November 23, 2019

Sobue to start 2nd in Mod as Quek secures Stock TQ

Akio Sobue won the battle to start 2nd behind Bruno Coelho in this afternoon’s triple A-mains. While it was the World Champion who once again took the top spot to make it 4 from 4 in qualifying, behind it was Sobue that took 2nd with his Infinity prototype while Dominic Quek, who had been poised to start 2nd, could only get 17th for the round. The Singapore driver spun his Xray coming onto the straight and flipped, losing him close to a lap. Afterwards he said he felt that the sugar water that they had sprayed on the track was still wet but was still positive about starting 3rd in such a competitive field. Behind, fellow Singaporean Nicholas Lee will set off from 4th on the grid, while his Yokomo team mate Meen Vejrak completes the top half of the grid.

In the Hobbywing class, things were a lot better for Quek as he secured the TQ spot thanks to his 2 TQ runs yesterday, the Xray driver only managing 2nd this morning. Taking the final round, German Max Machler made his intentions known for the A-finals as he ended up some 4 seconds clear at the front and will start just behind Dominic in 2nd. Stick King will start from 3rd for Serpent while Hobbywing team manager Salton Dong will set off on 4th. Simon Wang completes the top 5.

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November 22, 2019

Q2 Update

As light faded here in Xiamen and racing switched to being run under the floodlights it was Meen Vejrak who once again topped qualifying to take his 2nd TQ of the day and most importantly during what is expected to be the fastest conditions of the 3 rounds of qualifying. The Maxima driver topped Q2 by over a second once more from top seed Kim Ki Heung, the Shepherd racer recovering from a slow start to put in the fastest lap of qualifying on his way to 2nd. Behind it was Merlin Depta who finally had a solid run when it mattered, the Serpent driver beating out Mugen driver Motor King in 4th and team mate Jeff Hamon in 5th, the Australian running out of fuel on the final lap.

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November 22, 2019

Chassis Focus – Meen Vejrak

Chassis – Infinity IF8
Engine – Maxima Racing 20
Fuel – Maxima
Tires (handout) – Matrix
Radio/Servos – Sanwa/Power HD
Body – Xtreme Super Diablo

Remarks – Meen Vejrak is doing double duties this weekend, also running at the sharp end in electric touring, but it is in Nitro where he is performing his best, topping the opening 2 qualifiers today. His first time running the stock Infinity chassis, which was selected by his Maxima team, he feels it is more consistent and has more traction than previous cars he has tried but has similar steering to its competitors. His engine is the Racing 20 from Maxima, an OS based motor that has more torque than its predecessors.

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November 22, 2019

Meen Vejrak takes the opening SIGP Nitro qualifier

Meen Vejrak has taken the opening round of qualifying for 1/8th Nitro at the ARC International Raceway in Xiamen. The Maxima team driver ended the 4 minute run 1.5 seconds in front of top seed Kim Ki Heung from Korea. Behind the leading pair it was Gary Huang for Xray in 3rd, while Motor King took 4th with Matrix front man Cristian Boni completing the top 5. Vejrak commented that when he initially put his car down, the former 1/10th Nitro WC running an Infinity chassis this weekend, it had no steering but an adjustment to the rear toe-in and his car was much better. Happy to make a clean run, Meen felt that his Maxima engine was a little rich at the start but pushing it harder it meant it cleared out and he could put in a good run.

Topping seeding last night Kim Ki Heung was pleased with his run, having completed a clean 4 minutes. The Shepherd driver was another to feel the grip lower than last night and will change his car with the aim to find more rear traction for Q2.

Gary Huang took 3rd for the round but wasn’t so happy with the setting of his Max engine, it being set a bit too lean during the heat. Happy with the performance of his Xray chassis he will consult with his mechanic Gavin Kwok on the direction to go for the early evening 2nd qualifier.

Shanghai based Motor King, running an OS powered Mugen in Nitro, said his car was very stable and with no traffic during his qualifier he could finish the round in 4th. Saying that his car was understeering slightly he will make a change to the front spring for the final run of the day which he predicts will be the rocket round, a driver’s fastest run time counting towards their final qualifying position.

Claiming the first round of qualifying in the 1/8th GT class, Serpent driver Felix Law was over 2 seconds clear of Maxima driver Paphon Chanyasak, who is also running a Serpent chassis this weekend. Fai Ho would end the round in 3rd, followed by fellow Hong Kong driver Ali Lee in 4th.

View the complete event results here.

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November 22, 2019

Chassis Focus – Max Machler

Chassis – Awesomatix A800MMX
Motor – Hobbywing V10 G3R 13.5T
ESC – Hobbywing Xerun XR10 Pro
Battery – Sunpadow 6000mAh CS Platin
Tires (handout) – Sweep
Radio/Servos – Sanwa/MKS
Body – Zoo Racing DBX

Remarks – His first trip to China, ‘Mad’ Max Machler has brought with him the final stage pre-production version of the Awesomatix A800MMX. Its a new mid motor concept featuring a unique motor mount and top deck design that offers multiple setup possibilities and improved flex characteristics. Additionally it sports new upperlink holders as well as new damper holders for the front of the car. Max tells us that the steering has also been improved to have less play and simpler adjustment. To complete the package the German is running the 6000mAh CS battery from Sunpadow’s new high end Platin range.

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November 22, 2019

Chassis Focus – Bruno Coelho

Chassis – Xray T4 2020
Motor – Hobbywing G3 4.5T
ESC – Hobbywing Xerun XR10 Pro
Battery – Sunpadow 5200mAh Slim
Tires (handout) – Sweep
Radio/Servos – Sanwa/Bruno T4WC
Body – Xtreme Twister Lightweight

Remarks – World Champion Bruno Coelho is making his asphalt debut with the all new T4 2020 platform here in China. Home of the Sunpadow brand, he is running the all new slim pack from the Xiamen based brand. 10mm narrower than a regular pack and only 245 grams, the smaller width allows it to be placed closer to the centre of the car. Produced by Sunpadow following requests by the team, it will be part of the new top of the line Platin range, with Stock packs coming in the future. Submitted for homologation, it has been tested both indoor and outdoor and those team drivers have been very satisfied with the result. In regards the car, the WC has had to put a brass plate under the battery to bring it up to minimum weight and is using a 35 gram brass weight under the receiver to aid with the balance. Other options include steel spool outdrives, aluminium axle eccenters, a rear T-bar plate for additional stiffness and a set of Hiro Seiko Bruno aluminium screws.

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