July 8, 2019

Asian Onroad Championship Rd3 – Report

The Australia round of the 2019 Asian Onroad Championship was hosted by the South Eastern Radio Controlled Car Club in Melbourne this past weekend. The race attracted 250+ entries, the largest AOC event to date. The purpose-built track was laid out in a gym hall and classes offered at round 3 of the championship included the AOC’s usual mix of Modified and Stock 1/10th and 1/12th scale classes. In Modified Touring it was Alexander Hagberg and last year’s champion Jan Ratheisky who battled it out for the win. In the end it was Alex who would hold the upper hand thanks to getting through traffic better. Hagberg captured the overall win with Ratheisky 2nd and Dominic Quek rounding out the top 3.

Touring Modified top 5 results:
1. Alexander Hagberg
2. Jan Ratheisky
3. Dominic Quek
4. Jeffrey Mackie
5. Nicholas Lee

In Super Stock 13.5 Jan Ratheisky won this class at the 2018 AOC Australia, but for him to win again would be a tall order. There were a handful of people that could easily finish on the top spot. Local fast guys and some internationals were on the same lap all through the mains and mere seconds within striking distance. In the A1 Main, Simon Nicholson and Ratheisky were bumper to bumper all race long and were cleaning making their way though back markers. Grabbing only the smallest of advantages is all Ratheisky needed to strike first with Nicholson finishing a couple seconds behind. A near identical number of laps and times repeated for the A2 main allowing Jan Ratheisky to take the over all win.

Super Stock 13.5 top 5 results:
1. Jan Ratheisky
2. Simon Nicholson
3. Antoni Caretti
4. Dominic Quek
5. Jordan Cullis

For being the slower motor class, the cars in the 21.5 Touring class weren’t far off the 13.5 Touring pace. This of course made for epic battles in the final events. TQ Glenn Wilson took full advantage of his spot in both of his mains allowing him to finish half a lap ahead of Chris Kyriacou in both the A1 and A2 mains to take the overall win. That left the top two podium spots wide open. Coming from the shadows, John Karnaros had finished third in both of the aforementioned races it would go to the A3 main to decide the final top 3 spots. When the dust had settled, It would be Karnaros coming out on top with taking the win in the A3 main and overall 2nd with Chris Kyriacou taking the overall 3rd.

21.5 Touring final results:
1. Glenn Wilson
2. John Karnaros
3. Chris Kyriacou
4. Phillip Merrick
5. Sean Perry

When it came time for the sleekest cars, 17.5 GT, to take to the track, you knew it would be good racing. With Alex Ilievski sitting on the pole position, he had a pack of hungry racers behind him aiming for the win. Some of the best racing of the weekend came from this class and it definitely wouldn’t easy for Ilievski to walk away with the win. Right behind in points were Christopher Mitchell and Glenn Wilson chasing Ilievski, unfortunately with time running out the over all win would slip through their fingers and the pair would battle for the remaining spots on the podium. When the final tone had sounded in the A3 final, Mitchell would come out on top pulling off the win and overall 2nd position with Glenn Wilson finishing in the overall 3rd.

17.5 GT top 5 results:
1. Alex Ilievski
2. Christopher Mitchell
3. Glenn WIlson
4. Brian Stewart
5. Todd George

The first class up was the Vintage Trans Am class and these style of cars were pure rock and roll. Muscle cars look cool running around the track and sitting on pole position was the man who has dominated the last 3 years in this class, Scott Rawlings. His green machine looked untouchable and was off to a good start taking the first A1 win. Hold your horses said Brian Stewart who was sitting in the overall 2nd qualifying position. Stewart who had a DNS in the A1 main was on a mission for the rest of the final events. He would answer back with an A2 win to level things up with Rawlings. It would come down to the A3 main with fenders bumping and the two trading paint. After a few lead swaps, Brian Stewart managed to cross the line before the tone to get a victory lap all to his own to cruise in for the overall win.

Vintage Trans Am top 5 results:
1. Brian Stewart
2. Scott Rawlings
3. Brett Marshall
4. Neville Bishop
5. George Beever

In 21.5 Junior the competition was big when it was time for the smallest drivers to take to the track. Aussie local, Lachlan Pearson was the defending Juniors Champion and was looking to double up on his over all titles. Starting from the TQ position, Pearson had an unfortunate start at the beginning of the A1 main and this was all that Jett Sriratana needed to take the lead and run away with it all the way to the win. In the A2 main, Lachlan got a super clean start with Sriratana right on his bumper. The two were steam rolling around the track and approaching traffic at a blistering pace. Pearson managed to tangle with one of the back markers and again, this opened the door for Jett to eventually build a huge lead to score his second win in the A2 main and over all win. Pearson would finish in the overall 2nd spot with Jamie Graves finishing in the overall 3rd.

21.5 Junior top 4 results:
1. Jett Sriratana
2. Lachlan Pearson
3. Jamie Graves
4. Alexander Stefanakos

Jan Ratheisky was the dominating force in the Formula class at last year’s event and was looking to repeat at this years event. Showing great pace early in qualifying, Ratheisky manage to score the TQ position. With the rest of the field looking to knock him from this spot, the A1 started cleanly with Ratheisky leading the pack. Right behind, Hiro Nakatani of HiroFactory and Scott Rawlings had a heated battle for the second and third positions. This only allowed Ratheisky to build a huge lead and take the first win. The same scenario would repeat in the A2 main, again allowing Ratheisky to build a big lead to again grab the win and the overall top spot on the podium.

Formula top 5 results:
1. Jan Ratheisky
2. Hiro Nakatani
3. Andy Bishop
4. Scott Rawlings
5. Andy Cooke

Wow is all you could say about the 1/12 Modified Main Event. Reigning World Champion Alexander Hagberg sat on the pole and was poised for the overall win. This wasn’t in the cards for Alexander, as he would tangle with traffic in the A1 and A2 mains forcing him to retire his car for those two races. This left the door wide open for the rest of the field. Making the calculations in their heads, it would be the battle of the Andy’s, Cooke and Bishop. Both scored wins in the finals. What would separate them would be the difference between a 2nd vs a 3rd place win giving the over all win to Andy Bishop. Cooke would finish in the overall 2nd with Scott Callaghan rounding out the top three.

1/12 Modified top 5 results:
1. Andy Bishop
2. Andy Cooke
3. Scott Callaghan
4. Alexander Hagberg
5. Lionel Saunders

Shaps was the name on everyone’s tongue when it came to the 1/12th Stock class. For a nitro racer by trade just dabbling in electric racing, Andrew Shapland made a phenomenally strong showing in this division. In Shapland’s review mirror for the first two mains was Ricky Vocale and the two were on a pace of their own. 35 laps were run in the A1 Main with Shapland finishing on top with Vocale finishing a few seconds behind. In the A2 main, Shapland threw down a 36-lap run with Vocale again answering back a 36-lap run as well a few second behind. Shaps scored the overall win followed by Vocale and Andy Cooke finishing in 3rd.

1/12 Stock top 5 results:
1. Andrew Shapland
2. Ricky Vocale
3. Andy Cooke
4. Scott Callaghan
5. Tom De Nardis

Source: Asia Onroad Championship [aocrc.com]



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