August 20, 2016

Matsukura tops opening day at 12th Worlds

Naoto Matsukura has topped the opening day’s action of the 1:12 World Championship in China where the biggest story is the lack of traction. Setting his fastest time in the fourth of the 8 rounds of free practice around the large technical indoor track in Beijing, the Japanese driver was fastest from Alexander Hagberg and Marc Rheinard with none of the top three able to improve over the second half of the day. The final practice would see slight improvement from Akio Sobue ad Keven Herbert, Sobue maintaining fourth and Hebert moving up to fifth but it was JJ Wang who would find the most time with a strong time in the penultimate practice that saw him complete the Top 6.

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August 20, 2016

Matsukura sets early pace in China

3-time 1/12th World Champion Naoto Matsukura set the early pace in free practice at the 1:12 World Championships in Beijing, China. With 6 of the 8 practices runs that make up the opening day of the 18th running of the championships completed, the Roche driver was fastest over three consecutive laps from reigning European Champion Alexander Hagberg and defending World Champion Marc Rheinard.  While the track layout is proving popular with drivers, the big complaint is the lack of traction something that isn’t being helped by the low 56 entry count.

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August 15, 2016

Video – 2016 IFMAR 1/10th 200mm Worlds Final

All the action from the 60 minute Main Final at the 2016 IFMAR 1/10th 200mm World Championships in Gubbio, Italy. With full race commentary from the legendary Oli Meggitt.

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August 15, 2016

Greiner deserving World Champion after faultless race

Dominic Greiner is the new Nitro Touring Car World Champion.  Widely regarding one of the world’s fastest 200mm drivers the German finally took the sport’s biggest prize heading a Serpent 1-2 in Gubbio, Italy.  Starting 3rd on the grid, he quickly made the race his own with a faultless drive eventually crossing the line one lap up on his rivals for a much deserved win. With Top Qualifier Dario Balestri’s race lasting just 9 laps due to diff failure,  Super Pole winner Alessio Mazzeo would briefly take over the lead when the problem sent his fellow countryman’s Capricorn on the grass with only 2-minutes on the clock. Staying out front for 2-laps, Alessio couldn’t match the pace of his team-mate and once Greiner went to the front the attention of the race was on who would fill the podium. With less than 10-minutes to go, that would be decided in an epic three way battle between crowd favourite Mazzeo, Simon Kurzbuch and Bruno Coelho. On the last lap it looked like Mazzeo would throw away 2nd but while Kurzbuch would get him into the corner the Italian had better traction to the line snatching the runner-up spot by 6/100ths of a second and sending the large attendance into a frenzy.  Covering a race distance of 209 laps of the fast Miniautodromo Internazionale M.Rosati track, a bad last lap would result in Coelho missing the podium by 1.7-seconds. The best non-European finisher Takaaki Shimo would complete the Top 5 with only one car failing to finish the race.

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August 13, 2016

Semi line-up complete in Gubbio

The 7th running of the Nitro Touring Car World Championship is down to the final 22 with most significant driver to bump up from the 1/4 finals being 2014 runner up Yuya Sashashi.  The Serpent driver bumps up on to the back of the Semi B final grid after finishing third 3-seconds behind Capricorn driver & pole sitter Kyle Branson who in turn was 3-seconds back on the 1/4 B Final winning Team Infinity of Carmine Raiola.  Unfortunately for 2014 Finalists JJ Wang his attempt at the third bump up felt short as he finished 4th, half a lap back on Sashashi.  In the 1/4 A Final Toni Gruber would book his place in the Semis going one better than in 2014 as he took the win ahead of 2010 Worlds runner up Takehiro Terauchi.  There was dramatic finish to the second of the encounters as 1/8 final winner David Loppini ran out of fuel on the last lap while holding third, gifting Dirk Wischnewski the final spot in the Semis.

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August 13, 2016

New World Champion to be crowned, Hagberg crashed out

Nitro Touring Car will get a new World Champion this evening as defending champion Alexander Hagberg’s race came to a end on the 1/8 Finals this morning in Gubbio.  Struggling from the start of the event, never featuring strongly on the time sheets, the Xray driver would qualify 34th putting him second on the grid for the Semi B final.  With pole sitter Alessio Agostinelli flaming out on the restart, a timing issuing forcing the race to be stopped after the original 09:00 start, Hagberg took the lead of the race and looked in control.  However 12 laps in to the 20-minute final, the Swede’s race was to come to an end as Joe Kerry excited the pitlane and made contact with Hagberg.  With the contact resulting in a chunked rear tyre Hagberg would have to pit to change the tyre bringing an end to his chances of progressing.  Having struggled like Hagberg in qualifying and bumped up to the 1/8 final after winning yesterday evening’s 1/16 final ahead of Paolo Morganti, JJ Wang would again take the win ahead of his fellow US driver to progress to the 1/4 final.  Australia’s Jeff Hamon would secure what should have been the final bump up spot after holding off the recovering Agostinelli, who after setting the fastest lap of the race, was less than 2-seconds back but after the race Morganti was disqualified for a bodyshell infringement.

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August 12, 2016

Kurzbuch takes final qualifier in Gubbio

Simon Kurzbuch has taken the final round of qualifying at the 1:10 Nitro Touring Car World Championships in Gubbio.  With the overall TQ decided yesterday when Dario Balestri posted his third TQ run in the penultimate round, the Shepherd driver topped the times from Mugen’s Takaaki Shimo with 2012 World Champion Meen Vejrak completing the Top 3.  With Balestri using the sixth qualifier to run in a new rod and diffs in the Capricorn, it was Kurzbuch who laid the TQ pace eventually taking it by just over 2/10ths from Shimo.  The big focus of the final qualifier would be on who would make the new for 2016 Super Pole that will be fought out by the drivers qualifying from 2 through to 5.   In the end other than Kurzbuch the round would only see Q6 count as an improved points haul for former Worlds Top Qualifier Robert Pietsch who got a P6 to secure the final Super Pole placing behind Serpent pairing of Dominic Greiner and Alessio Mazzeo.

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August 11, 2016

Balestri is World Champs Top Qualifier

Dario Balestri is the Top Qualifier of the seventh running of the Nitro Touring Car World Championships.  The Capricorn driver claimed his first World Championship pole position with a third TQ run in the penultimate round of qualifying at Miniautodromo Internazionale M.Rosati.  After a tough start to Day 2 of qualifying in Gubbio, Balestri took control for the second half of the day as he topped the rescheduled Q2 concluding heat backing that up shortly afterwards with another perfect performance to put the overall TQ beyond the reach of his rivals.  Despite conditions being cooler for Q5, which was run later in the day due to the rescheduling of the timetable following yesterday’s rain, the Italian was able to see off Team Shepherd’s Simon Kurzbuch with Mugen’s Takaaki Shimo completing the Top 3.  For Q3 topping Alessio Mazzeo, a spin at the end of the straight would end his quest for the overall TQ while for surprise Q4 pace setter Syoki Takahata the round would result in a P11.

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