Dialed In Raceway played host to the final round of the Top Notch Tour this past weekend. The event had 100 entries and Adam Drake was the top qualifier in Nitro Buggy and Nitro Truck. Unfortunately the main events got rained out and the finishing order was awarded based on qualifying. With the result Drake also got overall champion in Nitro Buggy and Nitro Truck.
The annual Montpellier GP was held this past weekend in Montpellier, France and it saw Kyosho’s Elliott Boots walking away with the overall TQ after the five rounds of qualifying. In cold and wet weather conditions Team Associated’s Davide Ongaro would take the opening two qualifiers with Boots striking back in Q3 and Q4. Elliott than sat out Q5 and as Davide only scored a 7th place, both ended tie on points with the faster run handed Elliott the overall TQ from Davide. The pole position for the main final was then snatched by HB Racing’s David Ronnefalk who won the semifinal B with a faster time than Elliott did in the semi A. The first half of the hour-long main saw David in control of things until he made a series of errors that allowed Robert Batlle and Davide Ongaro to take control of things. Davide would suffer fading traction in the closing stages which gave Robert much needed room to bring home the win one lap in front of Davide who had David in tow with both separated by only 2.3s on the line. Elliott Boots would have to settle for fourth in the dry final while Jerome Aigoin (Xray) completed the top 5 result.
Unless you live under a rock, you probably know that David Ronnefalk won the 2016 IFMAR Worlds held in Vegas last October. But that’s only the end of the story…and to be honest, the final wasn’t all that exciting. What was exciting is seeing how we got to that point. There is simply so much that goes into just competing at the top level at an IFMAR Worlds event, that if we just told the story of the winner…we would be out of a job. Events like Silver State, the Worlds Warmup, the Pro-Line Gas Champs, the Neo Race and simply just practice at Revelation with “The Drake” all contribute to telling the amazing story of the 2016 Worlds.
Shepherd have announced the signing of Germany’s Thilo Tödtmann to their team. The former Capricorn factory driver has inked a long term contract to represent the Shepherd brand. A regular ENS and Euros A-finalist and former EFRA Euro-B champion, Thilo will campaign the Velox V10 “WC” 200mm platform while also running the Velox F1 at selected events. Thilo says:
First of all I want to thank Patrizio Rossi from Capricorn for his support and help during the last 2 1/2 years on and off the racetrack. He is a well known character and I improved my racing and my knowledge during that time. Nevertheless I felt it was time for a change and now I am very excited to rejoin Team Shepherd. Racing and learning in such a strong team with a great history of inventing, development and design is a opportunity which I take gratefully.
Source: Shepherd [team-shepherd.com]
Modelix Racing have welcomed French frontrunner, Yannick Aigoin to their world-wide team. The Xray factory driver is backed by multiple national and international titles and he already used Ultimate Racing engines in the past, but the former Pro-Line driver will now also roll on Procircuit tyres while also helping with research and development of upcoming products.
Source: Modelix Racing [modelixracing.com]
Creation Model have announced the addition of Italy’s Alberto Picco to the Infinity factory team. The multi-time Euros and Worlds finalist leaves behind many years as an independent driver and he will use Infinity’s 1/8th on-road kits from now on. His campaign will include both national and international events and Creation Model are looking forward to a successful 2017 and beyond.
Source: Creation Model [creationmodel.net]
The Hot Race Trophy Rome was held at the Gianni Modellismo track in both electric and nitro classes. The 1-day race saw three qualifiers of which the best round counted. In Electric Touring Car Modified Alessio Menicucci took the pole position for the mains from Nicola Marrone and Simone D’Ottavio while the Touring 13.5T blinky class was lead by Valter Cola from Flavio Buzi and Djalma Bochicchio.
Continue reading the report here
SWorkz have announced the signing of UK veteran racer, Simon Reeves to their team. Simon brings many years of experience and outstanding pace to the SWorkz family and this is what Simon Reeves has to say:
During testing I have been highly impressed with the materials and construction of the S35-3 and found great pace even early on with the platform. I look forward to a fantastic 2017 with SWorkz.
Source: SWorkz [sworkz.com]
