Last weekend Round 1 of the FRCC (Florida RC Championship) 1:10 Series took place at Newred Hobbies in Ocala, FL. This series runs through October this year with seven rounds in total. This series always brings out the best competition in Florida, and this round was no different as there were 118 entries competing in nine different classes!
The event kicked off on Friday with controlled practice from 10am till 9pm that night. Each practice session ran for five minutes as drivers tried to find the fastest way around the track’s fresh layout.
On Saturday there was another session of controlled practice from 7-9am followed by a driver’s meeting, then the first round of qualifying at 9:30am.
The event called for two rounds of qualifying that day and only the driver’s best finish was used to determine who was locked into the A Main. The top 10 drivers from qualifying in each class made it into the A Main, and this race didn’t allow any bump ups from lower main winners. That meant if a driver qualified 11th overall he could only compete in the B Main without the possibility of bumping into the A Main.
However, all mains, even as far down as the C Mains, ran a double main format. So that meant for example the B Main drivers raced in two main events. Just like qualifying only a driver’s best finish would be used to determine who won the double main format, but if a driver finished 1st in both mains then they automatically claimed victory. This led to some exciting racing in all of the mains, and let’s see how the team finished up starting with the premiere class, Mod 2wd Buggy.
Team driver Julien Oliveras led the team in this class by TQing both rounds of qualifying. In the AA main format he would leave no doubt as he led from start to finish in both mains!
Joining him on the Mod 2wd podium was fellow JC drivers Kai Goff (2nd), Kyle Paquette (3rd), Nolan Manchester (4th) and Kenny Setser (5th) to complete the JConcepts podium sweep!
Team products used:
- 4017 – Silver compound Smoothie 2 2wd/4wd rear buggy tire
- 4018 – Silver compound Smoothie 2 2wd front buggy tire
- 0318 – S2 body for the TLR 22 5.0
- 3347 – Mono 2wd front buggy wheels
- 3348 – Mono 2wd/4wd rear buggy wheels
- 0501 – Carpet | Astro High-Clearance 7″ Rear Wing
In the Mod 4wd Buggy class it was team driver Kai Goff who led the way as he TQed both rounds of qualifying! In the first of two A Mains he would lead the entire race to claim the W in A1! In A2 he would get off to another hot start before a mistake on lap 10 dropped him back to 3rd place. This gave the lead to fellow JC driver Nolan Manchester with JR Mitch right behind him. Kai continued to click off fast laps and moved into 2nd place by lap 17, but Nolan got the pedal to the metal as he crossed the line before the tone sounded for a victory lap on the rest of the field!
When the results were tallied up, Kai would earn the overall victory with a faster time in A1! Joining him on the podium for another JConcepts podium sweep were team drivers Nolan Manchester (2nd), JR Mitch (3rd) and Kenny Setser (4th)!
Team products used:
- 4017 – Silver compound Smoothie 2 2wd/4wd rear buggy tire
- 4019 – Silver compound Smoothie 2 4wd front buggy tire
- 3348 – Mono 2wd/4wd rear buggy wheels
- 3353 – Mono 4wd front buggy wheels
In the 13.5 Stadium Truck class team driver Dustin Spallone set the fastest times in both rounds of qualifying! In A1 he would find himself in 2nd place on the opening lap as he tried to chase down the leader. On lap nine he would take over the lead again and tried to pull away from the field. With two laps ago a small bobble would drop him back to 2nd place where he finished the race. In A2 he looked to bounce back, and when the tone sounded he shot off like a rocket and was able to cross the finish line in first place with over a three second lead on 2nd!
When the results were calculated Dustin would take home the title, and joining him on the podium was his tire teammate Zach Griggs in 5th place!
Team products used:
- 4049 – Silver compound Smoothie 2 LP truck tire
- 0367 – Finnisher truck body for the TLR 22-T 4.0
- 3354 – Mono truck wheels
In the 13.5 Short Course Truck class team driver Tom Sherman dominating all rounds of qualifying, and he even reset the overall TQ time in the second round! In A1 Tom would drop to 2nd place on the opening lap, and he remained there until lap four where he regained the lead for good! In A2 he would lead the race from start to finish to lock up the title in this class!
Joining him on the Short Course Truck podium was fellow JConcepts driver Patrick Rossiter Jr. in 4th place!
Team products used:
The next round of this series is March 1st-2nd at SS Hobbies & Raceway in Tampa, FL and we hope to see you all there!
Photo credits: Florida RC Championships