March 16, 2018

Sugiura heads Controlled Practice at 2018 SIGP

Controlled Practice is in full swing here in Xiamen, China and it is Japanese Kyosho driver Yusuke Sugiura who heads the Nitro times with an impressive 2nd round run that saw him move to the top of the times, leapfrogging Ryan Lutz, the American failing to improve after trying a complete setup change. Chinese National Champion Hu Weiping would remain in 3rd, who along with young Hong Kong driver Jonathan Yeung, failed to improve in the 2nd round as track conditions changed and the surface got more dusty.

Kyosho team driver Sugiura is a fan of the track but feels the surface has changed a lot since the first practice run, saying it was wet and loose in the morning and now it is very dusty and loose. Setting the fastest lap of the event so far with a 34.596, set on the last lap of CP2, he is still getting used to the track and puts his improvement down to that as well as a change from Proline Blockade M3 to AKA Impact Soft long life tires. For the final practice to be run later this afternoon he plans to try a damper change, going to harder oil because of the warmer conditions.

Fastest in the first practice this morning, for CP2 Tekno star Ryan Lutz made the decision to completely copy the setup of team mate Jonathan Yeung having ‘watched his car and it looked good, how it absorbed the bumps was amazing’. Feeling the setup he ended up was too soft for his liking, rolling too much in the corners, he now has a good base and will tweak it to get it to his liking.

Top Chinese driver Hu Weiping would end up in 3rd, some 4 seconds back over 3 laps, the Kyosho racer going the wrong direction in tires for CP2, switching from Sweep’s Defender to Pixel tires but ending up with no traction as the track started to break up in the sections that were damp this morning. For the final round of practice today Ping will go back to the Defender but choose for a harder compound.

Hong Kong Tekno racer Yeung was 4th fastest following the two round of controlled practice having made lots of changes to his car to improve stability and make it land better. Enjoying the dusty conditions and the track layout, his main problem is with traffic as he was placed in the 3rd fastest heat and in the challenging S-section is running into a lot of crashed traffic which is hampering his pace.

Rounding out the top 5 after 2 rounds is reigning Taiwanese Champion Chen Guanxian driving the Agama car and chasing setup with him feeling his car was too stable in the opening round this morning but becoming too aggressive in the 2nd round, something he puts down to the damp track in the morning and the higher temperatures in the afternoon.

View complete event results here.

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March 16, 2018

Track Focus – Xiamen ARC International Raceway

Track Name – Xiamen ARC International Raceway
Host – 3-Circles
Country – China
Location – Xiamen
Direction – Clockwise
Surface – Sugared and glued dirt

Host of the most recent IFMAR EP Offroad World Championships, ARC International Raceway are hosting their annual big money offroad race at their impressive facility situated in the grounds of the 3-Circles battery factory in Xiamen, China. The second time running the event, which also has an onroad variant run on the large tarmac track that is set next to the dirt track, this year’s SIGP has attracted a large entry with close to 200 entries spread across both 1/8th nitro and EP Offroad.

In terms of the track itself, its has been made bigger again to fill the full 75m x 40m track area having been reduced for the 1/10th scale Worlds back in November. Designed once more by Lung Chuan Lee from Taiwan, the building process started 3 weeks ago and was only completed last Saturday after which it was treated with glue and sugar and covered in tarpaulins having rained since.

With the sun now out it means most drivers are only getting their first taste of the track this morning, one of those being visiting US Tekno driver Ryan Lutz. Asked for his thoughts on the track he really liked the size and layout, saying the jumps were pretty straight forward with the main challenge in the first of 3 controlled practice sessions being the damp mud patches on some of the corners which are very sticky. When the track dries however he feels the right side S section coming off the back straight is the most technical, needing to ensure you don’t carry too much speed off the back straight to be sure you are lined up perfectly.

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November 13, 2017

Man made rain delays start of qualifying

Man made rain has delayed the start to qualifying at the 2WD Offroad World Championships in Xiamen, China. With no rain in the area for almost a month, the Meteorological Authority conducted ‘cloud seeding’ which involved the launch of more than 30 missiles at clouds to induce rain.  Containing chemicals such as frozen carbon dioxide this helps bring on precipitation.  The process is common practice in China.  Unfortunately unaware that the Worlds best RC drivers are in town, the effects of the process took effect in the early hours of this morning with drivers waking to rain. Luckily however race organisers had covered the track overnight so the track was largely protected from the rain.  With the rain eventually stopping around 11:00 local time, the process of pumping the water off the tarpaulins began. The knock on effect is that the third round of controlled practice, which was only to determine the starting order of the heats which were already decided by the best time of CP 1 & 2, has been scrapped and replaced by a round of free practice. The delayed start also means that instead of 4 qualifiers today with the fifth tomorrow, there will now only be 3 rounds with Q4 moved to finals day.

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September 16, 2017

2017 IFMAR 1/8th Worlds Winning Car

Dario Balestri

Creation Model Infinity – Max Power RP9.S – Runner Time Fuel – Protoform R19 body – Sanwa transmitter – Savox Servo

September 16, 2017

Balestri finally gets deserved World title

Dario Balestri is finally a World Champion. One of nitro racing’s unquestionably fastest & most talented drivers, the Italian delivered a long overdue victory at the 21st running of the 1:8 Onroad World Championships in Monteux, France. Top Qualifier for the 1-hour main, the Infinity driver would waste that opportunity with a very bad start from pole that saw him swallowed up by the pack and off onto the grass. Rejoining a distant last, while new team-mate Naoto Matsukura led from the defending champion Simon Kurzbuch, Balestri set about his recovery eventually going to the front when Matsukura, who he had in his sights, hit trouble. With Matsukura’s championship debut ending with a P8 DNF, it was Kurzbuch who would finish runner-up, 5-seconds back after an hour of intense racing. While not the result the Shepherd driver was after it does complete an impressive run of three consecutive 1:8 World Championship podium finishes. Claiming the final step on the podium would be Shoki Takahata, the Mugen driver having a good recovery after an incident with 2015 runner-up Takaaki Shimo cost him a lot of time due to a tucked body.

With the enormity of his win leaving Balestri somewhat lost for words to describing the feeling, he said, ’I made a shit start. My fault. I waited too long on the start I was in the middle of the pack and had a big crash which ended in the grass. Then my tyres were dirty but when they got clean the car was unbelievable and I could come back’. A driver who has so many times come close to the World title but come short in terms of his luck, he added, ‘this was the best car I have ever driven in a final and the engine too’ – his fastest lap over 2/10th quicker than that of Kurzbuch. Making two tyre stops, describing them both as ’super fast’, he agreed the win was a monkey off his back and lifted the pressure of finally achieving his life’s goal might make him enjoy racing even more. ‘I have to thank Kenji San my boss for giving me the opportunity to change my life. He has created a fun and passionate team and for sure it is a nice atmosphere to work in. There is no pressure.’ He continued, ‘This result is for all the team, they worked a lot for the brand. Nikiado San has done an amazing job with creating this car’. Balestri was also indebted to his engine builder Massimo Fantini, a former Worlds Top Qualifier who never quite managed the title. ‘I have no words to describe the engine. Fantini deserves this for all the work & time he has put into the sport’. Having waited so long to get the official status of being the World’s No.1 driver, Balestri was making sure he thanked everyone who made it possible. ‘My mechanic Antonio (Castellani) put all of himself in the race. He was perfect and of course so was my second mechanic Massimo (Mannucci).’

Kurzbuch said, ‘I am a little disappointed at the end. We go into a race with the crew to win it but this time we couldn’t do it.’ He continued, ‘I can’t say we made big mistakes but we lost a few seconds here and there. Still 3 World Championships in a row on the podium and last year’s 1:10 podium in Gubbio is good for a hobby driver’. Being more specific about his final, he said, ‘the start was good as I could overtake Dario so it was just me an Naoto.  Apart from two times on the grass I drove a clean final but it wasn’t enough in the end. My pit crew did an amazing job. It was hard work under the French sun for 1-hour’. As the reigning Euro Nitro Series champion he concluded, ‘we will take a few days off and then prepare for Fiorano because the ENS title is still open and we want to make sure we bring that one home’.

Summing up his first World’s final, Takahata said, ‘I’m very happy to be on the podium but I think we could have got more’.  Unfortunately his challenge for a better result, was severely hampered when he was hit by Shimo.  With the supplied marshals originally instructed to not touch the cars other than place them back on track, the body tuck was very costly.  Original planning two tyre stops for the race, the 23-year-old’s crew would change it and drop the second tyre change to try to recover some of the lost time, his MRX6 not having any issues going the unscheduled extra distance on the tyres.

Having left no doubts in the minds of nitro racing’s best drivers that he is a new force to be reckoned with, Matsukura was understandably down beat after his impressive performance was brought to an end by a flat receiver battery.  The reigning multiple 1:12 World Champion, only made his competitive 1:8 debut at the opening round of the ENS this year but took control of the race putting a lap on the entire field at the half way mark.  A clean race to that point for the ‘full punch’ driving style Japanese ace, he would get his entry from the pit lane wrong and make contact with the barrier which would require an extra pit stop next time round to fix the body.  He would have a second mistake also after leaving the pitlane as his car ‘had no steering’ and he ended up on the grass this time it costing him the lead.  In the end however it was all going to be in vein as his battery died, him saying afterwards, ‘I don’t know why because I changed it before the race’. He continued, ‘My car was super good and my own pace was good I had no mistakes only the one after the pits but still I was on top.  I will come back and next time I’ll get the win’.

Finishing fourth, last year’s 1:10 podium finisher Alessio Mazzeo described it as ‘a very hard race’.  The Xray driver continued, ‘I made a big mistake the first lap and lost too much time and then I pushed too hard to make back the time. 4th is the correct place for my performance. Dario and Naoto were too fast for me and congrats to Dario, I know the passion he has for this’.  The first 1:8 Worlds the 200mm specialist has contested he continued, ‘This is my first 1:8 Worlds and I never imagined at the start of the week I could make the final so for that I am very happy with the result’.

Making it five different manufacturers in the Top 5, ARC’s Silvio Hachler said, ‘I am pretty happy with 5th.  One week ago I would for sure have taken this but I really wanted 3rd place’. The Swiss driver continued, ‘I’m happy with the car and engine but had one small mistake myself when I came into the pits too early and my crew was not ready’.  His second time to make a Worlds final, bettering his P6 in Japan in 2013, he concluded, ‘the field was super competitive so to finish top half I’m really happy’.

View complete event results here.

View our event image gallery here.