JConcepts Summer INS9 – Report
Hobby Action R/C Raceway of Chandler, Arizona played host to the JConcepts Summer INS last weekend. The track is known as one of the finest RC facilities in the US, however the track itself is one of the most challenging surfaces to race on. It really makes the driver to dig deep. You have to be in touch with your car, your setup, your tires, and your ability to not meltdown after a mistake. What Hobby Action teaches is composure, mental strength, line consistency, and speed. This year’s layout was pretty simple, but the jump placement was very tricky and created a lot of opportunities to move forward. Since the layout was simple, the racing was extremely close and everyone loves exciting, close racing. The battle was on in the highly contested 2WD Modified class as Team Associated’s Spencer Rivkin was hungry to defend his home turf and his 2WD National title at the Summer INS. But a great qualifying effort by Xray’s Ty Tessmann saw the Canadian on top for the triple mains. Despite starting 2nd, Spencer was on the attack from the very start of A1, but unfortunately for Ty, he didn’t get more than a lap as he DNF’d from a rear-wheel nut.
After Spencer won A1, the pressure was on everyone to stop him from winning A2. Despite the efforts by all, Rivkin was unstoppable on this day as he capitalized on a rare Ty mistake late in A2 and held on for the win taking A2 and with it, the overall. A3 went to Ty Tessmann, which secured him 2nd and impressing many over the weekend in 2wd was AE’s Ron Devoll, who finished 3rd in A1 and 2nd in A3 and take home 3rd.
It seemed that the spread was more even in the 4WD Modified class as there were three different winners. A1 went to Team Associated’s Spencer Rivkin by just .4 seconds over Xray’s Ty Tessmann. A2 went to Team Associated’s Broc Champlin and A3 saw Yokomo’s Ryan Maifield on top. By lowest score, Spencer Rivkin emerged victorious with a total of 3 points. After taking the best 2 of 3 mains, there was a 4-way tie for 4 drivers having 5 points. By tie-breaker, Ryan Maifield took home 2nd and Ty Tessmann was awarded 3rd overall.
It’s a tall order to take down the 40+ 2WD King, but it’s also no easy feat for the Team Associated team manager as he’s under a lot of pressure to uphold that title. With Scott Spears and Richard Lake racing, it was any man’s game. Despite their efforts, BT remained rock-solid and drove with silky smooth speed and consistency and took the win in the 8-minute final. AE teammates Scott Spear and Richard Lake followed closely behind in 2nd and 3rd.
Xray’s Kyle Schmer had a great run in the 4WD Modified Truggy class, taking a fantastic win after momentarily losing the lead and slipping back to 3rd. With plenty of time on the clock, Kyle worked his way back to the front and won with a comfortable margin. Matt Russell had impressive speed and closed out the day in 2nd with HB Racing’s Tony Talyor taking the last spot on the podium.
Team Associated’s Ezra Keller and TLR’s Matthew Williby put on another great show, but this time in the 13.5 4WD class as both looked very quick all weekend. During the 8-minute main, Williby never gave up and chased Keller to within 1.5 seconds coming all the way from 5th on the grid. However, Keller never skipped a beat and took the win with Williby 2nd and Yokomo’s Nolan Whitley finished where he qualified in 3rd.
It was a tall order to stop TLR’s Matthew Williby in the 13.5 Stadium Truck class. Williby set the TQ and took a sweet win from tone to tone proving to be unstoppable. Team Associated’s Doug Lariviere had an impressive weekend also placing well in stadium truck and finished 2nd overall with speed and sharp driving. TLR’s Ryan Kaller finished 3rd on the podium to complete a very fast top 3.
Harnessing the power of BK during the 13.5 SCT class, Team Associated’s Kyle Davis held on to the lead and took the win over a hard-charging Caden Lindsell. Lindsell finished only 1.65 seconds back and taking the final podium spot was Team Associated driver, Adam Rayls.
In 17.5 Expert 2WD Stock Buggy it was Team Associated’s Ezra Keller making a statement early in qualifying by setting the overall TQ. During the 8-minute final, Keller momentarily lost the lead, but stayed calmed and didn’t panic after an early attack from Gonzales and a late charge by Williby. Keller crossed the line in 1st by just 1.13 seconds over Williby and coming home with 3rd place and making huge gains after only a short time in RC, was Team Associated’s Doug Lariviere.
The 21.5 Independent 2WD Stock class is definitely growing in popularity. It was maxed out at 30 entries and highlighted drivers that have zero sponsorship. With Hobbywing’s fixed timing motors, fixed gearing, reduced cost JConcepts spec tires, really allowed for an even playing field in terms of speed and power. In the extended 12-minutes single A-Main, it was TQ Chris Lemaire posting a comeback run to recapture the lead after having lost it to TJ Bamsey for half the race. In the end, Chris came on strong delivering quick laps to end the weekend on top. TJ impressively jumped from 5th to contend for the lead and finished 2nd. Fighting hard throughout the entire 12 minutes, Lee Conley found himself in 3rd four times. After 12 minutes, Lee finished strong to take the last spot on the podium.
Source: JConcepts [jconcepts.net]
