Ongaro kicks off World title defence with TQ run
Reigning World Champion Davide Ongaro has kicked off his IFMAR 1:8 Offroad World Championships title defence with a TQ run in Spain. The Team Associated driver, who was third fastest in seeding, would hit the top of the time sheets for the first time when he topped the first of the 6 rounds of qualifying ahead of Sworkz’s Juan Carlos Canas, the pair managing 13-laps efforts. Third fastest with 12-laps was Bruno Coelho ahead of top seed David Ronnefalk, both Xray driver’s opening efforts affected by pitstop issues. The Tekno of Joao Figueiredo was fifth fastest with WIRC’s Marco Baruffolo rounding out the Top 6. With the World Championship’s back to back return to the RC Redovan track widely expected to even the field between the Europeans and the US drivers, Q1 showed that the visitors still have a bit of work to do with TLR’s Dakotah Phend their best placed driver with a P8.
