May 22, 2015

Chassis Focus – Rick Hohwart

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Chassis – Associated TC 6.2
Motor – Reedy 4.5
ESC – Reedy
Batteries – Reedy 7000mah
Tires – Sweep (handout)
Radio/Servo – Airtronics
Bodyshell – PF LTC-R
Remarks – Touring car legend Rick Hohwart is in good form here at the Tamiya Raceway, driving a TC6.2 with a number of interesting parts. The rear end features Tuning Haus aluminum driveshafts and TC4 suspension arms, while in the front the TC5 version of the wishbones are being used. Rick also chose to use TC5 caster blocks and rear hubs.

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May 21, 2015

Volker sets early pace at RROC

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Ronald Volker set the early pace on the opening day of the 18th running of the Reedy International Touring Car Race of Champions.  Winner of the event on its return to the famous Tamiya Raceway last year, the Yokomo driver posted the fastest three consecutive laps of the opening two of the four scheduled rounds of practice.  A 27-car invitational field, the most competitive the race has seen since it was previously ran at the Californian track, it was Serpent’s Viktor Wilck who was closest to Volker’s pace albeit over half a second off.  An impressive run from Team Associated’s Rick Hohwart would see the touring car veteran completing the Top 3.

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While the track proved to be considerably slower than last year, the German said he was very happy with his pace when compared to his rivals.  With the track improving a lot from the first to the second run, the sun only breaking through the clouds late in the morning, Volker would post a fastest lap of 12.365 him having managed 11-second laps last year.  Running two cars in each of the runs, he said overall both worked well adding that having to change car during last year due to a ‘massive crash’ on the straight it was good to know he had two good cars at his disposal.  With one car the same as that with which he took the win last year and the other ‘tuned differently’, the ETS champion said he liked the second car slightly more describing it as being ‘more responsive’.  Highlighting that this is the most competitive field for years, he said being fast was ‘not the only thing you have to have’ for the Reedy Race but it was a positive starting point.

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Wilck was ‘happy enough’ with his early pace saying his S411 ‘felt pretty good’.  Describing the track as ‘very tricky’ and ‘need(ing) the perfect line’, for his next practice having run the standard kit shocks he will use the track time to test pre-productions version of an upcoming new shock release from Serpent.

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‘Really good so far’, that was how Hohwart summed up his opening runs.  Happy with his TC6.2 the American said his main problem was with his braking.  Changing to an Airtronics M12 for the race he said the ‘brakes feel quite a bit different’.  Although he has set the same end points as his previous M11X radio the braking is ‘not enough’.  Knowing of an M11X at the Associated/Reedy head office, he has made a call to tell them to bring it to the track ‘just in case’.

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Fourth fastest, Marc Rheinard described his early pace as ‘pretty ok’.  Testing two variations of his TRF419, he said he preferred the car with the softer chassis and now he will focus on fine tuning that car over the day’s final two practices.  Also back to back testing new versus used tyres, drivers having to race the same set of handout Sweep tyres for 2 races before getting a new set, he said while the new was a little faster the used was not that much different.

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Star of the last round of the Euro Touring Series in Austria which was also a small track Japanese driver Akio Sobue would post the 5th fastest time.  The Tamiya Racing Factory driver, who is a fan of small tracks as they are similar to his home track of RC Paradise in Nagoya, said having run two different TRF419 he preferred the ‘softer car’. Fitted with a chassis that gives more flex and also running lighter diff oil, the 20-year-old said it gave more steering and traction. Planning to focus on that car for the remaining two practice runs, he said he will try to future tweak the set-up.

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Sixth fastest Alexander Hagberg said his main focus was getting used to the track.  The first time the Xray driver has raced the track the Swede said ‘it’s more difficult to drive than it looks’.  Changing his T4 ‘a lot’ after the first round he said it was much better for the second run but his driving still had a lot of room for improvement.  Describing the corners as ‘easy to overshoot’, he believes in hot conditions overheating the tyres is going to be a problem and so conservative driving could have its benefits.

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Setting the 7th fastest 3-consecutive laps and making his first trip to Tamiya Raceway, Christopher Krapp said the track fits his driving style with the low traction requiring it to be driven smooth.  Describing his Tamiya as ‘solid’, the German feels the biggest improvement is going to come from his driving. ‘Overshooting the corners a lot’, he said his plan for the rest of practice was to ‘work on that’. Fellow Tamiya driver Nicolas Lee would sit 8th after the first two rounds of practice.  The Singaporean driver said his TRF419 was ‘not so bad’ but seeking more overall traction he would try a different shock set-up for the third run.

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Canadian Andrew Hardman would post the 9th fastest time just ahead of fellow countryman Keven Hebert.  The 16-year-old Yokomo driver described his BD7 as having ‘great balance’ and it was the driver who needed to get more dialled in. Having raced here for the first time last year he said most of that event was spent learning the track which he said ‘appears so simple but is the toughest track he has driven’.  Hebert said his Associated was ‘ok’ but 5-laps into the second run a shock blew out.

View the event image gallery here.

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May 21, 2015

Track Focus – Tamiya Raceway

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Track Name – Tamiya Raceway
Country – USA
Location – Aliso Viejo, California
Surface – Asphalt
Direction – Anti-Clockwise
Previous Reedy Races hosted – 7

Combine what the World’s best touring drivers continually describe as their favourite track with their favourite race format and you have the Reedy International Race of Champions at the famous Tamiya Raceway in California.  Built next to the then American headquarters of Tamiya, the track opened in 1994 and hosted its first Reedy Race in 2002.  After a run of 6-years however a restructuring within Tamiya USA saw the entire site put up for sale with 2007 marking what was then thought to be the end of the road for the track and the hosting of the Reedy Race.  Luckily for racers, however, the new owners of the large former Tamiya building where Tamiya warehoused all its products had no interest in the track and it remained in the ownership of Tamiya USA whose offices are now 8-miles away in Irvine.

Following the building’s sale parking would become a new issue for the track and it wasn’t until last year with the clearing of an adjacent field that the Reedy Race’s return was possible. With the return to Tamiya Raceway combined with Scotty Ernst taking over the running of the event, 2014 saw a big revival of interest in the race that now remembers one of the sport’s great pioneers Mike Reedy.  Following on from last year’s successful return to its spiritual home, the event which this year celebrates its 18th continuous running has attracted its best quality of invite entry since its heydays.

Built in an area 170 ft wide by 70 ft deep, the first thing that hits you on seeing the track for the first time is how small it is but ask any of the drivers about this and it turns out to be irrelevant. They love it because of the opportunities it offers for overtaking, making it perfect for the 12 rounds of heads up racing that make up the Reedy Race schedule.  Having only raced on the Tamiya track once before the race had to find a new home but winning it on its return last year, Ronald Volker said the track is ‘perfect for heads up racing’, adding the ‘size and layout of the corners make for a few chances each lap to pass your rivals’.  The four time Euro Touring series Champion said having the straight in front of the drivers stand also adds an interesting element to the racing.   Commenting that the high curbing needed to be avoided, the German said the middle kink is the track’s key feature as risks through it can either help you gain time or send the car flying.  A four time winner of the event sharing the title of most crowned champion with Barry Baker, Marc Rheinard called the track ‘One of the best’. The Tamiya driver added ‘it’s small but nice’ and ‘even if it does have a few bumps, the layout is perfect for great racing’.

For the 12-months between Reedy Races, Tamiya use the track for marketing activities including the running of their Tamiya Championship Series. On a weekly basis every Saturday the track is opened to Tamiya customers to come and run their cars.  Every six weeks the track also runs a one day race event open to all brands of cars and later this year it will play host to the US National Championships.

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January 11, 2015

Volker takes DHI Cup tally to six

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Ronald Volker has brought his tally of DHI Cup titles to six after another easy win in A2 secured him overall victory at the 15th running of the famous Danish event. The Yokomo driver was joined on the podium in Odense by Xray’s Alexander Hagberg, winner of a controversial A3, with Freddy Sudhoff getting his debut for HB off to an encouraging start with third overall.  Having been the only serious contender to the reign of Volker over the weekend Yannic Prumper would miss the podium finishing fourth after a coming together with Hagberg as they battled for the lead in the closing race.

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As in the opening final, Volker again benefited from Prumper struggling with his BD7 while having improved slightly his own car was able to take advantage of having a clean track in front of him.  Still not entirely comfortable with his car, he said it was better than A1 and he had more confidence to push, allowing him to match Hagberg’s pace as the Swede mounted a charge having got by both Marc Rheinard and Prumper for second.  ‘Very happy’ to kick off the 2015 season with another DHI Cup win, he said it also had extra meaning as this year marks his 10th year of being supported by LRP, who are also the main sponsor of the DHI Cup. Describing the carpet used at the event as more unpredictable than the black ETS carpet, he also acknowledge the efforts of his engineer Yukijiro Umino over the weekend.

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Promoted to the win of A3 after Serpent’s Marc Fischer was penalised for a last lap move on leader Sudhoff, Hagberg said his ORCA powered T4 was very good again at the start of the race and posting the fastest lap of the race he was able to put pressure on Prumper. Running on the bumper of the BD7, the Swede saw his opportunity to pass on lap 9 but it would see him put the German’s car on its roof.  Giving his account of the incident, he said he thought Prumper had run a wide line coming onto the straight and he tried to get down the inside but the space wasn’t there and he ended up putting the Yokomo on its roof.  Saying ‘(he) was responsible for that’, he waited on Prumper to retake position but this allowed both Sudhoff and Fischer to also go passed.  Following the collison he said he just waited behind the leaders and this was to pay off as coming off the straight Sudhoff ran slightly wide resulting in his PRO5 getting tagged by Fischer opening the door for Hagberg to go into second a position that later became first when an apologetic Fischer was given a time penalty for his contact.

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Prumper was clearly annoyed by the attempted pass by Hagberg saying ‘he is not able to make a clean race’. The 21-year-old went as far as saying ‘I think it was intentional’ giving the example of how he was able to run on the Hagberg’s rear bumper cleanly at the opening round of the ETS in the Czech Republic last month.

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Unaware of Fischer’s penalty, intially believing he had finished fourth, a result he was pleased with, Sudhoff was delighted to discover he had got new contract with HPI Racing underway with a podium finish.  Commenting on his A3 drive, the German said ‘up to the last lap the race was ‘really good’.  Trying to keep Fischer behind he said he went a little too wide into the corner after coming off the straight leading to the contact that put his PRO5 out of shape dropping him to third on the track. Making a diff change for the final encounter hoping it would gve him more steering he said the steering remained the same but left the car more difficult to drive and on the right side of the track he slowed which allowed Fischer to close in each lap.  Thanking both Andy Moore and HB team manager for their text message support throughout the weekend, he feels they are going to work very well together and he is excited about prospects of working with them face to face at future races.

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Classified third after his penalty Fischer would end the race 5th overall with Xray’s Martin Hudy completing the Top 6.  Having qualified third Marc Rheinard’s would finish last.  The Tamiya driver made a mistake on the opening lap in A1 and quickly pulled off and in A2 got out of shape leading to contact with Hagberg.  The day would not end any better as having discover a broken wheel on his TRF419 after A2 he had to us a wheel from another set and into the first corner he traction rolled off the track.

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In Super Stock, ETS Champion Marek Cerny would win the opening two A-Mains to claim his first DHI Cup title.  Although the Czech driver already had the title sewn up he went for the clean sweep in A3 but a bad first lap saw his Xray team-mate Jan Ratheisky take the win and second overall in what would be an all Xray podium with Danish driver Mike Gosvig completing the overall Top 3.

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View complete onroad event results here.

View the event image gallery here.

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January 11, 2015

Chassis Focus – Ronald Volker

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Chassis – Yokomo BD7 2015
Motor – LRP X20 4.5T
ESC – LRP Flow
Battery – LRP 6000mAh
Radio/Servos – Sanwa
Body – Protoform Speed6
Remarks – The German Yokomo ace is running a pretty standard example of the Japanese car, the only option parts being the aluminum chassis and the lightweight aluminum dogbones in the rear. He is also using a titanium screw set. Setup-wise, he was able to run his standard carpet setup, with the only major change being to a lighter shock oil

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