Team Associated Sweeps ROAR 1:10 Off-Road Dirt Nationals

At Team Associated, winning any event is special, but sweeping the ROAR 1:10 Off-Road Dirt Nationals and winning all eight classes is truly remarkable.

The host for this year's event was BeachRC in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. With a high grip and flowing layout that both challenged and rewarded racers with precision driving, entrants from around the country descended upon the beach community to vie for the National Championship in 1:10 off-road dirt racing. The event began with an open practice day on Wednesday, then shifted to controlled practice on Thursday, with two rounds of qualifying each on Friday and Saturday, and concluded with all main events on Sunday.

From the first laps on the track it was clear that the team had done their homework and their vehicles were balanced and ready to compete. Team Associated and Reedy Power driver Aydin Horne was able to top seed the three Modified divisions driving his B7D, B74.2D and T6.4, while teammates Mason Templeman, Adam Rayls, and Brent Thielke also took top seeding honors. As qualifying progressed, Horne was able to repeat his seeding efforts by securing the Top Qualifying position in both Modified 4WD Buggy and Modified Stadium Truck while teammate Spencer Rivkin took the TQ honors in Modified 2WD Buggy. Again, Templeman, Rayls and Thielke also took TQ honors in 17.5 2WD Buggy, 13.5 Short Course and Masters 2WD Buggy, respectfully. Also earning a Top Qualifying position was privateer Craig Jackson in 13.5 Stadium Truck.

In the single truck A Mains, both Rayls (13.5 Short Course) and Jackson (13.5 Stadium Truck) made good on their top qualifying positions to bring home the title. In the Masters 2WD Buggy class, Brent Thielke won A1 and A2 driving his Reedy-powered B7D to earn his first ROAR National Championship.

The premier spec categories saw both titles decided in A3 where Mason Templeman was able to back up his stellar qualifying and A1 result to earn the overall National Championship with a second victory in A3. Similarly, a calm and collected A3 victory from Levi Raymond saw him overcome a last corner mistake that cost him the overall title in A2 after securing the A1 victory.

In 4WD Modified Buggy Horne and Rivkin battled hard through A1 and A2 with multiple position swaps along the way. However, with victories in the first two mains, Rivkin secured the overall championship and his third title in a row in Modified 4WD Buggy. In both the Modified Stadium Truck and Modified 2WD Buggy categories Rivkin and Horne would prove to be the class of the field. With each driver earning a victory in the first two A Mains of each class, it became a winner-takes-all scenario for A3. In the Modified Stadium Truck class, Horne jumped out to a quick lead, never to look back. A hard charge from Rivkin wasn't quite enough to unsettle Horne and with wins in A1 and A3, Aydin Horne won his first ROAR National Championship. A similar scenario played out in Modified 2WD Buggy, but this time with Rivkin withstanding the hard-charging Horne. With the poise of a 2x World Champion, Rivkin held steady out front from start to finish to earn the National Championship and his third in the category.

What a weekend for the team! Racing against the Nation's best is never easy, but that's why we do it. To develop and progress our race cars for everyone to enjoy while having confidence to compete at the highest level. #WeAreAE

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