The JMRCA 1/8th scale Japanese On road Nationals took place last weekend in Keitune. Qualifying saw Mugen racer Keisuke Fukuda take pole position from Yasushi Takashi with Yuya Sahashi 3rd. The 45 minute final however saw problems for the pole man, who retired after 11 minutes giving Kyosho team driver Takaaki Shimo the lead which he extended to 1 lap over Yasushi Takashi by the end to take the title for the new M3.
Source: Kyosho [kyosho.com]
Round 3 of the BRCA Micro National series took place at the WRCC track recently and it attracted the biggest ever entry at a Micro Nationals event. The finals were run over 2 mains, both of which counted, with any ties on scores decided by fastest single race time of either final. Mark Styles with the LRP Shark-18 took the win in the 1st final with Chris Doughty in 2nd place, while at the end of the 2nd action packed final Chris Doughty found himself in 2nd position again but this time with Mark Styles in 3rd place and this meant that both Chris Doughty and Mark Styles had same total points. In the end a tie had to decide the winner and thanks to a very quick 2nd main, Chris Doughty took the win with Mark Styles in 2nd place, while Chris Bottle took 3rd.
Source: LRP [lrp.cc]
The 2008 Borneo Cup for 1/8th scale off-road buggies & truggies took place recently in Malaysia. In the buggy class it was HongNor driver Sunny Wong that took the TQ spot setting a new lap record, but it was his VP Pro team mate and Losi driver Edy Susanto that took the win in the final with Sunny in 2nd and Mugen driver Daniel in 3rd. In the truggy class, Sunny was able to claim the win ahead of Nanda driver Lim Kok Beng in 2nd, while Hobao racer Wong Yoke Meng took 3rd.
Source: VP-Pro [vp-racing.com]
LRP are reporting on the 2008 Australian 1/10 Nitro On-Road Nationals were held at the Brendale track in Brisbane recently, host of the 2006 IFMAR World Championships. The race attracted over 120 drivers split into 1/10th Touring cars, 1/8th On road and Pullstart class and it was LRP team driver Peter Jovanovic who was setting the pace already from the first practice rounds through to the first qualifying rounds. With the last qualifier run in the late evening when the traction on the track increased significantly, he dropped to 2nd on the grid as Jesse Davis came through to take the TQ spot. After problem before the start of the final, that forced Peter to start from the pitlane, he was able to work his way into the lead by lap 20. From there on it was just a matter of getting the car through the finish line and with the softer LRP VTEC tyre going the distance without any changes or problems, Peter won the final by over a lap and a half to claim his 3rd National title in a row.
Source: LRP [lrp.cc]
The 1/8th scale Japanese Nationals tool place at the Mugen Seiki owned track in Chiba this weekend, thankfully under dry conditions. Qualifying saw Hot Bodies driver, and 2wd World Champion, Hayato Matsuzaki take pole position with 3 round wins from Mugen man Kenji Osaka in 2nd, both of whom took the 2 direct final placings while current World & Japanese Champion Atsushi Hara placed 3rd and had to race in the semis. The Semi Finals saw Hara easily win, with a time 26 seconds faster than the winner of the semi B, Kyosho driver Kazua Tanaka and both of these would line up in 3rd and 4th respectively in the final. The 1 hour long final saw Hara get to the front early where he controlled the pace keeping a safe distance to 2nd placed runner and team mate Matsuzaki with Osaka and Kawamoto spending the majority of the race in 3rd and 4th. Hara would take the win by 12 seconds from Matsuzaki in 2nd, while Kenji Osaka took 3rd a further 15 seconds back.
Source: Hot Bodies [hb-buggy.jugem.jp]
More 1/8th scale 2wd Classic news, this time from France which saw Gilles Garrigou wrap up the 2008 National title at the final race in Bourg en Bresse. Driving his DXF Primo throughout the year, Gilles had this to say:
I am very happy to have captured my first title after 24 years running in the same category. My thanks go to DXF competition for the super racing car they have created and also because they have offered me the new DXF Streto Vortex to run in the 2009 season. I also want to thank Kit models for their help all this year and especially Eric Lecour for his help at every race. And finally RB engines for supplying me with excellent product throughout the season.
Held on the famous track of Grenoble, the French 1/8 On-Road Championship saw Kyosho CRF team driver Adrien Bertin TQ easily by more than 6 seconds ahead of promising French driver Jerome Papaconstantinos. In the final, Adrien got a perfect start and pulled away from the field and after building up a one lap cushion on the 2nd placed driver Stephane Bouche after only 10 minutes, the former World Champion cruised to the victory. In second place was Bouche who placed ahead of Shepherd team mate Laurent Pageneau who drove a very consistent race to take 3rd in front of newly crowned National champion Adrien Siegfried.
Source: Team Orion [teamorion.com]
The third & final round of the Garmin/Sqeez backed Irish Touring Car Series took place in Fermoy, Co.Cork over the weekend where Alan Bickerstaff took victory to become the 2008 Champion at the controls of his Associated TC5. With Rounds 1 & 2 of the RCCAOI sanctioned series run outdoor on tarmac, the title deciding leg moved indoor to carpet where once again it was Bickerstaff who set the pace in qualifying maintaining his 100% TQ record. The Round 1 winner secured pole ahead of the Xray of Graham Kenny and Round 2 winner Stephen Hill who was driving a Hot Bodies. Needing victory in Leg 1 of the final to secure the inaugural ITC Series title Bickerstaff did just that winning from Kenny and Hill. In Leg 2 the newly crowned champion again broke clear of the pack but a mistake dropped him down the order leaving Kenny to lead. However with two laps to go Bickerstaff was all over the rear of the leader’s car and the pressure forced Kenny to make an error allowing the new champion to take his fifth leg win from the six that made up the 2008 Series. The final podium in Fermoy was how it also ended up in the final championship standings with Kenny claiming Vice Champion honours and Hill taking third, their efforts each rewarded with a Garmin Sat Nav and a Dublin Crystal trophy. With 41 drivers registering points in the ITC Series 2008 has been a very successful season for 1:10 EP Touring Car racing in Ireland and 2009 looks set to be even stronger.
Click more for the final results… content
