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Jan. 24, 2013, 3:57 p.m.
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Jan. 24-27, 2013
By Eric Swanson
Welcome to the race blog for the 2013 Reedy International Off-Road Race of Champions! That sure is a lot to say. In the spirit of efficiency (a trait Mike Reedy was more than familiar with in his career as one of the most legendary motor builders in history), I will hereby refer to this event as the "Reedy Race."
The LiveRC crew is excited to be back at West Coast R/C Raceway for what we believe is the best electric off-road race in the world. The term "there is nothing else like it" gets thrown around far too often when people try to describe things, but in this case, there is no more fitting of a term to use because this race truly is one-of-a-kind.
With 12 rounds of head-to-head racing over the course of three days, the path to victory in the invitational class at the Reedy Race is one that requires a complex combination of skill, confidence, and luck. Thirty of the world's top drivers race head-to-head in an effort to gain the most points by the end of the weekend. To the victor goes a champagne bath and the right to have their name etched onto the Reedy Memorial Trophy.
In the open classes, a more traditional format is run -- however, instead of triple "A" mains, two are run with the second being the tie-breaker. As previous years have proven, the open class can provide some of the most hotly-contested racing one could ask for. Drivers who normally might comprise the "B" and "C" main at a national now have the chance to be thrust onto the world spotlight to fight for a chance to be invited into the "invite" class at next year's Reedy Race.
Racing starts tomorrow (Friday), so tune in and don't miss a second of this year's edition of the most legendary off-road race on Earth!
West Coast R/C Raceway -- host site for the Reedy Race the past three years
The reason we are all here: Mike Reedy! The Reedy Race was originally held in conjunction with Reedy's birthday. Since his passing, the race has become a celebration of his life and the many memories he made and lives he touched -- and, of course, world-class racing!
2012 Reedy Race Champion Jörn Neumann
Jörn wasn't considered a favorite going into the 2012 event, however, he shocked the world by beating World Champion Ryan Cavalieri -- and many other top Americans -- on their home soil.
Dustin Evans is looking to recapture some of the magic that brought him the crown in 2011
WCRC is sporting a little multi-surface flair this week! Perhaps it is to make the international contingent feel a little more comfortable?
Future Reedy Race Champions -- awkwardly avoiding the camera at all costs. Pro driver, level one: complete.
Hot Bodies' Atsushi Hara has chose to run a Kyosho RB6 -- in mid-motor configuration, no less!
2009 Reedy Race Champion Ryan Cavalieri getting some practice on his home track
Cavalieri's B4.2 was spotted using an Orion "shorty" pack and this custom ESC placement pioneered in the B4 by none other than LiveRC's fearless leader Brandon Rohde!
Congratulations, Tanner Denney! Your car is in focus, exposed correctly, and the motion blur is mostly contained to the tires! Due to the lack of proper photo lighting in the track area, this happens about once every 100 shots. You win a spot in this race blog!
Travis "Peanut" Amezcua making use of the awesome curbing WCRC always puts in. More off-road tracks need these.
JQ has a custom prototype 4WD buggy here at the Reedy Race (see above sequence of photos). We asked for a close up- but this is all we could get!
The winner of this weekend's Fantasy R/C competition on LiveRC will win this decked-out RC10 B4.2 from Team Associated, Reedy, and LRP!
Racing starts Friday! Make sure you tune in! Otherwise, you will have to answer to Ty.
Friday -- Open Qualifying, Invite 2WD
We thought Ryan Cavalieri would be tough to beat last year, but he was beaten.
Since that time, he has continued to call West Coast R/C Raceway home for another year. He also obliterated everyone at the ROAR nationals, which were held on his "home-court." So when he came out on day one of invite and didn't lose a single heat, we shouldn't be too shocked.
That's doesn't mean he will automatically win, but he has put the rest of the field in a tough spot moving forward. The one positive for the rest of the field is that Cavalieri has already started in the first spot on the grid twice, and third once. That means that a majority of the rest of his starts will be in the middle or back of the pack. This could open the door for someone who is a few points back going into 4WD.
Many will recall last year's performance by Jörn Neumann, whom was merely pedestrian in 2WD, but completely dominant in 4WD. Something similar has a very good chance of happening.
Over in the open classes, things are shaping up to go down to the wire in Sunday's double "A" mains. Reedy Race "A" main regular Rob Gillespie sits atop the 2WD class while the young, East-Coaster Gunnar Rieck holds down the TQ in 4WD for the night. Open class drivers go one more round tomorrow morning before lower mains begin tomorrow afternoon.
Here is how we stand after day one:
Invitational Point Standings
Open Qual-Points
Photo Essay:
Hello! Welcome to Friday!
Brent Thielke (the NBA power-forward-sized man in the middle of this picture) is the brains behind "Reedy Race 2.0". He has helped carry the event out of hibernation and back into the center spotlight of the racing world. He also won a heat of invite today!
We have our own jump section! It is affectionately known as the "LiveRC Lumps."
Ryan Cavalieri had a perfect day, scoring four first place finishes. Everyone knew he would be tough to beat before the day started, but now he is the heavy statistical favorite to win the overall title.
One minute he is waving a towel at Ryan Maifield's car, the next he is sweeping up the racing line. It's almost like "The King" Richard Saxton is some sort of R/C janitor!
These gals are clearly enthralled by the heat of invite taking place literally six feet from them.
The West Coast's newest R/C resident Kody Numedahl now has a home-track advantage. Kody moved out to SoCal from Colorado in 2012 to join the staff at Associated as an engineer.
Rob Gillespie has flirted with victory in the open class at the Reedy Race before. He is looking as poised as ever to make the jump into the invite class this year.
Two-time Reedy Race winner Brian Kinwald focuses-up before a heat of invitational. For you kids out there, here is a quick history lesson: this man is the Babe Ruth of American R/C racing. There may be drivers with "better statistics" now than during his heyday, but he was the first true dominant superstar in the modern era of off-road racing.
One of the best parts of the Reedy Race is seeing 36 different heads-up starts with the world's best drivers. It's like a land-rush of hyper puppies trying to be the first ones to the food bowl.
That's it for today! Tune in tomorrow for the final round of open qualifying and the two rounds of both 2WD and 4WD invite!
Main Day
Hometown hero (and All-Universe caliber driver) Ryan Cavalieri has captured the 19th Reedy International Off-Road Race of Champions Invite Championship -- the second invite championship of his career.
While this feat may not have surprised anyone who tuned in on Friday, those who watched Saturday and Sunday morning know that Cavalieri's victory was more than just another "stroll-in-the-park" win at his home track. After an absolute assault on the field Friday, Ryan had less success on Saturday (relatively speaking, of course). By the time Saturday came to a close, 2011 champ Dustin Evans had placed himself in excellent position to contend for his second title on Sunday. When the final round hit the track Sunday, Evans actually appeared to have an easy path to victory, having drawn a No. 1 starting position in heat two, while Cavalieri and Ryan Maifield (the only other drivers still alive in the points chase) started 10th and 8th in heat one, respectively. If Cavalieri finished worse than 3rd (likely, from the 10th grid position) and Evans won his heat, Evans would win the overall title. If Cavalieri finished worse than 4th, Evans would only have to get second.
It appeared that Evans would get a chance to race for the win in heat two when Cavalieri struggled to make his through the pack in heat one. Eventually, his familiarity with the WCRC track (and his overall skill level) ended up being the difference-maker as he slowly picked off one driver at a time before settling into the fourth position. As time wound down, and with Dustin Evans watching anxiously from the sidelines as a chance to win the overall title rested upon Cavalieri finishing in his current position, third-place-driver Ty Tessmann rolled over and relinquished the 3rd position. Cavalieri cruised to the finish to and locked up the title.
Evans, with no chance at winning the overall, took to heat two and accomplished what he would have needed -- a win -- to tie Cavalieri in points, with the latter winning on a tie-breaker (most wins).
The 2013 open class participants decided their champion in a considerably less dramatic fashion. The double ten-minute "A"-main format resulted in less panicked racing, which allowed the grid to spread out fairly well in all four mains.
In 2WD, young nitro racing prodigy Carson Wernimont bypassed TQ Rob Gillespie to win both mains -- and the 2WD open championship. In 4WD, it was TQ Rob Gillespie who was able to cruise to victory by a large margin in both mains to secure the 4WD championship. Both Carson and Rob will be invited to race in the invitational class in 2014.
Results
Open 2WD Top Ten
Open 4WD Top Ten
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