The runner up in mod buggy and hometown favorite, Ryan Maifield was dialed at the Cactus Classic and arguably the best looking 2wd buggy that was not mid motor. From these pictures, it looked like Maifield went with JConcept tires instead of silver/red Losi combo that most of the competitors ran that weekend. Decked with JC goods, his LRP/REEDY equipped B4.2 took it the mid motor field falling short and only 1 point behind Tebo with 199 points. The next highest finishing rear motor buggy was the current World Champion, Ryan Cavalieri in 6th.

So it doesn’t look like there were any prototype parts tested by Team Associated at the Cactus this year, but moreso team drivers trying out different electronic configurations. This is the first time I’ve seen Maifield center mount his ESC and unlike Cav who has a ESC mount on the U-brace, he’s mounted it inside the battery compartment! I thought this was illegal for ROAR racing but oh well :P. Also, this is the first time I’ve seen Ryan’s car with a shorty pack. Ryan is a big fan of the standard long pack (but the lighter long Wolfpack) and going one step further, he’s opted to mount his receiver in the center as well! I have to say, this is one of the cleanest 2wdmod buggies I’ve seen in a long time and gotta give props to Ryan for the hard work and attention to detail. He should just do the Ty Tessman and hack that chassis up and cut off the side pods. 🙂

The front and rear of the car look pretty standard. You definitely notice the nice Finn turnbuckles. The bling like no other turnbuckle in history. It also looks like carbon parts throughout the car. Unfortunately, I can’t tell if the rear arms are carbon or not, but it has become the norm to run all carbon parts on the car when the bite is high and big bore shocks.

What I’m really curious about is if this will force AE’s hand in coming out with a new 2wd before Worlds later this summer. The bite will be high, the track will be big, and the mid motor has proven they do have their place in the United States. Let’s wait and see.

HUGE thanks to RedRC for their pit pics. Awesome job and coverage as always.