The 2018 Desert Classic was a fantastic race showcasing some of the best drivers in the nation on a track layout that promoted close racing and terrific battles. Not only were the drivers some of the most talented in the world today, their equipment is also top notch and decked out with the latest products that either push the boundaries of performance or decided upon because of personal preference.
On this Two-wheel Tuesday, have a look at two of the cars that were able to take some wins from the 2nd Annual Desert Classic and the products they used to help them achieve the performance to win.
One of the most iconic cars to come into recent times is AE/JConcepts’ Spencer Rivkin’s. Rocking the new B6.1 with a ball diff, Spencer was on fire at the Desert Classic earning the overall TQ and going two and out to take the overall is impressive, to say the least.
Spencer’s Team Associated B6.1 2wd
Kicking off Spencer’s winning kit is the classic JConcepts F2 body that’s done in the racer favorite, ‘lightweight’ variant, for even more performance gains (#0315L). Spencer keeps it simple on the back end with the popular Aero S-Type rear wing for added grip and stability. Although, if you notice the wicker bill has been cut back quite a bit to more Aero wing (#0168) standards.
One of the unique things about Spencer’s car is all the purple anodized titanium products he uses like his screw set, JConcepts Titanium Shock Standoffs (#2599T and #2600) and his JConcepts Fin Titanium Turnbuckles (#2580). Spencer actually does the anodizing himself to give it that extra custom trick look.
Securing the JConcepts Mono wheels to the car are the JConcepts black aluminum 4mm wheel nuts (#2090).
Both Spencer and Ryan Cavalieri have been a big fan of the JConcepts aluminum servo mounting bracket that helps secure the servo in the car as well as help keeps the servo centered with hidden pinch bolts that touch each side of the servo case to secure it from excess movement from hard crashes.
With the option of going ‘lay down’ or ‘lay back’ tranny configuration, Spencer felt the lay down provided the corner speed he was looking for along with the traction needed to take the win.
One of the biggest add-ons you can install on to the car is a front wing. While there are two options to go with, Spencer likes the feel of the lower wing (#2547-3) as it usually never leaves his car. Adding to the bling is the black anodized aluminum Finnisher Wing buttons (2579-2) to lock the wing into place. Of course, the Kashima coated shock bodies are a must for anyone on the AE race team.
With every track build done at Hobby Action, traction seems to be on the rise and this year, the JConcepts gold Octagons were the ‘go-to’ tire for most of the team and the tire that Spencer ran all throughout qualifying and mains to take the win. At Hobby Action, Spencer preferred the rears to have the slicked out middle while still having tread on the outside (#3142). The Octagon front tires (#3143) were kept fresher for more consistency and less aggressive steering as the track became drier and even higher traction. Of coures the JConcepts Dirt Tech foams were used in both front and rear.
Jake Thayer’s Yz2-DTM
There’s no question that Jake Thayer was fast at the Desert Classic. Although it was close in qualifying, Jake was able to set the overall TQ in 17.5 Expert 2wd and go on to take the win during the extended 7 minute A final.
Starting off practice with the JConcepts F2 (#0321L), Jake moved to the P2 (#0352L) body halfway through practice once his tires were broken in to see which one he felt more comfortable with on the track. Eventually, the P2 stayed on his YZ-2 DTM and the rest was history. Not only do the looks make the P2 standout, it definitely works well for some driving styles and its always good to have options.
For the aero package, you can often find Jake running a mix between the high front wing and the low front wing mount, but for this race, Jake liked the narrow high wing (#0162) up front providing him the steering feel he was looking for and the confidence he needed to attack the track. The rear wing is the Aero S-Type (#0178) with it cut and mounted forward for less rear grip and a little bit more rotation.
Jake is also rockin’ the distinctive JConcepts Fin Titanium Turnbuckles for the YZ2-DTM (#2557) along with the B5 ball cups for extra longevity and for their well-known precision fit.
Keeping it simple, Jake also ran the gold Octagons all weekend so his setup could evolve with the track and not constantly change to different tire patterns. Often times, racers will try different tread patterns mid-race weekend but remember, that also requires a little reworking of the setup to get the car balanced with the different tire choices. However, Jake used the 4wd fronts (#3144) on his 2wd buggy to smooth out the steering and make it easier to drive with the high bite conditions. The rear Octagons (#3142) were kept pretty fresh with tread on the rear and the Dirt Tech inserts uncut or punched for maximum firmness.
