Red RC » R On Road

September 26, 2010

Ronald Volker retains Japanese National title

The JMRCA Japanese electric touring car nationals took place this weekend at the Ichirino RC Plaza to the East of Tokyo. Weather was mixed over the course of the event and after 7 rounds of qualifying in the Super Expert class it was 1/12th scale World Champion Naoto Matsukura that took the TQ spot ahead of reigning Japanese and European Champion Ronald Volker in 2nd, with Takehiro Yamauchi in 3rd. In the finals, it was Volker who surged through to the front to take the win in both leg 1 and 2 to retain his Japanese title, with fellow Yokomo driver Daisuke Yoshioka taking 2nd place and young Xray driver Takayuki Inoue coming through from 7th spot on the grid to take 3rd overall. In the Open class it was a win from pole position for Akio Sobue, winning for the first 2 legs of the 3 leg finals to win the title with one leg left. Masayuki Kawata took 2nd spot ahead of Satoru Takagi in 3rd.

Click here for the open class podium

September 26, 2010

Belgian Nats win for Stockman & Vekemans in Rd7

The 7th round of the Belgian electric touring car nationals was in Roeselare last weekend at the very fast RCR track. Qualifying was hit with rain and the first two rounds took place in wet conditions, with the 3rd round run in dry conditions and this would be important for the grid position. In the EFRA class it was Olivier Bultynck who took the pole in front of Thomas Stockman and Nick Joosens, Rico Claeys and Nicolas Delise. Leg 1 saw Olivier Bultynck out after only 2 laps, and so it was Stockman that tool the win ahead of Nick and Rico. No problems for Olivier in leg 2 and he went on to win from Nick in 2nd and would set up the 3rd leg as the decider. In leg 3 the Olivier took off in the lead followed by Nick Joosens but the pair touched on lap 9 leaving Stockman through to the lead where he would win and take the overall in front of Nick Joosens in 2nd and Rico Claeys in 3rd. In the Superstock class it was another dominant performance by Geoffrey Vekemans who won from the pole position once more finishing in front of Pasquinel Neys in 2nd and Werner Broeckx in 3rd place. The Stock class was taken by Michel Mahieu, with Michel Robijn 2nd and Christophe Couckhuyt 3rd.

View the other class podiums here

September 25, 2010

Kostas Zacharopoulos wins Greek Championship

The Greek 1/10th A Championship took place last weekend at the FRT track in Athens in warm temperatures. Qualifying went the way of Shepherd driver Kostas Sidiropoulos, with Bill Lykaris in 2nd and John Sotiropoulos in 3rd. Following a call for 10 minutes prior to the final for Kostas Zacharopoulos, the race got underway with the front running drivers maintaining their position. Following some collisions in the pitlane for Sidiropoulos and Sotiropoulos and a penalty for the second placed driver, it was Mugen driver Kostas Zacharopoulos who made it to the front at about the 10th minute. A recovering Sidiropoulos was only 5 seconds behind at this stage and closing, the pair coming together later on and Sidiropoulos received a stop and go. After this he encountered brake problems and dropped to 3rd at the end, with Sotiropoulos coming up to take 2nd at the flag. But it was Kostas Zacharopoulos who would take the win by 15 seconds despite a flame out at the 35th minute in the pit lane, and be crowned Greek Champion.

Source: RC Hobby Athens [rchobbyathens.com]

September 25, 2010

Kyle Branson dominates Rd8 of British 1/8th Nats

The 8th round of the BRCA 1/8th scale Nationals was a second visit to the Brooklands circuit in Kent. With all the main players present, it would become a very competitive race weekend. Team Serpent had again Mark Green and winner from the previous round Kyle Branson present to help the team in their quest for the championship. Team Shepherd also had Neil Diver present to help team leaders Pete and Andy Hastings. The Irish racers were again present to increase the competition. The Mugen Team still awaiting the release of the MRX5 chassis had to contend with the MRX4X which they have used all season. The Motonica team of Daniel Bancroft, who has been constantly quick all season, was running the new BP (BH935) racing engine which showed promising speed for a relatively new engine unit.

Continue reading the report here

September 24, 2010

Kimbrow wins Mugen Seiki Sedan Nitro Challenge Cup

The 4th Annual Mugen Seiki Sedan Nitro Challenge Cup held at SpeedWorld Raceway in Roseville California saw Serpent driver Scott Kimbrow take TQ from Mugen racer Mike Swauger. Swauger and Kimbrow battled all weekend for the TQ honors with Swauger on top until the 4th round and the pair were the only drivers on 20 lap. In the last round of qualifying Swauger was on for another big TQ until his steering servo got problems. Kimbrow capitalized and took the top spot and at this stage, the A main was shaping up to be a battle between Kimbrow and Swauger. The pole man took off at the start and proceeded to pull away from Swauger by 2 seconds, but 3 minutes in Swauger lost another steering servo and Kimbrow went on to dominate the race with Steve Perez taking home 2nd and Marco Acosta taking 3rd.

Source: SpeedWorld [speedworldraceway.com]

September 21, 2010

Maxim Claes Belgian 1/10th Champion

Last weekend at the beautiful Genk track in Belgium 17 year old Maxim Claes was crowned Belgian 1/10th 200mm Champion for the first time after a close battle with his rivals. The end to a fine season that saw him get 6th at the EFRA GP in Herlissheim, 5th place at the Euro ‘B’. Maxim wanted to thank his sponsors RC connect, Capricorn, JP*Gimar, Racing Experience and RC Car Colours and finally a big thanks to his father Alain.

September 21, 2010

Ilia van Gastel wins in Groningen, takes title

Last Sunday the Dutch 1/8th scale National championship had its last race of the season, held on the very bumpy track of REAL80 in Groningen in the far north of Holland. The weather forecast was predicted a lot of rain starting in the morning but it stayed dry until the last semi final of the day. In the NK class it was Rick V taking the pole followed by Ilia v. Gastel, Jordy Blok and Gunther v. Stay. With rain falling in time for the main final, it was not only about who was the best racer in the wet, but also about who was best prepared to protect their car against the elements. At the start RickV was forced to make a pitstop allowing Ilia to take the lead followed by John Ermen. RickV managed to work his way back up to the front by the end of the race but could not take the lead and would take 2nd.

Continue reading the report here

September 20, 2010

Moore & Hart win BRCA TC final round

Andy Moore put a disappointing domestic season behind him to take the final round of this season’s BRCA national touring car championship ahead of Olly Jefferies and Chris Grainger. Going in to the final round Chris Grainger was already crowned champion but second place was looking close between Olly Jefferies for Associated and Tamiya star Elliott Harper, Olly got off to the best start taking TQ and a new West London track record with his TC6, Elliott would line up behind Olly for the three leg finals with Andy Moore waiting to pounce in third. After three close fought legs Andy took the win for Hot Bodies ahead Olly Jefferies and Chris Grainger. The result meant a points tie in the series for Jefferies and Harper, the pair could not be split on number of A finals won or second places, in the end it came down to the number of third place finishes in the series and Elliott was given the decision over Olly.

Continue reading the report here