Pietsch is Top Qualifier in Texas

Robert Pietsch has become only the second driver to TQ both nitro onroad World Championships after he was declared Top Qualifier for the IFMAR 1/10th 200mm World Championship at Gulf Coast Raceway in Houston, Texas, late tonight.  Held under flood lights the fifth and final round of qualifying failed to see anyone better the time set in Q4 by the factory Mugen driver who last year was the Top Qualifier at the 1:8 Worlds in Switzerland.  Pietsch retired from Q5 with radio interference but the German said under the artificial lighting a better time was never possible for him.  Only his second 1:10 Worlds appearance, the man responsible for designing Mugen’s onroad cars failed to make the final in Portugal after he hit problems in the Semi, but today he showed while his Matrix shod MTX-4R is one of the older chassis competing it is still competitive.  Having set himself a target of qualifying in the 1/4 Finals coming into the event, the European 1:8 Champion feels the track layout has really played to his advantage as he has been able to set-up and drive his car very much like an 1:8 scale.  Asked for his thoughts on the final, Pietsch said he hadn’t given it any thought yet and for now he just want to enjoy taking TQ honours by having a few beers and winding down after what has been an 16 hour day at the track.

Coming to within one second of Pietsch’s time, factory Kyosho driver Takaaki Shimo was fastest for the final round of qualifying.  Improving his previous best time by 8/10th of a second, the Japanese ace said his updated V-One RRR was capable of a TQ run but he did not like his first experience of night racing struggling with the lighting.  This was an element most of the top drivers had difficultly with.

Setting the second fastest time for the round following the exclusion of Jerome Renaux, whose car was found to be under weight, RC America’s Ralph Burch was very happy to record his first 35 lapper despite the fact he ‘cant really see in the dark’.  The Xray driver said his Max powered NT1 was really dialled in and he only wished he had the same car when racing was run during normal day light.  The American, whose time was good enough to bump him up to fourth, to secure him a direct placing in the main final, said it wasn’t very nice to get in at the expense of a fellow Xray driver but is he very happy to be in with the chance of becoming the first American to be crowned the 1:10 Nitro Touring Car World Champion.

Unfortunately after making major changes to his Novarossi powered NT1, that allowed him to run the second fastest time of Q5, Renaux’s car was found to be underweight.  A direct qualifier at last year’s European Championships, the loss of a 35 lap time means the 26-year-old drops from 3rd to 40th leaving him with a lot of hard work to do if he his to bump up and make the big final. The Belgian driver attributed his disqualification to excessive tire wear and switching from a hard to a softer front bumper, which left his car 10 grams under.

The fourth & final direct qualifier is Shinnosuke Yokoyama, the 17-year-old Xray driver being the real star of these championships.  Failing to improve his time in Q5, the up & coming Japanese talent is delighted to claim himself a place in the final. Admitting to being a little nervous ahead of making his World Championship final debut he is determined to try and back up his impressive qualifying performance with at least a podium finish on Saturday.

Hampered by his Max engine running too lean Alexander Hagberg dropped to fifth after Q5 but the 20-year-old Xray team driver is confident he can bump up from his Semi which he will start from pole. Starting the opposite Semi from pole will be Tadahiko Sahashi. The Japanese driver failed to improve on his Q4 time but as the sixth fastest qualifier he is the top Serpent driver with Scott Kimbrow the next best 733 in 13th position.

Defending champion Daniele Ielasi will line up in the same Semi as Shepherd team-mate Marc Rheinard as he improved in Q5 to set the 14th fastest time.  Having been in a Quarter Final position at the end of Q4, the Italian said he drove a safe last qualifier with the aim of moving himself into higher final.  Rheinard took the honour of being the fastest Velox V10 as he improved his time to place 8th.  The electric Touring Car World Champion was on target to match Burch’s pace but exiting the pits following his fuel stop he clipped a corner marker loosing valuable seconds. Top qualifier at the last World Championships, Jilles Groskamp had a difficult day, failing to complete any of his 3 runs and the Dutch ace finds himself on pole in the quarter finals.

So after one of the longest days we’ve ever experienced in the sport, qualifying is complete and apart from the Top 4 qualifiers the other 122 competitors will have to depend on bumping up if they wish to fill the other 6 places on the grid. Tomorrow kicks off the first of the lower finals running through to the 1/8 final.  Our coverage which is supported by Matrix tires, Team Titan and Red Racing engines will commence tomorrow afternoon and continue again on Saturday when the 4th IFMAR 200mm World Champion will be crowned.

Final qualifying order
1. Pietsch Robert (Mugen/Novarossi)
2. Shimo Takaaki (Kyosho/OS)
3. Yokoyama Shinnosuke (Xray/OS)
4. Burch Ralph (Xray/Max)
————
5. Hagberg Alexander (Xray/Max)
6. Sahashi Tadahiko (Serpent/Picco)
7. Wischnewski Dirk (Xray/Novarossi)
8. Rheinard Marc (Shepherd/Novarossi)
9. Terauchi Takehiro (Mugen/Novarossi)
10.Andersson Christer (Carpricorn/Sirio)
11.Balestri Dario (Team Magic/Novarossi)
12.D’Angelo Giuseppe (Mugen/Reds)
13.Kimbrow Scott (Serpent/Novarossi)
14.Ielasi Daniele (Shepherd/IDM)
15.Lemieux Paul (Xray/Max)
16.Morganti Paolo (Serpent/Novarossi)
17.Salven Michael (Serpent/Mega)
18.Swauger Michael (Mugen/Novarossi)

Complete final qualifying listing can be found here (PDF)

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‘Houston we have a problem’

The final round of qualifying for the 2010 IFMAR 200mm World Championship has been interrupted by a power failure at the Gulf Coast Raceway here in Houston with the flood lights going out as the drivers in Group 7 were just finishing their run.  The black out has resulted in a 45 minute delay to the schedule but the lights are back on and qualifying has just resumed.

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Pietsch ends Japanese rule in Texas

He was the Top Qualifier at the 1:8 World Championship last year and now Robert Pietsch is on target to repeat that achievement in 1:10 having just set the fastest run in the penultimate round of qualifying here at Gulf Coast Raceway. The factory Mugen driver ran 35 laps in 10:14.072 to move into provisional pole from factory Kyosho driver Takaaki Shimo who also broke into the 35 laps for the first time.  The German, who was on a TQ run in the third qualifier until he stripped second gear, said his MTX-4R was again really good but at the start of the run he didn’t feel the track conditions were good enough for a TQ run until he heard his lap times.  Pietsch said while his car is not the fastest in terms of lap times it is very consistent and unlike many of his rivals, run time with his factory Novarossi is no problem.  Finding tyre wear had increased slightly today he started the heat with a larger set of Matrix tyres which he said had also helped.  Asked about this evening’s fifth and final qualifier, the 1:8 European Champion said running under the flood lights could prove difficult but in terms of his car he doesn’t plan to make any changes.

Depite setting his best 10-minute run, Shimo said his Kyosho didn’t feel good, with the updated V-One RRR suffering from understeer. Unsure what changes he will make for tonight’s Q5, the friendly Japanese ace doesn’t know what to expect having never raced under flood lights before.

The round saw a number of drivers run out of fuel while on a TQ pace.  Factory Mugen driver Takehiro Terauchi, who was the only driver to record a 16 second lap, was on to take provisional pole when his Novarossi powered MTX-4R ran out of fuel.  This left Xray’s Alexander Hagberg, who was running in the same heat as the 18-year-old Japanese ace, on a TQ pace but one lap later the Swede’s Max powered NT1 also ran dry.  Despite failing to complete the run Hagberg’s time was still good enough to move him into the all important Top 4.

Having TQ’d the opening three rounds of qualifying Yokoyama was unable to maintain his domination, a problem with a chunked front tyre making his Xray difficult to drive.  Despite the tyre problem the 17-year-old still recorded the fourth fastest time for the round just behind Hagberg but drops to third in the overall ranking.

The biggest mover for the round was Team Serpent’s Tadahiko Sahashi. Having failed to finish the opening three qualifiers, the younger of the two Sahashi brothers, finally recorded a full run to go fastest Serpent with the fifth fastest overall time.  The 21-year-old, who runs Picco engines, said he made a large number of changes to his 733 which had greatly improved the car but he plans to adjust his clutch for the final qualifier.  Running in the next heat up his brother Yuya was on a potential TQ run when his Mega powered 733 ran out of fuel.

Two other drivers to improve their times were Team Shepherd’s Marc Rheinard and Serpent driver Scott Kimbrow.  Setting the seventh fastest time for the round Rheinard moves into 8th overall but the 3 times Electric Touring Car World Champion is still far from happy with the set-up of his Novarossi powered Velox V10.  American Kimbrow said his car was working well since the start of practice but this was the first time he managed a trouble free round.  A crash put an end to his first qualifier, trouble in the pits messed up Q2, and in Q3 his Novarossi powered 733 ran out of fuel.  Taking a more conservative approach to his driving style in the final part of his run so as to make sure he didnt have a repeat of Q3, Kimbrow said he was very happy to get a good run in and break into the Top 10.

Elsewhere Paul Lemieux was on a strong run but his fuel stop was to go terribly wrong.  As pit man Fabio Domanin grabbed his Xray the body shell crumpled, pushing the fuel gun away from the tank. All the fuel didn’t made it into the tank, as captured by our camera, and the American Champion’s car stopped 8 lap later.

Overall Qualification standing after 4 rounds
1. Robert Pietsch – 35 Laps in 10:14.072
Mugen/Novarossi/Matrix/Sanwa/SRC Cruzer
2. Takaaki Shimo – 35 Laps in 10:15.817
Kyosho/O.S/Active/Futaba/SRC Cruzer
3. Shinnosuke Yokoyama – 35 Laps in 10:17.209
Xray/O.S/Xceed/Sanwa/Xceed Cruzer
4. Alexander Hagberg – 34 Laps in 09:56.577
Xray/Max/Matrix/KO/SRC Cruzer
5. Tadahiko Sahashi – 34 Laps in 10:00.595
Serpent/Picco/Xceed/Sanwa/Protoform P56
6. Dirk Wischnewski – 34 Laps in 10:00.624
Xray/Orcan/Matrix/Sanwa/SRC Cruzer
7. Takehiro Terauchi – 34 Laps in 10:01.139
Mugen/Novarossi/ZAC Project/Sanwa/Blitz
8. Marc Rheinard – 34 Laps in 10:02.076
Shepherd/Novarossi/Contact/Sanwa/Protoform P56
9. Ralph Burch – 34 Laps in 10:02.135
Xray/Max/Capricorn/KO/SRC Cruzer
10.Scott Kimbrow – 34 Laps in 10:02.519
Serpent/Novarossi/Matrix/Spektrum/Xceed Cruzer

chassis/engine/tyres/radio/bodyshell

Complete listing after 4 rounds can be found here (PDF)

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Extra ‘Rocket Round’ Qualifier added

Having lost two of the six scheduled rounds of qualifying due to rain, the International Jury have just announced that agreement has been reach among the four blocks to add an extra round of heats to today’s schedule.  This will mean drivers get five chances to set a time for the finals however its going to mean a late night for the top teams.  Running in order from Group 1 to 14, the fifth round of qualifying will start at 19:00 and will finish around 23:00 under flood lights.   Defending Champion Daniele Ielasi was very happy with the announcement but elsewhere drivers like Jilles Groskamp feel it could be very costly for some of the big names.  Due to the cool conditions the track is expected to be considerably faster in Q5 meaning if a driver currently in the Top 10 hits any problems they could drop right down the order.  Ielasi’s pitman Eduardo Picco is not impressed by the additional round of heats as he is normally in bed at that time of night!

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Yokoyama ups the pace in Texas

Young Japanese sensation Shinnosuke Yokoyama has upped the pace at the World Championship this morning becoming the first and only driver to record 35 laps around the Gulf Coast Raceway here in Houston, Texas.  The 17-year-old, who is making his Worlds debut, achieved a time of 35 laps in 10:17.208 despite getting hit from behind on laps 2 & 4 which cost him over 3 seconds and left him last on the timing screens.  Describing the set-up on his OS powered Xray as ‘perfect’, the 2006 Japanese Sport Class National Champion was able to put in a spectacular recovery recording the fastest lap of the round enroute to the new TQ time. Being referred to as the ‘super fast Japanese kid’, Yokoyama was unheard of before this event and even he is surprised by his pace against the sport’s established drivers.  Racing since the age of 9 the smiley teenager said he was a little anxious coming to the event but now he is really enjoying the experience.

Making it a Japanese 1-2, factory Kyosho driver Takaaki Shimo managed to shave almost 3/10ths of his Q1 time to jump ahead of European Champion Dirk Wischnewski who failed to improve. Shimo said the track was not so good this morning but small changes to his OS powered V-One RRR chassis had helped and he is confident it is good enough to challenge for the TQ later today.  Dropping to third, 28-year-old Xray driver Wischnewski said his Orcan powered NT1 was really good but he ran out of tyres in the second half of the 10-minute run.

Another young Japanese driver making a name for himself here is Takehiro Terauchi.  Having raced rather unsuccessfully at the last World Championships in Portugal, driving then for Serpent, the factory Mugen driver put in a run that sees him jump from 9th fastest into the elusive Top 4 which if he can stay there will see him directly qualify for the final.  Racing since the age of 12, the now 18-year-old has TQ’d the Japanese 1:8 Nationals so while his pace is a surprise to many here its no real surprise to him.

Pushed out of the Top 4 Robert Pietsch, who is running in the same heat as Yokoyama, was on a 35 lap TQ run until his Mugen stripped second gear.  The Top Qualifier at last years 1:8 Worlds, the German said he came to Texas expecting to make the 1/4 Final but as he gets more track time with the 1:10 his confidence is growing.  Running factory Novarossi engines the European 1:8 Champion is very happy with the set-up on his MTX-4R.

Top American after Q3 is Ralph Burch who together with RC America team-mate Paul Lemieux both broke into the Top 10 for the first time setting the 7th & 8th fastest times respectively to demote fellow countryman Paolo Morganti who failed to better his Q1 time.  Burch said a change of roll centres on his Max powered Xray had improved the car and the set-up suited the track conditions at the time but he plans to change the front diff for today’s second round.  US National Champion Lemieux said he had a clean run but is struggling to get set-up changes to translate to the track conditions.  Morganti described his Serpent 733 as terrible in Q3 and believes a bad set of tyres were to blame.  He plans no set-up changes for Q4 saying he just needs to find a well matched set of tyres.

Elsewhere Electric World Champion Marc Rheinard put his Shepherd in the wall coming on to the main straight as did 2008 World Finalist and factory Team Magic driver Dario Balestri.  Jilles Groskamp who got no running yesterday due to the rain and his lower heat seeding lasted just eight laps as his Shepherd wouldn’t change into second gear but his Tuesday time still keeps him in the Top 10.  Defending Champion Daniele Ielasi was on a good run until his Picco powered Shepherd keep stepping out on the rear, something that was later discovered to be due to part of the rear tyre parting company with the wheel.

Overall Qualification standing after 3 rounds
1. Shinnosuke Yokoyama – 35 Laps in 10:17.208
Xray/O.S/Xceed/Sanwa/Xceed Cruzer
2. Takaaki Shimo – 34 Laps in 10:00.557
Kyosho/O.S/Active/Futaba/SRC Cruzer
3. Dirk Wischnewski – 34 Laps in 10:00.624
Xray/Orcan/Matrix/Sanwa/SRC Cruzer
4. Takehiro Terauchi – 34 Laps in 10:01.139
Mugen/Novarossi/ZAC Project/Sanwa/Blitz
5. Robert Pietsch – 34 Laps in 10:01.144
Mugen/Novarossi/Matrix/Sanwa/SRC Cruzer
6. Alexander Hagberg – 34 Laps in 10:01.457
Xray/Max/Matrix/KO/SRC Cruzer
7. Ralph Burch – 34 Laps in 10:02.134
Xray/Max/Capricorn/KO/SRC Cruzer
8. Paul Lemieux – 34 Laps in 10:03.806
Xray/Max/Contact/Futaba/Protoform P56
9. Paolo Morganti – 34 Laps in 10:03.945
Serpent/Novarossi/Matrix/KO/Xceed Cruzer
10.Jilles Groskamp – 34 Laps in 10:05.530
Shepherd/Team Orion/Capricorn/KO/Protoform P56

chassis/engine/tyres/radio/bodyshell

Complete listing after 3 rounds can be found here (PDF)

View our event image gallery here.