November 3, 2008

Peter Jovanovic takes 3rd Australian title

LRP are reporting on the 2008 Australian 1/10 Nitro On-Road Nationals were held at the Brendale track in Brisbane recently, host of the 2006 IFMAR World Championships. The race attracted over 120 drivers split into 1/10th Touring cars, 1/8th On road and Pullstart class and it was LRP team driver Peter Jovanovic who was setting the pace already from the first practice rounds through to the first qualifying rounds. With the last qualifier run in the late evening when the traction on the track increased significantly, he dropped to 2nd on the grid as Jesse Davis came through to take the TQ spot. After problem before the start of the final, that forced Peter to start from the pitlane, he was able to work his way into the lead by lap 20. From there on it was just a matter of getting the car through the finish line and  with the softer LRP VTEC tyre going the distance without any changes or problems, Peter won the final by over a lap and a half to claim his 3rd National title in a row.

Source: LRP [lrp.cc]


November 2, 2008

Atsushi Hara retains Japanese 1/8th title

The 1/8th scale Japanese Nationals tool place at the Mugen Seiki owned track in Chiba this weekend, thankfully under dry conditions. Qualifying saw Hot Bodies driver, and 2wd World Champion, Hayato Matsuzaki take pole position with 3 round wins from Mugen man Kenji Osaka in 2nd, both of whom took the 2 direct final placings while current World & Japanese Champion Atsushi Hara placed 3rd and had to race in the semis. The Semi Finals saw Hara easily win, with a time 26 seconds faster than the winner of the semi B, Kyosho driver Kazua Tanaka and both of these would line up in 3rd and 4th respectively in the final. The 1 hour long final saw Hara get to the front early where he controlled the pace keeping a safe distance to 2nd placed runner and team mate Matsuzaki with Osaka and Kawamoto spending the majority of the race in 3rd and 4th. Hara would take the win by 12 seconds from Matsuzaki in 2nd, while Kenji Osaka took 3rd a further 15 seconds back.

Source: Hot Bodies [hb-buggy.jugem.jp]


November 1, 2008

Garrigou is French Classic Champion

More 1/8th scale 2wd Classic news, this time from France which saw Gilles Garrigou wrap up the 2008 National title at the final race in Bourg en Bresse. Driving his DXF Primo throughout the year, Gilles had this to say:

I am very happy to have captured my first title after 24 years running in the same category. My thanks go to DXF competition for the super racing car they have created and also because they have offered me the new DXF Streto Vortex to run in the 2009 season. I also want to thank Kit models for their help all this year and especially Eric Lecour for his help at every race. And finally RB engines for supplying me with excellent product throughout the season.


November 1, 2008

Nicola Ometto wins Monte-Carlo Cup

The first Monte-Carlo Cup, of which hopes to become an annual event on the classic calendar was run recently on the La Turbie track in the hills above Monte-Carlo. Qualifying for the event saw an Italian domination with Simone Giordano taking the pole position with his Mantua Intrepid from Motonica driver Emanuele Oberto in 2nd and Nicola Ometto, driving another Mantua in 3rd. The start of the 60 minute final saw a good start at the front, but problems for pole man Giordano dropped him down the order. This allowed Ometto to break away at the front and he was able to pull out a commanding lead to win by 7 laps ahead of Simone Zanon in 2nd and Massimo Poldi in 3rd, all driving the Mantua, which in fact took the first 7 positions in the final.

Source: Automodellismo [automodellismo.net]


October 30, 2008

Adrien Bertin takes victory in Grenoble

Held on the famous track of Grenoble, the French 1/8 On-Road Championship saw Kyosho CRF team driver Adrien Bertin TQ easily by more than 6 seconds ahead of promising French driver Jerome Papaconstantinos. In the final, Adrien got a perfect start and pulled away from the field and after building up a one lap cushion on the 2nd placed driver Stephane Bouche after only 10 minutes, the former World Champion cruised to the victory. In second place was Bouche who placed ahead of Shepherd team mate Laurent Pageneau who drove a very consistent race to take 3rd in front of newly crowned National champion Adrien Siegfried.

Source: Team Orion [teamorion.com]


October 28, 2008

Spiniello & Balestri win Novarossi Trophy

The 2008 Novarossi trophy was held this past weekend in Gubbio, Italy and it was Team Magic driver Mario Spiniello and Motonica driver Dario Balestri that took the wins in both 1/10th and 1/8th scale classes respectively. In 1/8th scale there was a great performance from Balestri, who starting from 5th on the grid, made a great start to get up to 2nd after lap one and only taking 2 more laps to pass Serpent racer Andrea Cristiani for the lead. Dario could hold onto the lead despite an extra fuel stop to win by less than 4 seconds from Cristiani in 2nd and Giordano Agostinelli in 3rd. In the 1/10th scale it was Giuseppe Musolino that started on pole but after 2 laps it was Spiniello who took over at the front where he controlled the race to the end, winning by over a lap. The final moments of the race saw a big battle between runner up Musolino and a recovering Raimondo Gilletti with less than a second seperating the pair at the end as they crossed the line.


October 28, 2008

Team Gazafond win Merlin Enduro race

Merlin Fuels are reporting on the Merlin Enduro Race which tool place at the GTBRCF track in Toulouse, France. This 6 hour endurance race is a tough test for cars, engines as well as drivers. Everything was perfectly organized by the GTB RC Club and the weather was great for racing. The endurance race was divided in two series of 3 hours each with a lunch break in between and heading into lunch it was Team Sapacepa in the lead by 10 laps from Team Fashion in 2nd, with Team Gazafond in 3rd. The break must have helped because at the completion of the 6 hour race Team Gazafond had managed to work its way up from 3rd to 1st, winning by a mere 2 laps from early leaders Team Sapacepa, while Team Fashion dropped to 3rd, ending up 71 laps down on 2nd.

Source: Merlin Fuel [merlinfuel.com]


October 28, 2008

Daniel Vega wins Madrid Champs opener

The 2009 Madrid Championships for 1/8th scale buggy got underway last weekend at the Fuencarral Track. With 90 drivers taking part at this opening round, it was former European Champion Daniel Vega driving a Mugen that led the final throughout to win from current Spanish EP Buggy Champion Alberto Garcia driving an LRP, with Xray driver Juanma Guillen in 3rd.