ADVERTISEMENT | ADVERTISE WITH US
0
May 23, 2015, 7:04 p.m.
By Aaron Waldron
LiveRC.com
Round seven produced more incredible racing and another first-time winner. With the top drivers in each heat jockeying for position while those lower in the points standings trying to make the most of their grid selections. Like the previous round, the hot track surface reduced the grip compared to this morning and made passing hard under braking incredibly difficult - and even more entertaining for the spectators.
Naoki Akiyama got a good jump off the tone ahead of Andrew Hardman and Akio Sobue to lead the first lap, but crashed on the second pass through the chicane and dropped back. Hardman, Sobue, and Christopher Krapp took over the top three spots. At 1:20, Sobue ran into Hardman in the sweeper and had to wait for the Canadian driver to be righted, which moved Krapp and Ronald Völker, from ninth on the grid, into first and second with Rick Hohwart in third. Hohwart crashed just before the 2:00 mark, which allowed Akiyama back to third. At 2:30, Krapp crashed in the chicane and Völker took over the lead. Völker crossed the finish line one second ahead of Krapp, with Akiyama another 2.5 seconds back.
“I was patient in the first few laps because I couldn’t get by anybody. Nobody crashed at all, so I just tried to stay calm - and it paid off,” said Völker. “Suddenly I was in second and chasing Christopher. After he rolled it, I was able to get a clean win,” he continued. The defending champion explained that the deteriorating asphalt surface makes it harder to overtake. “It’s more difficult to pass than last year,” he said, “off the racing line there’s just no grip, and that makes the racing harder.”
Keven Hébert and his former Reedy Off-Road Race Invitational champion Team Associated teammate Ryan Cavalieri led from the start of the second heat from the front row. From eighth on the grid, Viktor Wilck shot up the inside of the lane preceding the first 180 and made up several spots, running third by the end of lap one. However, the German’s Serpent spun in the chicane the following lap, and he dropped back to eighth as Juho Levanen and Andy Moore improved to third and fourth. At 1:00, Hébert hit the curb coming onto the straightaway and Cavalieri drove by for the lead. About 3:00 into the race, Hébert crashed in the keyhole and another Team Associated car, driven by Finnish racer Juho Levanen, moved into second. Cavalieri cruised to the win by 2.5 seconds with another 3.2 seconds from Levanen to Hébert.
“That was really good,” said Cavalieri after winning his first race of the weekend. “Keven got a good jump on the first lap, so I just drove smooth,” said Cavalieri, who has been working to improve the consistency of his TC6.2. “I was happy with my car,” said Cavalieri, “we made a few tweaks, and it was consistent through the whole run. I’m looking forward to seeing if it’s that way in the next round as well.” Finally enjoying the chance to race from the front of the pack rather than struggling through traffic, Ryan said, “It was nice just to drive my own race - I drove a lot smoother. Every other run I’ve been trying to make up time. I think staying smooth was the key.”
At the start of the final heat in round seven, Nicholas Lee dove to the inside of Ty Tessmann in the first 180 from fourth on the grid to take over second with Josh Cyrul held the lead from the pole position. Lee tried the same move on Cyrul on the second lap and the two collided, moving Tessmann and row four starters Hagberg and Rheinard into the top three. At 1:20, Tessmann left the door wide open entering the first 180 and Hagberg slipped by. Later that lap, Tessmann got out of shape in the chicane and Rheinard passed as well. At 2:05, Meen passed Tessmann on the inside exiting the carousel for third. At 4:15, Hagberg drove wide in the sweeper and Rheinard tried to pass on the inside - the two touched wheel-to-wheel and the Swede’s XRAY ricocheted off the racing line. Hagberg recovered quickly, maintaining the second position and held off a late charge from Meen Vejrak to finish two seconds behind Rheinard, but 34-hundredths ahead of Vejrak.
“The start was a little bit hectic,” said Rheinard, “and the front of my body was tucked inward the whole race - but the car didn’t seem to drive any differently.” Rheinard tried not to rush the pass on Hagberg, but took advantage of the first available opening. “I didn’t want to touch him,” said the German, “I waited for a good time, then he went wide at the end of the straight and we hit side by side.” Unsure whether his mechanic, Takayuki Kono, had made any changes to the TRF419 the four-time champ insisted he wanted to keep the car the same for round eight.
Eng / Usd
Français
Deutsch
Italiano
Recent comments