USWNC: Gray and Apolaro led after rain-shortened first day of qualifying

0 Dec. 4, 2015, 2:36 p.m.

By Thomas Tran
LiveRC.com

Friday Morning Report from 2015 US World Nitro Cup from Full Throttle Raceway

Full Throttle Raceway was purpose built on an old airport runway in 2004 to specifically accommodate the 2004 World Nitro Championships and has remained a staple for on-road racing here in Florida. With a few modifications to curbing, layout, and getting a new surface a couple years ago, the track is still a favorite among racers and continues to be a world class facility.

The first day of qualifying held on Thursday was halted by mother nature with rain coming down late in the afternoon bringing qualifying to a stop here in Kissimmee, Florida. Originally scheduled for 3 rounds of qualifying on Thursday, the decision was made to skip round 3 and continue quals on Friday. With 2 rounds in the books and another 3 rounds slated for Friday, track owner and organizer, George Martinez and crew, have been working hard since 7am to get the track ready for today’s round. With standing water on the track from overnight rain, crew members brought out the brooms and blowers to quickly get the track ready for its scheduled 10am start.

In round 1 of qualifying, the 200mm open class saw Shepherd’s Armin Weihart top the leaderboard with a 15 lap 4:11.28. David Larry and Steve Pendergraph finish a close 1-2 in GT8 ROAR 5 Port Spec class with Larry edging out Pendergraph by 1.9 seconds with a 12 lap 4:12.33. Round 1 of Masters 1/8th was Desoto Racing/Full Throttle’s very own George Martinez taking TQ with an ultra fast 15 lap 4:06.89. In the biggest class of the weekend, 1/10th nitro is going to be an exciting race all weekend with only 3 drivers eclipsing the 15 lap mark. Capricon’s DJ Apolaro would take the overall round 1 TQ with a 15 lap 4:08.52 and finishing 2nd for the round was Desoto Racing’s Scotty Gray with a 15 lap 4:09.07, just .45 seconds back. Rounding out the top three was Diatta Collymore just barely getting the extra lap with a 15 lap 4:16.09. In the coveted 1/8th Open Class, only one driver was able to run 17 laps and rightfully earn the overall TQ for round 1. Former World 200mm nitro champion, WRC’s Daniele Ielasi from Italy, outclassing the field with a 17 lap 4:14.73.

Round 2 in the 200mm open class was Eric Diaz taking TQ over rd 1 TQ, Armin Weihart. While in the GT8 Port Spec class saw Desoto Racing’s own Joaquin Desoto finishing the round out in front with a 12 lap 4:00.13 just edging out Murnan’s Kevin Johnson and Zuriel Aular in a close heated battle for TQ. In 1/8th Masters it was once again Desoto Racing’s George Martinez taking TQ over Joaquin Desoto and Dan Luis by a close margin with a 16 lap 4:15.28. Improving on his rd 1 efforts in the 1/10th Nitro Sedan class, Desoto Racing’s Scotty Gray lead the way in the highly contested sedan class with a 15 lap 4:05.61. Steve McNichols would finish 2nd fastest for the round with Murnan Racing’s own Uriah Murnan finishing out the top 3. Finally, before the rain hit, 1/8th Open was able to fit in a final qualifier for the day with Capricorn’s DJ Apolaro putting in the fastest 4 minute qualifier topping the leaderboard over previous rd 1 TQ, WRC’s Daniele Ielasi from Italy. Ielasi, however would maintain his strong performance and finish 2nd in an important 2nd rd 2 with Paolo Morganti a close 3rd, only .12 seconds behind Ielasi.