Meen Vejrak wins KM Asia Cup Rd3
The 3rd round of the KM Asia Cup took place recently at the TRC race track in Yuen Long, Hong Kong. Although it was meant to be held on the facility’s brand new outdoor race track, the race was actually run indoor due to heavy rain on Friday that gave the organization a tough decision to make. The track itself was one of the biggest challenges for everyone, because of its slippery condition which made the right setup hard to find, not to mention the driving skill required for this type of traction. Usually traction will come up gradually as the race goes on, thus, traction in the finals would be higher than in qualifying, but this indoor track is totally different getting more slippery as the event went on.
83 drivers joined the race to to have a go at becoming 1/10th nitro touring Champion at this 3rd round of the KM Asia Cup, a Hong Kong & Macau selection race. A lot of overseas driver attended the race, the strongest one definitely being the KM Thailand team led by KM factory driver Meen Vejrak. From China, there were drivers coming from Shanghai, Guangzhou, Foshan which is a force that nobody should underestimate and of course the Macau team always get good result in Hong Kong.
Each driver has 3 qualifiers to prove what they can do and each round was 10 minutes long. Clearly, the Xray NT1 was the most popular car follow by Kyosho RRR, Serpent 720 and Mugen MTX4. Front diff instead of front spool or front one way was used by most of the drivers and the 35 shore tire compound is also very popular due to the slippery track. Once qualifying ended, only 2 drivers could make 38 laps in 10 minutes, and they were Meen with a 38/1012 and local hero Hung Cheung Hang doing a 38/1015, with the best lap goes to Meen who recorded a 15.547, the fastest lap in the race.
Results after qualifying
1. Meen Vejrak (Thailand) Xray NT1 – 38/1012, 15.547
2. Hung Cheung Hang (Hong Kong) Kyosho RRR – 38/1015, 15.740
3. Poon Chiu (Hong Kong) Xray NT1 – 37/1014, 15.981
4. Charlee Phutiyotin (Thailand) Xray NT1 – 37/1016, 16.034
5. Chan Chau Man (Hong Kong) Xray NT1 – 37/1016, 16.008
6. Leung Wai (Hong Kong) Xray NT1 – 36/1000, 15.841
7. Tiger Ho (Hong Kong) Xray NT1 – 36/1002, 16.004
8. Luk Chi Hung (Hong Kong) Kyosho RRR – 36/1004, 15.912
9. Chui Kai Leung (Hong Kong) Xray NT1 – 36/1009, 16.132
10. Lau Yiu Kei (Hong Kong) Xray NT1 – 36/1016, 16.290
In the semi final, a lot of driver had no luck including Fai Ho. For example, Leung Wai, Chan Chau Man, Tiger Ho, Luk Chi Hung, these are all local top drivers that had problems, such as engine failure……etc.
A Final Starting positions
1. Meen Vejrakn – Xray NT1/KM Parts/KM Tyres (Spoke Rim)
2. Hung Cheung Hang – Kyosho RRR/KM Parts/KM Tyres (Kyosho Rim)
3. Poon Chiu – Xray NT1/KM Parts
4. Charlee Phutiyotin – Xray NT1/KM Parts/KM Tyres (Spoke Rim)
5. Wong Ming Chung – Xray NT1/KM Parts
6. Lau Yiu Kei – Xray NT1/KM Parts
7. Tsoi Yin Lun – Xray NT1/KM Parts
8. Chui Kai Leung – Serpent 733
9. Fat Lung – Xray NT1/KM Parts/KM Tyres (Velocity Rim)
10. Fai Ho – Xray NT1
The A final sees nothing unexpected as Meen is able to run away from the first lap, a contrast to the problems that Hung Cheung Hang has. He is hit in the back straight and drops him from 2nd to far down the pack. Luckily, Poon Chiu and Lau Yiu Kei are able to stay in the front and sit in 2nd and 3rd position respectively. At the 15 minute mark Hung Cheung Hang manages to fight his way back up the order to 2nd position. Everything runs like clockwork for Meen and he wins the race from Hung Cheung Hang who is 1 lap behind, with the last podium place going to Poon Chiu, a local Xray driver in his first nitro race in recent years.
Top 3 final results
1. Meen Vejrak (Thailand) – 111/3014, 15.787
2. Hung Cheung Hang (Hong Kong) – 110/3008, 15.819
3. Poon Chiu (Hong Kong) – 108/3015, 15.881
Source: KM Racing [km-rc.com]
