Chassis Focus – Alessio Mazzeo

Chassis – Serpent 748 Natrix
Engine – Gimar WC Edition
Fuel – MLC
Tires (handout) – Hotrace
Radio/Servo – Sanwa
Body – SRC Spark

Remarks – Best of the Serpent drivers after 10 rounds of practice, Italian ace Alessio Mazzeo is running an updated version of the 748 that sports completely new differentials and lighter driveshafts. Alessio also opted for using a hard anodised chassis, big bore shocks taken from Serpent’s electric touring car and a Novarossi clutch.

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Chassis Focus – Simon Kurzbuch

Chassis – Shepherd Velox V10 Pro
Engine – Novarossi Mito .12 Ceramic
Fuel – Maxima
Tires (handout) – Hotrace
Radio/Servo – Futaba
Body – Brilliant RC TCX

Remarks – Reigning World Champion in the 1/8th class, Simon Kurzbuch is currently sitting first in the practice standings running an updated V10 Pro. His car features a new, thicker top deck and a new chassis plate that moves the servo saver position 3mm towards the rear of the car. The front bulkheads are also new, designed so as to move the differential 3mm backwards. In the rear end we also find new bulkheads that are now linked to the transmission axle mount by a carbon stiffener. All the parts will be available after the Worlds.

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Track Focus – Miniautodromo Internazionale M.Rosati

Track Name – Miniautodromo Internazionale M.Rosati
Club – Club Automodellistico 5Colli
Country – Italy
Location – Gubbio
Direction – Anti-clockwise
Surface – Asphalt

A somewhat surprising fact given the country is the spiritual home of nitro racing, Italy plays host to its first 1:10 200mm IFMAR World Championships this week with the picturesque medieval town of Gubbio the location for the 7th running of the nitro touring car Worlds.  Built in 1982, Miniautodromo Internazionale M.Rosati is certainly a track worthy of this World Championship with teams and drivers praising the facility.  Named after one of the instigators of the track build Mario Rosati, the track has undergone just one layout change when the section in front of the permanent grandstand was added in the 90’s. Government owned, the track is operated by Club Automodellistico 5Colli, a club of around 40 nitro racing members which took over the track in 2002 with the 5Colli reference to the five hills which over the look the the track.  Since then the track has been resurfaced 3 times the most recent being in 2009 when a very fine asphalt used.  With its most significant previous race being the 2009 European 200mm Championships, a race which 7 years on competitors still talk about due to its professional organisation & presentation, the club haven’t rested on their laurels with extensive work having been carried out for hosting of the Worlds.

An electronic pass entry systems is going down well with drivers, their passes opening access barriers at either side of the pit area which has new covered pitting space for 200 drivers. A completely new race control and press centre complete with a block of toilets has only been constructed for the event.  Two key features of the track are the raised pitlane and a rather clever system for getting dead cars back to pitlane.  The recovered car is placed in a tray and delivered to the end of the pitlane via a track crossing, eliminating the need for a runner to cross the main straight.

In terms of racing on the track, reigning World Champion Alexander Hagberg described the layout as ‘a typical Italian nitro track, wide open’.  The Xray driver who won his title at the very different covered Huge RC track In Thailand added, ‘it’s still pretty demanding in terms of car set-up trying to get high speed steering’.  Describing the track facility as ‘one of the best in the World’, the Swede said ‘the chicane in the middle is a place you can win or lose a lot of time’.  Asked about the track he said, ‘the surface is getting old and there is less grip than at the Euros but the traction level is still medium’.  Hagberg was runner-up at the 2009 European Championship behind then team-mate Dirk Wiscknewski.  Making his first trip to Gubbio, 2012 World Champion Meen Vejrak, who also won his title in Thailand but at the RC Addict track, described the track as, ‘totally different to Thailand’ adding ‘the facility is fantastic’.  A more high speed layout than he is used to he said the surface however is the same as his home track of RC Addict in Bangkok and that made it ‘easy to set-up (the) car’ on his arrival for the International Driver Practice days.

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Chassis Focus – Jilles Groskamp

Chassis – Creation Model Infinity prototype
Engine – Novarossi Mito .12 Ceramic
Fuel – Runner Time
Tires (handout) – Hotrace
Radio/Servo – Sanwa
Body – Protoform SRS

Remarks – Reigning ENS 1/10th 200mm Champion Jilles Groskamp is proving very fast in early practice here in Gubbio where he is running a Novarossi powered Infinity prototype, after having only tested the car for a total of four days prior to the event. Although it obviously sports outsourced suspensions and transmissions, the prototype designed by former HB designer Miyashita is pretty far along in development with chassis, radio tray, bulkheads, shocks and all the machined aluminium and carbon parts made by the Japanese company.

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