February 17, 2007

European B Championships Slovenia – Warm up event

European B Championships Slovenia

We have been contacted by the organisers of this years EFRA European B Championships for 1/8th scale to tell us about the warm up race that will be held on this beautiful track on the 10th – 11th of March. This warm up race is open to all competitors not just those who will take part in the actual championship race at the end of May and will be run as a rehersal for the big event. If you are planning to race the European B Championships, this is the perfect opportunity to get some practice in on the track before the event itself, and if your not taking part this would be a great chance to race on this challenging 300m long track.

To find out more information you can go to the official Championship site here.


February 17, 2007

2007 Winternats, Florida – Friday Day 6

2007 Winternats, Florida

So on Friday we saw the lower mains being run for all classes up until the C-mains which will be the first races run on Saturday, weather permitting. In 1/8th scale there was plenty of action in the lower finals as always and the big winner of the day was Vince Tate who won his D-main and will progress into Saturdays C-main, with a nice win over Nigel Sim and Renato Dias. Tire wear came up today as well, thanks to the rain which had changed the characteristics of the track, and it caught a lot of people out when making their tire choices. The big story of the day however was in the 1/10th 200mm class were the unfortunate Jilles Groskamp, who we told you was disqualified for being under weight after setting the 3rd fastest time in qualifying, managed to move up from his H-main position to win 5 finals in a row (completing over 500 laps) and will take his position in Saturdays C-main. And incredible drive and he is lucky to make it to the Friday evening where he can now get his Xray NT1 rebuilt for his attack on tomorrows main finals.

To view all the lower final finishing orders and to view some pictures from Friday click here… content


February 16, 2007

Markus Eirenschmalz win Flawil Indoor race

Flawil Indoor race

Xray have a article on their site from Swiss Xray rider Robin Frischkopf who reports on the Indoor Race Flawil which attracted over 100 entries from Germany and Switzerland. The race took place on an old indoor horse riding arena which made it very tight and seemed to cause some problems for Robin, who eventually ended up in the quarter finals after qualfiying but managed to bump in race day to the semis and then into the Main final where he finished in 2nd position behind eventual winner Markus Eirenschmalz, also driving Xray.

However, German driver Markus Eirenschmalz (also driving an XRAY XB8TQ) was a little bit faster than me. We battled for a long time and were only seconds apart. Nearing the end of the final I was again in some traffic and got crashed into, so he was half a lap ahead of me. For the last part of the final I tried to catch up but I couldn’t quite make it. In the end there was still only half a lap between us so I settled for a good second place.

You can read the full report here.

Source: Xray [teamxray.com]


February 16, 2007

2007 Winternats, Florida – Thursday Day 5

Paolo Morganti - Image by Mike Myers

Well the rain came and interrupted play today on the last day of qualifiers for this years Florida Winternats. With the 1/8th scale class not managing to complete a full round of qualifying without the rain stopping proceedings, the results from Wednesday will stand, which means Kyosho racer Josh Cyrul will start on pole position for Saturdays A-main race. In 2nd position is Chris Tosolini driving another Kyosho Evolva, with reigning champion Mike Swauger driving his MRT Ninja powered Mugen MRX4-R lining up just behind him. Vincent Jackson, also driving for Mugen, looks like the danger man in this race, the relative unknown lines up 4th and could produce the surprise of the day. In 5th sits former multiple winner, and highest qualifying Serpent, Michael Salven from Germany just ahead of team mate Paolo Morganti, both drivers with something to prove after showing top pace in the heats but just not being able to pull it together when it mattered.

In 1/10th scale its all change, with the organisers managing to get in one of the final 2 rounds of qualifying for this class run, in between the showers. Serpent 720 driver Paolo Morganti pulled out a stunning drive in cold conditions to go 9 seconds quicker than he previously managed, to take the pole position from top Xray driver and overnight pole man Ralph Burch. Jilles Groskamp who moved to using a Mega MF motor for his final qualifying runs, managed to get 3rd fastest qualifying time but was disqualified for his car being underweight after the lead weight in his car fell out, which meant that 3rd position went to Kyosho racer Josh Cyrul. In 4th position was Danny Horta, driving a Serpent 720 who managed to move himself up the order and finish ahead of hot shot Xray driver Paul LeMieux who ended qualifying a very respectable 5th for his first nitro race.

The lower finals take place today, Friday, and if there is no rain delay, the A, B and C-mains will take place on Saturday. The top 11 fastest qualify directly into the A-main in all classes with the winner of the B-main bumping up to make it 12 starting in the A-main.

Not so many pictures today but the ones we have you can see below along with the final top A-main standings… content


February 15, 2007

Adam Drake Interviewed

Adam Drake Interviewed

Our partners down under, RubeDude, have a real nice interview with Mr. gas off road ‘The Drake’. In the interview Adam answers all sorts of questions from how he begun racing, to what his routine is in the build up to his race, to his favourite type of track and class of racing.

I always try and watch the races leading up to my race. It gets me pumped up and it’s a great chance to see if the track has change or if another drive has found a better line around the track. I always like to walk the track in the morning and before a main event. It’s kind of my time to get away and get into race mode.

You can read the full interview here.

Source: Rube Dude [rubeduderc.com] Image: Greg Rojna [gregrojna.com]


February 15, 2007

2007 Winternats, Florida – Wednesday Day 4

2007 Winternats

The 3rd and 4th rounds of qualifying are now over and with all Wednesdays racing run under dry and improving conditions, the tops of the leaderboards have changed quite a lot. In 1/8th scale, Kyosho racer Josh Cyrul has moved up from 4th position overnight to take provisional pole position after 4 rounds, the US driver followed closely by 1/10th US National champion Chris Tosolini, also driving a Kyosho. In 3rd position was Tuesdays overnight pole man, and reigning Champion Mike Swauger, who despite improving by 2 seconds still only ended up in third ahead of the big mover of the day Vincent Jackson, also running with Mugen. Paolo Morganti, driving a Serpent 960 was the biggest loser on the day in 1/8th scale, dropping from 2nd to 6th having not been able to improve on his Tuesday time.

In 1/10th scale its more of the same with Ralph Burch on the debut race for Xrays new NT1 that retains his first position despite not improving his time today. Paolo Morganti, driving the Serpent 720 improved a lot and jumped from overnight 4th to 2nd, only 1 tenth of a second behind with Chris Tosolini, another driver who didn’t manage to complete the 5 minutes on Tuesday, did so today to improve his time and gain 3rd position albeit 3 seconds back on the leading pair. Barry Baker, also with the Xray NT1, moved up from 6th yesterday to end the day in 4th position heading into the final day of qualifying. The biggest loser on the day in 1/10th scale was Mark Green, driving a Serpent 720, who couldn’t manage to improve his time and thus dropped from his overnight 5th position to end up 13th going into the final 2 rounds of qualifying.

Check out some more pictures and the top 10 standings… content


February 15, 2007

Paul Coleman debuts the Robitronic Mantis

Paul Coleman Mantis

Paul Coleman made his debut race with the Robitronic Mantis at last months Team Losi Nitro Winter Championships held in Tampa Florida. The race was a learning experience for Paul, driving the Mantis in its debut Truggy race Stateside, and he could qualify in 6th position with some consistent running and went on to perform well in the race until he was forced to retire with some technical problems. The car however showed its potential and look good on the track, very stable over the jumps and fast through the corners and looks promising for the rest of the season.

Source: Axial Racing [axialracing.com]


February 14, 2007

Racer In the Spotlight – Teddy Syach

Teddy Syach

Serpent.com continue their Racer in the Spotlight series with an interview with Worlds finalist and top Indonesian racer Teddy Syach. In the interview Teddy explains how he got started in RC Racing, his best and worst moments, and if your travelling to Indonesia, which track is the best to visit. Also did you know that Teddy is a very famous actor in Indonesia, thats way cool.

Read the full interview with Teddy here. You can also check out the first interview with Portugese hot shot Ricardo Nogueira here.

Source: Serpent [serpent.com]