Lutz and Tekno RC continued incredible streak at January Jam, winning four of five classes

A great weekend of racing was recently had at FRC. On Thursday the 22nd I flew out with Tekno Team Manager Matt Wolter to Flowood, Mississippi to attend the annual January Jam. This was my second time to Flowood and my first time to this particular event. A fresh fast new layout had just been rolled out, and Friday morning would start the practice sessions. The entry count was 285 entries so it was a well attended event. I decided to run all 5 Tekno offered classes which meant for a busy, busy weekend!

 

Friday practice was spent trying each car out for a few tanks / packs each. The track conditions were very slick, and having been told to expect high bite I was a little unprepared. Luckily I brought some SS AKA tires as they were necessary to run on Friday and early Saturday. Over the course of practice I got most of my cars feeling pretty decent. I’m never a huge fan of practice time because I like having the clock running and times to show how i’m doing. So I was ready for Saturdays festivities to get under way!

 

 

Come Saturday morning 3 qualifiers were on tap in each class. This meant 15 races for me during this 12 hour raceday. First round of qualifiers out of the gate and I was able to TQ all but Nitro Buggy. Second round and I TQ’d all but E-buggy. So with the third round I really needed to finish off with a TQ in both buggy classes to secure the overall. In E-buggy I was able to do so but in Nitro, with a mistake near the end, Cole got me and thus I settled for 2nd. So overall after qualifying I had 4 TQ’s and would start 2nd in Nitro Buggy.

 

 

Mains were on tap for Sunday with triple A’s in Electric and a 35min Pro main in Nitro classes. That meant up to 11 mains of racing as well:

 

4x4SC – My SC truck kept getting better as the traction came up throughout the weekend. They had us set for 8 min mains and I was able to put in some solid runs in A1 and A2 taking the win in both for the overall. By A2 I got my lap time down to a 23.5 which was within a second pretty much of the fastest laps on the track in any class.

 

4×4 SC A2

 

4×4 SC Podium

Photo: Edwin Hartman

 

E-Truggy – This was my first time driving the Tekno ET48. Man i’ve been missing out! Perhaps one of the most fun classes out there it combines the prowess of a truggy with the ridiculous power of brushless and lipo. In the mains I was able to put in the fastest laptime of the weekend in any class with the ET48. A 22.2 which I think is a big deal considering the ‘tighter’ indoor track layout. What it shows to me is how well this truck steers and the corner speed it can carry. It was a blast to drive and although I thermaled in A1 having never driven the truck for 10 minutes before (I had no fan and drove really hard the last 2 minutes), I got it all squared away and put in solid victories in A2 and A3 for the overall.

 

E-Truggy A2

 

E-Truggy Podium

Photo: Edwin Hartman

 

E-buggy – My EB48.2 was solid as always but I had some very tough competition in Jake Dellinger. In A1 Jake kept me honest for a few minutes before he made a mistake allowing me to stretch out a lead an pull away. In A2 though it was a hard fought battle the entire 10 minutes. We swapped the lead countless times as we battled back and forth. On the last lap he was able to get me and force an A3. A3 started much the same as A2 with a battle but a couple minutes in he would make a mistake and I wasn’t giving it up this time. I drove hard and clean and pulled of a nearly 1 lap win to earn another victory.

 

E-Buggy A-3

 

E-Buggy Podium

Photo: Edwin Hartman

 

Nitro Buggy – This would be the class I struggled with the most this weekend. With running 5 classes the downside is that there isn’t always enough time to get every car fully dialed in and that’s what happened with Nitro buggy. From the start my buggy just didn’t feel great. It was a combination of multiple things and so I just had to do my job and do the absolute best I could with what I had on the track at the time. It sure made for an amazing race as myself, Glancy, and Ogden would spend the entire 35 minutes swapping the lead. For the spectators this was one of the best races they’ve probably ever seen. With about 5 minutes to go though I thought I had a chance to bring it home. I had about a 5 second lead and Glancy and Ogden were battling behind. I was just trying to put in clean laps when lapped traffic decided to absolutely stop right in front of me though the double double. This put me on my lid with no marshal in sight. I lost probably 8 seconds and lost the lead and just couldn’t get it back. In the end I settled for 3rd as Glancy and Ogden crossed the line in a dead heat with the transponder deciding the winner as Ogden. Great race guys!

 

Nitro Truggy – My Tekno NT48 is so amazing of a truggy. This thing just does everything well and allowed me in this 35 min main to put on a clinic. I don’t think I crashed and was able to win by nearly 2 laps. The truck was simply on rails, steering under the competition and just was so easy to drive.

 

Nitro Truggy A-Main

 

 

Nitro Truggy Podium

Photo: Edwin Hartman

 

I’d like to give a huge thanks the Matt Wolter and the entire Tekno team at the event for all the help and support. It truly is awesome being a part of a great team environment! :-)

 

In the end I came away with 4 TQ’s, 4 Wins, and a 3rd. Another solid weekend of racing with Tekno. That puts my Tekno totals up to 14 wins and 17 total podiums in 17 classes entered. Very pumped by those results so far!

 

Next I have 3 weeks of preparation for the first really big race of the year, the Dirt Nitro Challenge! Looking forward to this one!