run in as many rounds at Hobby Action RC Raceway.  Having had a good battle with Dakotah Phend for the fastest time in Q2, the Team Associated driver made Q3 his own being the first & only driver to run 17-laps over the 5-minutes.  On a track that many expected would strongly favour the US drivers and challenge the Europeans, the round would see a European 1-2 as Schumacher’s Michal Orlowski set the second fastest time ahead of Spencer Rivkin and Broc Champlin.  Having shown promise with a P3 in the second round, defending Champion Bruno Coelho had a rough round finishing well down the order and it was a similar case for Top seed Phend, the TLR driver classified 21st for the round.

Reacting to his latest run, Ongaro said, ‘Finally no mistakes and I did 17-laps.  I also had that pace in the second one but two bobbles cost me a lot’.  Having found himself in the B-Main at the last 4WD Buggy Worlds in 2019 at the Hudy Arena, the reigning 1:8 Buggy World Champion didn’t seem phased by the significance of his overall TQ.  Asked if it came as a surprise, he said, ‘Yes it is a US style track but I like it and I am able to drive good here.  We still have two more rounds of qualifying to go so we will get them out of the way first and then think about the finals’.  While best known for his 1:8 racing exploits and back to back World Championship titles, Ongaro has a strong CV in 1:10 Electric Buggy having finished runner-up to team-mate Spencer Rivkin at the last Worlds and having also been a European Champion in the category.  Asked about his driver’s performance Team Associated Team Manager Brent Thielke said, ‘It was not expected but it’s not a surprise’.

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Ongaro takes opening qualifier at Worlds

David Ongaro has taken the opening round of qualifying at the World Championship in Arizona.  The Team Associated driver, who was second fastest in practice, took the first of the five rounds of qualifying ahead teenagers  Tater Sontag and Marcus Kaerup.  Leading out the field as Top Seed for qualifying, Dakotah Phend would end up on his roof in the whoops section early in the run forcing Ongaro to go the long way around his TLR as he went to the top of the times sheets.  With the drivers super close on pace, a moment would then drop the Italian back off the top as Kaerup, Sontag and Dustin Evans all took turns at setting the TQ pace.  In the end a late charge from Ongaro gave him the TQ by just 6/10oths over Sontag with Kaerup 1.9-second further back.  Running in the second fastest heat Ty Tessmann would post the fourth fastest time ahead of Evans who gave away a potential TQ run with a late mistake at the end of the main straight.

‘A close one’, was Ongaro’s reaction to his TQ run.  He continued, ‘I had a few bobbles on my opening lap and then when Phend flipped I had to go around but my car was comfortable to drive’.  The back to back 1:8 Buggy World Champion added, ‘It’s hard to not make mistakes and everyone is super close.  For the next one we will just put on another set of new tyres and thats it.  Try to make no mistakes’.

16-year-old Sontag described his opening performance as a ‘really clean run’.  Changing the diff oils on his TLR for Q1 he his buggy was really good and he was able to just focus on hitting all his likes but he would experience some issues with laps traffic at the end that cost him time’.  Planning to leave his car unchanged for Q2 he will also run the same set of tyres saying they wants to ‘see how they are aging’.  Summing up his qualifier team-mate Phend said, ‘the whoops were never an issue before but that time they got me twice.  I need to clean her up for the next one’.

2022 European 4WD Champion Kaerup described his Q1 as ‘very clean’ adding ‘I didn’t want to do anything silly and just stay calm but Davide (Ongaro) came like a rocket ship at the end’.  The 15 year-old Dane is looking to get a few more solid runs in to getting settle and if that goes well he might consider going ‘all out’ for the last two.

In the same heat as team-mate and defending Champion Bruno Coelho, Tessman was happy with Q1 saying ‘a good opening run always  makes you more confident going forward’.  While admitting he still needs to find more speed, the Xray driver said his buggy was ‘100 times better than early practice’.  Asked what they are lacking he replied, ‘we need more turn in the 180 degree corners but we are working on getting that and its better each run’.

Completing the Top 5 ahead of Michal Orlowski, Evans, ‘I got to the lead and then hit the pipe at the end of the straight’.  He continued, ‘the double at the end of the straight is tricky and I was trying to keep a tight line to get it right but I turned to early’.  The Reedy team driver said, ‘5th for a round at the World Championship with a crash shows I have the speed so I am confident for the next one but I need to decide what tyre choice to make for it’.

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Phend tops final practice from Ongaro

Practice is complete at the IFMAR 1:10 Offroad World Championships with Dakotah Phend capping off controlled practice with the fastest time from 1:8 Buggy World Champion Davide Ongaro.  After yesterday’s two controlled practice rounds determined the heat groupings for qualifying, with drivers in their new groups this morning the third & final controlled practice round determined the starting order for Q1.  Based off drivers total 5-minute run time, Phend would run 16 laps in 5:01.524 which was over 3-seconds up on Ongaro while Michal Orlowski competed the Top 3 a further 3-seconds off just ahead of Spencer Rivkin.  Finding himself demoted to Heat 13 of 14 after yesterday’s performance, defending champion Bruno Coelho did not have a good 5-minutes run this morning but the Xray driver would post the 4th fastest for 3-consecutive laps, lacking half a second over the quickest time set by Ongaro.

‘A good way to start the day off’, was Phend’s reaction to being Top Seed going into qualifying.  The factory Team Losi Racing driver continued, ‘It was a good solid run and we’ll try to keep it rolling today’.  Asked about track conditions, he said, ‘I expect the track to be pretty similar to yesterday so we’ll keep everything the same for the first one’.

Ongaro was pleased with his form in the final practice describing the run as ‘really good’.  The Team Associated driver was on used tyres for the run and feels they didn’t offer the same grip as before.  Also making one mistake over the 5-minutes, he was still only 3-seconds off Phend leading him to say ‘I think I can run together with him in qualifying’.

Asked about his run, reigning European Champion Orlowski said, “I was trying stuff for qualifying and one of the things we changed was not good but my 5-minute time was not bad’.  For the first of the 4 qualifiers on today’s schedule, the Schumacher driver will go back to his previous set-up adding he is ‘confident for Q1’.

Commenting on his final practice Rivkin said, ‘It was pretty good but we are off to the races now with Q1’.  He continued, ‘It was nice to get the run in this morning.  The track was a little slippery as expected but I was happy with my consistency apart from a touch with the pipe’.  The Arizona driver, for whom Hobby Action is his home track, believes tyre strategy is going to come into play in qualifying with drivers having been saving tyres for racing.  This morning the tyre allocation rule was updated with racers informed they have been reduced to a maximum of four sets of tyres, one less than was implement yesterday after a shortage of tyres delayed the start to the event.

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Phend heads seeding at 4WD World Championship

Dakotah Phend heads seeding at the 4WD Offroad World Championship at the end of the opening day of action in Arizona.  The TLR driver’s opening time remaining the quickest as 1:8 Buggy World Champion Davide Ongaro set the pace in the second seeding to move up to P2 with one more seeding round in the morning.  Despite improving on his second fastest time set in the opening round, Broc Champlin dropped to P3 while Dustin Evans enjoyed a good run to jump up to fourth.  Another to make a big improvement was Joern Neumann whose Sworkz means four different manufacturers in the current Top 5 seeding.  For defending Champion Bruno Coelho it was a tough first day at Hobby Action with the Xray driver currently set to line up in the second fastest heat for qualifying and in need a good final practice in the morning.

Summing up the second seeding round with, ‘it wasn’t the best round’, Phend said, ‘I felt that might be the case going into the run.  ‘Messing around with some stuff’ on his buggy after setting the fastest 3-consecutive laps in Round 1 of seeding, a time his rivals couldn’t better in the second round, he said he will try something in the morning’s final practice to ‘see where we need to be at for qualifying’.

Asked about his improved time, which was 3/10ths off Phend’s 56.303 time, Ongaro said, ‘It took three or four laps for the new tyres to break in but after that it was good and I am feeling confident with everything’.  With the final seeding round and 4 of the 5 rounds of qualifying on tomorrow’s (Monday) timetable the Team Associated driver said, ‘I am looking forward to tomorrow. It should be good’.

Champlin found himself in bother at the start the second seeding round as he car came unbound while he was up on the driver start.  Eventually getting it working again he said the new tyres were better but given the chaos at the start he left a lot out there.  Looking to tomorrow, Champlin said he is ‘excited for qualifying’.

‘That was good but I don’t really know why’ was Evans reacting to setting the fourth fastest time.  Running new tyres in the first seeding round, the Reedy team driver said it was ‘horrible’.  Switching to another new set for his second attempt his Associated buggy was ‘dialled’.  Pleased also at managing a clean 5-minute run, he said he is driving well within himself adding ‘it is not a track you can go all out at.  You’ve got to be reserved.  The double at the end of the straight is always a challenge’.  He concluded, ‘I know I have got the pace for tomorrow’.

Knocking 1.5 seconds of his 3-lap time,  summing up the second run Neumann said, ‘the first half was not so good but after that the car was really good’.  Asked what he felt changed, the German said, ‘I didn’t warm-up the differentials that time so maybe I need to do that like before.  I think the car is good and we have made big improvements since the Warm-up Race. Now we need to see how everything is going with tyres in qualifying but I think we are in a good position’.

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