October 12, 2013

Sahashi on pole for World Championship Final

Tadahiko

Team Serpent’s Tadahiko Sahashi will start the 1:8 Onroad World Championship final at KeiTune Racing Speedway in Japan from pole position after the Top Qualifier took a faster win in the second Semi-Final than Takaaki Shimo managed in opening 30-minute encounter.  Starting from the front Sahasi lead from start to finish, the only blotch in the near perfect run being the loss of a rear wheel off his Picco powered 977 when he was released from his tyre stop.  Such was the Japanese drivers lead however once the rest of the field completed their tyre stops he was back in front eventually taking the win by over a lap from Atsushi Hara and HB’s Teemu Leino.  The story of the race however was the recovery drive from European Champion Jilles Groskamp.

Groskamp

At the start Groskamp found himself boxed out dropping him down the order as the Team Shepherd/Maxima driver tried to stay out of trouble but contact with HB’s Michihiro Takayasu would knock a shock off the Velox V8.  Driving one lap with the left rear shock off the car, he had to pit where crew chief Jarb Ratanarat fitted a new one.  Losing three laps in the pits and sitting in last position, the recovery drive by the Electric Touring Car World Champion was noting but spectacular.  Having suffered a similar incident in one of his qualifiers, Groskamp luckily decided to take a shock off his spare car and put it in his pitbox for the Semi, a decision he said after ‘saved the day’.  Totally fired up by the incident, having originally planned to drive a well calculated race, the Dutch ace drove the race of his life.  Setting the fastest lap, only him and Sahashi managing to break in to the 16-second lap times, he would work his way back up to fifth passing those ahead of him as though he was lapping them rather than unlapping himself.  With the Top 4 bumping up from each race, the last direct position in the Semi A going to Shinnosuke Yokoyama, Groskamp would claim his place in the Main with the fastest non-top 4 time with KM Racing’s Charlee Phutiyotin who was in the same race securing the final spot on the grid.

Fukuda

One big name casualty of the race was Miami runner-up Keisuke Fukuda.  Starting 5th, the KM Racing driver would lose the INS Box off his Picco engine on his first fuel stop.  Returning to the pits to have it fitted back on, it would come off again after he rejoined the track ending any chance of him progressing to the final.  With the Japanese driver out it means the podium in Chiba this evening will be completely different with Shimo & Hara the only 2011 finalists set to start the race.  The race also saw the end of the road for Miami finalist Takehiro Terauchi, the Mugen Novarossi driver running out of fuel just as the first round of fuel stops started. Former Worlds Finalist Oliver Mack would fail to finish, the Team Shepherd driver having a front shock come off which he believes was the result of a crash earlier in the race.

Grid for Final
1. Tadahiko Sahashi (JPN) – Serpent/Picco
2. Takaaki Shimo (JPN) – Mugen/OS Speed
3. Meen Vejrak (THA) – KM Racing/OS Speed
4. Carmie Raiola (ITA) – Xray/Max
5. Atsushi Hara (JPN) – Mugen/OS Speed
6. Teemu Leino (FIN) – HB/OS Speed
7. Shinnosuke Yokoyama (JPN) – Mugen/OS Speed
8. Silvio Hachler (CH) – Mugen/Novarossi
9. Jilles Groskamp (NL) – Shepherd/Maxima
10.Charlee Phutiyotin (THA) – KM Racing/OS Speed

View the event results here.

View our event image gallery here.



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