‘I pulled that one out of nowhere’ was how former ETS Champion Jilles Groskamp summed up his surprise TQ run in the opening round of qualifying at the final round of the ETS at Andernach. The Dutch racer topped Q1 from the Hot Bodies of Andy Moore and TRF team-mate Marc Rheinard while practice pace setter Ronald Volker ended up in the barrier on the opening lap.
View our complete event coverage here.
Team Yokomo’s Ronald Volker is the top seed for qualifying at the sixth & final round of the 2010/11 ETS after outpacing Tamiya’s Viktor Wilck and Marc Rheinard in the second controlled practice. Once again the German tried two different cars this time to back to back test a front geardiff against a spool, the former proving the better option. Describing the ever changing track conditions as not being as good as CP1, Volker said he was surprised by his faster time for the three consecutive laps and now plans to run that set-up for this evening’s opening round of qualifying.
View our complete event coverage here.
Following the success of the 2010 Xceed Grand Prix in Shanghai, Xceed stages the 2011 Xceed Grand Prix in Thailand on the same track as the 1/10 IFMAR WC in 2012. The event will be open to 1/10 and 1/8 scale gas powered classes and entry is open to all brands of cars and all nationalities. The event will combine racing, buffet party with great Thai food along with the chance to meet and make new friends. There will be a separate prize for the youngest and oldest driver, the driver who has to travel the furthest in km and the fastest female driver. Xceed driver Michael Salven, as well as Patrick Schaefer and Ronald Volker have already confirmed their entry. Full information can be found here.
Andernach in Germany plays host to the finale of the 2010/11 Yokomo Euro Tourng Series this weekend (8-10th July) with a world class entry of almost 300 drivers from around the globe set to descend on the home town of reigning World & ETS Modified Champion Marc Rheinard. 13 of the Top 14 finishers from last year’s World Championships will compete in the sixth & final round of the series’ fourth season with a massive 27 nations being represented. The 21st running of an ETS event, the championship regulars will be joined by former World Champion Atsushi Hara and American ace Paul Lemieux, setting the stage for a thrilling three days of competition.
Continue reading the announcement here
HPI China have also announced the signing of JJ Wang to their Racing Team. The 13 year old Chinese-American, who now lives in Shanghai, China has become the best 1:8 GP on-road driver in the country. His versatile talent is not limited to 1:8 GP only, as he has also shown pace in the 1:10 GP and EP class. He will race with HB TCX in future races and is “excited to join the HPI/HB Racing Team this season. And now with the support of HPI/HB, I hope to join more international races. With the new TCX, I also hope to have a successful season”.
Source: HPI China [hpiracing.net.cn]
The 4th Round of the British 1/8th scale Nationals was hosted by the Halifax club over the last weekend of June. The weather forecast was for a warm weekend which prevailed apart from a wet track on Saturday morning which soon dried out to allow a meaningful practice session. Sunday greeted the drivers with bright sunshine with the committee allowing a 7 minute practice session in heat format before 4 rounds of qualifying. After round one, it was Andy North who held TQ with a steady run without a fuel stop after Kyle Branson made a mistake exiting the pits. In Round 2, it was Kyle Branson who inherited Top spot with a clear run. The order stayed much the same throughout the day, but Tim Wood managed to displace Andy North into second position.
Continue reading the report here
The EFRA European 40+ championships took place this week at the Wiesbaden RC Speedway in Germany. A yearly gentleman’s race, the race has classes for 1/8th 4wd, 1/10th 200mm and the Classic 2wd class. A well run event, this year’s host club did a great job with the organization, with the technical track allowing for some great on track action. Top qualifier in the 1/8th scale class was Serpent driver Andreas Giesa, the only person to get 30 laps in qualifying, while in the 1/10th scale class it was Andreas Weyhoven who took the top spot. With no direct qualifiers both men would still have to do battle in the semi finals to ensure a place in the main final.
Continue reading the report here
Last weekend the first European Nitro Challenge was held at the permanent RC track of the RC Team Hockenheim located at the world famous Hockenheim Ring Formula 1 circuit. More than 70 drivers entered the different classes, among them many international top racers like Robert Pietsch, Daniele Ielasi, Ronald Völker and Michael Salven. Different from other events the three fastest consecutive laps were taken for the qualifying ranking while the 4 fastest drivers qualified directly for the final. In the 1/10th Hobby Cup class it was Alex Kempe driving the 3 fastest laps followed by Marcus May, Klaus Lechner and Markus Spaniol. The 1/8th scale Hobby Cup class saw Thilo Tödtmann taking the pole-position in front of Luigi Pili, Norbert Mayrhofer and Benny Endres.
Continue reading the report here
