AOC: Three new TQ times set in final round of qualifying - here are the A-Main grid lineups

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By Aaron Waldron
LiveRC.com

The joys and dangers of rocket round-style qualifying always surface in the fourth round - because everything a driver has done until that point could be for nothing if the track changes dramatically and the speeds pick up. Three new TQ times were set in the final round, held early Saturday morning, and several drivers who were outside the top ten with just one shot left were able to improve their times enough to join the A-Main for a chance at an AOC title - while still others were eliminated.

13.5 Blinky Touring Car

Eric Anderson improved his TQ time to the first 29-lap run of the class, finishing nearly one lap faster than Mihnea Lupu’s time from the first round - which remained second quick. The biggest gain in the fourth round came from Kris Lo, who jumped from sixth on the grid to third as he went over four seconds faster than his previous best. Zi Lie Huang improved his qualifying time by over six and a half seconds, which leap-frogged over Nate Northrup and moved the Chinese driver from eighth to seventh. Tiny Welch improved to a 27-lap run, and O Xiao squeaked into the final with the tenth fastest time - knocking Asahioka-san out of the main event.

13.5 Blinky 1/12th Scale

Like he did in the Blinky Touring Car division, Eric Anderson snuck by for the only 49-lap run of the weekend, scoring a time that is two full laps faster than anyone else on the grid. Wen Bo Lu went nearly a lap faster than his previous best from round two, leaping over Ai Luo - who also made it by for a 46-lap run the previous round last night, but did not finish the race. Bob Peterson moved from ninth on the grid to sixth as he went over a lap faster than he did all of Friday, and Marcus Ng jumped from outside the top ten to seventh on the grid - bumping out Hans Tang.

Modified 1/12th Scale

Keven Hébert solidified his spot atop the fastest class of the weekend by improving his best time by 1.5 seconds. Rick Hohwart went nearly seven seconds faster in the final round, but it wasn’t enough to catch JJ Wang for second.

Formula 1

There were no changes in the top four of the F1 class, as Hiro Nakatani hung on for the TQ with his time from the second qualifying round. Heng improved his time by scoring a 25-lap run for the first time but stayed in the fifth position. Bob Peterson improved his time by nearly eight seconds, moving from eighth on the grid to sixth. Jimmy Qian went 3.5 seconds faster, moving from tenth to eighth. No one was bumped out of the final, however.

13.5 Boosted Touring Car

The only drivers in the top ten who improved their times in the final round were Jimmy So, who moved from eighth on the grid to sixth as he ran nearly a lap faster than the previous round, and Tiny Welch improved by over three seconds - but did not change from ninth position.

Modified Touring Car

There were no changes for Paul LeMieux and the top three drivers. Keven Hébert picked up three seconds on his previous best, which was all the way back in the first round, and moved ahead of Nicholas Lee to fourth on the grid. Rick Hohwart improved by .156 seconds but his position on the grid did not change.

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