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October 16, 2023

Kuenning crowned ROAR 1:8 Onroad National Champion

Max Keunning is the new US 1:8 Onroad National Champion, the Xray driver having the perfect weekend at the ROAR On-Road Fuel Nationals in Texas over the weekend. Racing at N-Control RC Racing Circuit, in qualifying Keunning, who is better known for his electric onroad exploits, would takes his RX8 to TQ runs in 3 of the 4 rounds. The only other to post a TQ run was Chris Kemper when he topped Q4 as Keunning had a DNF. Lining up on pole for the 45-minute final ahead of Kemper and former World Champions Ralph Birch and Joel Johnson, he would go on to win with Johnson, the only other driver to hit the front during race, finishing second 2-laps down at the end. With Birch an early retirement, Kemper would complete the podium ahead of Scotty Barrera in fourth. In 1:10, Serpent’s Jose Almonte went one better than last year, when he was second to Bryce Butterfield, to take the title. Having struggled with the balance of his 750 Evo in qualifying, he had it sorted for the final, setting the fastest lap of the race en route to victory over Scott Barnes.

Image: Max Keunning [Facebook]

October 14, 2023

Gruber is GT World Champ with master class Down Under

Toni Gruber is the new IFMAR 1:8 GT World Champion, the Hong Nor driver taking his first World title with an absolutely dominant and perfectly executed drive in Sydney, Australia. Disappointed at missing out on the TQ in qualifying but managing to book his direct starting position in the final by winning Super Pole, the German driver led the 1-hour final from start to finish after getting the holeshot on Top Qualifier Alex D’angelo. It was to be a difficult race for the Genius Racing driver, his race hampered by flame outs resulting in 6th place at the finish. A lap up on the entire field after 20-minutes, Gruber extended that to 2 laps by 40-minutes, with the attention on the battle for second between home hero Jeff Hamon and his young Serpent team-mate Andrea Catanzani who put in a sensation drive in the Semi final to go from last to winning it. A driver to call time, his 2-speed needing adjustment, Hamon had to start the race from the No.11 box on the grid as a result but worked his way through to second with World’s rookie Catanzani marking his arrival to the world by completing the podium. For out going champion Joern Neumann it wasn’t to be a good race, the Sworkz driver suffered a number flame outs during his refuelling stops and after an off 17-minutes in some slow marshalling saw his engine stop costing the German a lap. In the end he would finish 8th 12-laps down on Gruber.

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October 14, 2023

Neumann title defence on with Semi win

Qualifying only 14th, Joern Neumann’s defence of his IFMAR 1:8 GT World Championship title is still on after the Sworkz driver took victory in the first of the Semi Finals in Sydney. Starting from sixth on the grid, Neumann worked his way to the front chasing down the Serpent of pole sitter Jeff Hamon. With no fuel stops allowed before 7-minutes, when Hamon and Neumann pitted they would both suffer flame outs. On the second stop, Hamon was in earlier than Neuman but once again flamed out something the Australian would suffer on all his stops. With a clean second stop for Neumann, this would give him a lead he would not give up. Starting from the pitlane after a problem in the warm-up, Italian Gabriele Paloschi would get past his Serpent team-mate to finish second, the Top 3 securing their spot in the 1-hour Main event. Unfortunately for Peter Jovanovic, having run second for the opening 5-minutes, he ran was over when he stripped a gear on his Capricorn.

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October 12, 2023

D’angelo is GT World Championship Top Qualifier

Genius Racing’s Alex D’angelo is the Top Qualifier for the 1:8 GT World Championship in Sydney Australia. The Italian’s first World Championship, he secured pole position for Saturday’s 1-hour final when he backed up his Q5 TQ with another in the final round at the John Grant International Raceway. Going into the decider as the only driver capable of topping overnight TQ holder Toni Gruber, he would produce another 24-lap run and with his Q5 time the quickest of the event he took the overall TQ on tiebreaker from Gruber. A rough day for Gruber, qualifying didn’t end any better for the Hong Nor driver as suffered from too lean an engine and pulled in after 4-minutes. Adding to the Genius team’s celebrations, reigning European GT Champion Bernard-Alain Arnaldi make it a 1-2 for the GT8.23 for the round putting the French driver into the four driver Super pole shoot out. This was duly won by Gruber who now locks his place into the Main final while the rest have to come through the Semi Finals. For reigning Champion Joern Neumann, a strong finish to Day 1 of qualifying, when he got a P3 in Q3, didn’t carry through to Day 2. As a result the Sworkz driver will start out his title defence from 6th in the half hour Semi B having qualified 14th overall.

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October 12, 2023

D’angelo delivers TQ in penultimate qualifier

Genius Racing’s Alex D’angelo delivered a TQ run in the penultimate round of qualifying at the 1:8 GT World Championship and in doing so has put himself in a position to deny Hong Nor’s Toni Gruber from becoming the early Top Qualifier in Sydney. Yet again it was an action packed 7-minutes, the first casualty being Andrea Catanzani whose Serpent suffered a mechanical and was out after just 4-laps. Up front his team-mate Jeff Hamon was setting the pace but his engine was too lean and the Australian was forced to pit to have it retuned ending his effort. Toni Gruber, hoping to wrap up the overall TQ with a round to spare, would get hit not once but twice by other cars, putting him on the back foot. In a close fight at the top of the timing screens with his team-mate D’angelo, Bernard-Alain Arnaldi would put his car on its roof and sliding across the grass where it needed to be marshal. All the while D’angelo was having a clean run on new tyres delivering the TQ by a margin of 2.4-seconds over Gruber with Q4 winner Natanaele Senesi completing the Top 3. Again another good run from the second fastest heat by local offroad racer Lachlan Donnelly who posted the fourth fastest time for the round which moves him into 7th overall.

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October 12, 2023

Senesi takes Q4 at GT Worlds

Natanaele Senesi became the third different driver to TQ a round of qualifying at the 1:8 GT World Championship, the Xray driver topping the fourth round on a hot morning in Sydney where the temperatures on Day 2 of qualifying are set to hit 33 degrees. It was to be dramatic top heat that started with an early mistake from Q3 winner Andrea Catanzani, costing him over 2-seconds. Next it was Jeff Hamon who was in trouble, the Serpent driver have brake issues for a third time of the event and he was out after 3-minutes. Setting the fastest lap of the run as the only driver to run a 17-second lap, soon Catanzani was back in the hunt but he had Toni Gruber all over him, the Hong Nor driver having to lift on the straight so as not to run in the back of the Serpent. With Catanzani opening to allow Gruber passed, shortly after the German would all on his own go off the track and across the grass losing over a second. Catanzani looked like making it two TQ runs in a row but on the last lap he would run out of fuel with Senesi crossing the line to take it by 1.9-seconds from Gruber with the Genius pairing of Bernard-Alain Arnaldi and Alex D’angelo third & fourth ahead of Lachlan Donnelly who was running in the second fastest heat.

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October 11, 2023

BREAKING NEWS – Catanzani penalty revoked

Andrea Catanzani’s 3-second penalty for track limits has been rescinded meaning the Serpent driver takes the TQ for the third round of qualifying at the 1:8 GT World Championship. More than two & a half hours after the Italian had 3-seconds added to his time because it was too late in the heat to serve a drive through penalty for track limits, it was rescinded due to IFMAR rules only allowing track limits at pit entry/exit. Jeff Hamon was credited with the TQ for the round when the penalty was imposed but now the top seed gets a P2 for the round as how they originally crossed the line in qualifying.

October 11, 2023

Hamon TQs Q3 after Catanzani penalised for track limits

Jeff Hamon has taken the TQ for the third round of qualifying at the 1:8 GT World Championship but only after a post race time penalty was applied to his Serpent team-mate Andrea Catanzani for track limits. Having run out of fuel while on a TQ run in the opening qualifier this morning, and then suffering a flame out in Q2, Catanzani looked to bring the first day of qualifying in Sydney to a close by finally delivering a TQ run. Given a warning during the qualifier about track limits, later in the heat the Italian was called to serve a drive through penalty but didn’t have time to serve it. Crossing the line as the TQ, it initially looked like the result would stand but a protest was made and some time later he was informed he would have 3-seconds added to his time dropping him behind Hamon. While his team argued that the track limits rule was nothing they had come across before, and was something more applicable to Formula 1, they had no grounds to appeal the penalty. In all the drama it was top be a very good round for defending Champion Joern Neumann as the Sworkz driver posted the third fastest time ahead of Alex D’angelo and Natanaele Senesi. Having TQ’d the first two rounds, Toni Gruber would get 6th for the round having opted to go with used tyres.

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