Deja vu! Catanzani is Top Qualifier in Chile again
It was a case of Deja Vu at the IFMAR 1:8 Onroad World Championship in Chile today as Serpent’s Andrea Cantanzani claimed his second overall Worlds TQ of 2025 in the sixth & final round of qualifying, the super quick Italian having pulled off the same feat 11 weeks ago to the day when he was Top Qualifier at the 1:8 GT Worlds. With Catanzani equalling Maxine Ripoll with a second TQ run of the event in Q5, this set the stage for a thrilling duel between the two young drivers. The highly anticipate battle however wouldn’t go the full distance. Steeling time from his rivals with his super quick fuel stops to TQ Rounds 3 & 4, unfortunately this time round Ripoll would have issues in pit lane, his engine flaming out during refuelling. This ended what has been a super impressive and entertaining to follow challenge from the 19-year-old for the top spot on grid. With Ripoll out, Catanzani would TQ the round ahead of Capricorn’s Toni Gruber and Mugen Seiki’s Shoki Takahata to secure the overall TQ, the first in a long time for 1:8 Onroad pioneering manufacturer Serpent. For Gruber and Takahata the result will see the go directly to the final as Top 4 qualifiers. One of the favourites ahead of championship, Simon Kurzbuch would end quali with a P4 which wouldn’t be enough and now the 2015 World Champion has a Semi final between him and lining up to try and claim a second World title.
