RACE COVERAGE: 2012 Reedy International Off-Road Race of Champions

 

 

Hello everyone, welcome to the official LRC Race Blog for the 2012 Reedy Off-Road Race of Champions! In time, there will be important news and notes from the event (as well as pictures and results) so make sure you check back regularly.

 

For those looking for the LIVE SCORING AND VIDEO for the Reedy Race, CLICK HERE. Simply select "Reedy Off-Road Race of Champions" from the featured race section on the upper left of the broadcast screen. Here, you will be able to view live scoring from the event, and take part in LRC Chat (a chat room for like-minded R/C enthusiasts).

 

-Regular members can watch scoring and be able to wait in line to watch five minutes of video at a time.

 

-Bonus Lap members will be able watch scoring, view uninterrupted live video from fixed cameras and get discounts on all AAP races for the year. 

 

-All Access Pass members will be able to watch scoring and view live video with moving cameras and reports from pit reporter extraordinaire Barry Baker! All Access Passes will be available starting tomorrow morning (Friday Jan. 27) for $15, or $10 for Bonus Lap members.

 

Those are the essential event details from a LiveRC perspective. Later today, I will get back to you all with some pictures and other random commentary from the day's events.

 

See you in the chat room!  

 

 

 

 

 

OK, first off- I apologize for not getting back to you like I promised. I got sidetracked staying up all night working on video stuff. Please forgive me. 

 

Anyway, on with the blog:

 

 

First of all, I cannot express how amazing this facility is. I know other people agree with me as well, because every third person I run in to professes their love and admiration for WCRC.   

 

Having seen many impressive facilities around the R/C world, the LRC crew agrees that if we could transport any set-up we've come across to our hometowns to race on weekly, WCRC would be the facility that would be submitted to the cloning machine.  

 

 

 West Coast R/C Raceway

 

 

 Yes, the dirt is painted blue

 

 

The other thing that people rave about at this race is the legendary "Reedy Race Format." The format, if you are not familiar with it, pits 30 of the world's best drivers against each other in a series of heads-up races. Each driver starts from every place on the grid and faces all of the other drivers. After a weekend of racing, points are tallied and a champion is determined. Long story short; this format creates excellent head-to-head racing every single time the invitational drivers hit the track- which is four rounds of three heat races each day.

 

Another excellent part of the Reedy Race is the "Open Class" component of the program. The open class is comprised by the majority of entrants to the Reedy Race. At stake in the open class is not just a large plaque and a chance for the trophy girl to potentially brush her shoulder against you, but also an invite to the uber-prestigious invitational class at next year's event.  Over the years, open class drivers have made names for themselves as open class champions and have gone on to further their careers in the invite class. A glance back at previous year's open class results (this may take an effort that consists of rummaging through stacks of 15-year-old R/C magazines) and you will find legends of our sport whom, at one point, raced in the open class at the Reedy Race. 

 

This year, Shaun Dunlap and Tanner Denney are hoping to be the next drivers to follow such a path. As the open class winners last year, Dunlap and Denney are showing that they belong in the invite class after a day of solid racing with the best drivers in the world.  

 

This year's event has seen a slight tweak to the formula of last year's race. Instead of six or eight cars in each invitational heat race, there are now 10. Many drivers expressed a slight uneasiness about the prospect of having to plow their way through nine other cars to win, but once racing began those worries went mostly silent. Some drivers have stated that there are few places to pass on this particular layout and that is making it especially difficult for a driver to make their way through the field. However, a quick look at the results shows the "usual suspects" near the top of every heat race, so whatever difficulties there may be with the track or the traffic, the world's best are still prevailing.

 

 

-After day one, I think everyone would be in agreement that Ryan Cavalieri looked the best. Maybe not the fastest, but he was, for the most part, absolutely cold-blooded. Unfortunately for Ryan, he was unable to score a perfect day after having a mechanical issue plague his final round. He was leading at the time, and had won all three of his other races so far.  If I was a betting man, I would say he will be hard to beat over the next couple days. 

 

-Ryan Maifield looks to have the most speed. But when is that not the case? Maifield successfully transferred his "all-or-nothing" driving style to his race results, finishing with a 1st, 2nd, 7th, and 9th. 

 

-After running out front plenty at last year's event, Rick Hohwart has again shown that he is very comfortable with the Reedy format- leading plenty of laps on day one.

 

-Kody Numedahl has had a great first day of racing. He won two races and is in a good position to get into the mix atop the leader boards in the coming days.   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

-Associated does not have the new "big shocks" they are reportedly working on at the race. We hear they haven't had a chance to test them much, but will be doing so in the near future. Look for those to be unveiled sometime in the upcoming months, but not this weekend. Cactus? Motorama?

 

-The TLR 4WD that I have rampantly speculated about in recent months is currently not in existence. No word on if or when one will make an appearance. We will keep an eye on that situation, but it appears that most of their drivers are enjoying the XX4 platform and have stated that it is very good. Re-release?  

 

-A few Hot Bodies drivers are in attendance this weekend. Atsushi Hara and Ty Tessmann are running Associated 2WD vehicles, while Hayoto Matsuzaki is running a TLR 22. There have been lots of rumors started and shot down over the last few years about Hot Bodies potentially entering the 2WD market. Whether their attendance this weekend is fuel for more of those rumors is yet to be seen. 

 

-Speaking of Tessmann, I noticed he is running a homemade chassis on his B4.1. Ty says that the car is much more stable with the chassis, which is allegedly longer than the recent +8 mm one that Team Associated drivers have been using since last summer.  

 

 

 

 

Ty Tessmann's homemade B4.1 chassis 

 

2011 champ Dustin Evans is 1st in the standings after one day

 

 

Ryan Maifield turned some of the fastest lap times of the day...and also some of the slowest. Such is life for any hard-core wheelman.

 

 

Matt Chambers showed some speed and almost won his round two race. He will look to improve on Saturday.

 

 

Brick City 

 

 

Face-timing a race to his wife? Hopefully he has an unlimited data plan.

 

 

The track has been beaconed

 

More photos can be found in the PHOTO GALLERY. 

 

 

 

 

Saturday: Invitational 2WD and 4WD, Open qualifying and lower mains

 

Today’s invitational races were split between 2WD and 4WD.  In the morning, the final two rounds of 2WD were run, followed by the first two of 4WD in the afternoon.

Saturday Notepad:

After a rough day of racing yesterday, Mike Truhe came out swinging on Saturday- winning his first two races to finish the 2WD portion of the program. His first two races in 4WD weren’t quite as good. He will try to rebound tomorrow and get himself up in the mix.

As of Saturday night, it appears The Ryan and Ryan Show will be tough to beat. If they don’t DNF and they can keep themselves in the top 5, one of them will win. Right now, the only real difference between the two is Ryan Maifield’s "7” that he was unable to drop from 2WD. If Cavalieri has a couple bad runs and leaves a 5, 6, or 7 on the board, Maifield can easily bypass him in the standings with a few clean, consistent runs tomorrow.

The only other driver that jumps out and screams “I have a chance!” is Jorn Neumann, whom has quietly put together an excellent Reedy Race. If he can string together some top fives and get rid of his “8” from R1 of 4WD, he will likely finish on the podium. If he can rattle off a few 1’s, well…he may have a chance.

Speaking of Jorn, he may not have been in such a good place after day two if it weren’t for his teammates. After popping a tie-rod off and losing it (how does that even happen?) during warm-up, Travis Amezcua and Hupo Honigl scrambled to rob one of their own cars of its tie-rod to replace Jorn’s. He went on to win the heat.

Everyone else needs help if they are going to mount a charge on the invitational title.  For anyone else to contend, it will take a series of poor runs by Cavalieri and Maifield. If I was a betting man, I would probably just put my money on them. I know, it's not as “exciting” as having a person win their first major title (like Dustin Evans did last year), but a Maifield win would be pretty significant in that he is the top Reedy driver and one of the last racers whom Mike Reedy helped cultivate. I know Mike meant a lot to Ryan, so a win at the first Reedy Race after Reedy’s passing would probably place amongst the most meaningful victories of his career.

One of the best things we heard about today was an act of goodwill. When young Daimon Borkowicz broke his car during the warm up to the 4WD g-main, Jeff “Humpty” Helms (who was in the same race) handed his transmitter over to Daimon and told him to run his car instead. He did, and ended up winning and bumping up! Talk about a nice gesture.

In what many have called “the greatest race they’ve ever seen,” Atsushi Hara made a pass on Ryan Cavalieri that will live for the ages. After battling neck-and-neck for five minutes in the first round of 4WD, Cavalieri held a car lengths advantage over Hara entering the final turn before pushing wide coming onto the straightaway. This allowed Hara to plant his car straight and motor past Cavalieri down the straightaway and take the lead a foot before the finish line. The building erupted into applause louder than any I’ve ever heard at an R/C car race.

 

So that’s where we are after two full days of racing. Here are how the points look:

  Photos!

 

 

Godzilla Phend, Dakotah's adopted baby-brother 

 

 

"Rat's nest" wiring jobs seem to the all the rage in the TLR pits for their XX-4s. Either they just didn't have time to prepare them as well as their 2WDs, or they just don't care. Given the car's antiquity, I'm guessing it's the latter.  

 

 

  

 

Truhe's looks good though! At least on the outside... 

 

 

 

When you're organizing a race AND racing two classes in said race, it's OK if your pit area looks like trailer park after a tornado. Such was the case for Brent Thielke. This is actually a great depiction of what the LiveRC pit areas look like when we try to race and cover the same race via LiveRC. It's tough to keep things tidy with so much going on! (First world problems)

 

 

Of all the reason's why I love WCRC, this is the biggest. Perhaps the LRC staff can have their own "Reedy Race" on this bad-boy after hours tomorrow night. It's all about collecting nitro and knowing when to mash on that button!

 

 

 

This little guy may not know what the Reedy Race is, but he is worthy of the invite class in my opinion. Will trophy puppies instead of trophy girls ever be a thing? OK, probably not. 

 

 

 

The Heritage Trophy. R/C's version of the Stanley Cup. If you can etch your name on this, you are a legend forever. End of story.  

 

 

 Tune in tomorrow to find out who's name will be added to the greatest trophy in R/C! Racing starts at 9:00 a.m. PST.

 

 

 

 

Sunday: Invitational 4WD, open mains

It's official: this is the greatest race on Earth. The level of excitement surrounding the final race of the day at WCRC was as high as any I've ever seen. You couldn't have written the script any better if you tried. Three drivers - all with a shot to win - all happened to be in the same heat - which happened to be the last race of the day. If Cavalieri won, the title would be his. If Neumann won, his name would be etched on to the trophy. If Maifield won and Jorn and Cavalieri finished out of the top five, he would be the Reedy Race Champion. Needless to say, the story of Reedy '12 was much more compelling than it looked like it would be just 24 hours ago.

 

 

Hardware at stake

 

 

Pressure was high to not screw up today. If you did, you miss out on meeting Miss Reedy Race 2012 Mercedes Terrell. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The open class of the Reedy Race uses the unusual “Double A-Main” format- which scores points like a normal triple-A format, except that the tie-breaker is the finishing spot of the second main.

 

In A1, TLR’s Frank Root got out early and never looked back. Team Associated Team Manager and Reedy Race organizer Brent Thielke hung close for a while before settling on finishing second instead of pushing too hard and crashing- a strategy that makes sense with this particular format, because all he would have had to do is win A2 to lock up the overall.

 

In A2, Root had problems early, which allowed Chad Due (3rd in A1) and Thielke to break away and sort out the title themselves. After riding on Due’s gearbox for a handful of minutes, Thielke tumbled and allowed Due to stretch out a small lead. Due was absolutely cold-blooded after that and walked away with the A2 win to clinch him the overall 2WD title, and a spot in next year’s invitational class.

 

 

 

 

 

Chad Due being congratulated by his local track owner- which happens to be world famous race announcer Scotty Ernst 

 

 

2WD top three: (L-R) Brent Thielke, Chad Due, Frank Root 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4WD was much less exciting than 2WD, but Josh Numan’s extraordinary performance in both mains is definitely noteworthy. At no point in any of the 20 minutes of racing that comprised the two mains was Numan challenged. He crushed everyone, and it wasn’t even close. There really isn’t much else to say about it, so I won’t ramble on.

 

 

 

A seemingly insurmountable task laid ahead of Jorn Neumann entering the day. The German was still in contention, but needed a perfect day of racing and a little help from Maifield and Cavalieri to win.

 

After winning two of three races going into the final round, Jorn had placed himself in position to control his own destiny. If he won, he won it all. Cavalieri would also control his own destiny going into the final round, but drew a much more unfortunate starting position than Jorn- ninth, to Neumann’s second. Starting first, however, was Maifield. The driver in which Jorn would have to pass to win...

 

It quickly became clear that Neumann was destined for victory shortly after the tone sounded. For three and a half minutes, Neumann pushed Maifield around the track relentlessly. At one point, Jorn even got into Maifield and spun him out. But Jorn showed excellent sportsmanship and immediately pulled over to let Maifield regain the lead before he could be penalized. Not long after, Jorn overtook Maifield and proceeded to walk away with the win- putting his mark on the Reedy Heritage Trophy, and going down in history as the first European winner of the Reedy Race.

 

What Jorn accomplished this weekend is pretty special, if you think about it. He came from Europe to Southern California- the backyard of nearly every top American pro driver- and whooped everyone. He did it with a type of car many people still aren’t quite sure about, and he did it on a surface that doesn’t exist in Germany. He had no extensive test sessions. He had no setups. He had no chance against Cavalieri at his home track. But today, he proved everyone who doubted the Americans could be beat wrong. He proved everyone who said the Durango car was no good wrong. And he proved that the Reedy International Race of Champions is the most entertaining race on the planet.

 

 

  

 

Invitational top three: (L-R) Ryan Cavalieri, Jorn Neumann, Ryan Maifield

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jorn with the Reedy Heritage Trophy. His name will soon be added to the trophy alongside an impressive list of legends who have also won the Reedy Race. 

 

 

 

 

 

That will conclude the Reedy ’12 Race Blog. Thank you all for watching our broadcast, and reading this blog! Up next for us is Motorama in Pennsylvania in two weeks. Our next All Access race will be the Nitro Challenge at the end of February. Don’t forget to tune in!

See you next time!
-LRC

 

 

 

 

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