June 27, 2010

Volker sets early pace

Volker sets early pace

After three rounds of free practice it is Ronald Volker who is setting the pace at the 1:12 World Championships. The German recorded the fastest three consecutive laps to top the time sheets from Britian’s Olly Jefferies and defending World champion Naoto Matsukura.  Also recording the fastest lap so far, with a 13.654, the LRP factory driver said his car feels OK despite the low traction.  Running an Associated chassis he was 2/10th faster than the similar combination of Jefferies who was in turn 15/100th up on Naoto.  The current German National Champion says he really likes the track layout and in particular the boards admitting to not being a fan of curbs in 1:12 scale.

Jefferies set his fastest consecutive three laps in the second practice after changing his tyre prep for FP3. Resulting in the car having less grip the European Championship finalist will revert back to his early tyre preparation for the final free practice.  His Associated team-mate Juho Levanen could only managed the 12th fastest time but the Vice World Champion is playing the waiting saying he is saving his good tyres for when track conditions improve.

Naoto who is running Yokomo’s new R12 also set his best time in FP2. Trying different tyres in his third run the Japanese ace said the car didn’t feel as good.  Asked about chassis set-up he said the car is working fine and his focus is on tyres.  For the final free practice he will try another different tyre which are currently being prepared by 1:12 scale’s most successful World Champion Masami Hirosaka.

Markus Mobers

The man responsible for Serpent’s 1:12 programme, Marcus Mobers is very happy with the start to his World Championship as he lies fourth fastest.  The German is running a number of prototype parts on his S120 which he says are working really well.  Unlike his rivals Mobers feels the traction are not going to come up as expected due to the hot conditions.  Running his own Mobgums brand tyres he plans to use the rest of the day’s runs to try different tyre combinations.  The Serpent team are running well with two cars in the Top 10 with Jan Asmer currently seventh fastest.

Grid start

With the fifth fastest time Elliot Harper is top CRC driver after Frank Calandra worked his magic on the young British driver’s car. Harper struggled in the opening two runs but the CRC founder put his ‘Big race set-up’ on the Speed Passion powered Gen-X and it transformer the car giving the teenager a major performance boost. For his team-mates Hupo Honigl and Jilles Groskamp the day hasn’t started off well as the lie only 24th and 34th fastest respectively.

Completing the Top 6 is factory Corally driver Marc Fischer.  The German said his car is OK in the opening two minutes of the run but after that gets very loose.  Complimentary of the track layout, he plans to try different tyre compounds and more additive in FP4.

Elsewhere V-Design have two cars in the Top 10 with Mark Stiles 8th fastest just ahead of team-mate Chris Kerswell.  At Xray Alexander Hagberg is fastest of the XII drivers in 13th with team-mate Paul Lemieux 21st.

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June 27, 2010

Electric Worlds gets underway in Germany

Naoto Matsukura

Two years of waiting to lay claim to the greatest crown in the sport are over for the World’s top electric drivers with the 2010 IFMAR Electric Track World Championship having just got underway here in Burgdorf, Germany.  Kicking off the event is the 15th running of the 1:12 World Championship with 8 of 10 Finalists from Thailand including reigning Champion Naoto Matsukura present.  The now 16-year-old Japanese protege of r/c legend Masami Hirosaka, is very relaxed despite having the huge weight of defending his title on his shoulders and this has been further increased by the fact he is debuting Yokomo’s first competition 1:12 chassis.

Naoto Matsukura

The Japanese company have two examples of its R12 running here with former 2WD Off Road World Champion Hayato Matsuzaki driving the other.  With Matsukura switching from Team Associated to Yokomo this leaves Juho Levanen to head the challenge of 1:12 scale’s most successful manufacturer. The 2008 Vice World Champion hopes to go one better this time round despite having only done one 1:12 race this year. Opting to sit out his National series, the one race the Finnish ace did was the ultra competitive European Championships back in March and he won that ahead of Ronald Volker who is the reigning German National Champion.

Hupo Honigl

The other podium finisher in Bangkok two years ago was Hupo Honigl and he carries the hope of specialist 1:12 manufacturer CRC here.  The versatile Austrian racer says 1:12 is his favourite class and he is confident about the event with the carpet track putting more emphasis on car set-up rather than the asphalt track of Thailand which was all down to having the right tyres. The current IIC 1:12 Champion Honigl is being supported in Germany by CRC founder Frank Calandra, who is himself racing, and has two very capable team-mates to work with in the form of 2008 Worlds Finalist Jilles Groskamp and young British talent Elliot Harper.

Reigning Touring Car World Champion Marc Rheinard missed out on the podium last time but believes the more European style track will suit him better.  Having run a Hot Bodies chassis, which the Japanese company are now no longer producing, the German was expected to run the new Yokomo chassis but its late arrival meant he opted to run an Associated, a car he is familiar with having used it to finish Runner-up at the competitive German Nationals behind Volker.

Another of the finalists running under a different banner following the withdrawal of Hot Bodies is Hideo Kitizawa who has joined 2006 1:12 World Champion manufacturer Corally.  The Japanese driver has only raced the Dutch chassis once before, finishing second to Matsukura at the Asia Cup at the Yatabe Arena in April.  Interestingly the Futaba employee is one of the few drivers who prefers racing 1:12 on asphalt rather than carpet.  Kitizawa is part of a very strong Corally team with 1:12th scale specialists Simo Ahoniemi and Marc Fischer also in their line up.  Simo was the top Corally finisher in 2008 with seventh in the A-Main and the Finnish National Champion is hopeful of a much better result this time round on the carpet surface.  Although he was absent in Thailand Fischer has been a leading contender in European 1:12 competitions.

Andy Moore

The other 2008 Finalist competing in Burgdorf is Andy Moore.  The factory Hot Bodies driver is running as a privateer in 1:12 and is using an Associated chassis.  With Hot Bodies having their new TCX Touring Car chassis, the former World Champion said that class is his focus and he is using 1:12 more as a warm-up to the second half of the week.  His HB team-mate Atsushi Hara has opted to sit out 1:12th scale. The two finalists not in action are Xray’s Teemu Leino and former Hot Bodies driver Dasiuke Yoshioka but there are plenty of quality drivers who will be looking to be in the World’s Top 10 for Tuesday’s finals.  American Champion Josh Cyrul did not travel to Thailand but is on top form in 1:12 adding the Snowbirds title to his ROAR crown.  Running his own CEFX Griffin chassis design the seasoned veteran is really upbeat about his prospects saying the track surface, which is brand new CRC, and layout are all familiar territory. Running the same car all year he said there are not much excuses he can give if he is not mixing at the front.

Paul Lemieux

Xray have a slightly reduced 1:12 team with Juraj & Martin Hudy forced to pull their entries due to the work load at the Xray factory but they still have two heavy hitters in the form of American star Paul Lemieux and Swedish ace Alexander Hagberg. Serpent have a strong challenger in 1:12 specialist Marcus Mobers as do V-Dezign which is being led by the cars designer Vesa Yli and European stock champion Chris Kerswell.

Burgdorf track

With brand new carpet the opening two practice runs have really only served to get some traction down and allow the 70 drivers to get settled in to the large technical track the German race organisers have perfectly prepared.  The opening day’s timetable consists of four free practice sessions followed by two controlled 8 minute runs after which we will have the opening ceremony.

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January 10, 2010

Volker wins 10th Anniversary DHI Cup

Day4-ModifiedPodium-LR

Ronald Volker is the 2010 DHI Cup Champion giving Team Yokomo their first ever win at the prestigious Danish race and also their first big win in Europe since Masami Hirosaka won the LRP Masters 10 years ago.  The German, who was champion of the event in 2007, took the win after he claimed his second win of the day in the third Leg.  Driving his BD5 the former European Champion looked to have thrown his chances of becoming only the third driver to win the DHI Cup twice when he rolled on the second lap.  Mad with himself for the mistake, Volker put in a superb recovery drive battling his way back past Steen Graversen for second from where he rapidly closed in on Top Qualifier and Leg 2 winner Christer Andersson.  Unfortunately the 18-year-old made a mistake under the pressure coming on to the main straight allowing the No.2 car through to take the lead, one which he would not relinquish.

Volker was delighted with his second title, joining touring car World Champions Atsushi Hara and Marc Rehinard as the only double winners of the blue ribbon event. He was also really pleased at being able to reward the huge effort made by his Yokomo team this weekend especially Yukijiro Umino who did much of the set-up work on his car.

Andersson, who has really found his form of late, was clearly disappointed that he didn’t convert his TQ honours into victory but the experience is sure to make him a stronger competitor for the future when his big day is sure to come. Afterwards he said that he was still satisfied with his weekend as finishing on the podium was more than he had been expecting coming into the event.

Last year’s Champion Marc Rheinard failed to finish the third Leg but his two third place finishes earlier in the day was enough to see him on the podium once again.  The current World Champion, who will defend that title later this year on home soil, said considering his lack of outright pace he was happy to come away with a podium. Teemu Leino, the only other driver along with Volker and Andersson in with a chance of taking the top spot on the podium, only managed 7th in the final Leg to finish the event as the top Xray in 4th overall.  Holding up local honours Steen Graversen had superb drive in A-Main no.3 which saw him snatch second from Andersson on the last lap. Overall the former DHI Cup podium finisher took 5th with Corally’s Marc Fisher completing the Top 6.

Day4-StockPodium-LR

In Pro Stock the third A Main saw the two contenders clash on the second lap.  Top Qualifier Alexander Stocker had a problem with his car running wide with defending Champion Tommy Bergfeldt taking the opportunity to run down the German’s inside but they touched and both fell back down the order.  This left Henry Salmen and Yukijiro Umino to battle it out up front with the Japanese driver’s Yokomo ending up with the victory.  Bergfeldt came from last to third while Stocker limped around to finish ninth but with both drivers having a win and a second each, the 2010 Champion had to be decided on race times. Stocker, for whom this was his first time to contest the DHI Cup, got it as his victory in the opening leg was 5-seconds fastest than that of his fellow Hot Bodies driver’s Leg 2 win.

So the 10th Anniversary of the DHI Cup didn’t disappoint with the A-Mains producing some thrilling racing.  We would like to thank our sponsors Yokomo and LRP for making our coverage of this year’s event possible and commend Kim Bendiksen for having the vision to create this great event 10 years ago.

Modified Overall results
1. Ronald Völker – 2pts (Yokomo/LRP)
2. Christer Andersson – 3pts (Associated/LRP)
3. Marc Rheinard – 6pts (Tamiya/Speedpassion)
4. Teemu Leino – 7pts (Xray/Team Orion)
5. Steen Graversen – 8pts (Tamiya/Team Orion)
6. Marc Fischer – 8pts (Corally/GM)
7. Martin Hudy – 13pts (Xray/LRP)
8. Yannic Pruemper – 13pts (Tamiya/Speedpassion)
9. Alexander Hagberg – 13pts (Xray/LRP)
10. Freddy Südhoff – 16pts (Xray/LRP)

Pro Stock Overall results
1. Alexander Stocker – 3pts (Hot Bodies)
2. Tommy Bergfeldt – 3pts (Hot Bodies)
3. Yukijiro Umino – 4pts (Yokomo)
4. Henry Salmén – 6pts (Tamiya)
5. Tony Streit – 9pts (Hot Bodies)
6. Ola Westholm – 9pts (TOP)
7. Thomas Larsen – 10pts (Tamiya)
8. Carsten Madsen – 13pts (Tamiya)
9. Daniel Horn – 13pts (Xray)
10.Bastian Hennig – 14pts (Xray)

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January 10, 2010

Andersson gets job done in Leg 2

Main1-Pro-Andersson-LR

Having thrown away an almost certain win in the opening A-Main, Christer Andersson got the job done leading from start to finish in Leg 2.  The Top Qualifier faced stronger pressure from the No.2 starter this time round with the two clashing a minute in a half into the race with Volker coming off the worse. Dropping to third the Yokomo driver got back up to second and closed again on the leading Associated but with 1:30 left on the clock he rolled coming on to the straight ending his challenge for the win. Driving his own race and sticking to his racing line Andersson then came under pressure from fellow Finn Teemu Leino but the Xray couldn’t find a way past.  Tamiya’s Marc Rheinard who finished the opening leg literally stuck to Andersson, again finished third but over 2 second adrift of the leader and as a result will not retain his DHI Cup title.

Having failed to finish the opening leg Corally’s Marc Fisher took fourth ahead of Leg 1 winner Volker with the fastest man on the track Yannic Pruemper completing the Top 6.  The  result of the second A-Main means just three drivers, Andersson, Leino, and Volker are left in with a chance to win the 10th Anniversary DHI Cup, the two Finns chasing their first win at the prestigious Danish race.

Main1-Pro-Berg-LR

In Pro Stock defending champion Tommy Bergfeldt ensured the title would be decided in the last Leg by taking the win ahead of Top Qualifier & Leg 1 winner Alexander Stocker.  Bergfeldt said his car had understeer this time round but his fellow Hot Bodies driver also had a less then perfect car.  A bad diff made the car difficult to drive for the German who challenged Bergfeldt a number of times only to be caught out his snappy handling car.  Having only last 2 laps in the opening final Yokomo’s Yukijiro Umino completed the Top 3.

Modified A-main Leg 2 results
1. Christer Andersson – 20 Laps in 5:06.499
2. Teemu Leino – 20 Laps in 5:06.908
3. Marc Rheinard – 20 Laps in 5:09.150
4. Marc Fischer – 20 Laps in 5:11.063
5. Ronald Völker – 20 Laps in 5:11.314
6. Steen Graversen – 20 Laps in 5:18.542
7. Alexander Hagberg – 19 Laps in 4:57.993
8. Yannic Pruemper – 19 Laps in 5:00.177
9. Martin Hudy – 7 Laps in 1:47.444
10.Freddy Südhoff – 3 Laps in 0:39.256

Pro Stock A-main Leg 2 results
1. Tommy Bergfeldt – 19 Laps in 5:09.539
2. Alexander Stocker – 19 Laps in 5:11.070
3. Yukijiro Umino – 18 Laps in 5:04.443
4. Ola Westholm – 18 Laps in 5:04.630
5. Henry Salmén – 18 Laps in 5:05.036
6. Tony Streit – 18 Laps in 5:08.809
7. Bastian Hennig – 18 Laps in 5:11.382
8. Carsten Madsen – 18 Laps in 5:16.843
9. Thomas Larsen – 17 Laps in 5:06.085
10.Daniel Horn – 17 Laps in 5:13.137

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January 10, 2010

Volker takes first A-Main

Main1-Pro-Volker-LR

Team Yokomo’s Ronald Volker has taken victory in A-Main Leg 1 here at the 10th Anniversary DHI Cup after a thrilling climax to the opening race.  Initially it looked as though Top Qualifier Christer Andersson was checking out and that the big battle of the race would be for second but in the final minute the Associated driver caught a dot flipping his TC5.  This allowed Volker to take the lead as the No.1 car resumed in second spot just in front of defending champion Marc Rheinard.  Nothing separated the trio as Andersson challenged for the lead and defended from Rheinard at the same time.  In the end Volker held his nerve to take the win with the Top Qualifier taking second as he and Rheinard touched crossing the finish line. Coming from last on the grid Martin Hudy took fourth just ahead of Xray team-mate Leino.

Volker said the race was how he expected with the top four cars very closely matched on pace, Teemu Leino having also been part of the battle until he rolled his Xray. The German said the technical design of the track made it difficult to pass but he was very happy to open his account with a win. Andersson said he gave away the race but plans to look forward for the second leg.  Having pulled a comfortable gap the 18-year-old said he saw Volker was closing and reacted by pushing too hard resulting in his costly mistake.  Rheinard said the race was OK but thinks winning from 3rd is going to difficult unless someone in front crashes.

Main1-Pro-Stocker-LR

In Pro Stock Alexander Stocker converted his pole position start in to a light to flag victory but he was made work very hard for it by defending champion Tommy Bergfeldt.  Having decided to start with a fresh set of LRP CPX tyres, Stocker said his Cyclone was loose for the opening few laps as the new rubber bedded in and only for an error by Bergfeldt he was struggling to hold the lead.  Dropping back almost 2 seconds after missing his apexes just before the main straight, the Swede stormed back with his Red Bull sponsored Hot Bodies closing the gap down to just 5/10th by the finish.  A great race from Tony Streit saw him come from starting last on the grid to finish third.

Modified A-main Leg 1 results
1. Ronald Völker – 20 Laps in 5:09.119
2. Christer Andersson – 20 Laps in 5:09.771
3. Marc Rheinard – 20 Laps in 5:09.802
4. Martin Hudy – 20 Laps in 5:13.308
5. Teemu Leino – 20 Laps in 5:13.720
6. Steen Graversen – 20 Laps in 5:14.173
7. Alexander Hagberg – 20 Laps in 5:14.429
8. Freddy Südhoff – 20 Laps in 5:15.654
9. Yannic Pruemper – 20 Laps in 5:16.376
10.Marc Fischer – 14 Laps in 3:43.580

>Pro Stock A-main Leg 1 results
1. Alexander Stocker – 19 Laps in 5:07.217
2. Tommy Bergfeldt – 19 Laps in 5:07.798
3. Tony Streit – 19 Laps in 5:14.543
4. Henry Salmén – 18 Laps in 5:02.393
5. Ola Westholm – 18 Laps in 5:03.099
6. Thomas Larsen – 18 Laps in 5:08.877
7. Daniel Horn – 18 Laps in 5:10.222
8. Bastian Hennig – 18 Laps in 5:10.625
9. Carsten Madsen – 18 Laps in 5:14.299
10.Yukijiro Umino – 2 Laps in 0:26.930

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January 10, 2010

New in the Pits – Part 2

New in the Pits - Part 2

Seen for the first time in International competition, this pre-production version of the all new Kyosho Touring car is being raced at this year’s DHI Cup by European Championship finalist Christopher Krapp, who tells us that the new car is much better balanced for use with LiPos. Developed by Shin Adachi, it features bigger bore shocks, which are also longer, new shock towers front and rear, new rear hubs, new stabilizer points front and rear and a higher top deck for accommodating LiPo packs, such as the latest Team Orion version installed in his car. The motor mount is also new and brings the motor 1mm closer to the centre line for better weight distribution.

New in the Pits - Part 2

A creative feature of this new car is the drive shaft system, which utilises a cluster of balls to connect the diff or spool to the CVD drive shaft. Due to grooves in the spool or diff drive cup, power delivery remains the same, however it’s when the suspension is under load that this system comes into its own. Conventional drive pin systems have a tendency to bind the suspension and so oil or grease is used, but it never provides truly smooth shaft travel. Thanks to the use of balls, this system glides in and out, even when under load, meaning no binding and better suspension operation.

Christopher tells us that the belt configuration of the new car is still being tested and that he uses the tradition belt layout, but that in Japan they are still doing back to back tests with the belts switched from left to right which allows the electrics to be mounted closer to the centre line of the car.

New in the Pits - Part 2

After extensive testing by former European Champion Jonas Kaerup, local company RGP have released a new diff grease here at the DHI Cup. The high quality silicone grease, which is extremely resistant to heat, is being used by a number of the top drivers here including Marc Rheinard, Viktor Wilck, Yannic Prumper and Steen Graversen because of it makes for a very smooth differential action. Available in 11 or 30 gram tubs.

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