Aside from the Open divisions of 2WD and 4WD buggy racers who had to rely on a lottery system to get into the traditional qualifying and main event portion of the event, the highlight of the Reedy International Race of Champions is the Invitational class. Thirty of the best racers on the planet compete heads-up in six races of 2WD and six races of 4WD, using their best five finishes from each leg to determine the overall finishing order. Races start using a double-file grid, with starting positions chosen at random, and are mixed with different combinations of competitors each time they hit the track. Here’s an update halfway through Friday’s four rounds of 2WD racing (with two more to run tomorrow).
Round One
The limited space of OCRC’s racing surface means that, although the track looks relatively simple, it’s hard for the drivers to turn in fast laps each time by the loop…let alone battle back and forth in heavy traffic. In all three heats of the first round of racing, the driver who drew the #1 starting position walked away to take the win – what happened behind him, however, was anyone’s guess.
Ryan Maifield checked out in Race 1 and sped off to the win by nearly five seconds, but the star of the race was former IFMAR 2WD World Champion Neil Cragg – who passed four cars in what turned out to be a crash-filled race to finish second. Their Team Associated teammate Tanner Denney also capitalized on mistakes by last year’s Open 2WD winner Carson Wernimont and Ryan Lutz, who started second and third respectively, to grab valuable third-place points.
1. Ryan Maifield (1) – 15/5:05.884
2. Neil Cragg (6) – 15/5:10.422
3. Tanner Denney (4) – 15/5:10.638
4. Dakotah Phend (5) – 15/5:11.074
5. Steven Hartson (9) – 15/5:12.543
6. Ryan Lutz (3) – 15/5:13.935
7. Rick Hohwart (7) – 15/5:15.818
8. Carson Wernimont (2) – 15/5:16.244
9. Jared Tebo (10) – 15/5:17.228
10. Travis Amezcua (8) – 15/5:17.821
Winner of the 2011 Reedy Race, TLR’s Dustin Evans, sprinted away from the field in race two just like Maifield did before him – finishing over five seconds ahead of 2012 champ and Team Durango driver Joern Neumann. Neumann and Team Associated engineer Kody Numedahl battled for much of the race after getting around Finnish Kyosho driver Cristoffer Svensson and crossed the line less than a second apart.
1. Dustin Evans (1) – 15/5:00.649
2. Joern Neumann (4) – 15/5:06.340
3. Kody Numedahl (3) – 15/5:07.111
4. Ty Tessmann (6) – 15/5:07.593
5. Cristoffer Svensson (2) – 15/5:11.035
6. Billy Fischer (5) – 15/5:11.573
7. Mike Truhe (10) – 15/5:15.756
8. Brian Kinwald (8) – 15/5:18.376
9. Lee Martin (9) – 15/5: 18.728
10. Joseph Quagraine (7) – 15/5:19.728
The biggest surprises of Round one came in the third heat, as on-road ace Marc Rheinard kept his Tamiya TRF201XR in front of the field to grab an overall win. Nitro specialist Cody King proved that his practice here paid off, crossing the line just a half second after Rheinard – and most importantly, keeping reigning champion Cavalieri from extending his charge through the field from the 8th spot on the grid!
1. Marc Rheinard (1) – 15/5:06.765
2. Cody King (2) – 15/5:07.283
3. Ryan Cavalieri (8) – 15/5:09.682
4. Barry Baker (10) – 5:17.279
5. Cody Turner (7) – 15/5:19.359
6. Rob Gillespie (6) – 15/5:20.030
7. Josh Pain (3) – 14/5:03.603
8. Tyler Vik (4) – 14/5:04.523
9. Oliver Scholz (9) – 14/5:06.389
10. Brian Strange (5) – 14/5:08.058
Round Two
After a strong second place finish from a midpack start in the first round, Neil Cragg held it together in front of a mean battle behind him to take a well-earned win to start Round Two. Reedy head honcho Rick Hohwart, who admittedly did not get much practice ahead of the event but said “I race better than I qualify, so this format is good for me” before walking up on the drivers’ stand, held off Kyosho frontman Jared Tebo and Dustin Evans for an incredible second place finish!
1. Neil Cragg (1) – 15/5:07.628
2. Rick Hohwart (2) – 15/5:.08.317
3. Jared Tebo (5) – 15/5:08.700
4. Dustin Evans (8) – 15/5:10.792
5. Brian Strange (10) – 15/5:12.413
6. Kody Numedahl (7) – 15/5:12.618
7. Tyler Vik (9) – 15/5:14.586
8. Oliver Scholz (4) – 15/5:15.181
9. Marc Rheinard (6) – 15/5:17.978
10. Billy Fischer (3) – 15/5:18.371
Newly crowned IFMAR 4WD World Champion Steven Hartson used his home track advantage to earn the win in the second heat of Round Two, nearly seven seconds ahead of Cody King – who put in a brilliant drive from eighth on the grid! He had to get around Team Associated Arizonan Tanner Denney and last year’s 4WD Open winner, Rob Gillespie, in order to get there. King, Tanner, and Denney all finished less than a second apart!
1. Steven Hartson (4) – 15/5:01.301
2. Cody King (8) – 15/5:08.001
3. Tanner Denney (2) – 15/5:08.672
4. Rob Gillespie (1) – 15/5:08.835
5. Travis Amezcua (10) – 15/5:11.975
6. Joern Neumann (9) – 15/5:21.341
7. Cristoffer Svensson (7) – 15/5:22.292
8. Joseph Quagraine (3) – 15/5:23.943
9. Josh Pain (6) – 14/5:00.057
10. Cody Turner (5) – 5/1:56.790
Ryan Cavalieri salvaged a strong finish after starting in the back in the first round, but had to work equally as hard just to keep his charging teammate Ryan Maifield behind him to collect a win in Round Two by less than one second. Ryan and Ryan were the only drivers to get by for a 16th lap, leaving Ty Tessmann behind.
1. Ryan Cavalieri (2) – 16/5:19.345
2. Ryan Maifield (6) – 16/5:19.925
3. Ty Tessmann (1) – 15/5:02.027
4. Dakotah Phend (10) – 15/5:08.626
5. Carson Wernimont (7) – 15/5:09.425
6. Lee Martin (4) – 15/5:09.685
7. Mike Truhe (5) – 15/5:10.355
8. Barry Baker (9) – 15/5:10.674
9. Ryan Lutz (8) – 15/5:17.360
10. Brian Kinwald (3) – 11/3:48.249
Click to view the full-size image.
After two rounds of racing, the overall order looks like this:
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