Gay & Kling win at Halloween Shootout
Debbie’s RC World hosted the Halloween Shootout, drawing many racers from Regions 2 and 3 to kick off their indoor offroad race season for the Winter months. Three rounds of qualifying were run, with double A mains for 2WD Modified, and single A mains for the remaining classes. The clay track featured a very technical, yet raceable layout that favoured consistency. With the layout being relatively new, the grip conditions kept all local and traveling racers on their toes throughout Friday’s practice session, and by Saturday morning the bite began to quickly rise as the racing groove started to form. With lap times that were averaging in the 13-second range, one mistake could potentially be a big drop in the standings. Having a car that could balance both consistency and speed around the tight track would prove to be a big advantage.
In the popular 4WD Modified Buggy class, qualifying was all Mike Gay, who posted the only 28-lap run of the day. During the single A main, Mike jumped out to a quick four-second lead over local Team Associated privateer Josh Knight. Both drivers maintained the gap for the first half of the race, until Mike checked out in the second half, finishing with a lap up on the field to capture the first TQ and win of the day.
Modified Truck saw Mike Kling drive his T4.2 Factory Team truck to the top spot on the starting grid, claiming TQ in this class throughout three rounds. The 8-minute main event was dominated by Kling’s Reedy-powered truck, giving Team Associated its second win of the day.
In the largest and most competitive class – 2WD Modified Buggy – Mike Gay’s Centro C4.2 was able to claim and reset TQ in all three rounds amongst very tight competition from the local drivers. During the double 8-minute A Mains, both starts saw the top three qualified drivers break away from the pack to battle for the lead. Mike was able to build a comfortable lead by the halfway mark in both mains and went on to claim back-to-back, wire-to-wire wins, finishing off with the 2WD Modified title, and Team Associated’s third TQ and win of the weekend.
Source: Team Associated [rc10.com]
