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| Race report by Reno Savoya |
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| Probably one of the most famous race in the world is the Dirt Nitro Challenge. Hosted by Joey Christensen and his crew, this event is growing bigger and bigger every year! The level is always super high, as well as the track design very technical. We spent a few days with the team in California, in order to develop the basic setups for XB9 2013 in every track conditions. Everyone was really happy with the new front suspension, which makes the car easier to drive, with even more traction out of the corner! The RC America team, thanks to James Green, put everything together to welcome us like home! Huge trailer, tables, tents, we felt cosy in there, thank you guys! |
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| Unfortunately, the race didn't start like it should as the weather on Tuesday was terrible! We had rain and hail! We still ran one round of truggy practices, enough to enjoy a few laps but then the cars became really muddy. |
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Wednesday saw E-buggy and truggy quals. I felt very comfortable in truggy and qualified 11th and 13th in the two first rounds. Unfortunately, I lost a front caster block pin as I was on a pace to save the direct A main. We adjusted the shock and spring setup to have more kick. Also, we went with thicker center diff oil for more traction on this very abrasive surface. In electric, I crashed way too many times to hope for something, but adjusting some parameters on my speedo every run, I was getting the speed to fight against the fastest!
Martin Bayer did a great job qualifying 8th in e-buggy and 12th in truggy, directly into the A-main. |
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| Thursday was buggy qual day. As I race only 2 times a year truggy and e-buggy, I was fully focused on buggy and didn't miss my chance! I qualified every run in top 10, being 3rd, 4th and tried tires in the last round for the main! I didn't change anything on the car! Except for shock position and front sway bar, I was using the set-up I used in Montpellier! It's really enjoyable to have a basic setup you can rely on, especially when you have no practice prior to the qualifications! Great performance for Josh Wheeler who also got directly into the A-main, qualifying 11th on the grid. |
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| On the main day, I faced some bad luck in both truggy and e-buggy classes. I was running 3rd in truggy B main (last bump-up spot) 2mins before the end with a 15s gap when my engine overheated and the plug broke! I could easily be part of the main! In e-buggy, I was cruising 4th just behind 3rd that I would pass when my combo went overheating too! It stopped for a while then go back, and I finished 4th. |
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| In the A-main truggy, both Martin and Taylor Peterson suffered troubles. Martin was 5th when a big crash stopped his race. Taylor was on a good pace in the pack when he flamed out of fuel. Still, they did a great race and could easily get into the top 5! |
| Truggy results |
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1. Ty Tessmann
2. Jared Tebo
3. Ryan Maifield
4. Adam Drake
5. Billy Fischer
6. Mike Truhe
7. Cody King
8. Ryan Cavalieri
9. Austin Blair
10. Chris Wheeler
11. Taylor Peterson â“ XRAY XT8
12. Ryan Lutz
13. Jeremy Kortz
14. Martin Bayer â“ XRAY XT8
15. Dylan Rodriguez
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| In buggy, Martin missed the bump in B main as he flamed out of fuel a few meters before entering the pit! Taylor Peterson and Kurt Kellum also driving XB9 2013 were also in the B main but missed the bump up. |
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| In A-main final, everything started great as I got 3rd in lap 1. Then, I rolled over in the rhythm section and everybody went inside. I was last and working my way up the pack. I got back to 4th, but as the track was really rough and hard to drive, I crashed again and went back to 5th. I pushed in order to get 4 and missed it by less than 2 seconds! Josh was 5th for a major part of the race but his steering servo started to act weird passed the half way mark and he couldn't keep it going. |
| Buggy results |
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1. Ryan Maifield
2. Jared Tebo
3. Ryan Cavalieri
4. Carson Wernimont
5. Renaud Savoya â“ XRAY XB9
6. Ty Tessmann
7. Mike Truhe
8. Drew Moller
9. Josh Wheeler â“ XRAY XB9
10. Billy Fischer
11. Cody King
12. Adam Drake
13. Dakotah Phend
14. Elliot Boots
15. Dylan Rodriguez
Definitively my best result at the Dirt Nitro Challenge this year, keep improving my skills and experience in USA! I'm looking forward to the upcoming season which is really promising with XB9 2013!! |
| Electric Buggy results |
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1. Billy Fischer
2. Ryan Lutz
3. Elliot Boots
4. Austin Blair
5. Tyler Vik
6. Martin Bayer â“ XRAY XB808E
7. Adam Drake
8. Curis Door
9. Mike Truhe
10. Barry Pettit
Thank you everyone, and see you soon!
Reno
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