April 11, 2011

Maifield & Tessmann win Silver State titles

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The 2011 Silver State Nitro challenge couldn’t have ended on a better note. The sun came out and gave us what seemed like the 4th season in 4 days, summer. The wind was tame but I think everyone would check on the horizon for another freak storm to show up. The track has some overnight repairs, but didn’t look to be quite as smooth as Saturday. None-the-less, it wouldn’t take long to rut up and slow even the best drivers in the world down.

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Saying the track was “blown out” for the expert buggy A-main would be quite an understatement. The inside line was gone and replaced with potholes, it would appear that new whoop sections popped up all over the track. The entire 12+ foot lanes were now being utilized, as the typical lines were almost impossible to drive. Top qualifier, Jared Tebo, made a few minor suspension changes to his Kyosho MP9 for the main. He lightened his shock oil a bit because the ambient temperatures were much higher than the previous days and he anticipated the track to be the roughest yet. In the Team Associated trailer, the Ryans’ confidence level was elevated after testing some setup changes in the warm-up.

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Ryan Maifield qualified in the 5th position and looked hungry for the win. Off to a great start ,he worked his way to the lead on the first lap only to give it right back to Ty Tessmann. It didnt take Ryan long to regain the lead as he crossed the loop in the lead on the second lap. Kyosho teammates Jared Tebo and Cody King were following close to the RC8B of Maifield. Jared was pressuring Ryan for the first few laps but a crash put some distance between them and let King jump up into the 2nd position. Just 6 laps into the race an epic battle that no one saw coming was set up. Ryan and Cody broke away from the rest of the field and had a phenomenally epic battle. Jumps were taken side by side, passes on one corner were matched by another at the next and crashes were even duplicated by both drivers. Ryan had some issues with a whoop section and crashed multiple times in consecutive laps giving Cody a bit of breathing room. Pit strategies varied between the two drivers, which added to the suspense. King came into the pits for fuel at the 9 minute to go mark after he built his lead. He then exited pit lane just in front of Maifield. Ryan now knew that Cody was going to make one less pit stop and not only did he have to pass but he also had to make up enough time to negate another fueling stop. Both cars were being bucked around by the track but neither could get much more than 6 second apart though-out the entire race. With only minutes left in the epic battle, King found himself wheel side up more than once allowing Maifield to come into striking distance. Ryan and Cody passes each other multiple times each lap but with just a few minutes to go Ryan pulled out front. Cody made a last ditch effort with two laps to go but just couldn’t find the smooth line around the track. Maifield navigated his last couple laps smoothly around the obstacles and took the win.

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A much deserved mention that was completely overshadowed by the 45-minute long duel, was Ryan Lutz’s stellar run in the B-main with his Durango buggy. He took the win and bumped into the A-main. Starting 12th on the grid was no feat that bothered him. After 3 laps he was all the way up to 3rd place. One bad lap put him back to 4th but very consistent driving and a few of the fastest laps of the main paid off when he crossed the finish line in 3rd place.

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Expert truggy belonged to the young Canadian, Ty Tessmann. Ty got off to a good start in the main and very wisely let the hard charging Cody King by on the first lap. Cody had a very rough 2nd lap which put him all the way back to 7th and Ty regained the lead. Jared Tebo and Ryan Maifeld had a great battle for 2nd place, pushing each other around the track. They closed in on Ty around the 15-minute mark and Jared took the lead for one lap while Ty went into the pits for fuel. Jared followed suit the next lap and gave the lead back. Ty created a large lead for himself later on in the race as Tebo and Maifield continue to battle for 2nd. Ryan passed Jared and started closing the gap between him and the leader. Unfortunately he literally drove the tires off of his RC8T. He lost an insert in the high-speed sweeper, the crowd roared and his hopes of reeling in Ty faded away. Tebo moved back up to the 2nd spot and Cody King into 3rd. Ty stayed steady with his D8T pulling away and lapping the field up to 4th place. The win went to Hot Bodies and Ty Tessman, followed by Kyosho/Orion teammates, Jared Tebo and Cody King. Other notables go to Chad Bradley for having a great weekend in truggy and finishing 4th overall. Bumping up from the B-main, local hero and Team Associated driver, Richard Saxton, put in a great run in the A-main finishing 6th overall.

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Team Losi’s Mike Truhe and Adam Drake dominated the electric buggy class with their Eight 2.0-E’s. Truhe and Drake swapped the lead twice in the 10-minute main but it was top qualifier, Mike Truhe who beat the buzzer to go on a victory lap and take the win. Drake finished 2nd and Dylan Rodriguez earned 3rd place on the podium.

Jimmy Babcock and his JBRL crew did an excellent job running the 2011 Silver State nitro challenge. Racing went smoothly, Jimmy always does an excellent job on the mic and the overall experience throughout the pits was very positive. The Silver State race, with no doubt, held up its reputation of unpredictable weather and one of the roughest tracks around. Each year it attracts some of the best drivers from around the world and with over 320 entries, I don’t see the popularity of this event getting worse anytime soon.

Video

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0K5C1Gc3gaI[/youtube]

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