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The third annual Savage Slam was held this year at Pegasus Hobbies in Montclair, California. Pegasus is a giant hobby shop that is “freeway close” in the heart of Southern California, making it a convenient location for racers and a short 35 minute drive from the HPI factory. The hobby shop at Pegasus carries a wide assortment of hobby items and specializes in R/C cars and trucks with knowledgeable staff always on hand to help the long lines of customers. You know it’s a busy shop when they have customers take a number ticket for assistance! What makes Pegasus unique is that it has a full-blown dirt off-road racetrack behind their store, complete with a tall drivers stand, transponder timing and scoring, PA system and rows of permanent pit tables for the racers. The Pegasus track is just the right size for the Savage, with big jumps and banked turns to make the racing exciting. A quick drenching from the fire hose kept the dust down and the grip up all day. |
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The day started with an extended practice session that gave the racers plenty of time to dial in their Savages. Pegasus provided free Savage Slam 05 T-shirts and HPI handed out free Bodies and decals to the pre-registered racers. The big news of the weekend was under the bright HPI tent: the New Baja 5b 1/5th scale buggy was on display for everyone to check out. Also on display was the new Cayenne body for the Savage and 200mm touring cars, and there were 6 Kawasaki KFX Monster ATV’s painted in bright colors for the KFX Shoot-out that was on the racing schedule for the magazine editors to try out. The weather for race day was the classic Southern California forecast of “sunny and warm with not a cloud in the sky.” The first event of the day was Concours. With an impressive collection of trucks lined up on the track, it was a tough decision to pick the winner. After some deliberation by the judges, Michael Crawford took the Concourse Trophy win with his custom painted Savage GT-1 (#7176) body. |
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Next it was on to two rounds of qualifying to determine the places in the mains. As with all HPI race events, the emphasis is on having fun and sportsmanship. It was nice to see the racers having a good time in the pits between heats. On the track the racers were driving hard trying to make it into the all important A Mains for a chance at a free HPI Savage SS 4.6 kit for the winner of both Stock Savage and Modified Savage classes. After the dust had settled on the qualifying rounds it was time for the main events... First up was the Stock Savage B Main. Top qualifier Brock Peterson led from the first lap and never looked back, taking the win with a 12 lap run. 4th qualifier Martin Nelson took a fine 2nd place with Robert Hull rounding off the top three places. Next on the schedule was the Modified Savage B Main. Mario Caba was the early leader with Daniel Ast and Tyler Willman chasing in 2nd and 3rd. Daniel Ast then took the lead mid way thru the race, driving it home for the win with Tyler Willman in 2nd and Mario Caba in 3rd. |
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The Stock Savage A Main was next. A full heat of Savage trucks all heading for the first corner made for a very exciting start. 3rd qualifier Michael Crawford emerged on top after the 1st lap dash. Right behind were Dan Disinsa, Chris Nelson and Paul Freyre. Up front Michael Crawford maintained a steady lead by driving clean lines around the track. One by one the chasers began fade, by the half way mark Dan Disinsa emerged from the chasing group and started to reel in Michael Crawford. Disinsa then caught Crawford and a fierce battle for the race lead ensued. The pair traded the lead several times all the way to end of the race. After the dust had settled it was Dan Disinsa taking the hard fought win over Michael Crawford, with Ronald Ayres finishing in 3rd. Next up was the HPI KFX Monster ATV class, a demo event for the magazine editors to show off the new Monster ATV’s due for release in October 2005. 6 HPI KFX Quad bodied Savages took the start. 4th qualifier Derek Buono of Xtreme RC Cars magazine got a flying start and moved up to 2nd by the end of lap one, with Dan Disinsa in the lead. Right behind them was a battle between Derek Butterfield, “Lumpy” from RC Car magazine, Andy Jacobson and Kent Clausen. The KFX Quad bodies and bodies were definitely a crowd favorite as they raced around the track. At the finish it was Dan Disinsa taking the win with Derek Buono in 2nd and Derek Butterfield in 3rd. |
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The Modified Savage A Main was next. John Krum lead the first lap followed by Fernando Motta, behind was an intense battle between Ken Stephenson, Brent Breedlove, Chris Nelson, and John Schultz. The fierce battle raged on for most of the race, with John Schultz working his way through the field with smooth and quick driving, grabbing the lead towards the end of the 10 minute race. John had won the last two Savage Slam events in 2003 and 2004 and was looking to extend his winning streak to a perfect “3-for-3” record. His driving skills paid off as he hung on to the lead all the way the end, with Fernando Mota taking 2nd and Ken Stephenson rounding off the top 3. The last race of the day was the HPI Employee Savage Shootout. TQ Thad Garner led after the first lap and looked to be in a comfortable race winning position for most of the race. In the pack behind, it was Dave Potter and Heather Compton chasing hard. Dave Potter then put down several super fast 22 second laps and closed the gap on Thad. It was a nail biter all the way to the end of the very last lap, as Thad made a bobble and flipped over, giving Dave Potter the lead. Dave Potter held on through the last two corners to take a hard fought win. 2nd went to Thad Garner and Heather Compton took a fine 3rd place. It had been a long and exciting day as the Savage Slam 2005 drew to a close. The awards and prizes were handed out, with photos of the winners being taken by the magazines. HPI staff members Andrew Hilman and Scott Roberts did a great job organizing the race and keeping everything running as smoothly as possible. HPI would like to thank all of the racers for coming out for another successful Savage Slam event, and the Pegasus Hobbies staff for hosting the race. If you’re in Southern California you should definitely check out Pegasus Hobbies if you get the chance! |
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