Davide Ongaro crowned 4WD buggy world champion

Italian Davide Ongaro (Team Associated/O.S Engines/Hobbywing/Sunpadow/ONG Products/Matrix Racing Tires) is officially the fastest racer on the planet with a 1/8th or 1/10th 4WD off-road vehicle, having just added to his 1/8th nitro buggy world title won in Spain last year, another in the USA in 1/10th 4WD buggy. Having 2 world titles in two off-road classes has already happened with Mark Pavidis, but it’s still a true achievement!

But let’s take a step back, shall we? European domination in qualifying was stopped by Cole Tollard (TLR/Hobbywing/Sanwa/JConcepts), who took TQ in Q5. For a first appearance in a 1/10th world championship, that’s pretty impressive, isn’t it? This TQ enabled him to line up in 4th on the starting grid. His former team-mate and friend Aydin Horne (Team Associated/Reedy/1up Racing/Pro-Line Racing) came 2nd and Tyler Fenster (Team Associated/R1 Wurks/Pro-Line Racing)  3rd.

1/10th 4WD Buggy top 10 after Q5:

1. Davide Ongaro
2. Michal Orlowski
3. Dustin Evans
4. Cole Tollard
5. Spencer Rivkin
6. Bruno Coelho
7. Broc Champlin
8. Aydin Horne
9. Dakotah Phend
10. Marcus Kaerup

Davide managed to keep his challengers under control in the A1 final. Michal Orlowski (Schumacher Racing/Hobbywing/Sunpadow/Piranha/Hot Race Tyres) was really close, but by pushing his Schumacher Cat a little too hard, he made mistakes and let Davide pull away to win the race by 1.4s. Spencer Rivkin (Team Associated/Reds Racing/Hobbywing/JConcepts) tried to take advantage of Michal’s mistakes, and although he got very close to the Polish driver, he was unable to catch him as Michal always managed to stay away from the local driver.

The A2 final was action-packed! Davide and Michal probably drove their buggies a bit too far, and their mistakes paid off for Spencer, who took the win and put him back in the hunt for the title. Already a two-time 2WD buggy world champion, Spencer is determined to win the title he’s been missing out on, and the chance to race at home, which is never easy, gives him the motivation to give it his all. Spencer overtook Michal in the lead with just 2 laps to go, and took the victory by just 0.30s over the European champion. Michal’s team-mate Broc Champlin (Schumacher Racing/LRP/ JConcepts) rounded off the top 3, finishing 4.5s behind Michal.

A3 is going to be decisive with 3 drivers in contention for the title. Davide will have to stay in front to win, but Michal, so far super regular with 2 second places, won’t let it happen, just like Spencer who, despite starting 5th, always manages to catch up with the leading duo. Davide took the lead, followed by Michal, and Spencer then began a very fast comeback. Michal was the first to fall under pressure, leaving the Team Associated duo alone at the forefront. Two small mistakes by Spencer gave Davide some room to escape, but Spencer managed to bridge the gap each time with remarkable ease. Despite his speed, perhaps superior to Davide’s, Spencer couldn’t get past Davide, who won the final and the title! Spencer’s 2nd place pushes Michal into 3rd place overall. The third strong man in the final was another European driver, Bruno Coelho.

1/10th 4WD Buggy top 10 after A3:

1. Davide Ongaro
2. Spencer Rivkin
3. Michal Orlowski
4. Broc Champlin
5. Bruno Coelho
6. Cole Tollard
7. Aydin Horne
8. Dustin Evans
9. Dakotah Phend
10. Marcus Kaerup

Photo: JConcepts