January 27, 2017

Atsushi Hara teams up with Yokomo

Making his debut for new chassis & electronics sponsors Yokomo at last weekend’s Reedy Race, Atsushi Hara has chosen the Japanese company for his 2017 electric offroad campaign. One of the most versatile and successful racers in R/C, the 2-time World Champion will bring his vast experience to assist with their off-road program in preparation for the upcoming World Championships in Xiamen, China, as well as helping to develop their racing ESC and motor systems.

This year the IFMAR Offroad World’s will be held in China, which I am excited to attend as part of Team Yokomo. I would like to thank the owner of Yokomo, Mr. Yokobori and the entire team for the opportunity. Having some experience as a member of this team in the past, I am hoping to work well with all the drivers and factory staff. My focus this year will be to bring my form to 100% through the races and help the team bring home a World’s win. Being on a strong team is very motivating and I’m really looking forward to the challenge!

Source: Yokomo [teamyokomo.com]

January 23, 2017

Cavalieri claims fourth Reedy Race win

Ryan Cavalieri has claimed a fourth Reedy Race of Champions title, the Team Associated driver winning the title showdown between himself and his great rival Ryan Maifield.  With the pair separated by a single point, Maifield having the advantage going into the 12th and final round of heads up racing, and the two Ryans lining up in the same race that would close the 23rd running of the legendary race the stage set for the ultimate showdown at the OCRC Raceway hosted event. With Cavalieri on pole and Maifield lining up directly behind him, the script was perfect but while Maifield would set chase on Cavalieri getting by the No. 2 starting Spencer Rivkin, the fairytale Yokomo debut was not to be. Struggling to keep up with Cavalieri, something obviously wrong with his car, Maifield would eventually go out with a front shock failure ending his quest for a second Reedy Race title.  With his only threat gone, Cavalieri could cruise to his 6th win of the event to win by a single point, yet another Reedy Race title.  While it was the seasoned package that won, the podium indicated an exciting season lies ahead as another of the new team debutants Ty Tessmann secured 3rd for Xray.

Continue reading this report here or view or complete event coverage here.

January 22, 2017

Reedy Race heading towards Ryan & Ryan showdown

The Reedy Race of Champions is heading towards a classic Ryan & Ryan showdown as the latest round of 2WD action produced a win each for Maifield and Cavalieri keeping the separation between the arch rivals at 1-point with two more rounds of racing left to decide the champion.  For defending champion Dakotah Phend, the round effectively ended his quest to become only the third driver to take back to back wins at the legendary event, as he ended up with an 8th in the race which was won by Ty Tessmann. Having shared the points lead at the end of 4WD, Tessmann survived needing to be marshalled to register his first 2WD win but it looks to have come too late for the new Xray signing to play a part in the title showdown.

Continue reading this report here or view or complete event coverage here.

January 22, 2017

Maifield leads going into final day of Reedy Race

Ryan Maifield goes into the final day of the Reedy Race of Champions leading the points table, the Yokomo driver ending Day 2 with a P2 in the second round of 2WD to hold a 1 point advantage.  With Ty Tessmann getting a third in his encounter, Jake Mayo the winner of that, and Dakotah Phend having a rough race finishing 6th from 4th on the grid, a win over Jared Tebo, Maifield and Spencer Rivkin promotes Ryan Cavalieri to second in the standings.  Notching up his second win of the event from 4th on the grid, the result puts Cavalieri right in contention for a fourth Reedy Race title with the overnight Top 3 completed by Tessmann and Joona Haatanen who starting from last on the grid again got the better of Tessmann to finish second behind Mayo.  The third winner was Dustin Evans, the former Champion finally registering a win in impressive fashion having started from the back.

Continue reading this report here or view or complete event coverage here.

January 22, 2017

Wins for Tebo, Rivkin & Haatanen in opening 2WD encounter

The switch over to 2WD at the Reedy Race of Champions opened with wins for Jared Tebo, Spencer Rivkin and Joona Haatanen but of the main contenders at the end of 4WD it was Ryan Maifield who posted the best result finishing second behind Tebo. The first race of the round saw Maifield and his points rival Dakotah Phend line up in the same race but starting from pole Tebo managed to register his first win of the weekend as the battling Maifield and Phend came through to complete the Top 3. The third driver to share the top spot at the end of 4WD, Ty Tessmann would end with a fourth in a race that Spencer Rivkin would take the win ahead of former Champions Dustin Evans and Ryan Cavalieri.  Having provided one of most entertaining battles of the morning’s 4WD action when he beat Tessmann in the final round, Haatanen continued to impress & become a crowd favourite as took the win over Aussie Kyle McBride.

Continue reading this report here or view or complete event coverage here.

January 21, 2017

Tessmann, Phend & Maifield all equal at the end of 4WD

With the 4WD racing complete at the Reedy Race of Champions, things couldn’t be closer with defending champion Dakotah Phend, Ty Tessmann and Ryan Maifield all square going into 2WD with each of them sitting on a 9-points tally.  Of the three it was Maifield who had the best result in the sixth and final round of 4WD as he claimed a second in front Kyosho’s Jared Tebo and Ryan Cavalieri.  For Cavalieri, that 3rd leaves him sitting on 11 points along with Associated team-mate Alex Kosciuszek, the Invitational class rookie denying Phend the win to notch up an impressive third race win.  The other winner of the round was young Finnish talent Joona Haatanen who also helped create the 3-way points lead by showing no fear when faced with the might of Tessmann, beating the Canadian to become only the second European race winner in 4WD.

Continue reading this report here or view or complete event coverage here.

January 21, 2017

Tessmann opens with another win to go at Reedy Race

Ty Tessmann has opened Day 2 of the Reedy Race of Champions with an important win that moves the Xray driver to the top of the points table with one round of 4WD racing remaining at OCRC Raceway.  Making the win even more valuable was that Tessmann lined up in the same race as overnight points leader Dakotah Phend, the TLR driver having a tough races from which he would salvage a fourth. Ryan Cavalieri failed to convert a pole position start into an expected win with Alex Kosciuszek surviving a last lap challenge from the 3-time champion to register his second win for the Invitation class debutant.  Starting the opening race of the fifth round from last on the grid alongside Jared Tebo, Spencer Rivkin would benefit from a huge pile-up on the third lap to find his way to the front to win ahead of Chad Due who just managed to hold off a recovering Tebo who had a disastrous first lap.

Continue reading this report here or view or complete event coverage here.

January 21, 2017

Phend leads Reedy Race overnight with 3rd win

Dakotah Phend is the overnight leader at the end of the first day’s racing at the Reedy Race of Champions.  The defending champion took an impressive third win in the closing race which was to prove the most entertaining of the day’s 16 races. Starting on pole it was his former TLR team-mate Dustin Evans who lined up beside him who would get the better start.  Battling clear of the pack out front, the pair would make contact on the main straight allowing Alex Kosciuszek with Jared Tebo in toe to go to the front setting up for a thrilling showdown.  Tebo’s chances of a first win however where short lived as he made an error and it wasn’t long before Kosciuszek followed suit with Phend there to pick up the pieces for an important win ahead of Cole Tolland.  With drivers allowed one dropped score, as it stands this leaves Phend with the perfect score with two 4WD races remaining as he heads Ty Tessmann and Ryan Cavalieri who sit joint second in the points.  The fourth round would see Tessmann become the only other multiple race winner of the day as he notched up a second win ahead of Ryan Maifield and Cavalieri. Claiming the first European win, Lee Martin was the other winner of the round after getting around Malin Karlsen, the Norwegian teenager making history as the first female to compete at the Reedy Race in the Invitational class.

Continue reading this report here or view or complete event coverage here.

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