The JConcepts team headed back home this past weekend for the Florida Carpet Championships hosted by Beachline RC Raceway just about an hour from HQ! A star studded American and European line-up headlined the event making this year one of the most prestigious to win ever.
Wednesday and Thursday held controlled practice sessions for each class ensuring all racers received the same amount of practice. 2 rounds of seeding practice were held with the top 3 consecutive laps across the two rounds being used to organize qualifiers.
Seeding Practice:
2wd Modified Buggy: 1st Joona Haatanen, 2nd Bruno Coelho (JC Privateer), 3rd Broc Champlin
4wd Modified Buggy: 1st Bruno Coelho (JC Privateer), 2nd David Ronnefalk (JC Privateer), 3rd Daniel Kobbevik (JC Privateer)
17.5 2wd Buggy: 2nd Max Gotzl (JC Privateer), 3rd Dustin Fox
13.5 4wd Buggy: 1st Martin Bayer (JC Privateer), 2nd Max Gotzl (JC Privateer), 3rd Jeff Statkiewicz
40+ 2wd Modified: 1st Rhett McNair, 2nd Brent Thielke
Moving into qualifying it would be the best 2/4 qual-points counting towards each main event. 9 drivers would qualify directly into each A-Main with 1 driver bumping up from the B-Main.
Qualifying:
2wd Modified Buggy: 1st Broc Champlin, 2nd Bruno Coelho (JC Privateer), 3rd Michal Orlowski
4wd Modified Buggy: 1st Michal Orlowski, 2nd Bruno Coelho (JC Privateer), 3rd Tom Rinderknecht
17.5 2wd Buggy: 2nd Dustin Fox, 3rd Ryan Reavis (JC Privateer)
13.5 4wd Buggy: 1st Max Gotzl (JC Privateer), 2nd Ryan Reavis (JC Privateer), 3rd Dustin Fox
40+ 2wd Modified: 1st Brent Thielke, 2nd Paul Wynn
A Super Pole event was held to determine the 2nd-5th place qualifiers in 2wd Modified and 4wd Modified, the 2nd-5th after qualifying each were given 6 laps to perform a hot lap and started the main based on that hot lap. The person with the fastest lap started 2nd the person with the slowest started 5th etc. Here were the results.
Super Pole:
2wd Modified: 2nd Michal Orlowski, 3rd Bruno Coelho, 4th Daniel Kobbevik, 5th Spencer Rivkin
4wd Modified: 2nd Tom Rinderknecht, 3rd Bruno Coelho, 4th Broc Champlin, 5th Daniel Kobbevik
Finally it was time for the main events. the lower mains boasted some great racing for the final A-Main spot and then it was down to business to crown new 2024 Florida Carpet Championships champions.
2wd Modified: Michal Orlowski would immediately take advantage of moving up in the super pole event to get past his Schumacher teammate Broc and take the win in A1. Champlin would bounce back to take the A2 and A3 wins giving himself the overall in 2wd. A 2nd place finish in A3 would be enough for Michal to finish 2nd overall and Bruno Coelho would finish 3rd with a 3rd in A2 and a 2nd in A3.
1st Broc Champlin (JC), 2nd Michal Orlowski (JC), 3rd Bruno Coelho (JC Privateer)
4wd Modified: Bruno Coelho would mount an epic late race charge in A1 to take the win at the end from Michal. Orlowski would retaliate in A2 and A3 taking both wins and the overall in the class. Broc Champlin would end up 2nd with consistent 2nd, 3rd, and 2nd place finishes. A1 winner Bruno would end up 3rd with only a 5th to backup his 1st place finish in A1.
1st Michał Orłowski (JC), 2nd Broc Champlin (JC), 3rd Bruno Coelho (JC Privateer)
17.5 2wd Buggy: 1st Nate Sutherland, 2nd Dustin Fox (JC), 3rd Ryan Reavis (JC Privateer)
13.5 4wd Buggy: 1st Max Gotzl (JC Privateer), 2nd Ryan Reavis (JC Privateer), 3rd Nate Sutherland
40+ 2wd Modified: 1st Paul Wynn (JC), 2nd TJ Bradley, 3rd Brent Thielke (JC)
17.5 Independent 2wd: 1st Fabrizio Martello, 2nd Dillon Bontrager, 3rd Jeni Roper
13.5 Independent 4wd: 1st Fabrizio Martello, 2nd Byron Shumate, 3rd Jeni Roper
21.5 2wd Buggy: 1st Byron Shumate, 2nd Justin Johnson, 3rd Nick Sava
Junior: 1st Jeni Roper, 2nd Michal Hudy, 3rd Ryan Joyce
Finally the Modified Florida Carpet Champion came down to a tie between Michal Orlowski and Broc Champlin, this setup for another Super Pole where each driver would take their fastest 2wd and 4wd lap together and that would crown the champion.Broc Champlin would come out victorious claiming the championship for the first time in multiple years!
Winning Products: