August 13, 2008

Shimo goes fastest in Lisbon

Takaaki Shimo

Takaaki Shimo got his day off to a great start by setting a new TQ time in the third round of qualifying. The Kyosho/OS team driver recorded 32 laps in 10:16.393 and now sits at the top of the time sheets ahead of fast Danish pairing Martin Lissau and Martin Christensen. Shimo was modest about his run describing it as ‘So So’. The Japanese driver said his car was excellent in the first half of the heat but in the last five minutes it became very nervous. Not a big fan of the track here in Monsanto he plans to make set-up changes for the second of today’s heats but is unsure of what he can adjust to cure the problem he is experiencing in the second half of the run.

Check out the full coverage on our event site here.

August 12, 2008

Tosolini ends Day in TQ position

Chris Tosolini

Day 1 of qualifying is over and it is American ace Chris Tosolini who holds the current TQ honours for the 2008 IFMAR 200mm World Championships here is Lisbon. The Sirio team driver was one of only three drivers to record 32 laps today with a run of 10:18.325 which was half a second clear of the ever impressive Peter Jovanovic with former World Champion Adrien Bertin third a further 7/10th behind.

Check out the full coverage on our event site here.

August 12, 2008

Groskamp tops first qualifier in Lisbon

Jilles Groskamp

Jilles Groskamp is the pace setter after the first round of qualifying here in Portugal but the Dutch driver was not the fastest in the run, that honour going to Daniele Ielasi but in post race scrutiny the Italian’s fuel tank was deemed to be to big. It was very close at the top with Ielasi posting a run of 31 laps in 10:02.628 with Groskamp just 8/100th behind.

Check out the full coverage on our event site here.

August 12, 2008

Wet track delays start to qualifying

Peter Jovanovic and rest of the Australians

Overnight rain here in Lisbon caused a delay to the start of proceedings as race organisers decided to wait an hour to allow the track to dry before starting the first qualifier of the 2008 IFMAR World Championships. Drivers from Groups 1-7 have just finished their two qualifiers for today, and are free to hit the beach, while Groups 8-15 are getting ready to kick start their battle for the Day 1 TQ honours. Peter Jovanovic, who was one of the stars at the last World Championships for 1:10 200mm in Brisbane where he claimed a podium finish, is loving the track here in Lisbon. The talented young Aussie says his car is working perfectly and he would rate the track as one of the best he has ever driven. Jovanovic says the circuit is a lot more flowing than he is used to back home and learning it has been his biggest obstacle so far. Now that he is mastering the bumps he’s really happy with his progress.

Check out the full coverage on our event site here.

August 11, 2008

Groskamp sets Worlds practice pace

Jilles Groskamp

He was the talk of the paddock when we arrived and he has made it official that he is the pace setter by putting his name at the top of the time sheets as 5 days of practice comes to an end and qualifying for the 2008 1:10 200mm World Championships beckons. Jilles Groskamp produced the fastest run over 10 minutes in the second of today’s two controlled practice notching up 32 laps in 10:12.223 with his Sirio powered Kyosho. Running a larger head shim for the practice, as Team Sirio played with run time, the Dutch star said the car was not as quick but they had plenty of fuel left after the run and the test would now help them to work out a better compromise between power and consumption.

Check out the full coverage on our event site here.

August 11, 2008

200mm Worlds coverage begins

Monsanto track Lisbon

We have finally arrived in Portugal where conditions are overcast making for welcomed cooler conditions. After a quick walk around the pits to say hello to drivers the main talk is that of the blistering pace of the Sirio team drivers and in particular electric touring car ace Jilles Groskamp. The Dutch driver is fast and more importantly very consistent although a 2 speed one-way bearing failure in the warm-up for the first controlled practice means we will have to wait till this evening to get a true indication of his pace over 10-minutes. Groskamp is really happy with the combined pace of his engines and Kyosho chassis which he says are allowing him to comfortably run fast consistent laps.

Check out the full coverage on our event site here.

August 8, 2008

Marc Rheinard running TM at Worlds

Marc Rheinard running TM at Worlds

Told to us a few weeks ago, Team Magic have today confirmed that former World Champion and current 1/12th and 1/10th scale electric European Champion Marc Rheinard will compete at the 1/10th scale 200mm Worlds, which takes place this weekend and all of next week. A deal put on the table by Novarossi, Marc will partner current 1/10th scale 200mm European Champion Dario Balestri in running the Italian made engines together with the Taiwanese made Team Magic G4. This will be Marc’s first taste of on road nitro racing, having only tested briefly in Italy a few weeks ago, and Red RC will catch up with Marc to get his impressions on racing gas track when we begin reporting live from Portugal, beginning next Monday.

Source: Team Magic [teammagic.com.tw]

August 6, 2008

Robin D’hondt wins Belgian Nats Rd4

Robin D’hondt wins Belgian Nats Rd4

The 4th round of the Belgian National Championships took place last weekend at the Roeselare track under changeable weather conditions. Qualifying saw the first round take place in dry conditions while the following 2 were wet and damp, with the fourth and final round dry again, raining near the end of the final heat, and it was Gunther Van Staey that took the TQ ahead of Robin D’hondt. Just before the 1/8th scale final it rained again and this was enough to wet the track and had racers scrambling for tires. The main final saw Robin able to take the lead after 1 lap and could drive away from Van Staey, who lost time struggling on the wrong tires. In the closing stages of the race Robin ran out of tires and had to come in for tires in the last 2 minutes to change to dry tires, yet was still able to win by 4 laps from Marc Van Passel in 2nd and Nico Vandewynckel in 3rd.

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