2015 Silverstate
The 2015 Silverstate is in the books and Nemo Racing Agama pro driver Darren Bloomfield made the long trek over from the UK to compete with some of the best drivers in the world on RC racings newest premier stage, the RC Tracks of Las Vegas. The event began Thursday March 26th with 2 rounds of practice , one open and one controlled, used for seeding into the first rounds of qualifiers. The first round was used to learn the track and and test tires and suspension. Immediately feeling comfortable with his Bullitt powered Agama A215 on the fast flowing layout, Bloomfield was clicking off some quick laps on pace with the best in the field. In truggy he was a tick slower but still charging and finding some creative lines around the track. Heading into the seeding round, the buggy was left alone save for a switch to super soft Beta Cubez from the V-max. This one change proved effective and Darren was able to click off some of the fastest laps of the round. Buggy seeding ended with Darren sitting 8th, in an extremely stacked field of world renown drivers. The truggy competition was fierce, and Darren was able to secure the 17th spot for the next days round of qualifying. Once into qualifying, the track had become much rougher and we were not prepared. Throughout qualifying we struggled with suspension and tire changes trying to find the key changes to get the car moving again. We would not have any luck and would have to settle into a spot in the D final. Truggy qualifying went a little better and Darren was able to score a top 10 finish in round two. With the truggy not being as sensitive to the rough track, Darren would wheel his Agama A8T to the number 2 spot in the B main, just behind Adam Drake.
The early mains would be run Saturday evening and Darren's buggy D main would be race 14 and run that evening. Before the main we turned the car inside out, still searching for that magic setup. But it was not yet to be. That said where we ended up would allow Darren to run up front for the majority of the main and finish 2nd, securing a spot into the C main, to be run bright and early the next morning. Upon arriving to the track early Sunday and brainstorming with fellow drivers, Darren was hard at work getting the car ready for the C main, again, turning the car inside out and starting from scratch, just getting the car ready to go in time for the start. Starting from the 14th spot on the grid, he certainly had his work cut out for him, but it was evident from the warm up that the changes made to the car were indeed the magic ingredients we had been searching for all week. Within 5 laps Darren was battling for the lead and was able to get in front and stay in front for the remainder of the main, securing the win and a bump into the B main. Unfortunately, he was not able to bump into the main final. While certainly having the pace to run at the front, starting from 13th on the grid proved to be too much of a deficit to over come with so many talented drivers all clawing for the coveted a main bump spots. While disappointed in not making the A we are extremely happy with the progress of the car in these conditions and look forward to the next race and putting all of the new found knowledge to use.
In the truggy B main final, Darren would start from the number 2 spot just behind Adam Drake. Adam and Darren would check out early on the field, but a late charge by Dylan Rodriguiz to the front would leave Darren with the 3 spot and the final bump into the A final. Starting from the 15th position, Darren would take a conservative approach on his start and it paid off, moving up into the mid pack very early on. Racing was tight and hectic and Darren took the unfortunate end of some racing contact and would end up at the back of the pack, ultimately retiring just slightly early with a mechanical issue.
On the whole of the event, we are extremely pleased with the results in such difficult conditions. Putting the A215 into the B final from the D and the A8T into the A final from the B. Each event further cementing the Agama cars as highly competitive with the worlds best.