SILVER STATE: Batlle, Tessmann, and Cavalieri clinch overall TQs with wins in third round

0 March 28, 2015, 8:42 p.m.

By Aaron Waldron
LiveRC.com

Just one round of qualifying on Saturday morning gave drivers a final chance to improve their starting positions for Sunday’s finals, and with so many of the top names logging solid points scores in just one of the necessary two rounds yesterday, the pressure was on. It was now or never for drivers like DNC finalist Joe Bornhorst and 2010 World Champion Cody King, who both sat just outside of the coveted top 12.

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“It was super dialed!” said a smiling Robert Batlle, using a very American description for how his MBX7R ECO handled the increasingly rough surface with the same setup and tire choice he ran yesterday. “It was quite clean,” said the Spaniard, “and though I had a little bit of traffic I was able to overtake them quite easily.” For the last couple of minutes, Jeremy Kortz followed right behind him but raced him cleanly.

Jared Tebo finished second for the round, but was over five seconds behind Batlle after just seven minutes. “I didn’t change too much,” said Jared Tebo, “just shock location. I think I might go back to how it was.” Tebo said that his run was pretty clean, but that Batlle was too fast.

Adam Drake had the third fastest time, less than four tenths of a second faster than Tessmann. “It was really easy to drive,” said Drake, “it just needs a little bit more steering, but it was really comfortable. I think I had a pretty clean run with no mistakes.”

Tessmann locked up the overall TQ in the Nitro Truck division in style, setting the fastest third round time by over a second. “It was good,” said Tessmann, “just a little bit bouncy - but I think that was the track.” Having not made any changes to his truck, the Canadian said, “I might try something tomorrow morning in the warm-up, I’m just not sure yet.” His third run involved no crashes - while he did tip up on two wheels before the double leading onto the straightaway one lap, he doesn’t think it really cost him much time.

“I changed it a little bit,” said Jared Tebo, who set the second fastest time and improved to a top-five starting spot, “and my truck was really good.” The adjustments included rear diff oil and rear shock location. “It was the best that it has been,” said Tebo. The former champion said he hopes the track gets rough because he feels it will create closer racing, but there is a downside if that happens. “If someone gets out in the lead,” Tebo said, “they’ll just check out.

Ryan Cavalieri was less than four tenths of a second behind his former teammate, finishing with the third best time. “The first few minutes I hit some wrong lines, but about halfway through I started going really good. My truck has definitely come around.”

“It was fine,” said Ryan Maifield when I asked if he was taking his truck apart to clean it or to change different options. “I’m just prepping for the main. I think the track is going to be super rough.” Thanks to his fourth place finish, Maifield will start third, sandwiched between a couple layers of very fast drivers on both sides.

“My buggy was really good off the bat,” said Ryan Cavalieri, who locked up the overall TQ with the third round win by nearly two and a half seconds. “I started off faster than I have been, and my car felt really comfortable. I didn’t really change anything, it was all about being consistent.

Defending champion Kyle McBride’s runner-up finish in the third round was his best of the week. “It was definitely improved over the previous run,” the Australian said after making several changes, though he felt that the lighter shock oil actually hindered the car’s performance through the bumps. “My car was kicking up a little bit, but I had a clean run,” Kyle said.

“I had a small mistake on the first lap, crashing over the roller on the right side and then hitting the pipe right afterward,” said former world champion Robert Batlle who was third quickest in the final round. The Spanish driver said, “Cavalieri got ahead of me so I just stayed behind him all race long. He was going fast, and I just needed a top five finish.”

Carson Wernimont was fourth, just over three-tenths of a second behind Batlle. He made some shock adjustments and went too soft, which made his Associated RC8 prototype feel too springy. “It was decent to drive,” said Carson, “but I’m going to make some more changes and I think it will be really good.” The finished matched his best, which came in the opening round, but it wasn’t perfect. He said, “I had quite a few bobbles because my car was so hard to drive, but I got fourth so it couldn’t have been that bad.” Wernimont thinks that the deteriorating track conditions will make the track one-lined, so the main event should be close. “Starting in the front doesn’t mean you’ll be running up there the whole time,” said Carson, “I’m not too worried about it, to be honest.”

Tebo was just 52-thousandths of a second behind Wernimont, making up for his flameout on the final lap last night to land a top-five starting spot. He changed all three diff oil to make his car more reactive, and “it was really good,” said the former champion. Tebo’s only mistake came over the drop-off on the second lap, as his MP9 TKI3 got sideways and he counter-steered, but his car flipped right away.