Payne ‘Top Qualifier’ at MonTech NYGP
Excelerate RC’s Ollie Payne is the Top Qualifier at the MonTech New York Grand Prix, the British driver just missing out on a 58-lap run in the fourth & final 1:12 Mod qualifier this evening at 360v2 RC Raceway in New Rochelle. Finishing 4th last year, at this year’s 8th running of the Donny Lia promoted event Payne has been the benchmark from the get-go. Opening qualifying yesterday with a TQ run, his only blotch of the four rounds would be a mistake in Q2 that led him to pull up early. Upping the pace this morning in Q3, he secured the rocket round TQ honours in final round missing out on a 58-lap run by just 0.053 of a second. Achieving his first 57-lap run in the final qualifier with the second fastest time, 5.6-seconds off Payne’s pace, it will be defending NYGP Champion Sam Isaacs who lines up P2 for tomorrow’s single A-Main. The only other driver to register a TQ run in the TQ Wire 1:12 Modified class, Keven Hebert makes it three different manufacturers in the Top 3 despite his Xray stripping a gear early in the concluding qualifier. Setting the fastest lap of the final qualifier but registering a DNF after his car spun out and he opted to pull it having crashed earlier and needed to be marshalled, 2024 NYGP winner Kemp Anderson will line up fourth for Awesomatix with Donny Lia completing the Top 5 on his Cerberus Racing debut.
