The 1up Buggy Challenge took place at Hobby Action R/C Raceway in Chandler, AZ over the weekend of May 26-28. Doubling as the Official Worlds Warm-Up, racers traveled from around the World to compete on the unique surface at Hobby Action making for close racing in all classes! Every racer was treated to a 1up Racing Pro Pack with their entry. In the ProTek Sportsman 2wd Buggy Class all drivers were treated to ProTek T-Shirts and their choice of ProTek product. In the MuchMore Intermediate 17.5 Buggy Class all drivers were treated to their choice of 1up Racing product. We’d like to thank all the racers who made it out and hope you had a great weekend!
Qualifying was intense in the Team Associated Modified 2wd Buggy Class with Aydin Horne, Spencer Rivkin, Broc Champlin, Matthew Gonzales, Dustin Evans, Chase Lemieux and Kouki Kato all logging Top 3 runs throughout the three rounds of qualifying. After the dust had settled, it was Team Associated’s Aydin Horne putting his 1up Equipped B6.4D on Pole ahead of Rivkin and Champlin to start the mains. Horne would lead the way in A1 until a small error over the front double on lap 4 would allow Rivkin to get by and the Two-Time World Champion wouldn’t look back as he went on to win the first leg. A2 saw Horne controlling the pace for the first 15 laps but it was the same section of the track that would cause him trouble again, this time allowing Champlin to squeeze by and take the lead. With less than two laps to go, Champlin would stay clean and go on to win the second leg. With the win still up for grabs leading into A3 there was a sense of urgency felt by the Top 3 qualifiers as they tried to lock in the overall victory. A perfect line over the front section on the first lap would allow Rivkin a small gap then going wheel-to-wheel with Horne as they battled to control the top spot. Ultimately the two would push each other wide around the following 180 corner, opening the perfect gap for Champlin to pass both drivers on the inside and take the early lead. Champlin would go on to control the first 15 laps but it was the front section that came into play again and with a small bobble Champlin opened the door for Rivkin to take the lead with less than two laps to go. Rivkin would go on to win the third leg and take the overall Modified 2wd Buggy Victory with Champlin securing 2nd and Horne finishing 3rd.
Reedy Power Modified 4wd Buggy qualifying was just as close as Spencer Rivkin, Aydin Horne, Broc Champlin, Chase Lemieux and Bruno Coelho would all log Top 3 runs. Rivkin would secure Pole Position with a perfect 0 score ahead of Horne and Champlin to start the AAA Mains. A determined Rivkin would run a nearly perfect A1 and go on to take a wire-to-wire victory. The front section would bite Horne yet again allowing Champlin to grab 2’nd on Lap 4 and Lemieux would take over 3rd. Horne would recover and eventually take the 3rd position back on the final lap. A2 would again see an uneventful race for Rivkin as he was completely locked in, leading every lap on his way to the Overall Modified 4wd Buggy Win! Horne went on to finish 2nd and Lemieux would see his way to 3rd on the first lap and would go on to finish there after 5 minutes of racing. Rivkin would sit out the third leg allowing Horne to take a wire-to-wire victory ahead of Dustin Evans with Broc Champin finishing 3rd. The overall Modified 4wd Buggy results would be Rivkin ahead of Horne and Champlin!
With victories in both 2wd and 4wd, Spencer Rivkin would become our First 1up Buggy Challenge Champion in the Modified division. Aydin Horne would tie in points with Broc Champlin but with a faster combined time it was Aydin Horne finishing 2nd overall and Broc Champlin finishing 3rd.
The Expert Stock divisions were packed deep with racers from near and far ready to compete and qualifying was very exciting as the experts put on a show of their own! In the JConcepts Expert 2wd Buggy class, 1up Racing Team Associated Factory Driver Jake Thayer came out swinging and swept qualifying. The competition pushed Thayer to his limit though, Willy Smith, Levi Raymond, Chase Raymond and Kyler Cornwell would all log Top 3 runs just off the TQ pace. In A1, Thayer looked confident as ever as he went on to take a wire-to wire win ahead of Levi Raymond who after a rough start would charge back from 5th to control 2nd from lap 6 to the finish line. Chase Raymond also had an eventful A1 falling down to 7th and recovering to finish 3rd. In A2 Thayer finally showed signs that he is actually human and would have a very rough race, ultimately finishing 6th. Levi Raymond would capitalize as he controlled the race to take the Leg 2 victory. After leading early on, Willy Smith drove a very clean race and finished 2nd ahead of Ryan Prince who showed great pace all weekend but couldn’t match the consistency of the top runners. Going into A3 all of the pressure fell to Thayer as Levi Raymond lead the points. After a bobble on Lap 6, Thayer would lose the lead seeing Chase Raymond to the front. Trouble through the rhythm section would see Chase give up the lead as Thayer went on to an A3 win and secured the overall 1up Buggy Challenge Victory in JConcepts Expert 2wd Buggy head of Levi and Chase Raymond!
A number of racers would log Top 3 Qualifying runs in Motiv 13.5 4wd Buggy with Levi Raymond, Jake Thayer, Chase Raymond, Ryan Prince and Matthew Williby all showing excellent pace, but it was Thayer who would lock in TQ for a second time at the event. In A1, Thayer controlled the race on his way to a wire-to-wire win. Matthew Williby had a great race as he pushed forward from his 5th place starting position to take 2nd ahead of Levi Raymond in 3rd. In A2, Levi Raymond would take advantage of an early error by Thayer as he went on to control the race and grab the win. Thayer would recover and climb back to finish 2nd ahead of Ryan Prince in 3rd. A3 would see another dominant run by Thayer as he secured the overall win in Motiv 13.5 4wd Buggy. Chase Raymond and Ryan Prince showed great pace as they went on to their 2nd and 3rd place finishing positions. After the points were tallied Levi Raymond would finish 2nd overall ahead of his brother Chase Raymond.
1up Racing Team Associated Factory Driver Jake Thayer is our First 1up Buggy Challenge Champion in the Expert Stock division! Twin brothers Levi and Chase Raymond keep the symmetry in our podium photos as they grabbed the final podium spots taking 2nd and 3rd overall!
A 26 car-deep MuchMore Racing Intermediate Buggy field made for some great racing in the mains as well! In qualifying it was Mike Kokot grabbing the overall TQ pushed by Justyn Bialowas, Brett Crone, Leia Anderson and Kevin Boyd who all showed fast pace. A1 saw a great drive from Bialowas as he took the lead on Lap 7 and never looked back. Bumping up from the B-Main, Chris Raymond charged through the field to grab 2nd ahead of Kevin Boyd in 3rd. On Lap 1 of A2 the rhythm section would catch TQ Kokot and see Bialowas to the front again as he went on to control the race and wrap up the overall win in Intermediate 17.5 Buggy! Kevin Boyd would work his way up from his 5th place starting position to secure 2nd ahead of Leia Anderson in 3rd. A3 saw Anderson pushing the pace early as she quickly worked her way up to take the lead on Lap 3 and never looked back. Chase Willeford had a great race working through the field to finish 2nd ahead of Chris Raymond who again made the most of his 10th place grid position to finish 3rd. After the points were tallied, Anderson would join Bialowas on the podium 1 point ahead of Raymond in 3rd.
A huge thank you to Larry Tom for making this all possible! The Hobby Action track and tech crew of Jake Thayer, Richard Lake, James Jefler, Jaree Price, Willy Amos-Smoth, Scott Spear, Bryan Day and Dave Rosen absolutely killed it ensuring there were no hiccups in the race program. Shoutout to StickIt1 Racing for providing epic awards and banner artwork! And finally, thank you to Team Associated, Reedy, ProTek, JConcepts, Motiv, and MuchMore Racing for coming on board as our class sponsors!
Report and pictures: Randy Caster (1up Racing)
