Cavalieri Leads Team Associated Sweep Of 2017 Reedy International Off-Road Race of Champions

Tuesday, Feb 7, 2017 at 12:00am UTC

January 19-22, the 23rd running of the Reedy International Off-Road Race of Champions took place at the mecca of indoor off-road dirt racing, OCRC Raceway. Considered the pinnacle race by many, it featured three classes of racing: a combined Invitational class made up of heads-up 2WD and 4WD racing, a 2WD Open class, and a 4WD Open class, the latter two of which have traditional qualifying with double A Mains.

The Invitational class is considered the hardest class to win as the eventual champion will have raced 12 rounds, starting from multiple positions on the grid against the world's best drivers. Team Associated had 13 drivers competing in the 30-driver field and debuted the much-anticipated B64D in the 4WD portion and the ever-refining B6 in the 2WD portion. After the 4WD half of the event, Team Associated had six B64Ds in the top 10 with Alex Kosciuszek and Ryan Cavalieri leading the Team tied for fourth. With the 2WD category following, the track was evolving nicely and grip levels continued to increase, which was sure to lead to great racing.

As the 2WD portion of the event proceeded and points accumulated, the field narrowed down to five drivers fighting for the overall championships, with three drivers from Team Associated: Ryan Cavalieri, Spencer Rivkin, and Dustin Evans. With the final race set up for Cavalieri to claim the overall championship, all he needed to do was to win the race and he would claim his fourth Reedy International Off-Road Race of Champions Invitational title. In true champion form, Cavalieri launched from his starting position and set a pace that no one in the heat could match other than his teammate Spencer Rivkin. In fact, they were the only two drivers to dip into 19.8-second lap times all weekend long in 2WD. With his win in the final 2WD race, Ryan Cavalieri cemented his overall victory and continues to distance himself from other Reedy Race winners with his fourth overall Invitational title.

The second portion of the Reedy Race included two Open classes where the drivers compete in a traditional qualifying format, with eight drivers making each main and then two more "bumping up" from the lower main. Each main is 10 minutes long and the A Mains are run twice, with the finishing position in the second main being the tie-breaker. In the 2WD Open class, Team Associated filled eight of the 10 positions in the A Main and it was Team Associated/Reedy's very own Brent Thielke who took the overall victory with a 1-2 score in the double mains. Joining him on the podium was AE/Reedy teammate Broc Champlin with a 3-1 score in the double mains.

In the 4WD Open class it was Team Associated/Reedy's Tommy Hinz who took the top qualifying honors with his B44.3 and would start on pole for the two A-Main events. Again, the main was dominated by Team Associated drivers with five B44.3s in the final. Starting from the second row, Team Associated/Reedy's Broc Champlin found his way to the top spot in A1 where he was able to secure the win by less than a second. Going in to A2, Champlin recovered from an early mistake and worked his way back to second place until a bobble from Hinz allowed him to take the lead just under halfway through the main. With a solid second half of the main, Champlin out-dueled the competition to take the victory and claim the 4WD Open championship.

With victories in the 2WD and 4WD Open classes, both Thielke and Champlin have qualified their way into the 2018 Invitational class where they will battle with Cavalieri and the other top drivers in the world to become the 2018 Reedy International Off-Road Invitational Champion.

Products used, Ryan Cavalieri - B6 and B64D
#90011 RC10B6 Team Kit
#90015 RC10B64D Team Kit

Products used, Brent Thielke - B6
#90011 RC10B6 Team Kit
#27004 Blackbox 510R Competition ESC
#27027 Blackbox PROgrammer 2
#260 Reedy Sonic 540-M3 Motor 7.5 Modified
#271 Reedy 540-M3 Spec Rotor, 12.0 x 7.25 x 25.3
#27308 Reedy Zappers LiPo 5400mAh 70C 7.4V Shorty
#27100 Reedy RS1206 Digital HV Hi-Speed Competition Servo
#27200 Reedy 1216-C2 Dual AC/DC Competition Balance Charger
#315 Reedy LiPo 2100mAh 7.4V RX/TX Battery
#27225 US to IEC 320 C5 Angle AC Power Cord, .5m
#794 Reedy Low Profile Caged Bullets, 5x14 mm, qty 2

Products used, Broc Champlin - B44.3
#9063 B44.3 Factory Team
#27004 Blackbox 510R Competition ESC
#27027 Blackbox PROgrammer 2
#27308 Reedy Zappers LiPo 5400mAh 70C 7.4V Shorty
#264 Reedy Sonic 540-M3 Motor 5.5 Modified
#27200 Reedy 1216-C2 Dual AC/DC Competition Balance Charger
#27101 RT1508 Digital HV Hi-Torque Competition Servo
#27028 Blackbox 30x30x7mm Fan, w/screws

Photos courtesy of RedRC.net.

Team Associated - Champions by Design

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