Coelho to contest 1:12 World title

In a major boost for the IFMAR 1:12 World Championship, reigning Touring Car World Champion Bruno Coelho has announced his intentions to travel to Florida for the 21st running of the IFMAR’s second longest running World Championships.  The factory Xray star unveiled his intentions at the famous Snowbirds National which is taking place this week when he revealed that in addition to racing Touring Car he would be also contest 1:12 at the iconic Florida race.  Known for his ultra successful relationship with Francesco Martini of MonacoRC as his mechanic in Touring Car, the Portuguese driver has teamed up with 1:12 expert Paul Ciccarello to guide him through his first foray into the pan car category.  Known for his versatility that includes being the reigning 4WD Buggy World Champion, Coelho has had no trouble adapting to 1:12 as he claimed a TQ run in the opening round of qualifying together with a TQ run in Touring Car.  In the past 1:12 kicked off the week of onroad electric World Championships action and most of the touring car stars raced for the title but after South Africa in 2018, where Alexander Hagberg was the only touring car front runner to take on the event, which he duly won, it became a standalone event.  In 2020, touring car legend Marc Rheinard took the title in England for a second time.  With the US, where Marc won his first 1:12 title in 2014 ending Naoto Matsukura’s 6 year reigning of the category, a hot spot for 1:12 and now Coelho committing to the event, the category looks set to garner plenty of additional attention in 2023.  Red RC will as part of our extensive 2023 World Championship coverage be travelling to Florida to tell the story of how the race unfolds.

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