Red RC » R On Road

August 20, 2009

Pietsch breaks 30 laps in Q5

He was on target for it in Q3 yesterday but misheard the timing computer and pitted before completing the full 10-minutes, but this morning in the penultimate qualifier Robert Pietsch became the first driver to set down a 30 lap run. The German ace was clearly delighted with the impressive run saying his Mugen was perfect for the conditions. Paying compliments to his pitman for two perfect fuel stops, the factory driver feels it will be very difficult to better the time in the last qualifier with the forecast predicted today as the hottest of the championships.

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August 19, 2009

Incomplete run nets Pietsch new TQ!

Despite failing to complete the full 10-minutes in the third round of qualifying Robert Pietsch has bettered his overnight TQ time. This morning’s cooler track conditions lived up to expectations with the majority of the front runners setting down quicker times. Starting the heat in last position Pietsch’s Mugen was on for a 30 lap run but on his last lap the computer announced the race over and the German came into the pits but that was not the case for the No.3 car. Afterwards he said the computer announcements are not very clear in the rostrum but wasn’t too upset about missing out on the 30 lapper saying his 29/9:59.566 was just as good.

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August 18, 2009

‘Perfect’ qualifier for Pietsch in Switzerland

Robert Pietsch believes he has just driven the best qualifier of his racing career after the Mugen driver produced a 29/10:03.705 run to move into povisional pole for the World Championships here in Lostallo. The German ace, who took TQ honours at the Warm Up race back in June, said the run was faultless and his MRX-4X was superb. Despite the engine being slightly to rich on the bottom end in the second qualifier, the factory Novarossi driver feels it will be extremely hard to beat the time even in the expected cooler conditions tomorrow with the Warm Up TQ time being slower in temperatures 10 degrees lower than it is here now in Switzerland.

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August 18, 2009

Collari TQs opening round at Lostallo

With a CV like his its no big surprise that defending World Champion Lamberto Collari has opened qualifying for the 2009 IFMAR 1:8 Onroad World Championship with a TQ run. Having ended up 140th in practice yesterday, the Team Kyosho driver said ‘thats a little better’ after posting his 29/10:08.301 run. The Italian who is chasing his ninth World title here this week in Switzerland said he will change the set-up on his Novarossi powered Evolva to try and make it easier to drive for today’s other qualifier.

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August 18, 2009

Maarten van Lierop takes Rd5 in Holland

The fifth round of the Dutch 1/10th scale Nationals took place last weekend at the MACH track in Heemstede, just 1 week after the 4th round, which was run in Groningen. Qualifying went Daan Jacobs’ way and was 3 seconds clear of Maarten van Lierop, with series leader Pedro Rombouts taking the 3rd spot. In the final it was an exciting battle at the front with Daan and Maarten battling it out in the early part of the race, with Maarten eventually able to pull a gap. With the gap increasing at the front, Daan was also able to pull a gap on Pedro, who was in 3rd and that was how it stayed till the end. It is now close for the championship with Pedro still leading the series race. In the Nomac class it was Davy Geraets on pole position, but it was Marc Meijer who took the win from Davy in 2nd and Michael Behnert in 3rd. In the 1/8th Promo class Luigi Pili took the TQ spot and could convert it into the win from John Rusman in 2nd and Frank van Delft in 3rd.

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August 17, 2009

5 Days of Practice complete in Switzerland, Pietsch on top

So five days of practice have been completed here in Switzerland at the 16th running of the IFMAR 1:8 Onroad World Championships and its Robert Pietsch who sits at the top of the time sheets despite failing to improve his time in the final practice. The factory Mugen driver completed 29 laps in 10:07.493 in the morning practice and after making a mistake early in the evening session decided to use the run to practice his pit stops.

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August 13, 2009

South African Electric Nats Rd4

The 4th round of the South African Electric National Championships were held this past weekend at the brand new Welkom RC Club facility. This facility located about 2.5 hours south of Johannesburg was the dream of Antonio Caroli, Antonio the SA distributor for ATS Tires, Team Wave and Castle Creations has always wanted to have a first class venue available to not only the drivers in South Africa but also the world. He has worked tirelessly on the facility to ensure that every detail was taken care of and the track was prepared for the grand opening event.

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August 11, 2009

Rombouts makes it 3 in a row at Dutch 10th Nats

Round 4 of the Dutch 1/10th scale 200mm Nationals took place last weekend at the Groningen track, in the very North of the country. Qualifying for the NK class went the way of the winner of the previous 2 rounds Pedro Rombouts, with Maarten van Lierop, Daan Jacobs and Sander Borghoff completing the top 4. The Nomac class saw the TQ go to Marc Meijer while in the 1/8th Promo series it was Luigi Pili on top. At the beginning of the NK final Pedro lost the lead and saw Maarten take the lead, a place he held until close to the end of the race. With the top 3 of van Lierop, Jacobs and Rombouts running only meters apart with 8 minutes to go, Pedro made a mistake, but then Daan would have tire problems, something Maarten would also suffer from. With 2 laps to go Maarten had a collision with a back marker and lost the lead to Pedro, who would cruise the final lap to take his 3rd win in a row. Maarten van Lierop would hold onto 2nd with Jurgen Geerligs taking 3rd spot away from Jacobs. The Nomac class was won by Davy Geraets from Theun Zoethout in 2nd and Michael Behnert in 3rd, while the Promo series win went the way of pole man Luigi Pili, with Ron Veger taking 2nd and Alfred van Dijk 3rd.

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