JConcepts/Mugen pro driver Adam Drake and the JConcepts team have been busy out on the West coast racing at a few different events in the past two weeks. They have been hitting tracks around California competing in several series events, so let’s take a look back at the team’s success starting two weeks ago at Round 2 of the JBRL (Jimmy Babcock Racing League) 1:8 Off-Road Series.
This round took place at Thunder Alley R/C Raceway, Beaumont, CA on May 24-25th, and the round brought out 242 entries competing in 11 different classes!
This round kicked off on Friday with drivers setting up their pits spots throughout the day, and practice sessions began shortly after 1:30pm and ran till around 7pm that night. On Saturday qualifying started just past 8:30am local time. The race format called for two rounds of qualifying followed by all the mains. Only a driver’s best qualifier would be used to determine who was the class TQ, and who also made the A Main finals.
The top 10 drivers were locked into the A Mains automatically, and two more drivers would bump up into the A from the alphabet lower mains. Each qualifier was four minutes long, but for the mains the length of time would vary based on the power of the vehicle (nitro or electric) and if a driver was racing in the B Main, C Main, etc. For the A Mains themselves, the nitro classes ran for 15 minutes each, while the electric classes were 10 minutes long. The only exception was the Rookie class which ran an AA format which each main consisting of seven minutes.
Adam competed in three classes at this series, and he qualified 2nd overall in 1/8 Nitro Truggy behind his tire teammate Jermaine Robinson after he lost the tie breaker since they both TQed a round of qualifying.
In the finals he would race on take the win in truggy along with the TQ and win in the Expert 1/8 Electric and Nitro Buggy classes!
Team products used:
- 3121 – Green compound Reflex 1/8 buggy tire
- 4080 – Green compound Teazers 1/8 truggy tire
- 0338 – S15 Mugen MBX-8 Eco body
- 0387 – S15 Mugen MBX-8 body
- 0453 – S15 1/8 truck body
- 2584T – Mugen MBX-8 Fin Titanium Turnbuckle Set
- 3357 – Mono 1/8 buggy wheels
- 3369 – Mono 1/8 truggy wheels
- 2998 – Razor 1/8 buggy and truggy wing
The following weekend Adam and the team was at it again as they traveled to the compete in Round 3 of the TNS (Top Notch Series) that took place at The Dirt in Perris, CA. This was another stacked event that saw 224 entries spread out over 11 different classes!
On Friday the 31st the gates opened at 8am followed by practice at 2pm as driver’s navigated around the new layout. On Saturday, June 1st the gates opened up earlier at 6am and there was another practice session held from 6:30-8am, but only drivers that didn’t practice the day before were allowed to run.
The first of two rounds of qualifying began just after 9am. Again, the race format was setup so only the driver’s best qualifying results would be used to seed them for the mains later that day. 13 drivers would make the A Mains based on qualifying with two drivers bumping up from the B Main for a total of 15 racers. Each qualifier ran for five minutes, and for the A Mains the electric classes ran a single 10 minute main, while the nitro classes raced for 20 minutes each.
In the Expert 1/8 Nitro Buggy class Adam was able to sweep all rounds of qualifying to start on the pole position. After the dust had settled he would take the win and was joined on the podium by fellow JC driver Tyler Fenster in 2nd place!
Team products used:
- 3121 – Green compound Reflex 1/8 buggy tire
- 0387 – S15 Mugen MBX-8 body
- 2584T – Mugen MBX-8 Fin Titanium Turnbuckle Set
- 3357 – Mono 1/8 buggy wheels
- 2998 – Razor 1/8 buggy and truggy wing
Tyler also raced in the 1/8 Expert Electric Buggy class, and after the main was ran his fellow JC driver Jermaine would pick up the win!
Team products used:
- 3121 – Green compound Reflex 1/8 buggy tire
- 0477 – S15 RC8B4e body
- 3357 – Mono 1/8 buggy wheels
- 2998 – Razor 1/8 buggy and truggy wing
Team driver Ronda Drake competed in the 40+ 1/8 Nitro Buggy class and qualified 2nd overall.
She would get out to the lead on the opening lap and never look back as she took the tone to tone win! Joining her on the podium in 3rd place was fellow JC driver Bryce Beaver!
Team products used:
- 3121 – Green compound Reflex 1/8 buggy tire
- 0387 – S15 Mugen MBX-8 body
- 2584T – Mugen MBX-8 Fin Titanium Turnbuckle Set
- 3357 – Mono 1/8 buggy wheels
- 2998 – Razor 1/8 buggy and truggy wing
The next round of the JBRL 1:8 Off-Road Series takes place on July 13th at Pro-Line Raceway in Banning, CA, while Round 4 of the TNS will be held at Revelation Raceway in Montclair, CA on June 22nd. Hope to see everyone at these two exciting California racing series!