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October 10, 2023

Catanzani just pipped by Hamon in first seeding round

Serpent’s Andrea Catanzani looked like giving us a new name at the top of the timing sheets at 1:8 GT World Championship as seeding got underway in Australia but with just seconds to go team-mate Jeff Hamon somehow managed to recover from a problematic start to the run to snatch it from the young Italian. A run that would see a number of drivers in the top heat experience issues, Catanzani was the first driver to break into the 54-seconds for his 3-consecutive laps and looking to save tyres was already down off the rostrum just after half way through the 10-minutes run with his time looking strong enough to hold. Having set the pace yesterday, Hamon was also off the driver stand but for different reasons as he suffered brake problems. Considering abandoning the run, with just enough time to make an attempt at 3-laps after fixing his breaks the Aussie pulled it off pipping Catanzani by 0.094 of a second. Having finished out yesterday’s controlled practice with some promising runs, Natanaele Senesi carried that form into seeding opening his account with a P3 for the first of the four rounds ahead of Paolo Morganti and Toni Gruber.

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October 9, 2023

Hamon tops final controlled practice ‘Down Under’

Controlled practice concluded at the 1:8 GT World Championship in Sydney this evening with Jeff Hamon setting the fastest time for the 6th & final round. Despite everyone, including Hamon himself, expecting it to be the rocket round of the day, the Serpent driver was unable to better his time from the morning’s opening practice. Over his best 3-consecutive laps the Aussie was almost half a second off his morning’s 53.981 pace around the John Grant International Raceway. With a cool morning turning to 30+ degrees heat when the sun reached its peak in the middle of the day, the 6pm timing of the final practice in theory was going to present racers with the ideal track conditions for quicker times. With drivers pushing hard to improve on their times, the majority failed, with the only drivers in the Top 10 to achieve that being Natanaele Senesi and Peter Jovanovic. Xray’s Senesi surprised himself with the third fastest time for the round in between Gruber and defending Champion Joern Neumann.

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October 9, 2023

Hamon sets early pace at GT World Championship

Serpent’s Jeff Hamon is the early pace setter in practice at the IFMAR 1:8 GT World Championship in Sydney, Australia. Winner of the Worlds Warm-up Race back in April when the final was rained off, the Australian set his fastest 3-consecutive laps ahead of Hong Nor’s Toni Gruber – Hamon’s best run coming in the cool conditions of the morning first practice while Gruber’s best came in the 31 degree heat of the fourth of the 6 rounds on today’s schedule. IGT8 boss Paolo Morganti sits third fastest with European GT Champion Bernard-Alain Arnaldi making it four different manufacturer at the top of the timing sheets driving his Genius Racing chassis. With visiting drivers trying to get their heads around the low grip levels at the John Grant International Raceway track, which hosted the 1:8 Onroad World Championship back in 2001, European GT Championship Top Qualifier Andrea Catanzani sits fifth fastest ahead of the Sworkz of reigning World Champion Joern Neumann, who like fellow countryman Gruber found improvement in CP4.

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October 9, 2023

Kato adds Japanese 1:8 Nitro Buggy National title

Kouki Kato is the new JMRCA All Japan Champion for 1:8 Nitro Buggy. Racing at the RC Land 23 track in Matsuzaka City, rain forecast for Sunday meant the race was brought forward and run on Saturday. In qualifying it was business as usual for multiple defending Champion Yusuke Sugiura as he secured the TQ with his Mugen. The reigning 1:10 4WD Japanese National Champion, Kato would qualify fourth but in the final he took the fight to Sugiura and at the end of the 40-minutes he took the win by just 1.5 seconds from Sugiura ending his run of four back to back titles. Kenji Tsuruta also driving a Mugen would complete the podium ahead Juriya Kajiwara, Shin Adachi and Yuichi Kanai.

Image: Kouki Kato [Facebook]

October 9, 2023

IFMAR release 126 strong 1:8 Onroad Worlds Entry List

With IFMAR’s newest World Championship 1:8 GT getting underway this week in Sydney, Australia, the World governing body has released the entry list for the upcoming edition of its oldest and original World Championship, 1:8 Nitro Onroad. Scheduled to take place from October 27th to November 5th at Infinity International RC Speedway in Japan, the 23rd running of the categories biggest prize has attracted a strong 126 entries lead by reigning Champion Shoki Takahata. With 24 countries represented, the host nation has come out in force to support the race making up just shy of 50% of the entry. In addition to Takahata, who won the title for Mugen in California in 2019, his three title predecessors Dario Balestri (2017), Simon Kurzbuch (2015) and Tadahiko Sahashi (2013) will also compete. The third time Japan will host the 1:8 Onroad Worlds, on the last visit it was a home win for then Serpent driver Sahashi. Nine years later he would become only the second driver ever to be both a 1:8 and 1:10 Nitro Onroad Champion when he was crowned the 1:10 World Champion with Infinity in Thailand last year. Red RC will be making the trip to Japan to cover the event.

View entry list here

October 9, 2023

Isaacs does double at MonTech NYGP

The annual MonTech New York Grand Prix took place over the weekend where Awesomatix driver Sam Isaacs stamped his authority on the fifth running of the event with victory in both Mod 1:12 and Touring Car. Held at 360v2 RC in New Rochelle, New York, 1:12 qualifying would see Isaacs secure the TQ with his Q4 run from Donny Lia, Kemp Anderson and Keven Hebert. With a single 8-minute final to decide the winner, Lia would find a way passed the pole sitter after 16-laps holding it for 20-laps before going out of the race which allowed Isaacs to win by a 2.4-seconds margin from Anderson and Hebert. In Touring Car, Isaacs was also the Top Qualifier and in the single 5-minute final led from start to finish to win by almost one & a half seconds from ROAR Champion Herbert and Anderson, the Top 3 remaining unchanged to how they qualified.

Image: 360v2 RC [Facebook]

October 8, 2023

‘Of course goal is to keep the title’ but ‘the class has changed a lot’ – Neumann on 1:8 GT World title defence

Think Joern Neumann and you think World class offroad racer. The German is a multiple offroad European Champion, a multiple offroad World Champion Finalist and the only European to ever to win the legendary Reedy Offroad Race of Champions. Ironically his biggest win in the sport didn’t involve navigating any jump sections, and this coming week the factory Sworkz driver will defend that title despite not having raced in the category since adding the IFMAR World title to his CV. It’s January 2020 and the World has no idea of two major things that are about to happy – Neumann is going to become an onroad World Champion and a thing called Covid is going to shut down the World just afterwards!

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October 6, 2023

Hall brothers 1-2 at Essex Carpet Clash opener – Report

Last weekend saw the first round of Essex Carpet Clash Season 6 with all drivers greeted to the start of the winter season on a sizeable track that had some nice flowing corners with technical chicanes that made for a quick lap, when getting it correct. From the fore rounds of qualifying Team Associated’s Tommy Hall looked quick at the start and likely to take the 2WD pole position, however his brother Jamie managed to take the overall pole position with a quicker lap time, due to both being joint on point. Last season’s Champion Harley Eldridge was quick all day and would line up third with her Xray with Kyle Moon in fourth and Ellis Stafford lining up fifth. The two wheel drive A finals were exciting to watch and came down to the third leg where it was a battle between Tommy and Jamie who had both taken a leg win each. Tommy managed to pass his brother in the third leg and although Jamie tried his best, made a couple of mistakes resulting in the pole man finishing second on the podium. Harley Eldridge was consistent and finished third in each leg rounding off the podium position.

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