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March 3, 2024

Lauter gives Awesomatix 4th consecutive TITC Open Brushless win

Simon Lauter executed the perfect TITC race debut by taking the win in the Bangkok race’s biggest class Open Brushless realising a fourth consecutive win for his chassis sponsor Awesomatix. Having secured the overall TQ at RC Addict over the Xray of Adam Izsay, it took all three A-Mains to decide the overall winner with some intense and at times aggressive driving with even the crowd getting involved in expressing their disappointment for a lack of respect being shown by drivers. In A1, Izsay armed with new tyres would take the win ahead of Lauter after late contact from the Hungarian robbed the Top Qualifier of what was looking like a well defended win. In A2, Lauter capitalised on new tyres to take a convincing win by over 3-seconds from team-mate Louis Kretschmer as Izsay dropped down to 4th. With all to play for in A3, it was again advantage Izsay as he had new tyres. While the German again tried to defend from the front, Izsay made contact with him again ruining Lauter’s race and earning Izsay a Stop & Go penalty. With Kretschmer taking the third win, Lauter’s A2 winning time would give him the Title ahead of his fellow countryman with Izsay completing the podium. With an unwritten TITC rule that the winner of the Open Brushless can’t race the category again, Lauter has already confirmed his intentions to return to the TITC in 12 months time and step up to the Modified class.

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March 3, 2024

Coelho & Volker clash again handing Hagberg A2 win

Having made contact in A1 and handed the win to Marc Rheinard, A2 at the TITC once again saw a clash between Bruno Coelho and Ronald Volker only this time it was Alexander Hagberg who was there to pick up the pieces. A result that leaves the 20th edition of the legendary Bangkok based race wide open going into A3, the second encounter saw Top Qualifier Volker and Coelho again the class of the field with a much improved Hagberg able to hang with them as they pulled clear. Watched on by a huge crowd at RC Addict, as the race approached the final minute mark, Coelho was putting huge pressure on Volker who ran wide in a number of corners. As they exited the S section on the right side of the track on Lap 15, Coelho attempted a pass on the inside of the German with a tighter line but as they got on the power contact was made sending both cars into a spin. While Coelho again allowed Volker to resume position, with Hagberg going by to take lead, another broken anti tuck rod meant Volker’s race was done. Pulling up in front of the drivers stand the former World Champion vented his anger & frustration at Coelho, the current World Champion and defending TITC Champion continuing the final to finish P2 ahead of Infinity’s Naoto Matsukura.

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March 3, 2024

Rheinard wins A1 as Volker & Coelho tangle at TITC

Marc Rheinard has taken the win in the opening A-Main at the TITC, the Awesomatix handed the lead after Bruno Coelho made contact with Top Qualifier Ronald Volker as he challenged the Mugen driver’s lead. With the Top 2 quickly pulling clear off the field, Rheinard’s passage to the front started when he capitalised on a mistake from a struggling Alexander Hagberg to go to third. Starting third on the grid, Hagberg afterwards described his car as being ‘like driving on ice’ before contact from Naoto Matsukura put him out of the race with a broken car. With Volker and Coelho still locked in battle at the front as the race passed the half way distance, Rheinard would be gifted the lead as Coelho ran into the rear of Volker after the chicane. With enough of a gap to resume racing in the lead, unfortunately the impact had broken the anti tuck on Volker’s car and as the German tried to turn around having been spun his car flipped. As Coelho waited on Volker, Rheinard went to the front where he would stay finishing 1.6 seconds ahead of the Infinity of Matsukura. Battling their way back up through the order Volker would finished 3rd with Coelho right behind in 4th.

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March 2, 2024

Volker is TITC Top Qualifier

Having found himself lining up for the B-Main 12-months ago, Mugen Seiki’s Ronald Volker has bounced in style to become the Top Qualifier at the 20th edition of the legendary TITC in Thailand. Opening Day 2 of qualifying in Bangkok with a TQ run after a mistake from defending Champion Bruno Coelho, Volker added a second TQ in the slower than expected fourth & final ‘Rocket Round’ on Saturday evening. With the huge entry of drivers from around the world watching on in anticipation of a thrilling conclusion to qualifying from the top heat, the showdown between Coelho and Volker would all be over in a matter of seconds. As Volker led out Q4, Coelho would make a false start going off at the same time as team-mate Alexander Hagberg. Backing off the throttle after realising his error, getting back on the power he traction rolled his Xray in the first corner. With the Portuguese driver who took both of yesterday’s qualifiers now out of contention for Q4, the pressure was still on Volker to TQ the round in order to deny his rival pole for tomorrow. With Infinity driver Kouki Kato putting in an impressive run in the fourth fastest of the five Modified heat group, Volker couldn’t let up and in the end delivered a second TQ run followed by Kato with Hagberg third from the Awesomatix pairing of Marc Rheinard and Lucas Urbain. That finishing order his how they line up on the grid behind Volker and Bruno with Kato, a C finalist on his TITC debut last year, completing the Top 6.

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March 2, 2024

Volker takes Q3, TQ to be decided in ‘Rocket Round’

Ronald Volker has taken the third round of qualifying at the TITC, meaning the final ‘Rocket Round’ of qualifying in Bangkok will decide the Top Qualifier for the 20th running of the famed race. Top Seed for the event, the Mugen driver would take his first TQ run as Bruno Coelho traction rolled his Xray with 1-minute to go while on TQ pace. This promoted Volker to the top of the timing screens followed by Alexander Hagberg as Coelho ended up with a P3. Behind the leading trio Awesomatix’s Lucas Urbain finally posted a strong run after a difficult first day of qualifying at RC Addict yesterday. Behind the Frenchman was team-mate Marc Rheinard with Axon’s Hayato Ishioka completing the Top 6 in today very humid afternoon conditions.

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March 1, 2024

Coelho takes opening qualifier at TITC

Bruno Coelho has kicked off the defence of his TITC title in the best way possible by TQ’ing the opening round of qualifying at the iconic Bangkok race. Second behind Ronald Volker in the single seeding round yesterday evening, the Xray driver reversed the order in the first of the four qualifiers by topping the round by 7/10th over the Mugen driver. Held just after midday local time on a very hot track, behind the Top 2 there was a considerable gap. The third fastest time was set by Alexander Hagberg who was closely followed by Marc Rheinard and Akio Sobue, the Top 5 all previous winners of what is widely regarded as the most difficult race in the world. Making it five different manufacturers in the Top 6, Xpress team driver Yugo Nagashima put in the sixth fastest time.

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February 29, 2024

Volker top seed at TITC

Ronald Volker is the top seed going into qualifying at the TITC, the Mugen Seiki driver fastest over 3-laps from defending Champion Bruno Coelho. With just a single round of seeding practice determining the heats for the four rounds of qualifying, most drivers completed the minimum laps possible needed to secure a place in the top while also saving tyres. Running in the second fastest practice heat due to his B-Final appearance at last year’s event, Volker took two goes at setting a time. It was his second 3-consecutive laps that counted with him fastest by 16/100th of a second over Coelho, the Xray driver making just one attempt to post a time. One of the few drivers to run the entire 5-minutes along with team-mate Akio Sobue, Axon’s Hayato Ishioka set the third fastest time with 2-time TITC winner Sobue ending up 7th. Infinity’s Naoto Matsukura posted the fourth fastest time ahead of the Awesomatix pairing of Lucas Urbain and Marc Rheinard.

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February 29, 2024

Bruno Coelho – ‘Completely different race to any other. It’s one of the best in the World’

Red RC attended its first TITC in 2017. It was always a bucket list event but it was the meaning of the win on the Sunday that really endorsed for us that this is one of the greatest touring car races. The emotion of the win was powerful and that winner was Bruno Coelho who gave us the headline for our final report that read, ‘Coelho takes TITC with ‘hardest win’ of career’. Seven years on and catching up with Bruno before he took his flight to the Thai capital to defend his title, the World Champion still rates the race as ‘one of the best in the World’ adding it is ‘a completely different race to any other’. Chasing a record equaling fourth win that would put him on par with TITC Master Atsushi Hara, a driver widely acknowledged for putting the race on the world stage, as we will find out Bruno isn’t driven by records but very much being the best on the day. He knows this is one race where ever detail is critical be successful at ‘one of the most challenging races’ in the world while on the flip side offers ‘one of the best race atmosphere’ you can experience.

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