BMI racing has announced that they have signed Fernando Gordinho to join there USA Team. After a 3 year break from the industry Fernando will be traveling the USA representing BMI and racing the all new DB12RR LiPo Edition and DB10R. Having a National title and multiple A-main podiums in 1/12 scale and Touring Car his experience and up-lifting attitude will only bring great things to the team.
Source: BMI Racing [bmiracing.com]
The final EFRA GP of the year took place last weekend in Monaco and attracted some top quality competition. Racing in the hills of the principality it was Serpent driver Andrea Cristiani that took pole position ahead of Motonica ace Robin D’hondt in 2nd, Kyosho racer Adrien Bertin in 3rd, with Mugen driver Walter Salemi completing the top 4 and making it 4 different manufacturers in the direct qualifying positions. Cristiani would go on to win the 45 minute race by 2 and a half laps in front of D’hondt, the pair being the only 2 to drop down into the 13 second barrier, while Serpent racer Serge Christiany took the final podium step in 3rd.
Source: Serpent [serpent.com]
New from O.S. Engines, the .21XZ-R On-Road ABC engine is designed to take drivers to victory at major 1/8 scale on-road championship races. The tungsten-weighted crankshaft creates optimum balance for consistent low and mid-speed torque while the cylinder liner features 7 scavenger ports and 3 exhaust ports for more efficient combustion. Other improvements over its predecessor include a newly designed 21M carburetor, a lighter piston and a more durable conrod.
Click here to see the engine specifications
Last weekend saw the 4th and final round of the Spanish 1:8th scale On Road Championships run at the Club Arca in Madrid and it was Merlin Team driver Oscar Cabezas that took the victory, TQ and overall Championship. Driving his Motonica, Óscar dominated the race from the beginning, being the only driver able to set 18 laps and moreover he won the 4 qualifying heats. However the Main final, was not as easy as the final result shows. Óscar had a flame out early on that made him change his strategy and he even run out of fuel in the middle of the final. Nevertheless his pace was so strong and consistent that he could keep the 1st position until the the final flag. With this Victory, Óscar claims the National title with 2 victories and 2 second places. Josué Artiles finished on 2nd in both the last race and the overall championship. In fact, both Oscar and Josue finished the season with the same 1,893 points, however Oscar’s worst classification was a 2nd while Artiles worst was a 3rd. This gives an idea about the how tight the fight was between both drivers in recent years.
Click here for the final race standings
Christer Andersson has completed the perfect event, having won this weekend’s Rebellion Race in Finland from pole position. The Team Associated driver had to wait till the 3rd and final leg to seal the win having taken victory in the first leg, but using old tires in Leg 2 he couldn’t hold off Marc Rheinard who went on to take the leg win, to set up a title fight in the final leg. The first leg saw Alexander Hagberg roll it after 2 minutes but he would recover to 3rd, while Marc could catch Christer but made a mistake close to the end and had to settle for 2nd. In leg 2 with Christer on old tires, he had to settle for 2nd while Marc would win after passing Hagberg for 2nd following a small mistake from the Xray driver. The Swede would recover to take 3rd. In the final deciding leg, Andersson was back on fresh Xenon rubber and could pull away to win easily, while both Marc and Alex both made a mistake, the former having to park up, giving Viktor Wilck the 2nd spot ahead of Teemu Leino. Overall it was Christer taking his first international win, just days after his 18th birthday, with World Champion Marc Rheinard taking 2nd and Alexander Hagberg in 3rd spot. Sakke Ahoniemi took the win in the B-main.
Click here for the final standings, more photos and video
Qualifying has been concluded at the 2009 Rebellion race and it is Associated team driver Christer Andersson that has taking the pole position with his round 1 time from Saturday. Going into Sunday’s final qualifying round, both Christer and and Tamiya star driver Marc Rheinard were looking very fast but both were running hard and both made mistakes which damaged their cars and forced them to retire. The only drivers in the top ten to improve were Martin Hudy driving his Xray T3 and Simo Ahoniemi with his Corally who knocks his brother Sakke down to the BQ position. So the 3 leg finals will start with Christer on pole followed by Xray driver Alexander Hagberg in 2nd and Marc Rheinard lining up in 3rd. The finals are about to get underway and we will bring you the results as we get them.
Click here to see the final qualifying positions
This weekend’s Rebellion race in Finland, seen as the warm up race for next year’s European Indoor Touring car Championships, is taking place this weekend with over 60 drivers in attendance. With 4 rounds of qualifying already run, and one left to be driven tomorrow morning, it is International Finnish racer Christer Andersson that is topping the times and holds the overnight top qualifying position driving the Associated TC5. With only the fastest of the 5 rounds counting, everything is still up for grabs and currently Xray driver Alexander Hagberg is sitting in 2nd, ahead of the World Champion Marc Rheinard in 3rd, Teemu Leino in 4th and winner of last weekend’s ETS Rd1 Viktor Wilck sitting in 5th. Most drivers are enjoying the track but they are finding it difficult to string together 5 minutes without any mistake, so the qualifying standings could change if some drivers who struggled today can get in a clean run. We will bring you the final results from Finland tomorrow when they crown the 2009 Rebellion Race Champion.
Click here to see the current qualifying standings
Tamiya Denmark have announced that Steen Graversen is back with Tamiya. Steen has decided to go back to the Tamiya team, after some years as a Factory driver for Kyosho, and will have his first race with the new car at the Czech Grand Prix in Hrotovice next month. The multiple European Championship finalist will be racing the Tamiya TRF416WE in the first races, and will switch to the new TRF416X when it is released. The power will once again from Team Orion utilizing the Swiss company’s motors and batteries. Steen wished to say “many thanks, to the Kyosho Factory in Japan, for the last years”.
Source: Tamiya Denmark [tamiya.dk]
