REEDY RACE: Cavalieri, Neumann, and Hartson win round one of 2WD [REPLAY]

0 Jan. 23, 2015, 8:29 a.m.

1/23/2015
By Aaron Waldron

LiveRC.com

The first round of 2WD Invitational set the tone for the rest of the weekend with an incredible display of racing from some of the best drivers in the world. Two former champions seized the opportunity to start off the weekend with the momentum of a first round win, while yet another let the chance to win his heat slip right through his fingers.

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In Heat One, 2011 champ Dustin Evans started up front and took off from the field - and held onto it until the halfway mark, when he hit the pipe and crashed in the left-hand sweeper in the center of the track, which let two-time defending champion Ryan Cavalieri get by for a lead that he never relinquished. Travis Amezcua took advantage of Evans’ mistake as well, and after Evans recovered he charged back after Amezcua. Travis went went after the step-downs on the right side of the track with 35 seconds to go and Evans got to the inside, but then Travis passed Evans back going through the center of the track and held on for second.

Former champ Jörn Neumann got the holeshot from the first spot on the grid and took off, winning the heat by a long way. Dakotah Phend crashed in the second corner and dropped way down the order, but Ryan Maifield got a rocket start from the ninth spot on the grid. He was up to fourth after just one minute, and then took advantage of a crash by JR Mitch to move to third one lap later. Maifield set off after Carson Wernimont and passed the former 2WD Open champion at the halfway mark, and that’s how the top three finished.

OCRC local Steven Hartson got the holeshot from the inside of row one and absolutely disappeared, turning the fastest laps of the round and winning by eight seconds. Kody Numedahl passed Rick Hohwart in the first minute of racing when Hohwart did a front flip on the left-side double jump, and then Hohwart got together with JP Richards around 1:30 into the race which let Spencer Rivkin, who started tenth, into the third spot. Rivkin tracked down Numedahl and passed him for second with 1:30 to go, and Numedahl held off a last-corner pass attempt from Richards in the final corner to finish third.