Christensen & Fransson wins Nordic Champs in Gothenburg

The Nordic Championship in the IC-Track classes took place in Gothenburg last weekend, also used as the Euros warm up race for the 1/10th scale class. 65 drivers attended the race, 45 in the 1:10th IC-200 and 20 racers in the 1:8 IC Track. In the entry list were several big names listed, including the current European Champion Dirk Wischnewski. With perfect weather conditions and good traction on the asphalt, the race begun on Saturday morning. In the 1:10th class, Dirk set the TQ-pace from the first round, who together with Hagberg, were the only drivers to complete 28 laps in the qualification.

After four rounds, the 1:10th scale qualify results were as follows;
1. Dirk Wischnewski (GER) Xray NT1 – 28 laps 7:14.595
2. Alexander Hagberg (SE) Xray NT1 – 28 laps 7:14.780
3. Manuel Huber (AT) Xray NT1 – 27 laps 7:02.067
4. Adrian Berntsen (NO) Xray NT1 – 27 laps 7:02.612
5. Tom Erik Haaversen (NO) Xray NT1 – 27 laps 7:04.723
6. Mikael Fransson (SE) MugenSeki MTX-4R – 27 laps 7:06.062
7. Martin Cristensen (DK) Capricorn C-Lab 1 – 27 laps 7:06.307
8. Per-Ola Hård (SE) Serpent 733 – 27 laps 7:06.685
9. Teemu Saarinen (FI) MugenSeki MTX-4R – 27 laps 7:06.707
10.Alexander Andersson (SE) Serpent 733 – 27 laps 7:06.872

In the 1:8th class the competition was much tougher. The seasoned ace Mikael Fransson set the pace from the first round, but with tough competition, as Niklas Johansson were only 0.4 seconds behind. Just 2 seconds behind him Marcus Lindner finished in third.

After four rounds, the top ten drivers set these results;
1. Mikael Fransson (SE) Mugen MRX-4X – 30 laps 7:07.278
2. Niklas Johansson (SE) Serpent 966 – 30 laps 7:07.677
3. Marcus Lindner (SE) Serpent 966 – 30 laps 7:08.674
4. Magnus Bengtsson (SE) Mugen MRX-4X – 29 laps 7:02.414
5. Stefan Andersson (SE) Serpent 966 – 29 laps 7:06.875
6. Chirstofer Hedlund (SE) Shepherd Velox – 29 laps 7:07.826
7. Hans Lyxell (SE) Kyosho – 29 laps 7:07.925
8. Lars Haugen (SE) Mugen MRX4X – 29 laps 7:08.767
9. Bengt Andersson (SE) Serpent 966 – 29 laps 7:11.325
10.Patrik Johansson (SE) Mugen – 28 laps 7:01.086

The 1:10th main final saw a lot of drama and excitement on the Sunday afternoon. In the beginning, Dirk Wischnewski, starting on pole, took the lead with Hagberg and Huber tailing him. The three Euro 2009 podium finishers pushed the pace to the max and pulled away from the rest of the field. The fourth direct qualifier Adrien Berntsen had a good pace the first five minutes but got some problems with his car and was in the pit for 10 minutes losing his chances to fight for the podium. 35 minutes into the race, after long battling for the lead Alex and Dirk started to have difficulties to drive their cars due to the tires beginning to wear out. Five minutes later, both cars spun around and were almost impossible to drive. Alex, who still had a 3 lap lead, went to the pits for a tyre change but Dirk stayed on the track, trying to keep his position. The very fast Capricorn driver Martin Christensen passed the Xray drivers with Norwegian ace Helge Johannessen demoting Hagberg on third. When they passed the checkered flag, the final standings were as follows;

1. Martin Christensen (DK) Capricorn – 168 laps 45:13.846
2. Helge Johannessen (NO) Shepherd Velox – 166 laps 45.08.863
3. Alexander Hagberg (SE) Xray NT1 – 163 laps 45:07.157
4. Bengt Andersson (SE) Serpent 733 – 162 laps 45:01.828
5. Frank Andersen (NO) – 162 laps 45:11.844
6. Manuel Huber (AT) Xray NT1 – 161 laps 45:04.965
7. Tom Erik Haaversen (NO) Xray NT1 – 160 laps 45:20.126
8. Teemu Saarinen (FI) Mugen MTX-4R – 159 laps 45:13.419
9. Dirk Wischnewski (GER) Xray NT1 – 158 laps 45:11.105
10.Adrien Berntsen (NO) Xray NT1 – 125 laps 45:14.031

The 1:8th scale finals were not as dramatic but had some good fights among the finalists. Three drivers didn’t finish the complete final. During the final Mikael Fransson, Marcus Lindner, Bengt Andersson and Christofer Hedlund were in the top. There were only Swedish drivers except for Finlands Antti Ollinmäki, who promised to beat all of the Swedes and win. He had a good pace but it wasn’t enough to keep up with the old ace Mikael Fransson, who is the fastest 1:8th scale driver in Sweden with over 25 years of driving experience. After 45 minutes, the final standings were:

1. Mikael Fransson (SE) Mugen MRX-4X – 184 laps 45:00.625
2. Marcus Lindner (SE) Serpent 966 – 183 laps 45:02.209
3. Christofer Hedlund (SE) Shepherd Velox – 179 laps 45:07.391
4. Bengt Andersson (SE) Serpent 966 – 176 laps 45:14.674
5. Patrik Johansson (SE) Mugen MRX-4X – 174 laps 45:11.653
6. Antti Ollinmäki (FI) Mugen MRX-4X – 170 laps 45:11.050
7. Stefan Andersson (SE) Serpent 966 – 158 laps 43:40.250
8. Hans Lyxell (SE) Kyosho – 64 laps 17:23.966
9. Niklas Johansson (SE) Serpent 966 – 33 laps 8:55.184
10.Magnus Bengtsson (SE) Mugen MRX-4X – 25 laps 6:20.352

Full results can be found here.

Thanks to Joakim Taxén for the report.