Race Report: The 2nd Annual Team Losi Racing Thumb RC Mini Nationals

Provided by Tom Claerhout, Thumb RC Raceway

The 2nd Annual Thumb RC Mini Off-Road National race was held on September 17th at Thumb RC in Gagetown, MI. The event featured 1/14 to 1/18 classes and also included 1/10 stock buggy. The weather forecast hindered the driver turnout for the day just like last year. It rained steady all morning until noon. The drivers got together and drained the track off within an hour. All totaled 46 entries were spread among 7 classes and featured some great racing. Racing did not start until 2 PM, and we were finished by 7:30 PM. This event keeps growing each year. Next year should be a blast with some better weather and a bigger turnout.

Nankin Hobby Youth Class

Logan Drapinski was the top qualifier in the Youth class with his LC Truggy. From the start of the tone, Logan laid down some quick laps and steadily pulled away from the field. After eight minutes of racing Logan held a lap lead over second place. Gregory and Ethan battled for the entire race. Ethan bobbled with a few corners to go and that let Gregory sneak around him for second place. Brandon had transponder issues but was still able to record seven laps and finish the race in fourth.

1. Logan Drapinski
2. Gregory
3. Ethan Ulewicz
4. Brandon Binder

Team Losi Racing 1/14 Truggy B Main

Josh Price was the top qualifier for the 1/14 Truggy B Main. Brian Burch was very close lap times wise, but he was unable to keep his truggy together during the qualifiers. Brian made his way to the front of the pack within a few laps and held it until the finish. He won by fourteen seconds over Josh Price. Josh was within a few seconds multiple times during the race but was not able to keep it close at the finish. Captain Kirk Ran as high as second in this race but eventually settled for third. Mick was the race leader early but slowly lost touch with the lead group. Jill was two laps behind Mick. Froggie was forced to retired from the race with car problems.

1. Brian Burch
2. Josh Price
3. Captain Kirk
4. Mick Harding
5. Jill Harding
6. Froggie

LC Racing 1/14 Short Course & Carisma 1/14 Buggy Classes

The smallest classes of the day were the 1/14 Short Course and 1/14 Buggy classes. We decided to combine these into one race so that we could finish racing before we had to turn the lights on. Toecutter and Mike Royer battled for most of the main. They slowed down during the middle of the race and allowed Tom Claerhout to catch up. It was a good battle with multiple passes for the lead. At the finish all three drivers were within two seconds of each other. Toecutter took the win in the 1/14 Buggy class with a two lap lead over Ethan. Brandon finished third in the class after finishing three laps. Mike Royer won the 1/14 Short Course class. Tom was a few seconds back at the finish. Jacob Dohrmann came in third one lap behind the leaders.

Short Course

1. Mike Royer
2. Tom Claerhout
3. Jacob Dohrmann

Buggy

1. Toecutter
2. Ethan Ulewicz
3. Brandon Binder

Tekin Stock Buggy B Main

Mike Royer dominated this race from start to finish. He led every lap and took the bump to the A main. Brian Burch got mixed up on the first lap but was able to recover and make it all the way back to finish second. Josh Price drover a lonely race in third place. Logan Drapinski and Mick Harding battled for most of the race with Logan taking fourth by four seconds at the finish line. Froggie finished two laps behind Mick in sixth.

1. Mike Royer
2. Brian Burch
3. Josh Price
4. Logan Drapinski
5. Mick Harding
6. Froggie

Team Losi Racing 1/14 Truggy A Main

The best race of the day came from the 1/14 Truggy class. Patrick Deguise and Ryan Burch put on a show for the marshalls and spectators. Ryan led for one lap during the middle of the race but shadowed Patrick around the track for most of it. Patrick took a two second lead into the final lap but was able to finish one second ahead of Ryan after the tree corner. Jason Butts, Randy Drapinski and Jeremy Salewsky battled for the final step on the podium. These three were separated by four seconds at the finish. Brian Burch took sixth and Sven was seventh. Toecutter ran as high as fifth but was pulled from the race with car issues.

1. Patrick DeGuise
2. Ryan Burch
3. Jason Butts
4. Randy Drapinski
5. Jeremy Salewsky
6. Brian Burch
7. Sven
8. Toecutter

Caster Racing 1/18 Open A Main

The 1/18 open class is one of the most difficult mini classes to race. Even small rocks can flip your car over. Tom Claerhout was the top qualifier. When the tone sounded, Tom ran his quickest lap of the race and distanced himself from the pack. Besides a few off track excursions it was a pretty quiet race. Tom held the lead and Sven followed in second about ten seconds back. Jacob Dorhmann worked his way into third on lap three and took that to the finish. Mick Harding was fourth, fifteen seconds behind Jacob. Jill Harding was fifth and Josh Salewsky was not able to get his car ready for the main.

1. Tom Claerhout
2. Sven
3. Jacob Dohrmann
4. Mick Harding
5. Jill Harding

Tekin Stock Buggy A Main

Toecutter was the top qualifier in the Stock Buggy class. He led for half of the race until Josh Salewsky was able to make a pass. Josh slowly pulled away for the win. He ended up with a twenty second lead by the end. Josh and Toecutter were the only cars to finish with eleven laps completed. Jeremy Salewsky, Randy Drapinski, Patrick DeGuise and Jason Butts battled for almost the entire race. Jason ran as high as third before settling for sixth place. Patrick slid back to seventh early on but worked his way up to fifth at the finish. Jeremy held third for most of the race and took the final spot on the podium. Randy was four seconds behind Jeremy at the finish.

1. Josh Salewsky
2. Toecutter
3. Jeremy Salewsky
4. Randy Drapinski
5. Patrick DeGuise
6. Jason Butts
7. Ryan Burch
8. Mike Royer

Team Losi Racing Masters Mini 40+

Mike Royer was the top qualifier for the Masters Mini class. He led for the first two laps but was not able to hold Randy off. Randy took the lead and checked out. He lapped the field and finished with eleven laps. Mike Royer took second with ten laps completed. Brian Burch took third with a loaner car finishing nine laps. Captain Kirk was fourth within eight laps in.

Thumb RC would like to thank everyone that came out and made the 2nd Annual Thumb RC Mini Off-Road National a success. You can expect bigger and better things next year. Hopefully the weather cooperates as well.

Thank you to these great sponsors: Team Losi Racing, LC Racing, Carisma, Caster Racing, Tekin and Nankin Hobby.

Giveaway Winners

Image credit: Thumb RC