Morganti & Tosolini win 2007 Winternats, Florida

The 2007 Florida Winternats is in the bag and it has produced some very exciting racing, none more so than the A-mains which were packed with talented racers and the best machinery. In the 1/10th scale A-main, the class with the most big names and most varied manufacturers, Paolo Morganti could easily convert his pole position into a much deserved win. The Serpent 720 racer could pull away from his pole position starting spot to win the race 6 laps ahead of 2nd placed racer, Chris Tosolini, driving for Kyosho. The final podium step went to Ralph Burch driving the Xray NT1, who finished only 3 seconds down on 2nd place Tosolini. Danny Horta and Martin Hudy had a close race for 4th with the Serpent driver getting the position by 1 seconds from the Xray racer after 45 minutes racing. It was worth mentioning that Jilles Groskamp managed to win every final from the H-main to the B-main, only to be disqualified after his car failed scrutiny stopping him from bumping up into the A-main.

In the 1/8th scale class it was Chris Tosolini, driving a Kyosho Evolva, that took the win, moving up 1 place from his grid spot to power his way to a 1 lap advantage in the end over 2nd place Rick V, who driving a Mugen MRX4-R had managed to bump up from the B-main after a difficult qualifying. An interesting thing to note was that while everyone else in the final had changed their tyres mid race Chris had left it until the 43rd minute of the race to change his tyres and ensure he was over the weight limit when his car went into race scrutiny. The final step of the podium went to Kyosho racer and pole position sitter Josh Cyrul who ran into some problems and had dropped back to 3rd spot finishing 8 laps clear of 4th placed finisher, Italys Marco Vanni driving a Mugen. Morganti and Salven were out early and this left Scotty Gray to uphold honours for Serpent but he then tangled with last years winner Mike Swauger and Kyoshos Joel Johnson causing damage to all 3 cars and effectively ending their races.

Red RC and The-Border wish to thank the race organisers and fellow racers for making this years event another action packed, well run and enjoyable event.

Click here to view the final A-main results for each class as well as some more images… content

European B Championships Slovenia – Warm up event

We have been contacted by the organisers of this years EFRA European B Championships for 1/8th scale to tell us about the warm up race that will be held on this beautiful track on the 10th – 11th of March. This warm up race is open to all competitors not just those who will take part in the actual championship race at the end of May and will be run as a rehersal for the big event. If you are planning to race the European B Championships, this is the perfect opportunity to get some practice in on the track before the event itself, and if your not taking part this would be a great chance to race on this challenging 300m long track.

To find out more information you can go to the official Championship site here.

2007 Winternats, Florida – Friday Day 6

So on Friday we saw the lower mains being run for all classes up until the C-mains which will be the first races run on Saturday, weather permitting. In 1/8th scale there was plenty of action in the lower finals as always and the big winner of the day was Vince Tate who won his D-main and will progress into Saturdays C-main, with a nice win over Nigel Sim and Renato Dias. Tire wear came up today as well, thanks to the rain which had changed the characteristics of the track, and it caught a lot of people out when making their tire choices. The big story of the day however was in the 1/10th 200mm class were the unfortunate Jilles Groskamp, who we told you was disqualified for being under weight after setting the 3rd fastest time in qualifying, managed to move up from his H-main position to win 5 finals in a row (completing over 500 laps) and will take his position in Saturdays C-main. And incredible drive and he is lucky to make it to the Friday evening where he can now get his Xray NT1 rebuilt for his attack on tomorrows main finals.

To view all the lower final finishing orders and to view some pictures from Friday click here… content

2007 Winternats, Florida – Thursday Day 5

Well the rain came and interrupted play today on the last day of qualifiers for this years Florida Winternats. With the 1/8th scale class not managing to complete a full round of qualifying without the rain stopping proceedings, the results from Wednesday will stand, which means Kyosho racer Josh Cyrul will start on pole position for Saturdays A-main race. In 2nd position is Chris Tosolini driving another Kyosho Evolva, with reigning champion Mike Swauger driving his MRT Ninja powered Mugen MRX4-R lining up just behind him. Vincent Jackson, also driving for Mugen, looks like the danger man in this race, the relative unknown lines up 4th and could produce the surprise of the day. In 5th sits former multiple winner, and highest qualifying Serpent, Michael Salven from Germany just ahead of team mate Paolo Morganti, both drivers with something to prove after showing top pace in the heats but just not being able to pull it together when it mattered.

In 1/10th scale its all change, with the organisers managing to get in one of the final 2 rounds of qualifying for this class run, in between the showers. Serpent 720 driver Paolo Morganti pulled out a stunning drive in cold conditions to go 9 seconds quicker than he previously managed, to take the pole position from top Xray driver and overnight pole man Ralph Burch. Jilles Groskamp who moved to using a Mega MF motor for his final qualifying runs, managed to get 3rd fastest qualifying time but was disqualified for his car being underweight after the lead weight in his car fell out, which meant that 3rd position went to Kyosho racer Josh Cyrul. In 4th position was Danny Horta, driving a Serpent 720 who managed to move himself up the order and finish ahead of hot shot Xray driver Paul LeMieux who ended qualifying a very respectable 5th for his first nitro race.

The lower finals take place today, Friday, and if there is no rain delay, the A, B and C-mains will take place on Saturday. The top 11 fastest qualify directly into the A-main in all classes with the winner of the B-main bumping up to make it 12 starting in the A-main.

Not so many pictures today but the ones we have you can see below along with the final top A-main standings… content

2007 Winternats, Florida – Wednesday Day 4

The 3rd and 4th rounds of qualifying are now over and with all Wednesdays racing run under dry and improving conditions, the tops of the leaderboards have changed quite a lot. In 1/8th scale, Kyosho racer Josh Cyrul has moved up from 4th position overnight to take provisional pole position after 4 rounds, the US driver followed closely by 1/10th US National champion Chris Tosolini, also driving a Kyosho. In 3rd position was Tuesdays overnight pole man, and reigning Champion Mike Swauger, who despite improving by 2 seconds still only ended up in third ahead of the big mover of the day Vincent Jackson, also running with Mugen. Paolo Morganti, driving a Serpent 960 was the biggest loser on the day in 1/8th scale, dropping from 2nd to 6th having not been able to improve on his Tuesday time.

In 1/10th scale its more of the same with Ralph Burch on the debut race for Xrays new NT1 that retains his first position despite not improving his time today. Paolo Morganti, driving the Serpent 720 improved a lot and jumped from overnight 4th to 2nd, only 1 tenth of a second behind with Chris Tosolini, another driver who didn’t manage to complete the 5 minutes on Tuesday, did so today to improve his time and gain 3rd position albeit 3 seconds back on the leading pair. Barry Baker, also with the Xray NT1, moved up from 6th yesterday to end the day in 4th position heading into the final day of qualifying. The biggest loser on the day in 1/10th scale was Mark Green, driving a Serpent 720, who couldn’t manage to improve his time and thus dropped from his overnight 5th position to end up 13th going into the final 2 rounds of qualifying.

Check out some more pictures and the top 10 standings… content

2007 Winternats, Florida – Tuesday Day 3

Well the rain held off, and the sun came out, to allow the organisers get the scheduled 2 rounds of qualifying in on Tuesday. In the 1/8th class, reigning Champion Mike Swauger, driving his MRT Ninja powered Mugen MRX-R, managed to squeeze the top spot away from Paolo Morganti, the Serpent racer just 1 second behind in 2nd position. Former 1/10th Winternats champ Scotty Gray was a further 3 seconds back in 3rd ahead of a non finishing Josh Cyrul who lines up a very quick 4th despite a DNF on this fastest run.

In the 200mm Sedan class, Ralph Burch, has put the all new Xray NT1 on provisional pole position ahead of Serpent 720 racer Danny Horta who was 9 seconds back in 2nd. But this of course doesnt tell the true story as both Chris Tosolini driving a Kyosho and Paolo Morganti with his Serpent 720 didnt manage to finish their fastest runs, which had they done so would have seen them a within 1 or 2 seconds of Burch. Qualfiying continues on Wednesday with rounds 3 and 4 to be run, we will keep you updated with the results and more pictures.

View some pictures as well as the top 10 after 2 rounds here… content

2007 Winternats, Florida – Monday Day 2

The second day of this years Winternats had been rained out in the morning with the track only getting some running on it after lunch and although the weather is not looking like it will stay dry for the rest of the week, we should see a full days running today. Of course drivers who got some practice in on Sunday can now find themselves at an advantage over those that only arrived on Monday but the morning break gave everyone the chance to get their stuff together and catch up with old friends. The Xray team also got some time to build their NT1’s with some drivers only receiving the car in kit form when they arrived at the track.

We have some pictures from Monday at Ft Myers here… content