Big day finally arrives in Miami

After over a week of practice and qualifying, the day that counts in crowning the 1:10 200mm World Champion has arrived in Miami.  With some very threatening clouds in the skies, proceedings at Homestead RC Raceway opened with the 1/8 Finals with the first win of the day going to Ralph Burch.  One of only 2 former champions taking part in the 8th running of the nitro touring car World championships, the other being Meen Vejrak who lines up in the Semis, Burch’s Serpent started on pole from where winner of the last Worlds held on US soil took a 3-second victory over Masaya Ida.  Behind there was a great battle between Paolo Morganti and Mark Green for the final bump up position but contact between the pair gave Morganti enough breathing space to take the all important Top 3 and progress to the 1/4 Finals.  In the second of the 1/8 Finals unfortunately for promising young Dutch driver Milan Holthuis would not get the chance to capitalise on his pole position start as he had his brake pad come off and his race ended prematurely.  At the end it was to be an all American Top 3 with Joaquin Desoto Jr. taking the win ahead of Dj Apolaro and Paul Lemieux who got passed Xray team-mate Martin Hudy, the former podium finisher bumping up from yesterday’s 1/16 Final, on the final lap.

UPDATE – Following the second of the 1/8 finals, Paul Lemieux was handed a 5-second penalty by Race Director Masami Hirosaka for his pass on Martin Hudy on the final lap.  While the US team protested the decision, video evidence showed Lemieux did not give Hudy room.  As a result of the penalty it was Hudy who took the final bump up position in the 1/4 final.

View the complete event results here.

View our event image gallery here.