Rheinard’s 1:12 World title defence off to positive start

Reigning 1:12 World Champion Marc Rheinard got his title defence off to a positive start with the Awesomatix driver topping the opening round of controlled practice at Beachline Raceway in Florida.  Setting a time of 32.983 for his fastest 3-consecutive laps, the German also had the fastest lap for the round with only team-mate Kemp Anderson, 3rd quickest for the round, also able to run a 10-second lap of the track which is proving popular with drivers.  Overall it was the Schumacher of Ollie Payne who posted the second fastest time with team-mate Michal Orlowski fourth quickest.  Japan’s Hayato Ishioka’s Roche was fifth for the round, with recent U.S. Indoor Champs winner Sam Isaacs completing the Top 6.  Keven Hebert was the top Xray in P7 over a second down on Rheinard’s time.

Pleased to top the first of the three seeding rounds Rheinard said, ‘It’s getting better but my driving is still not good’.  Chasing his third World title in the category this week, he said the small curbs are proving challenging as they make the car jump and off the line where there is no grip.  Happy they improved the car for CP1, he said getting tyre treatment right is something they are still working on but overall he feels ‘driving here is the big thing’.  Asked about the track, he replied, ‘It is one of the best for 1:12, it’s not a typical US style and it also looks good.  It’s a really good set-up here’.

Describing the track as ‘very tough’ due to the curbs and grip levels, Payne summed up his first seeding effort as ‘a good first controlled practice’.  The British driver added, ‘It was a bit pushy so we’ll try to get more steering for the next one without making it too hard to drive.  It is difficult to keep the balance when making set-up changes’.  With both himself and Orlowski running cars with a number of special race specific front end parts that Schumacher have created to work with the black carpet being used here, the 24-year-old is confident that with some more fine tuning they have a good car.

Asked about his performance so far, Anderson said, ‘we have been changing a lot on the car and we have got it going around the track pretty good so now we can start working on the minor stuff.’  The 21-year-old American is relishing the track Beachline Raceway have created for the Worlds saying, ‘it is a lot of fun running on a bigger track than normal.  Also the layout is really good and the curbs are in good spots that make it hard to break the car’.

Content with his early pace, Orlowski who comes into the event after back to back Offroad Events including the JConcepts Florida Carpet Championship held here at the sane venue two weeks ago before returning to Europe for the EOS, said his big focus is learning to drive 1:12 again.  The Polish driver said, ‘I’m trying to learn to drive this class again as it so different to everything else but CP1 was pretty good and we are close to the top’.  He added, ‘we made a small adjustment for that run and it was positive.  We were surprised by our pace because the balance is not great.’  Asked about changes for the second round, he replied, ‘we have loads of ideas and will use the two remaining runs before qualifying to try some stuff’.  Another fan of the track, the 2022 European Champion said, ‘the layout is awesome and it a proper size track.  It feels a little inconsistent at the moment but the grip is still developing every run’.

Ishioka said his car ‘seems OK’ but added it was suffering from a little bit of understeer which he hopes to dial out for CP2.  Asked how the track is compared to what he is used to racing on in Japan, the former Snowbirds Winner said, ‘It’s very different to Japan, there is a lot more grip.  I like it’.

View our event image gallery here.

‘Preparations for Worlds has to be exceptional to win’ – Alexander Hagberg

IFMAR’s original electric World Championship takes place in Florida this week where the 21st Champion will decided among a small but ultra competitive field.  One of those drivers who will be vying for success is Alexander Hagberg who, as one of the great specialists of the category, is also one who holds a membership to one of RC racing’s most elite clubs.  In 2014 he claimed his first World title when he won 1:10 Nitro Touring Car in Thailand, and then in 2018 he took the sport’s biggest prize in 1:12 in South Africa.  As the reigning European 1:12 Champion, equalling David Spashett’s record of 8 titles when he won in April of this year, it is fair to say he isn’t going into these Worlds on the back of a run of impressive form since.

An event that attracted many of the expected title contenders, the recent US Indoor Champs saw Hagberg qualify down in 7th before making up two places in the finals to finish low key 5th.  Having had issues, including a wheel hub coming off, he said the race is not a good comparison for the Worlds explaining, ‘Track conditions in Cleveland are radically different with Touring Car racing too, the track being in use 24 hours, different sauce.  There are many variables, the conditions we wil have in Florida are very hard to predict’.

Enjoying a competitive Snowbirds in February where he finished second, the Swede admits ‘other races have been frustrating’.  He added, ‘It hasn’t been a great year leading up to the Worlds.  That doesn’t mean the Worlds will be bad for me.  For confidence it is not great but it is not relevant to how the Worlds is going to go, in fact having poor outings can mean you are sacrificing the races for testing, so we could be in good shape for the Worlds’.  In terms of racing, given he also has his Electric Touring Car race commitments, Hagberg does ‘roughly 30 races a year and the majority of them are international’ adding his record stands at 34 races in a year.

With an impressive track record of having the same main sponsor throughout his career, this is the 34-year-old’s 18 season with Xray.  Now 12-years a professional driver with the Slovakian manufacturer, he gave them their first ever World title in 2014 and their first ETS Modified race win at the beginning of the championship’s heyday years plus many other significant wins along the way.  Asked if after all the years he still enjoys his job, he was quick to reply, ‘I still have a big passion for what I do, it’s the competitive side that motivates me and I enjoy the promotion and car development side too.  The travelling is not as enjoyable now that I have family.  The travel is the worst part but the racing is still exciting.’

Chatting to us for this article while in Canada with team-mate Keven Hebert for a four days of testing ahead of making the trip to Beachline Raceway, asked his approach to the Worlds he replied, ‘Preparations for a Worlds has to be exceptional to win.  You can’t prepare for every race in a perfect way, there is not enough time.  Worlds you put everything on the table.  If you don’t get the result you were hoping for you know you put in the work.  It’s definitely a special race’.  On the 2023 Worlds, admitting himself his title defence in 2020 when he finished 6th was ‘disappointing but its how it is’, he believes it is going to be ‘interesting and competitive’ and he knows going into it that ‘4 or 5 other guys are going to be quick, you could win or finish in the B-Main, you never know’.

On the modern state of 1:12 he said, ‘The cars are better than they have been.  The electrics are very good and the batteries are better with more power to use.  They are faster than ever but harder than ever to drive.  I hope it doesn’t affect racing but expect lots of crashes.  It is very hard to drive 8-minutes without mistakes.’  On the track at Beachline Raceway he said, ‘there are question marks for everyone, the carpet, the tyres, the high humidity, there is no AC in the building.  Nobody knows as we have never been in this type of condition before’.

Our coverage of the 2023 IFMAR 1:12 World Championship, which is possible thanks to new 1:24 and 1:12 body shell producer Radbody, begins Wednesday (6th Dec) with reports from controlled practice with the Champion set to be crowned Saturday afternoon.

1:12 Worlds coverage presented by Radbody

For the fourth & final IFMAR World Championship of 2023, Red RC is excited to announced that our coverage of the 1:12 World Championship at Beachline Raceway in Cocoa, Florida, next week will be presented by Radbody.  The new 1:24 and 1:12 body shell producer is making it possible for us to attend our first 1:12 Worlds since China 2016 when Marc Rheinard won the first of his 2 World titles in the category.  Winning his second title in the UK in 2020, Rheinard will try to defend that title at what will be the 21st running of the championship.  Attracting a total of 80 entries, 22 drivers will battle it our for the Modified honours with Rheinard’s title set to be challenged by both 2020 podium finishers Michal Orlowski and Yoshiyasu Yanagisawa, 2018 World Champion & reigning European Champion Alexander Hagberg, top North American drivers Sam Isaacs, Keven Hebert and ROAR Champion Kemp Anderson, Britain’s Ollie Payne and Japan’s Hayato Ishioka just to name a few.  With inaugural 1:12 Spec World Champion Andy Murray absent from the entry list there will be a new Champion crowned for the category in Florida.  Our coverage from the United States will begin on Wednesday, December 6th, with news from practice and continuing with the unfolding of the championship over the following 3 days.