Loading...
Red RC - RC Car News |
| A clean sweep for Rheinard as he TQs final qualifier Posted: 28 Oct 2017 09:43 AM PDT It was certainly Marc Rheinard’s day today in qualifying at the opening round of the ETS with the Infinity driver pulling off a clean sweep by topping all four qualifiers. Having wrapped up his first overall TQ in over a season in the penultimate round of qualifying, the German didn’t have the same outright pace as before but swapped the lead with Bruno Coelho until the reigning champion went flying off the track. In the end Rheinard would TQ by half a second from Alexander Hagberg with Viljami Kutvonen third quickest ahead of Akio Sobue. Having set the fastest lap Coelho would cross the line with the fifth fastest time, the Portuguese driver still not happy with his car. Changing set-up every round but with the car still loose in the rear he said the only conclusion they can come to is that the issue is tyre related adding that they had come across the issue previously during testing at the Hudy Arena. In terms of the grid Coelho starts fourth behind Marco Kaufmann who finds himself the surprised best Xray qualifier. The only driver to beat Coelho last season, Ronald Volker starts P6 behind Hagberg with the A-Main grid in Vienna completed by Christopher Krapp, Akio Sobue, Olly Jefferies and Yannic Prümper. View the complete event results here. View our event image gallery here. FacebookTwitterGoogle+Pin It |
| Ratheisky opens ETS season with Pro Stock & Formula TQs Posted: 28 Oct 2017 09:11 AM PDT Jan Ratheisky is the Top Qualifier for both Pro Stock and Formula at the opening round of the Yokomo Euro Touring Series in Austria. The former champion of both classes and only driver to win two classes on the same weekend of an ETS, the Xray driver secured his pole position double in the third of the four rounds of qualifying. Having taken the opening two qualifiers, the German continued his form into the second half of the day with a third TQ run in the penultimate qualifier to secure his first pole position in 8 races. The last time he took an overall TQ was on the same weekend he wrapped up the Season #9 Formula championship title. In Pro Stock it will be Simon Lauter who will be Ratheisky’s main challenger off the start line with the Tamiya driver taking the final qualifier from the second fastest heat to jump ahead of Mustafa Alp who will line up third. Former DHI Cup Pro Stock champion Tim Benson ended qualifying fourth for Serpent with Awesomatix pairing Max Mächler and Olivier Bultynck completing the Top 6. For reigning champion Alexandre Duchet, who had a fairytale ETS debut at the season opener last year, it has been a tough qualifying with the Frenchman just making the A-Main cut, qualifying his Xray 10th. Continue reading this report here or view our full event coverage here. |
| Ratheisky opens ETS season with Pro Stock & Formula TQs Posted: 28 Oct 2017 09:09 AM PDT Jan Ratheisky is the Top Qualifier for both Pro Stock and Formula at the opening round of the Yokomo Euro Touring Series in Austria. The former champion of both classes and only driver to win two classes on the same weekend of an ETS, the Xray driver secured his pole position double in the third of the four rounds of qualifying. Having taken the opening two qualifiers, the German continued his form into the second half of the day with a third TQ run in the penultimate qualifier to secure his first pole position in 8 races. The last time he took an overall TQ was on the same weekend he wrapped up the Season #9 Formula championship title. In Pro Stock it will be Simon Lauter who will be Ratheisky’s main challenger off the start line with the Tamiya driver taking the final qualifier from the second fastest heat to jump ahead of Mustafa Alp who will line up third. Former DHI Cup Pro Stock champion Tim Benson ended qualifying fourth for Serpent with Awesomatix pairing Max Mächler and Olivier Bultynck completing the Top 6. For reigning champion Alexandre Duchet, who had a fairytale ETS debut at the season opener last year, it has been a tough qualifying with the Frenchman just making the A-Main cut, qualifying his Xray 10th. In the Scorpion Power System Formula class, Ratheisky made it a clean sweep of qualifying taking all four rounds. Defending champion David Ehrbar was to be the closest challenger finishing P2 in three of the runs and the Serpent driver will be hoping he can do something about his rivals domination in tomorrow’s finals. British driver Luke Lee secured himself third on the grid with his Xray ahead of Infinity team driver Jitse Miedema and Matej Dobnikar. A Season #10 title contender Team Shepherd’s Olivier Bultynck will start 7th on the grid before the season finale winner Benson. In the new Infinity Masters Touring class, TQ runs in Q3 & 4 will see Thomas Oehler as the first ever Top Qualifier with Q2 pace setter Christian Drießle lining up second. Having taken the opening qualifier Hungarian driver Miko Peter will start third ahead of Austria’s Christian Stöckl. View the complete event results here. View our event image gallery here. FacebookTwitterGoogle+Pin It |
| Rheinard ends two year drought with first Infinity TQ at ETS Austria Posted: 28 Oct 2017 07:40 AM PDT Marc Rheinard has ended a 2-year TQ drought by claiming his first pole position start of the Yokomo Euro Touring Series since 2015. Last securing pole at the Season #9 opener in the Czech Republic in 2015 he became Top Qualifier for the 13th time today in Vienna when he made it three out of three at the top of the time sheets in the penultimate round of qualifying. Claiming the first championship point of the season, the TQ marks the first for Infinity as the German driver and Japanese manufacturer embark on their first full ETS championship campaign. Continue reading this report here or view our full event coverage here. |
| Rheinard ends two year drought with first Infinity TQ at ETS Austria Posted: 28 Oct 2017 07:38 AM PDT Marc Rheinard has ended a 2-year TQ drought by claiming his first pole position start of the Yokomo Euro Touring Series since 2015. Last securing pole at the Season #9 opener in the Czech Republic in 2015 he became Top Qualifier for the 13th time today in Vienna when he made it three out of three at the top of the time sheets in the penultimate round of qualifying. Claiming the first championship point of the season, the TQ marks the first for Infinity as the German driver and Japanese manufacturer embark on their first full ETS championship campaign. ‘How long has it been’, was Rheinard’s reaction after locking in pole by taking Q3 ahead of Bruno Coelho. He continued, ‘I didn’t expect to TQ when we came here especially after the first practice run but we worked on it and it got better’. Switching to his second set of tyres for the round, he said, ‘the feeling of the car was not the same as before but the balance was still good’. Denying Coelho the chance of taking the TQ fight to the fourth & final qualifier by half a second, again setting the fastest lap, the former ETS Champion said, ‘we need to see who will start second but I’m comfortable with the car while others are struggling with theirs and like I said before I have a good car for 5-minutes’. Having set the pace in practice but clearly having lost form since the start of qualifying Coelho said, ‘we are still trying to find the problem with the car’. Crashing on the opening lap of each of the first two qualifiers, the reigning champion would have a clean Q3 but he is still not happy with his car. He said, ‘we were super fast in practice but now the car is losing the rear and we are still trying to find out the problem’. Switching around his tyres for Q3, he said while it made the car ‘a little better’ overall the car is still the same so they haven’t yet problem. ‘Great’ was how Marco Kaufmann described another impressive run to the 3rd fastest time. The German driver continued, ‘I don’t think I was ever so close in the ETS before as this to a TQ run’, him holding the second fastest pace behind Rheinard for much of the qualifier. With a strong grid position locked in with his pair of P3 runs, he said for his final attempt he will ‘give everything in the last one to try for a TQ’, adding ‘I have nothing to lose’. He concluded, ‘I just want to enjoy the weekend now and have a good race’. Posting the fourth fastest time, Viljami Kutvonen said, ‘I hit the boards 4 times, I don’t know how I survived to finish’. The Awesomatix driver explained his incidents by saying, ‘I think it was just me, I pushed too hard. The car is good without pushing’. For the final qualifier, as he tries to protect his current second place in the qualification ranking, he said, ‘I will just make sure I didn’t break anything on the car and then try to drive it a bit better’. ‘OK’ was Alexander’s Hagberg reply when ask how he felt his latest qualifier went. The Swede continued, ‘we don’t have the set-up to go fast and we are not sure what to do yet’. While his best of the three qualifiers, he concluded, ‘the car is not quick enough to fight for the TQ so we have to find something for the last round’. ‘I’m just happy to be back in the A-Main first off all. I’m happy to be back in the mix’, was how Christopher Krapp summed up his sixth for Q3. The best placed Yokomo driver with both Ronald Volker and Naoki Akiyama having errors with Volker pulling off as he struggled with his car, Krapp said with his car lazy in Q2 a set-up change improved it for the latest run. While pleased with his BD8 he was less complimentary of his own driving saying, ‘I am not 100% happy with my driving. I made a stupid mistake and kissed the boards which cost me 1-second so I will try getting the right lines in the next one’. Behind the German, Yannic Prumper took his privately entered Infinity to P7 ahead of factory driver Akio Sobue with Serpent’s Viktor Wilck 9th in front of Akiyama. View the complete event results here. View our event image gallery here. FacebookTwitterGoogle+Pin It |
| Video – Modified Qualifying Rd3 Posted: 28 Oct 2017 07:06 AM PDT FacebookTwitterGoogle+Pin It |
| Chassis Focus – Viljami Kutvonen Posted: 28 Oct 2017 06:06 AM PDT Chassis – Awesomatix A800X Image Gallery FacebookTwitterGoogle+Pin It |
| Christian Donath joins Gensace Posted: 28 Oct 2017 04:42 AM PDT Gensace have announced the signing of Germany’s Christian Donath to their team. Winner of last season’s fifth round of the ETS and a contender for last year’s ETS Stock championships, Christian will use the company’s competition LiPo batteries from now on and he had the following to say: “Want to thank Gensace for the offer 2017/2018 to use their batteries. I was looking for something new and Ii know that Gensace is coming with some new batteries for this and next year. Thank you very much to Mr. Oliver Jang and Titan Chan from Gensace. Looking forward to the next races.” |
| Another TQ run from Rheinard in Q2 Posted: 28 Oct 2017 04:42 AM PDT Having taken the opening qualifier of the new season of the Yokomo Euro Touring Series in Austria yesterday, Marc Rheinard has backed it up with another TQ run today in Q2. The Infinity driver would set the pace once again from Awesomatix’s Viljami Kutvonen, this time the Top 11 drivers making 24-laps. Surprising even himself with P5 in Q1, Marco Kaufmann further impressed as he completed the Top 3 for the second qualifier ahead of Ronald Volker and Olly Jefferies and Alexander Hagberg. Having opened the season as many expected by topping the times in practice, reigning champion Bruno Coelho’s luck continues to be out as he again made a mistake in his opening lap as he did yesterday. Starting Q2 last due his mistake filled opening attempt, the Xray driver would get passed on the opening lap by Rheinard following his contact with the board in the middle of the second corner. In the end he would salvage a P8 from the run. Continue reading this report here or view our full event coverage here. |
| Another TQ run from Rheinard in Q2 Posted: 28 Oct 2017 04:40 AM PDT Having taken the opening qualifier of the new season of the Yokomo Euro Touring Series in Austria yesterday, Marc Rheinard has backed it up with another TQ run today in Q2. The Infinity driver would set the pace once again from Awesomatix’s Viljami Kutvonen, this time the Top 11 drivers making 24-laps. Surprising even himself with P5 in Q1, Marco Kaufmann further impressed as he completed the Top 3 for the second qualifier ahead of Ronald Volker and Olly Jefferies and Alexander Hagberg. Having opened the season as many expected by topping the times in practice, reigning champion Bruno Coelho’s luck continues to be out as he again made a mistake in his opening lap as he did yesterday. Starting Q2 last due his mistake filled opening attempt, the Xray driver would get passed on the opening lap by Rheinard following his contact with the board in the middle of the second corner. In the end he would salvage a P8 from the run. ‘A perfect start again’ was Rheinard’s reaction to Q2, the German’s IF14 also setting the fastest lap on his opening lap. Summing up the run he said, ‘I made a big gap between me and Viljami on the first lap which helped a lot’. He continued, ‘When Bruno crashed I went passed him but I didn’t know if he was going to be faster and if I was going to have to left him pass. My car was really good and we had the same speed so I didn’t have to open’. Having only refreshed the shocks from yesterday, he said tyres are his focus for Q3 adding he is not sure whether to run the same set again or go to his second set. With four runs on his first set of the championship’s Volante handout tyre he feels they might be getting too old for another run. Viljami summed up Q2 by saying ‘it was pretty good’. The Finn said having made small changes to his car it was easier to drive but said he lost out on the TQ in the first minute when his car was not as good. Putting that down to his tyre prep, he will change this for the next qualifier in the hope he can have a quicker car earlier on as his fastest lap didn’t come until lap 10 of 24. ‘I changed nothing but now my driving was better’ said a very pleased Kaufmann. The German continued, ‘the car is still very very good and I don’t think I will touch it for the rest of the weekend. I will just put on additive’. Having a moment when he got his T4 up on 2 wheels, he said there is probably still room for improvement from his driving but added it would be ‘not much’. Surprised to find himself being beaten by Kaufmann, Volker said, ‘changes we made didn’t improve the car at all’. The World Champion added, ‘the left right balance felt fine but the set-up is still off in terms of pace. I wish my 2-seconds off TQ was because I had a mistake but I didn’t’. Looking to Q3, the Yokomo driver concluded, ‘We need to make a bigger set-up change’. ‘Alright but not perfect’, that was Jefferies view of his Q2 run, the British driver having posted a P7 run yesterday. The Xray driver said the obstacle is ‘just driving style’. Pleased with his car he continued, ‘It is very different to back home to how the grip is here. ‘I’m used to the cars sliding around but here they are glued to the track and this driving style is alien to me but we are getting there and now we are pretty close’. Taking a lot of instruction from his pitman on how he needs to be driving the track he said he starts out well but fall back into his normal style of driving mid way into the run’. For the next one he will try to ‘just drive it different’ for the full 5-minutes. View the complete event results here. View our event image gallery here. FacebookTwitterGoogle+Pin It |
| Posted: 28 Oct 2017 04:08 AM PDT Chassis – Infinity IF14 Image Gallery FacebookTwitterGoogle+Pin It |
| Roche Pro10 carbon fibre 6.34mm rear axle set Posted: 28 Oct 2017 02:56 AM PDT Roche have introduced a new carbon fibre rear axle set for 1/10th 235mm Pro10 cars that use US-style rear axle shafts. Made from high-quality carbon fibre and being precision-ground to 6.34mm diameter the shaft is usable with all cars that use standard 1/4″ x 3/8″ rear axle bearings and it comes with a lightweight, black-anodised inner diff plate. Source: Roche [rocherc.com] |
| Ratheisky takes opening Pro Stock qualifiers at ETS Austria Posted: 28 Oct 2017 02:56 AM PDT Jan Ratheisky has taken the opening two Pro Stock qualifiers at the opening round of the Yokomo Euro Touring Series in Vienna, Austria. Having topped seeding yesterday, the German kicked off Day 2 of the event with a very convincing TQ run with him finishing over 5-seconds clear of his rivals. Behind, Mustafa Alp was the only other driver to run 23 laps, the Turkish driver again excelling on Austrian soil having famously TQ’d the final round of modified qualifying in Traiskirchen back in 2012. Helge Johannessen would complete the Top 3, the big Norwegian finishing just ahead of reigning champion Alexandre Duchet and Max Mächler. In the second qualifier, Ratheisky would have to work much harder for his TQ. Having rolled his Awesomatix in Q1, Mächler swapped the TQ pace with the Xray driver throughout the 5-minutes but despite setting the fastest lap would eventually finish 9/10th off. Behind, Duchet had a roll, pulling up at the half way mark, while former DHI Cup Pro Stock Champion Tim Benson completed the Top 3 ahead of Simon Lauter and Alp. Continue reading this report here or view our full event coverage here. |
| Ratheisky takes opening Pro Stock qualifiers at ETS Austria Posted: 28 Oct 2017 02:51 AM PDT Jan Ratheisky has taken the opening two Pro Stock qualifiers at the opening round of the Yokomo Euro Touring Series in Vienna, Austria. Having topped seeding yesterday, the German kicked off Day 2 of the event with a very convincing TQ run with him finishing over 5-seconds clear of his rivals. Behind, Mustafa Alp was the only other driver to run 23 laps, the Turkish driver again excelling on Austrian soil having famously TQ’d the final round of modified qualifying in Traiskirchen back in 2012. Helge Johannessen would complete the Top 3, the big Norwegian finishing just ahead of reigning champion Alexandre Duchet and Max Mächler. In the second qualifier, Ratheisky would have to work much harder for his TQ. Having rolled his Awesomatix in Q1, Mächler swapped the TQ pace with the Xray driver throughout the 5-minutes but despite setting the fastest lap would eventually finish 9/10th off. Behind, Duchet had a roll, pulling up at the half way mark, while former DHI Cup Pro Stock Champion Tim Benson completed the Top 3 ahead of Simon Lauter and Alp. In the Scorpion Power System Formula class it was also Ratheisky who was the man to beat. Top seed for qualifying the former champion took Q1 from reigning champion David Erbhar’s Serpent with Shepherd driver Olivier Bultynck completing the Top 3. In the second of the four qualifiers it was Infinity team driver Jitse Miedema who was Ratheisky’s closest challenger, the difference a substantial 7-seconds. René Kölbel completed the Top 3 followed by inaugural Formula champion Herbert Weber. In the newly introduced Infinity Masters Touring Car class it was Miko Peter who TQ’d the opening qualifier ahead of Christian Drießle. That order was reversed in Q2 with Drießle setting the pace. The Masters class is open to drivers 40-years old or more and it runs the same rules as the Xray Pro Stock class with the cars running the same hand out Muchmore speedo and motor which this season features an RPM limiter. View the complete event results here. View our event image gallery here. FacebookTwitterGoogle+Pin It |
| UREE 1/10th buggy drive shaft boots Posted: 28 Oct 2017 02:38 AM PDT Japanese company UREE has introduced a pair of drive shaft boots for 1/10th off-road vehicles. Made from very tough yet flexible silicone material the boots are designed to protect the outdrive and driveshaft pin area from the influence of dust, dirt and moisture while keeping grease in at the same time. The result is a longer parts life especially in extreme environments and the boots fit the Team Associated B6, B6D, B64 and B64D, Yokomo YZ-2CA, DT and DTM, Xray XB2 and XB4, Kyosho Lazer and Ultima as well as other kits. Source: UREE [uree.blog.jp] |
| Rheinard takes opening qualifier of new ETS season Posted: 27 Oct 2017 10:29 AM PDT Marc Rheinard has taken the first qualifier of the new season of the Yokomo Euro Touring Series. Sixth fastest in seeding practice but confident he had a good car over 5-minutes, the Infinity driver delivered the only 24-lap time to TQ the first of the four qualifiers in Vienna. Behind, Awesomatix’ Viljami Kutvanen would set the second fastest time, missing out on making 24-laps by half a second, with Ronald Volker completing the Top 3 a second off the Finn’s pace. Having topped seeding, it wasn’t to be a good start for defending champion Bruno Coelho. From the start the Xray driver had the first of a number of moments when he got loose but it was contact with the boards at the end of the main straight that ended his chances of the TQ as his car needed to be marshalled. Continue reading this report here or view our full event coverage here. |
| Coelho from Volker in controlled practice at ETS opener Posted: 27 Oct 2017 07:45 AM PDT A new season of the Yokomo Euro Touring Series got underway in Vienna, Austria, today with practice ending with a familiar theme to last season as Bruno Coelho topped the times. Having topped free practice, the Xray driver would lay down the fastest 3-consecutive laps in the first of the controlled practice runs with no one able to better the pace in the second and final practice. It would be Ronald Volker who would top CP2, but like Coelho he couldn’t beat his earlier time. Behind, Alexander Hagberg would complete the Top 3, the Xray driver improving his time in CP2 by more than 4/10ths of a second. Also improving in CP2, Naoki Akiyama is seeded P4 for qualifying ahead of Infinity pairing Akio Sobue and Marc Rheinard. Continue reading this report here or view our full event coverage here. |
| Roche Rapide F1 Evo long kingpin set Posted: 27 Oct 2017 05:10 AM PDT Roche have introduced a long kingpin set for the Rapide F1 Evo formula car. Developed by German team driver Alexander Stocker, the longer kingpins will allow for a wider adjustment range which will improve steering response. The shafts come titanium-nitride-coated for wear and a smooth movement and they include a set of shims and bushings. Source: Roche [rocherc.com] |
| 2017 ENS 1/8th Series Winner – Focus Posted: 01 Oct 2017 10:55 AM PDT Simon Kurzbuch (Switzerland)Shepherd Velox V8 – Novarossi engines – Energy Fuel – Xtreme Aerodynamics bodyshell – Futaba transmitter – Futaba servos FacebookTwitterGoogle+Pin It |
| 2017 ENS 1/10th Series Winner – Focus Posted: 01 Oct 2017 10:48 AM PDT Bruno Coelho (Portugal)Xray NT1 – Max Power engines – Runner Time Fuel – SRC bodyshell – Sanwa transmitter – Savox servos FacebookTwitterGoogle+Pin It |
| Posted: 01 Oct 2017 10:03 AM PDT FacebookTwitterGoogle+Pin It |
| Kurzbuch retains title with Fiorano win Posted: 01 Oct 2017 10:00 AM PDT Simon Kurzbuch has retained his Euro Nitro Series title, the Shepherd driver becoming champion for a third time with his third win at the World famous Fiorano track in Italy. Coming into the final round of the season going up against Bruno Coelho for the title, the Swiss ace drew the first strike when he claimed the overall TQ moving him a step closer to the top prize. In the final despite a sterling effort from Coelho, who kept him honest throughout the 45-minutes decider, Kurzbuch continued his form claiming win number three of the season by half a lap to take the 2017 title. A surprise challenger to Kurzbuch, winning the season opener having not been a 1:8 contender previously, Coelho would have to settle for second in the standings on this occasion but finishing all four race in no lower than second place the Portuguese driver has already set out his stall for next season’s ENS. Making his first A-Main of the season, Jesse Davis would complete the podium at Round 4 with a hugely popular third place, which where it not for a crash with Lamberto Collari while closing down Kurzbuch, could have seen the Aussie end the season on an even higher note. One can only expect Davis will be another driver taking the challenge to Kurzbuch in Season #5 of the ENS. Unfortunately for newly crowned World Champion Dario Balestri his chances of a good result ended at the first corner after the start. With second place qualifier Andrea Pirani making a very slow start Balestri would run into the back of him, the impact lifting the body off his car and it needing to be returned by marshal to the pits for repairs. Rejoining the race to finish 10th of the 12 starters, Balestri joked afterwards, ‘your luck can change completely in a week’. ‘To TQ and win makes me very happy’, was Kurzbuch’s reaction after the race. With a 9th ENS race win from the championship’s 16 race history, he said, ‘It was a very good final. The tactic for the race was to win the championship and I knew fifth place was enough for this so we played safe with the fuel and tyre stops’. He continued, ‘Alex and my father did a perfect job as always in the pits but when you are leading you want to try to take home the championship with a win’. Making 2 stops for fresh tyres all round each time, he said today’s win, the race the official last major international race of the nitro season, has made him ‘confident for next year’, adding, ‘this is revenge for the Worlds’. While missing out on the 1:8 title Coelho still described his efforts as ‘impressive’. Having claimed the 1:10 ENS title an hour earlier, he continued, ‘I think the result in 1:8 is even more impressive than 1:10. Last season in 1:8 we could not arrive in all the finals and now this year we finished all races in 1st and 2nd place’. He added, ‘Everything worked perfect. It was our mistakes, not problems with the car that prevented us from winning other races’. On today’s final, the Portuguese driver, ‘I pushed Simon hard but Collari would not open and when I try to pass him I flip and lost 5 or 6 seconds. This cost me the chance to beat Simon’. Running the same 2 stop tyre strategy as Kurzbuch, he would later have an off of his own doing at the end of the straight saying, ‘I just was pushing hard and got it wrong but even without this I could not have caught him, the time was gone after my crash with Collari’. ‘Finally a good race, it was not perfect but my first A-Main this year and I got a podium so I’m more than happy’, was how Davis summed up the race. Making Super Pole at the World Championship two weeks ago but having problems in his Semi Final denying him from making the Main, the unquestionably talented Infinity driver today took advantage of a single tyre stop strategy. This put him right in the mix with him running behind and in close proximity to Kurzbuch but with around 7-minute to go he crashed into Collari, the 9-time World Champion coming across on him as he went to lap the Italian. Asked about the incident Davis said, ‘Our strategy was going really good but then I had a crash with Lamberto. After that the car was tweaked but it doesn’t matter because I’m really happy with third. It’s a perfect end to the season’. Coming from the B-main, which he finished second behind team-mate Andy Moore, Teemu Leino would finish 4th from 12th on the grid. Describing the result as ‘pretty good’, the outgoing 1:10 ENS Champion said, ‘It been a very long time since I have had no problems in a final. Today I had not one problem’. He continued, ‘before the final I discuss with Jesse that I think I will do just 1 tyre stop but after 18-minutes I need to change tyres so I ended up doing two stops. Maybe this was wrong and it cost me a podium but maybe it was right because I would have had no tyres but after qualifying in the B to finish 4th in a nice way to finish the season’. With team-mate Naoto Matsukura the final direct qualifier lining up 10th for the start, the Japanese driver would made a blistering start helped by the first corner incident to run in the Top 3. Unfortunately however the electric World Champion was again dealt cruel luck as during the 3rd fuel stop the INS box came off and released without it his car came to a halt 3/4 of a lap later forcing him to eventually retire with engine damage caused by the missing INS box. View the complete event results here. View our event image gallery here. FacebookTwitterGoogle+Pin It |
| Posted: 01 Oct 2017 08:39 AM PDT FacebookTwitterGoogle+Pin It |
| Greiner takes dominant Italian win, Coelho crowned Champion Posted: 01 Oct 2017 08:37 AM PDT Dominic Greiner has taken a dominant 1:10 win at the season finale of the Euro Nitro Series, the Serpent driver completing the perfect return to the class in Italy showing just why he is the reigning World Champion. Having secured the TQ for the 45-minute final, the German drove a near perfect race with his rivals lacking the pace to mount any kind of serious challenge. While Finals day in Fiorano would start out damp, organisers would delay the start of the A-Mains by an hour so drivers could battle it out for the final major nitro race of the season in dry conditions. While Geiner quickly established control of the race, behind him the battle for second was between Xray’s champion elect Bruno Coelho and Alessio Mazzeo. With that battle really hotting up over the final minutes of the race, it was Mazzeo who would take second with Coelho just 3/10ths behind. Finishing 2nd or 3rd mattered little to Coelho because either way he had secured his first ENS title a feat that would see the great all round driver do the triple crown – the Portuguese driver having already been crowned ETS and EOS champion earlier in the year. Off the podium David Loppini would finish 4th after a good battle with Jakub Rozycki while Thilo Tödtmann completed the Top 6 to finish the championship 3rd overall behind Coelho and Mazzeo. ‘Everything was perfect, this is a good start to our preparations next year’, was Greiner’s reaction to his 3rd ENS career win, next year being the 1:10 World Championship in Miami. He continued, ‘We changed the set-up to what we ran in Q2 and also used the engine we tested in the last qualifier. The longer warm-up allowed us to set the engine perfect and I drove the whole race at 95%. When you have the car and engine working this good you can do this. I also told Thomas (his pitman) to take his time’. With just one blotch on his copybook for the race when he went off at the second corner following the first fuel stop, he explained, ‘I think maybe the tyres got wet from the pitlane and it caught me out but apart from this small mistake it was a perfect race’. ‘I’m very happy with this year. We put more focus into working on our nitro cars and winning the championship is the reward for this’ was how Coelho summed up his title win. Also contributing Xray’s competitiveness this season down to working with Alessio Mazzeo on car development, he continued, ‘The most important thing going into the final was to be in front of Thilo because he was the biggest challenger for the championship. I didn’t need to fight anyone else and when Alessio was behind me I opened for him. I didn’t need to battle with him’. Becoming the ENS’ fourth different 1:10 champion, Coelho’s campaign has been the most successful of a champion with him winning from the TQ spot in both France and Austria and also TQ’ing in Germany only to suffer a mechanical retirement in the final, a result he could drop with his podium finish today. Finishing second as he once again came strong towards the end of the race, he previously won in 2015 in the dying moments from then champion Jilles Groskamp, Mazzeo was delighted with his race. Becoming the Vice-Champion with today’s result having missed Round 3 in Austria, he said it was, ‘One of the best race of my life racing with Bruno and Dominic, no mistake for the entire 45-minutes’. He continued, ‘Dominic deserves the win for sure but the result also is a message that we must work hard to improve for sure’. On his own race he said his only issue was that the idle on his engine was high and this caused the car to run on under braking. Asked about his battle at the end with Coelho he replied, ‘Always in the last minutes of this race I arrive in a battle. It was fun to race against Bruno.’ Having made the final on each of the ENS’ four visits to Fiorani, Loppini was ‘quite satisfied’ with his P4 result. His best ENS result, he was more pleased to achieve it given the fact that he hasn’t raced for 5-months. Commenting on his performance in the race and his battle with Rozycki, the 23-year-old Xray driver said, ‘Alessio and Bruno were too fast for me. I couldn’t match their pace. I had a good battle for the 4th place and I’m happy for my return to racing to get my best result’. In the end Rozycki’s Xray would finish 2-seconds back from the Italian. View the complete event results here. View our event image gallery here. FacebookTwitterGoogle+Pin It |
| ‘Bump up King’ Moore makes ENS final along with team-mate Leino Posted: 01 Oct 2017 03:54 AM PDT Andy Moore has won the B-Main in Fiorano from Infinity team-mate Teemu Leino to complete the line-up for the last ENS encounter of the season. Starting out the damp day in Italy in the D-Main, the British driver would finish second in both the D and then the C final behind fellow countryman Mark Green to progress to the well stacked B-Main. Initially pole sitter Carmine Raiola led the way but his race would end at the halfway point as he came upon traffic with contact sending up off the track resulting in a flame out. Having looked for a time like he was on for another bump up Green would crash out while vying for the lead. Behind Moore and Leino, Alessio Mazzeo would miss the cut finishing in the third, his cause not helped by the fact the Italian stopped twice over the 20-minute encounter for tyres. ‘I’m the Bump up King for today’ was Moore’s reaction after to securing his first A-Main appearance. The former electric Touring Car World champion said, ‘I had never driven a 8th scale in the wet before so the D-Main was a step into the unknown so I just cruised around. I did the same thing in the C and the last one’. On the B-Main, which he started last, he said, ‘I didn’t get a good start. A few cars had crashed in front of me and I couldn’t avoid them and this caused the front of the body to tuck at the bumper and I raced the entire final with it like that’. Running Kiss wet tyres on his Infinity he concluded, ‘I need to find another set of wets’ but with an improvement showing in weather apps, the ENS organisers have suspended racing for an hour in the hope drivers can fight out for the final ENS win of the season in completely dry conditions. View the complete event results here. View our event image gallery here. FacebookTwitterGoogle+Pin It |
| Jacobs masters the damp to double bump up to A-Main Posted: 01 Oct 2017 03:14 AM PDT Daan Jacobs is on a roll this morning at the Euro Nitro Series season finale in Italy, the Dutch Serpent driver bumping twice in damp conditions to book his place in the 1:10 A-Main. Qualifying for the C final, Jacobs would make light work of that 20-minute encounter with many drivers opting not to run on the wet track. With the stakes a lot higher in the B-Main, only Dirk Wischnewski would opt not to start, the ENS race winner saying he didn’t have the right wet tyres to have any chance of being competitive. With the experience of having run a final already, Jacobs quickly moved to the front with pole sitter Toni Gruber unable to hold the lead for the first lap, being also passed by Marco Kaufmann. Kaufmann would drop back but his chances of becoming this year’s ENS Vice-Champion ended when the Xray driver suffered a flame out. While Melvin Diekmann would hold second for a lot of the race, having found is rhythm for the conditions, European Champion Gruber would find a way through to claim second and the final starting spot on the A-Main grid. Locking his Serpent into second gear, Jacobs said the key to his pace was running on the outside line and not the usual racing line as it was covered in oil from the engines. He said his tyres also helped, using a set of old Aqua tyres he was given by the late Jeff Catchpole, a well known figure on the 1:10 nitro circuit, with Jacobs saying his win was ‘something for him’. Looking to the A-Main, while he has the advantage of running 40-minutes in the damp conditions, he said the biggest problem would be tyres as the set he has been using is not going to go 45-minutes so he needs to arrange another set. ‘The best tyres won’ was Gruber’s reaction after the race. The WRC driver said, ‘We had just 4-minutes (race warm-up time) to decide between 5 or 6 sets of wet tyre and pick which one we thought would be the best choice for the race’. While he struggled at the start, he said in the end he made ‘the right choice’. For the A-Main, he said while he knows now what works, he has to make sure he can get them prepared in time for the race. View the complete event results here. View our event image gallery here. FacebookTwitterGoogle+Pin It |
| Greiner claims early ENS TQ for 1:10 return Posted: 30 Sep 2017 10:26 AM PDT Having not raced 1:10 in this season’s Euro Nitro Series, Dominic Greiner has returned at the season finale to endorse with authority just why he is the World Champion of the nitro touring car class. The Serpent driver claimed his 6th ENS career TQ in Fiorano when he made it 3 from 3 in the penultimate round of qualifying. Becoming Top Qualifier he is the only driver who will have started an 1:10 A-Final from pole position every season since the championship was created in 2014. Providing the main challenge to Greiner has been the Xray pairing of Bruno Coelho and Alessio Mazzeo but both drivers have admitted they have struggled to match the German’s pace. Enjoying being back racing in 1:10 having taking time out to prepare for the recent 1:8 World Championships saying ‘I know this class better’, Greiner said, ‘I’m happy with the result but the car set-up is still not perfect’. With a difference in tyre batches throwing drivers a curveball in the opening round of qualifying the 2-time ENS race winner hasn’t been able to get his 748 Natrix back to the feeling it had when he topped the final seeding practice. He said, ‘the car is fast but I’m not super happy with the feeling yet so we will test some things in tomorrow’s final practice’. With the Novarossi backed driver able to use the final qualifier as a test session, he used the track time to run a different engine which he plans to use in tomorrow’s 45-minute main. On strategy, he said, ‘Without a tyre stop is not possible but I need to check with Thomas (Günsel) how the wear is and then we can decided what we will do’. Able to take the final qualifier from Xray team-mate David Loppini, Mazzeo having issues, Coelho said 1:10 is a similar situation to his form in 1:8. The Champion elect said, ‘Q3 was a super clean round but I had no chance against Dominic. The car feels OK but it is just slow compared to him’. With little more to say on the matter he concluded, ‘we have to find something for the final but I don’t know what it is’. Securing 3rd on the grid with the third qualifier his fastest run of the day, Mazzeo said, ‘that one was quite OK. The car was fast but it was very hard to drive consistent for 4-minutes. It was on the limit of a mistake all the time’. He added, ‘Dominic is very fast at this track as always and we have to find a set-up that gives me confidence to push in the final tomorrow’. Asked his thoughts on tyre wear, the former European Champion replied, ‘It is strange, I think the wear depends on the sets of tyres you will get because there are differences in the tyres we are using this weekend’. A driver who would like to see a move away from a single tyre supplier saying the different tyre manufacturers should be able to race one another to prove their products he said, ‘I think everyone will have do one stop in the final’. Claiming his best ENS starting position, fourth, Loppini said the tyre situation has him ‘going crazy’. Having improved his car for the second qualifier after everyone struggled with difficult cars for Q1, he said described the third run as ‘shit’. He said, ‘I had no grip in the rear for first 2-minutes and then for the last 2-minutes I had no grip in the front. The tyres are are a lottery’. Maintaining his record of having made the A-Main every year at Fiorano, he said while happy with the result of qualifying his concern is whether he will be lucky with his tyres for the final and he hopes for the final practice he can find two sets of tyres that are equal and work with his set-up. Behind Loppini, Shepherd’s Thilo Tödtmann will line up 5th helped by a P4 run in the final qualifier. Coming into the weekend holding second in the championship standings, the German is looking good to finish as Vice Champion with 3rd placed Marco Kaufmann qualifying for the B but still able to bump up and 4th place Leo Arnold opting to race 1:8 here in Italy. Tödtmann’s team-mate Eduardo Escandon completes the top half of the grid, the Spaniard ending off a disappointing qualifying with an encouraging Top 3 run in the final qualifier. Behind the ENS Germany podium finisher young Italian Manuel Strano lines up 7th. View the complete event results here. View our event image gallery here. FacebookTwitterGoogle+Pin It |
| Kurzbuch claims first Italian ENS TQ Posted: 30 Sep 2017 07:42 AM PDT Simon Kurzbuch is Top Qualifier for the season finale of the Euro Nitro Series in Fiorano. Going into the fourth & final qualifier with only Andrea Pirani having a chance of denying him his fourth overall TQ of the season, the reigning champion topped the round in style having over a second in hand over title rival Bruno Coelho. While twice a winner of the Italian ENS round, today’s result is the first time the Shepherd driver will start from pole. Behind, Pirani will start second having enjoyed his best ever ENS qualifying with Coelho lining up for his shot at the title from 3rd on the grid. Playing a watching brief in the ENS title fight, World Champion Dario Balestri completed qualifying with his best run of the weekend with the P3 securing him 4th on the grid ahead of Lamberto Collari and Francesco Tironi. ‘It’s a great feeling. I’m super happy as this is my best ENS qualifying result in Italy. We had a lot of fun today’, said a very pleased looking Kurzbuch, this the Shepherd driver’s 8th time to be Top Qualifier at an ENS race. He continued, ‘We have really good pace and we showed that in the last qualifier. I didn’t feel anything but we still had the fastest lap. Everything is good for the final I would say and the TQ puts us one step closer to the goal’. Going one better than his previous best ENS qualifying, third in Bologna in 2015, Pirani said, ‘Everything has worked good. I’m happy because I arrived at my aim of making the A final. 2nd is super good for me’. The ARC driver added, ‘I had to use a new set of tyres in the last one and I could still manage fourth. The car was working really good on the bigger tyre so I am confident for the final tomorrow’. Asked about strategy for the race, the Italian said, ‘tyre wear is ok and I think it will be just one change for all drivers’. Not planning to take any risks with refuelling, again most drivers reporting normal consumption he concluded, ‘I want to make a safe final without mistake and don’t want to risk any flameouts’. Coelho, who must win tomorrow to have a chance at the title, said, ‘Now it was a clean round but we were not fast enough compared to Simon’. The Portuguese driver continued, ‘For me the car feels perfect but when I drive against Simon I can see he is faster so we need to work on that in our preparations for the final’. ‘They are more fast than me but all is OK and we will see what we can do tomorrow’, was Balestri’s summary after Q4. Claiming the 2015 ENS title in Fiorano when he took second in the final behind Kurzbuch, the Infinity driver said, ‘I have a lot of grip, maybe too much to be super quick but for the final I think it will be OK’. Team-mate Collari said, ‘we tried a different set-up for the final qualifier but it was not better’. Asked about the 45-minute Main he replied, ‘For the final I will try something else on the set-up and a different body in the practice to see if we can make the car for the final. On strategy he said with tyre and fuel consumption ‘normal’ the important thing was going to be to have a ‘clean race’. Completing the top half of the A-Main grid, two cars bumping up from the B-Main to make it a 12 car grid, Tironi said, ‘Everyone is really close. The level is really high and if you are not perfect in your driving you lose out.’ The Infinity driver added, ‘I have a good feeling with the car but maybe I will change the engine for tomorrow as this one has driven a lot of runs’. On a strategy for the final he said, ‘normally Fiorano is ok for tyre wear and it is easy to do race with just one change but I need to check (the wear) before we decide our plan’. View the complete event results here. View our event image gallery here. FacebookTwitterGoogle+Pin It |
| Posted: 17 Sep 2017 10:34 AM PDT FacebookTwitterGoogle+Pin It |
| 2017 IFMAR 1/8th Worlds Winning Car Posted: 16 Sep 2017 11:44 AM PDT Dario BalestriCreation Model Infinity – Max Power RP9.S – Runner Time Fuel – Protoform R19 body – Sanwa transmitter – Savox Servo FacebookTwitterGoogle+Pin It |
| Balestri finally gets deserved World title Posted: 16 Sep 2017 11:41 AM PDT Dario Balestri is finally a World Champion. One of nitro racing’s unquestionably fastest & most talented drivers, the Italian delivered a long overdue victory at the 21st running of the 1:8 Onroad World Championships in Monteux, France. Top Qualifier for the 1-hour main, the Infinity driver would waste that opportunity with a very bad start from pole that saw him swallowed up by the pack and off onto the grass. Rejoining a distant last, while new team-mate Naoto Matsukura led from the defending champion Simon Kurzbuch, Balestri set about his recovery eventually going to the front when Matsukura, who he had in his sights, hit trouble. With Matsukura’s championship debut ending with a P8 DNF, it was Kurzbuch who would finish runner-up, 5-seconds back after an hour of intense racing. While not the result the Shepherd driver was after it does complete an impressive run of three consecutive 1:8 World Championship podium finishes. Claiming the final step on the podium would be Shoki Takahata, the Mugen driver having a good recovery after an incident with 2015 runner-up Takaaki Shimo cost him a lot of time due to a tucked body. With the enormity of his win leaving Balestri somewhat lost for words to describing the feeling, he said, ’I made a shit start. My fault. I waited too long on the start I was in the middle of the pack and had a big crash which ended in the grass. Then my tyres were dirty but when they got clean the car was unbelievable and I could come back’. A driver who has so many times come close to the World title but come short in terms of his luck, he added, ‘this was the best car I have ever driven in a final and the engine too’ – his fastest lap over 2/10th quicker than that of Kurzbuch. Making two tyre stops, describing them both as ’super fast’, he agreed the win was a monkey off his back and lifted the pressure of finally achieving his life’s goal might make him enjoy racing even more. ‘I have to thank Kenji San my boss for giving me the opportunity to change my life. He has created a fun and passionate team and for sure it is a nice atmosphere to work in. There is no pressure.’ He continued, ‘This result is for all the team, they worked a lot for the brand. Nikiado San has done an amazing job with creating this car’. Balestri was also indebted to his engine builder Massimo Fantini, a former Worlds Top Qualifier who never quite managed the title. ‘I have no words to describe the engine. Fantini deserves this for all the work & time he has put into the sport’. Having waited so long to get the official status of being the World’s No.1 driver, Balestri was making sure he thanked everyone who made it possible. ‘My mechanic Antonio (Castellani) put all of himself in the race. He was perfect and of course so was my second mechanic Massimo (Mannucci).’ Kurzbuch said, ‘I am a little disappointed at the end. We go into a race with the crew to win it but this time we couldn’t do it.’ He continued, ‘I can’t say we made big mistakes but we lost a few seconds here and there. Still 3 World Championships in a row on the podium and last year’s 1:10 podium in Gubbio is good for a hobby driver’. Being more specific about his final, he said, ‘the start was good as I could overtake Dario so it was just me an Naoto. Apart from two times on the grass I drove a clean final but it wasn’t enough in the end. My pit crew did an amazing job. It was hard work under the French sun for 1-hour’. As the reigning Euro Nitro Series champion he concluded, ‘we will take a few days off and then prepare for Fiorano because the ENS title is still open and we want to make sure we bring that one home’. Summing up his first World’s final, Takahata said, ‘I’m very happy to be on the podium but I think we could have got more’. Unfortunately his challenge for a better result, was severely hampered when he was hit by Shimo. With the supplied marshals originally instructed to not touch the cars other than place them back on track, the body tuck was very costly. Original planning two tyre stops for the race, the 23-year-old’s crew would change it and drop the second tyre change to try to recover some of the lost time, his MRX6 not having any issues going the unscheduled extra distance on the tyres. Having left no doubts in the minds of nitro racing’s best drivers that he is a new force to be reckoned with, Matsukura was understandably down beat after his impressive performance was brought to an end by a flat receiver battery. The reigning multiple 1:12 World Champion, only made his competitive 1:8 debut at the opening round of the ENS this year but took control of the race putting a lap on the entire field at the half way mark. A clean race to that point for the ‘full punch’ driving style Japanese ace, he would get his entry from the pit lane wrong and make contact with the barrier which would require an extra pit stop next time round to fix the body. He would have a second mistake also after leaving the pitlane as his car ‘had no steering’ and he ended up on the grass this time it costing him the lead. In the end however it was all going to be in vein as his battery died, him saying afterwards, ‘I don’t know why because I changed it before the race’. He continued, ‘My car was super good and my own pace was good I had no mistakes only the one after the pits but still I was on top. I will come back and next time I’ll get the win’. Finishing fourth, last year’s 1:10 podium finisher Alessio Mazzeo described it as ‘a very hard race’. The Xray driver continued, ‘I made a big mistake the first lap and lost too much time and then I pushed too hard to make back the time. 4th is the correct place for my performance. Dario and Naoto were too fast for me and congrats to Dario, I know the passion he has for this’. The first 1:8 Worlds the 200mm specialist has contested he continued, ‘This is my first 1:8 Worlds and I never imagined at the start of the week I could make the final so for that I am very happy with the result’. Making it five different manufacturers in the Top 5, ARC’s Silvio Hachler said, ‘I am pretty happy with 5th. One week ago I would for sure have taken this but I really wanted 3rd place’. The Swiss driver continued, ‘I’m happy with the car and engine but had one small mistake myself when I came into the pits too early and my crew was not ready’. His second time to make a Worlds final, bettering his P6 in Japan in 2013, he concluded, ‘the field was super competitive so to finish top half I’m really happy’. View complete event results here. View our event image gallery here. FacebookTwitterGoogle+Pin It |
| Kurzbuch set to defend title after Semi win Posted: 16 Sep 2017 06:55 AM PDT Simon Kurzbuch is set to defend his World title this evening in France, the Shepherd driver winning his Semi Final to progress to the 1-hour final that will decide the winner of the 21st running of 1:8 Onroad World Championships. Starting from pole in the second of the Semi encounters have lost out on the TQ to Dario Balestri and the Super Pole to Naoto Matsukura, Kurzbuch would win the 30-minute encounter from Jilles Groskamp and Silvio Hachler with the fastest race time to secure 3rd on the grid. Winner of the first Semi ahead of fellow Japanese driver Shoki Takahata, Takaaki Shimo will line up third ahead with Takahata completing the top half of the grid ahead of Groskamp, Hachler, Alberto Picco, Alessio Mazzeo and Lars Hoppe. Coming into the event as one of the pre-event favourites along Kurzbuch and Balestri, there was cruel luck for Bruno Coelho. Starting from pole the Xray driver was in clear control of the race until he suffered a suspected partial engine seize at the end of the straight. While the engine fired back up in the pits he title hopes were done. Also suffering similar faith was former World Champion Adrien Bertin. With the large French crowd fully behind the HB driver, cheering loudly his every pass, he worked his way to the front leading for a time but with 8-minutes to go his engine stopped. A heartbreaking end to what was to be the veteran racers retirement from competitive racing. ‘We won our Semi so we achieved our goal’, was Kurzbuch reaction to his win but he wasn’t so happy. The Swiss driver continued, ‘I think we need to improve for the final especially also my driving. I need to risk more’. While pleased with his car, the factory Novarossi driver said they must also look at the engine. He said, ‘One stint really tight. We did have good fuel time so maybe it was the temperature. We need to check this for the final’. Finishing just 2/10th behind Kurzbuch 2-years ago in Brazil, Shimo summed up his Semi win by saying, ‘It was unlucky in qualifying but today is OK’. Coming through from the earlier 1/4 Final and starting the Semi 9th, he added, ‘we had work after qualifying but today we jump and jump again’. Looking to the final, the Infinity driver, who has made the Final since 2011 and finished 2nd twice, added, ‘My car & engine are good so my plan for the final is to enjoy it and have fun’. Starting 3rd on the grid, Takahata would have an impressive recovery from a bad start which saw the Mugen driver in the grass before the first corner and needing to be marshalled. From last however he would quickly get back to the front to claim his first 1:8 Worlds Final start. Making an outside only tyre change during the race, the 23-year-old saying tyre wear is higher today, he said 2 stops for all four tyres could be a option for the final but he is confident he has the car to put in a good race. While the Semi B would see two Japanese drivers progress it would be the end for 2013 Champion Tadahiko Sahashi, the Serpent driver having the disadvantage of having to make one extra fuel stop compared to his rivals. In an exciting battle for the final guaranteed bump up spot, the final two spots decided by quickest race times, Mazzeo would come out on top. With Coelho’s demise, the Italian will carry Xray’s hopes in the final. Dedicating his making of the final to his friend Giuseppe Catanzaro who passed away recently, he said, ‘Like always it came down to the last lap. The conditions were very hard with the wind and my engine was too lean so when I gave full throttle it lost power. The car was also very loose in the rear but I grit my teeth and we did it’. Set-up to run a different set-up for the final he concluded, ‘I have to thank Massimo (Fantini) for this and also Daniele (Ielasi) because he changed the strategy during the race and that got me through’. ‘I could not hear any commentary so I had no idea of the running order’, was Groskamp’s reaction. He added, ‘I just drove my own race but I didn’t know if I was racing for position or if a driver was a back marker but in the end I made it and my car was super good’. A finalist in 2013, Groskamp is one of 5 Infinity’s to make the final, with Alberto Picco bumping up from the 1/4 finals. Unfortunately for team-mate Jesse Davis, while he looked to recover from a slow tyre change, on his last stop his mechanic’s t-shirt would get wrapped up in the front wheel costing the quick Australian time and a chance to bump up having been in contention before the stop. Benefiting from mistakes from Hoppe and JJ Wang right at the end, Hachler was delighted to make it through. The Swiss driver and great friend of Kuzbuch said, ‘It was a perfect race until I lost a wheel’. As the ARC driver exited the pits after his tyre stop the rear left wheel came off with his hopes of making the final looking to be over. ‘I pushed 100% after that. I drove on the limit and I also got a bit lucky other crashed ahead of me but the car was perfect and I can drive on the limit for a long time so I think it will be good for the final’. View complete event results here. View our event image gallery here. FacebookTwitterGoogle+Pin It |
| Semi final line-up complete for 21st WC Posted: 16 Sep 2017 03:04 AM PDT The 21st running of the 1:8 Onroad World Championships is down the final 22 drivers with the 1/4 finals completing the line up for the two Semi finals which will decide the 8 drivers to join Dario Balestri and Naoto Matsukura in the fight to become the World Champion. In the first of the 1/4 encounters it was JJ Wang who took the win ahead of Takaaki Shimo after the 2015 Vice Champion was given a penalty for bad refuelling. Behind them John Ermen was holding third but the ARC driver came under intense pressure from 2013 World Champion Tadahiko Sahashi in the final laps. With the Serpent driver all over the Dutchman the pair made contact at the final corner with Ermen ending up on the grass. While Ermen protested the result, after watching video footage of the pass officials deemed the result would stand with Sahashi progressing to the Semis. In the second 1/4 final, Alberto Picco was the winner from Infinity team-mate Carmine Raiola who was another to be penalised for bad refuelling. Behind them Takehiro Terauchi would complete the Top 3 of a race that would see reigning 1:10 European Champion Toni Gruber and former finalists Rick Vrieljink and Flavio Elias go out. Losing second gear on his WRC, Gruber tried to continue but it was too much for his engine and it expired. For Vrieljink his chances of progressing ended when he ran out of fuel and for Elias, who was running his 5th final after a bad qualifying, his run ended due to a broken steering servo. ‘Very happy’ was how Wang summed up progressing to the Semis. The Mugen driver continued, ‘qualifying was so so, so I’m happy to still be in the mix’. On the 20-minute encounter which he started 4th, the Chinese American driver said, ‘The start was good for me but the conditions were very difficult. The Top 3 were evenly spaced but then the drivers behind started to attack. When Shimo got the drive through I took the lead and just tried to drive a safe race to the end’. Echoing Wang’s comments of conditions being more difficult today, Picco said, ‘the track was not as good as yesterday. It was slippery and more difficult to drive’. He continued, ‘I just tried to keep a good pace without pushing because I didn’t have the same confidence as before because of the dust on the track’. Otherwise, the Italian veteran said the rest of the race was good and while conditions are more difficult he will leave his Infinity unchanged for the longer 30-minute Semi Final. View complete event results here. View our event image gallery here. FacebookTwitterGoogle+Pin It |
| Posted: 16 Sep 2017 01:52 AM PDT Lamberto Collari is out of the 21st running the 1:8 Onroad World Championships. The driver who has been World Champion a record 9 times, saw his attempt for a 10th title end when he suffered a glow plug failure while leading his 1/8 Final with 2/3rd distance complete. The Italian’s last Worlds Final appearance was when he won the last of his titles in Switzerland in 2009. Losing 3-laps as a new plug was fitted, Collari eventually finish 8th while up front it was former Finalist Rick Vrielijnck who took the win to progress to the 1/4 Finals. Also joining the Capricorn driver by completing the Top 3 would be Thomas Desmaries and Paphon Chanyasah. For 2013 and 2015 Finalist Shinnosuke Yokoyama it was the end of his run of final appearances with the Japanese driver finishing 6th. In the first of the 1/8 finals which got the final day of action in France underway, it would be Serpent’s Merlin Depta who took the win having started 8th on the grid. Behind the German, former European Champion Oliver Mack would follow him home having start the the 20-minute directly behind his fellow countryman. One of the standouts, having had a bad qualifying when he ended up qualifying in the 1/64th final, 2015 Finalist Flavio Elias completed his run of bump ups with third. As a result the Brazilian Capricorn driver will now make his 5th race start here in Monteux. Casualties of the race included Michael Salven who went out after a crash at the start and his Serpent team-mate & 2009 Finalist Mark Green who could only manage P5. View complete event results here. View our event image gallery here. FacebookTwitterGoogle+Pin It |
| Chassis Focus – Silvio Hachler Posted: 16 Sep 2017 01:51 AM PDT Chassis – ARC R8.1 Image gallery FacebookTwitterGoogle+Pin It |
| Chassis Focus – Shoki Takahata Posted: 15 Sep 2017 08:12 AM PDT Chassis – Mugen MRX-6 Image gallery FacebookTwitterGoogle+Pin It |
| Posted: 15 Sep 2017 08:03 AM PDT New from Gimar is the latest version of their RACE engine tuned by Max Fantini. The unit features a DLC treated crankshaft and updated timing on both the shaft and the cylinder, in addition to a long life conrod and a rear ceramic bearing. The front ceramic bearing is available upon request. The engine will be available in the 25 and 16% Nitro configuration and also in a pre-run version. Image Gallery FacebookTwitterGoogle+Pin It |
| Posted: 15 Sep 2017 05:57 AM PDT FacebookTwitterGoogle+Pin It |
| You are subscribed to email updates from Red RC - All feeds. To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, United States | |
Loading...
Loading...
