September 13, 2024

IFMAR reverts to ‘Pre Tech’ inspection for tyre diameter

In a positive move widely welcomed as being in the best interest of the event, the IFMAR International Jury has announced that the 109mm minimum tyres diameter rule will now be determined by a pre-tech inspection.  Yesterday just as qualifying concluded at the 1:8 Offroad World Championship a bombshell, widely viewed as a strategy move my one tyre manufacturer, was landed on the event with IFMAR announcing it would implement checks after racing.  The World Governing Body of RC Racing, IFMAR’s own official ruling coming into the 19th running of these Worlds states the specs the tyres must meet but not when any inspection would be conducted.  With both EFRA and ROAR having used the pre-tech for the rules, most teams and drivers were working on that procedure so when the announcement came yesterday that cars must finish the final with tyres no less than 109mm it turned the race on its head.  With IFMAR first offering Semi finalists an extended 50-minute practice session so as to gauge track conditions after the lower finals and gauge tyre wear, pressure was mounting on them to review the ruling.

With talk of a drivers protest, having taken onboard feedback received since making its first decision, the IFMAR International Jury met once again and after discussing various scenarios made the decision to all Pre-Technical inspection for all finals taking place on Saturday.  With tyre manufacturers spending most of today trying to find solutions to ensure they didn’t fall foul of the minimum diameter post-tech, the move to pre-tech means they are now able to cover their drivers needs and that drivers, making young up & coming stars, can now race and show their true talents instead of being held back by a lack of tyres.  Understandable for the Baldo family, who with just 5-months notice essentially came to the rescue of IFMAR when Brazil cancelled, ‘Tyre Gate’ has been a hugely frustrating matter to overshadow their amazing work and investment in trying to present a world class stage for the great prize in our sport.  Taking the attention off the intense battles we have witnessed right through qualifying, today’s decision means we can now focus again on the action on the track, and see who is the best driver in the World come Saturday evening.

IFMAR International Jury meeting 13/09/2024

With reference to the decision made yesterday by the International Jury and all the comments received. This morning, the International Jury has met again to discuss rule 2.4.c The decision to check tires after the race was discussed at length and after discussing various scenario’s the International jury has changed their vote and has made the decision to allow Pre-Technical inspection for all finals running on Saturday.

At the end of the final, technical inspection will take place in the same manner as the previous IFMAR World Championships hosted at REDOVAN in 2022.

The following rule along with all others will be followed: 3.27.h All cars of semi-finalists and finalists go into a ‘Parc Ferme’ immediately after the finish of their race and are inspected. Cars must remain with the officials and be untouched by drivers or mechanics.

Any race distortion must be ignored. Inspection be on at least: engine, tank capacity, chassis (dimensions).

To confirm above all doubt that in 1/8th Off Road Buggy – ”Race distortion” includes the wear of the rubber tyre. Moving forward, there will be a clarification of the ruling to close this interpretation. Thank you for your cooperation and understanding on this difficult situation and we look forward to all working together to better this sport.

Sander de Graaf / IC Section Chairman

 

September 13, 2024

Chassis Focus – Riccardo Berton (Infinity)

Chassis – Infinity IFB8
Engine – O.S. Speed B2105
Fuel – Runnertime
Tires – OGO
Radio/Servo – Sanwa M17 / MKS HBL599
Body – Infinity IFB8

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September 13, 2024

Chassis Focus – Dakotah Phend (TLR)

Chassis – TLR 8IGHT-X/E 2.0
Engine – Ultimate Dakotah Phend Edition
Fuel – Nitrolux
Tires – JConcepts
Radio/Servo – Sanwa M17 / NitroPro NP500Pro2
Body – JConcepts

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September 12, 2024

Welcome to my World (Quali Day 2) – Marcus Kaerup

In 1:8 Offroad the journey to the World Final starts at best with securing a spot on the grid in the Semi Finals, so making the Top 16 is Stage 1 successfully completed for Ruddog Racing supported driver Marcus Kaerup.  From 180 starters in Spain, the 16-year old Dane completed 2 days of qualifying with 13th position ahead of former World Champion Robert Battle which ain’t to shabby for a guy who is more an 1:10 Electric Offroad specialist.  Set to line-up in the same Semi Final as Top Qualifier Juan Carlos Canas,  he will carry the number 7 on his Ruddog powered Team Associated RC8 B4.1.  Catching up with Marcus at the end the second & final day of qualifying, he summed up his performance with ‘it’s being pretty good’ adding, ‘I had four consistent runs in a row so that is pretty good.  Then because I knew I was safe (into the Semis) we just tried some different stuff coming into the last 2 qualis which didn’t go very well but we have the data and know how to change to what ever track conditions we drive’.

Going into the specific of the day’s 3 rounds of qualifying, on the first run of the day (Q4) he said, ‘My first clean run without any mistakes which was enough for a ninth in the round so it was pretty good.  I was pretty nervous in the first stint so quite slow laps but then after the pit stop I got my confidence back and we settled in.’  On his penultimate 10-minute effort he explained, ‘We tried some different set-up stuff which didn’t work very well, the rear became too stiff and it was just too hard to drive so I had a couple of mistakes and I think I finished 17th for the round which was not great.’

Using the final qualifier to try something different with his Ruddog RNX22.3 engine, he said, ‘The last run we tried tyres and a lot of new stuff on the car and different stuff on the engine to see if we could get even more mileage out of the engine.  I didn’t really like the power feel of it, it was quite different also because you had to time different the jumps which cause me to do a lot of mistakes.’

Ending the day with a debrief call with multiple European Champion & AE’s European frontman Craig Drescher, a man who played an important role in Marcus double European Championship successes in 1:10 electric offroad, Marcus said, ‘It was nice to hear from Drescher again, we probably see him at the Euros (1:10 Offroad) but he had some good set-up ideas and tyres ideas because of the new rules.  It was great to get that feedback because he has a lot of experience of 1:8’.

With a down day to rebuild his car, as the lower finals take up Friday’s schedule, Marcus is looking forward to Saturday which will kick off with 10-minutes of Semi practice.

September 12, 2024

Chassis Focus – Kouki Kato (Infinity)

Chassis – Infinity IFB8
Engine – O.S. Speed B2105
Fuel – Nitrolux
Tires – HotRace
Radio/Servo – Sanwa M17 / Sanwa PGS-XB II
Body – Infinity IFB8

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