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September 15, 2022

Mother Nature finally shows up, Coelho one hand on TQ

It was what everyone was expecting to wake up to on the Day 2 of the EP Touring Car World Championships and thankfully didn’t, but when the bad weather did decide to show up in showed up in spectacular style with lightening for added dramatical effect. With it looking very like Q4 was going to make the history books, drops would start falling as the top heat took to the track. Unfortunately as we got to within a minute of getting the round done, the drops got bigger and cars started sliding around with the call coming from race officials to stop racing – the heat was cancelled. As soon as it stopped, so too did the light rain. However, in the distance it was visible that this was only a little warning of a lot worse to come and for drivers pitting at the edge of the large covered pit area to move their stuff if they didn’t want it to get wet. While discussions went on about heat re-runs and new timetables, when Mother Nature turned up it was quickly clear Day 2 that was done, the rain bouncing off the track. While there still is the opportunity to run 3 more rounds of qualifying, it is looking very like job done for Bruno Coelho in terms of becoming Top Qualifier, with more mixed weather being forecast for tomorrow.

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September 15, 2022

Groskamp splits Xray’s in Q3, but Coelho still in control

After his battery issues in Q2, Jilles Groskamp has bounced back to become the first driver to split the Xray’s at the top of the times. The Infinity driver set the 2nd fastest time in the third round of qualifying with a 4/10th advantage over Alexander Hagberg but upfront it was Bruno Coelho who remained in clear control of proceedings. The only driver to run 19-laps as wind made for loose conditions, Coelho’s rivals have just one last chance to deny the reigning World Champion from defending his title from the TQ, few expecting any other outcome here in Gubbio.

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September 15, 2022

Another Xray 1-2 in Q2 as rain stays away in Italy

Drivers at the IFMAR ISTC World Championship were greeted with a positive start to Day 2 of qualifying in Gubbio, Italy, as the much anticipated bad weather that caused so much controversy yesterday hasn’t yet arrived. On a dry track, Q2 would be a repeat of last night’s opening qualifying as Xray again lead a 1-2 at the top of the time sheets. A slightly slower time than Q1, Bruno Coelho stayed in charge with Alexander Hagberg backing up his surprise Q1 performance with another P2 from the second fastest heat. Christopher Krapp made it an identical Top 3 with the biggest surprise of the round being Hayato Ishioka who posted the fourth fastest time ahead of Alessio Menicucci.

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September 15, 2022

Stiles wins 2022 CARS 1:12 Summer Shootout Series

Mark Stiles clinched the overall championship at the 2022 CARS 1/12 Summer Shootout Series GP last weekend driving his Awesomatix A12 chassis. Going into the 4th and final round of this long-standing UK summer championship Mark needed a solid finish in a high-quality field which featured nearly all of the UK’s top 1/12 scale drivers. After some early struggles in practice and qualifying, Mark lined up 3 rd on the grid for the single leg A Final behind top qualifier Ollie Payne and reigning stock world champion Andy Murray. An early crash put Ollie out of contention and left Andy and Mark out in front, where they both lapped consistently and were never separated by more than 1.5 seconds for the entire 8-minute race. Despite staying close, Mark was unable to pass Andy and the pair finished less than half a second apart. Ollie Payne recovered to complete the podium. This marked the last ever race meeting at the CARS venue in Clay Cross. After more than 40 years the club will be moving to a new venue this autumn where club and national level events will continue to be held. The end of an era, but the start of a new one!

Source: Awesomatix [facebook.com]

September 14, 2022

Sparks fly as Coelho takes Q1

Sparks literally flew as Bruno Coelho took the opening round of qualifying with darkness falling on the opening day of the ISTC World Champions. The top seed after practice, the reigning Champion would lead an Xray 1-2 from Alexander Hagberg, no one more surprised than the Swede with his P2 having been seeding the second fastest heat. Finishing off practice with an ever improving performances, Christopher Krapp would set the third fastest time for Yokomo ahead of Schumacher’s Michal Orlowski, another driver running in the slightly less dark second fastest heat. As cars went to the grid there was calls to not run the top heat as drivers complained about being unable to see. Legendary mechanic Masayuki Miura would make a direct call to race officials for the qualifying not to go ahead saying his driver could not see. Unfortunately that driver, Naoto Matsukura, struggled with the lack of light saw him crash out just two corners into the qualifier.

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September 14, 2022

Coelho sets the pace as free practice concludes

Reigning World Champion Bruno Coelho set the early pace in Gubbio, Italy, the Xray driver posting the fastest 3-consecutive laps of the four rounds of free practice at the ISTC World Championship. With a full 1-second advantage, his closest rival would be multiple Champion Marc Rheinard with Ronald Volker and Jilles Groskamp making it a very familiar picture at the top of the time sheets. Setting the fifth fastest time, Yannic Prumper was the fastest of those in search of their first World Title.

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September 14, 2022

Impending bad weather sets early tone at ISTC World Championship

After a long 4 year wait the ISTC World Championship is finally here but the 11th running of touring car’s biggest prize is off to a tense start as impending bad weather looks set to dictate the running of the 4 day event. With the majority of drivers expressing their dislike of the dots added to a number of corners to meet the rule requirement of being 60% different to that which drivers tested on, the protest to allow the iconic circuit to run in its original layout was rejected by the IFMAR International Jury. The next issue for drivers was the packed Day 1 schedule that will end with the running of the first of the six rounds of qualifying. The opening day of the Worlds is normally a much slightly more relaxed affair with drivers easing themselves into things with just controlled practice runs. The rules also state the timetable can’t be altered from what was originally published.

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September 13, 2022

Coelho “less prepared” but “there to fight” to retain ISTC World Championship

In 2014, the world unearthed a then mostly unheard of young Portuguese driver. Initially it was the wiring on his car that had the internet buzzing, but as the ISTC World Championship in Kissimmee progressed people started to realise this guy was something a bit special as he started mixing it with Touring Car’s elite. RedRC actually knows Bruno Coelho a lot longer than most of the current crop of top drivers. His father Cesar was responsible for organising the 2008 Nitro Touring Car World Championships in Lisbon and was a great host to us as we report on the event with Bruno this slightly wild kid jumping around in the background.

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