Orlowski top seed at 2WD Worlds

Michal Orlowski is top seed at the 17th running of the 1:10 Offroad World Championships. Having set the fastest time in the first of the day’s two seeding rounds in Xiamen, the Schumacher driver would see that time beaten by fellow European David Ronnefalk, the HB Racing driver running two heats earlier than Orlowski’s group which completed the round.  With Free Practice pace setter Bruno Coelho topping the second last heat grouping but crashing on the last lap of the potential fastest 3-consecutive laps it was Ronnefalk’s time that was the target for Orlowski.  Run under floodlights, with most drivers struggling to to properly see where they were going, Orlowski somehow managed the fastest lap as he put together 3-laps that would leave him 2/10ths quicker than the HB Racing driver to wrap up a successful first day for the Polish driver. With the only other improver in the Top 10 being Coelho, that time good enough for 6th, it was Dakotah Phend who would complete the Top 3 ahead of fellow North American driver Ty Tessmann.  While the result determines the heats in which drivers will qualify and what number they will carry, a third controlled practice remains tomorrow morning that will determine the order in which drivers start Q1, making drivers question the logic of the IFMAR format, feeling that if you have topped seeding them you should lead out the top qualifying heat.

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