Masami reseeded No.1
Masami Hirosaka has claimed the No.1 spot in the reseeding of the heats after a blistering run saw him become the first and only driver to break into the 19 laps on Day 1 of the IFMAR Worlds in Thailand. The Japanese master predicted better traction for the second controlled practice and increased the punch on his speedo accordingly to once again top the time sheets and claim an important early mental victory over his rivals as he will now lead away the fastest group of drivers for the heats.
Describing his run as ‘really good’ the long time Yokomo factory driver used the session to run a second example of his Nosram 4.5 motor to ensure he has two good motors at his disposal over the next three days. Asked if faster times are yet to come, Masami said maybe not tomorrow but come Saturday he will be aiming for 20 laps.
Jilles Groskamp put in a great second controlled practice to go No.2 in the reseed. The Tamiya/Speed Passion driver was clearly very happy with the run. While his team-mates are struggling with the set-up on their TRF416 World Edition, the Dutch driver has his working well. Although describing the run as far from perfect, Groskamp admit to finding most of his time from watching Masami’s lines around the RCS which he said are ‘perfect’.
Pulling off the biggest shock of practice was Kyosho’s Shin Adachi. The Japanese driver could only manage 22nd in the first controlled practice but a change of steering system on the Stallion transformed things. Despite dumping on the last lap Adachi pulled off 18 laps in 05:02.473. Making it four different brands of car at the top of the time sheets Atsushi Hara is fastest of Hot Bodies star line-up with his time from the first controlled practice. An electrical problem caused his Cyclone TC to run roughly in the second forcing him to head for the pits.
Germany’s Ronald Volker described things as being ‘so close’ but with his car getting better with each outing he was feeling pretty good & happy to put it into the top heat with the fifth fastest time ahead of 2002 World Champion Surikarn and 2004 title holder Marc Rheinard. The latter is struggling to get any consistancy into his car but his Swedish team-mate Viktor Wilck, who won the Pre-Worlds, is having an even worse time and finds himself in an unexpected 17th in the reseed. An indication of how close things are here in Bangkok is that Wilck is less than 4 seconds off his team-mate Groskamp but finds 14 drivers between them.
Rick Hohwart heads the Associated challenge at the end of Day 1 after team leader Juho Levanen had a problem with his front spool, a problem that also befell his young Finnish team-mate Christer Andersson. American Hohwart was on target for a very fast time but crashed and as a result will line-up in the second fastest group after posting the 15th best time.
Top 10 after controlled practice
1. Masami Hirosaka (Yokomo/Nosram) – 19 Laps 5:16.066
2. Jilles Groskamp (Tamiya/SpeedPassion) – 18 Laps 5:01.999
3. Shin Adachi (Kyosho/Team Orion) – 18 Laps 5:02.473
4. Atsushi Hara (Hot Bodies/Team Orion) – 18 Laps 5:02.491
5. Ronald Volker (Hot Bodies/LRP) – 18 Laps 5:02.813
6. Surikarn C. (Hot Bodies/Speed Passion) – 18 Laps 5:02.938
7. Marc Rheinard (Tamiya/Speed Passion) – 18 Laps 5:03.139
8. Elliot Harper (Xray/Nosram) – 18 Laps 5:03.385
9. Meen Vejrak (Xray/LRP) – 18 Laps 5:03.415
10.Alexander Hagberg (Xray/LRP) – 18 Laps 5:03.545
Drivers will now be reseeded and given one more controlled practice session in the morning before we get down to the serious business of qualifying with three heats on tomorrow’s schedule. Red RC’s live coverage, which is brought to you in association with LRP and Speed Passion, continues in the morning.
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