Matsukura & Balestri top seeding rounds 2 & 3

With three rounds of seeding complete at the 1:8 Onroad World Championship, three different drivers have topped the times with Infinity’s Dario Balestri the latest driver to top the times in Japan.  Toni Gruber kicked off the first day that counts for anything when he took the opening timed practice but an hour & a half later Naoto Matsukura took the round with an even faster 3-consecutive laps.  With ranking points from the drivers best two of four rounds determining the heat groups for qualifying tomorrow, Balestri threw his hat in the ring for the Top Seed honours when he went fastest in the third round, track conditions slowing due to the hotter midday temperatures.  The latest round would also see reigning World Champion Shoki Takahata have his run so far as he posted a P3 run behind Mugen Seiki team-mate Simon Kurzbuch who was very lucky to survive a driver error during the 7-minute practice.

Having felt his engine being too rich had cost him a better time in the first run of the day, Matsukura put that right in the second round using the same engine to run a time of 40.912 bettering Gruber’s time by 0.007 of a second!  A multiple World Champion of the sport, the Infinity driver would swap out that engine after the run saying, ‘we will keep this one for qualifying’.  With a different engine in his IF18 III he would end up only 8th fastest in third round saying, ‘the bottom end was not good’.  With another engine for the final seeding round, he said the car is ‘very good’ and its just about getting engines sorted for qualifying, drivers getting 6 rounds over 2-days.

‘I’m following the conditions, they change a lot’, was Balestri’s reaction to his third round fastest run.  Explaining that with the temperature rising the track naturally loses grip, the Italian continued, ‘the set-up has changed almost completely.  Before we need steering and now we need traction.  It is really, really, changing a lot’.  The lower grip is reflected in his 41.108 time for the round.

Third fastest for the opening round but only 7th in the next one, Kurzbuch said the run was not so good due to a bad engine setting.  With the engine ‘really good’ for Round 3 and the car also really good he said ‘more was possible’ if it wasn’t for his ‘driver error’.  Crashing at the end of the straight with his car ending upside down in the racing line and somehow everyone avoid him, the Swiss driver explained, ‘I went to far on the inside and then the car took off.  I was very lucky no one hit me on the track’.  Despite his scare, Race Director Scotty Ernst warning drivers over the PA and complimenting Dominic Greiner for good marshalling and recovering the car, the former World Champion is confident for Day 1 of qualifying say, ‘everything is set for tomorrow’.

Pleased with his first two runs, Gruber explained that for his latest practice he ‘tried something for qualifying and it was not so good’.  Also trying a different engine it was not as good as the previous one.  Asked in what way it was not as good, the German said, ‘It was just a little down on pace, not as strong as the other one, and when everyone is this close on pace it’s the little things that are important.’  In a common theme among most of the top drivers, he will try yet another engine in the fourth & final timed practice.

Making a good first attempt at trying to talk to us in English for the first time without having one of the O.S engines representatives translate for him, Takahata said he is still working on engines and optimising the power available to him.  Happy with his Mugen’s chassis set up, the Japanese driver has been improve this each round highlighted by his improvement in results of the day.

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Gruber tops first time practice in Japan

Toni Gruber has topped the opening round of timed practice at the 1:8 Onroad World Championship in Japan.  The Capricorn driver’s fastest 3-consecutive laps around the Infinity International RC Speedway gave him a 3/10th of a second advantage over his closest rival, the same margin of time then covering the next 7-drivers.  Better known for his electric onroad exploits, it was Hayato Ishioka who was second fastest driving a Mugen with factory Mugen driver Simon Kurzbuch completing the Top 3.  The best represented brand at this year’s World Championship with over half the field running the Japanese manufacturer’s car, it was Naoto Matsukura who lead their charge with P4 for the first of today’s scheduled four seeding rounds.  Just 1/100th off, Serpent young gun Andrea Catanzani, who was up in the second last year to go on track, kick his day off with a P5 ahead of Dario Balestri and reigning World Champion Shoki Takahata.

While happy to top the times, Gruber was less happy with his car set-up.  The German explained, ‘we made a little set-up change after the last practice yesterday and it was not helpful.  Overall the car is now faster but it’s difficult to drive’.  He continued, ‘it’s not bad compared to the other guys but if we can find a fix for the rear being loose we can be even faster but it’s a balancing act as we don’t want end up with a car that is too easy drive but is slow’.

A World Championship finalist in both 1:12 and Electric Touring Car, this is Ishioka 1:8 Onroad Worlds debut.  Only in his fourth season of nitro racing, the 28-year-old was pleased with his 3-laps but admitted the 7-minute run did contain a number of driver errors.  A Rush team driver, about his car he said while the overall feeling was good he did have to deal with a ‘little understeer’ and based on that will make a small change for his next run.

‘It was quite a good round’, was how Kurzbuch summed up his first effort.  Like Ishioka, the former World Champion reported having suffered from ‘a bit of understeer’ adding that considering this it was ‘a really good time’.  Also pleased with how his Mugen feels from the start on opening tyres he said in terms of the car they will just make small adjustments for the conditions at the time of the next run.  Having already built up data on all his engines during the previous four days pf practice, he said they are going to use the seeding rounds to cycle back through the engines and run qualifying simulations on each of them in preparation for tomorrow.

Naoto described the first timed practice as ‘so, so’.  The 2018 1:10 Nitro Car World Champion, said his engine tuning was off with the car putting out ‘too much smoke’.  Starting on the new tyres he said they didn’t get the tuning right for when they tyres got smaller and that was the reason for the engine being too rich.  Report a little understeer, the Japanese driver is pleased with the overall feeling of his car and is confident that with the engine set better he can be quicker.

Fresh from his podium finish at the 1:8 GT World Championship in Sydney, Catanzani is really enjoying the track here in Japan saying it is ‘so good’ to drive.  On his car’s performance, the 18-year-old said, ‘All is ok.  The car is good now so if we make any changes they will be little to adjust for the track conditions.  We will run the same engine again in the next one and then after that change to a different one’.

‘The track today seems different, it’s more loose’, was Balestri’s response when asked about his run to the 6th fastest time.  He continued, ‘It was not a clear run for me.  My set-up was not for the conditions so I need to renew it for the next one.  It’s just small changes I need to make’.

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4 busy days of practice conclude at 1:8 Onroad Worlds

After four busy days of practice for drivers at the IFMAR 1:8 Onroad World Championship in Japan, things are finally set to get official tomorrow with four planned rounds of seeding practice to determine the heat order for qualifying.  Summing up how practice had gone, many of the international drivers getting their first taste of the Infinity International RC Speedway on Friday, it was mixed reports from some of the leading title contenders.  The driver they all will be trying to beat over the next  5-days, reigning Champion Shoki Takahata was looking content and relaxed and reported being pleased with how he was working through his program.  With no official timing being published, icon of the sport Atsushi Hara highlighted the Mugen driver as a driver looking strong over the four days.  A 1:8 Onroad Worlds podium finisher himself, Hara felt Takahata’s new for 2023 team-mate Simon Kurzbuch was also looking strong.  From his own team, Infinity, he thought Dario Balestri was leading their charge with the 2017 World Champion in confident mood when we caught up with him at the completion of the final practice.

While not officially his home track, living four hours away from Mie, Takahata does know the IFS track well.  Asked about track conditions, he said the shear high number of cars running on it over the day was causing it be different every time he went out.  Asked about the traction of the high speed circuit,  he described the grip as ‘not so bad’ but having a unique feeling.  Very happy with his final run of today, calling his car ‘really’ good’, he plans to start with that set-up tomorrow and see how it matches up with track conditions.  While temperatures are hitting the low 20-degree celsius range during the day, the conditions are a lot cooler in the morning and again in the evening.  Yesterday’s first day of Controlled Practice was effected by strong winds which all drivers report as making things challenging.

‘Well prepared’ was how Kurzbuch summed his current state of play.  Ready to get down to the more serious business of racing, the 2015 World Champion said, ‘we’ve tried almost everything by now and know what is working for us.  We have good engines already put aside and a good set-up on the car’.  Asked about the track, the Swiss driver replied, ‘It’s a really fun track.  It’s a great facility.’

Wrapping himself up in extra layers as the sunset on the final day of controlled practice causing the temperatures to drop pretty rapidly, Balestri was another driver ready to get into the more official side of the event.  Top Qualifier at the last two World Championships, the Italian said, ‘everything was on point from the first day so we used the 2nd & 3rd days to break in engines’.  He added, ‘I am super happy with the IF18 III, it’s faster and it’s easier to drive.  The new Max ‘Japan World Championship Edition’ engines is also running really well’.  With the top drivers expected to be all closely matched on laps times, the reigning European Champion believes the biggest difference will be down to whether you are running new or used tyres.  Describing the car as ‘more difficult’ on new tyres, he said the main point to see will be who can run fast on news tyres with everyone having to do so twice based on the allocations of the controlled tyre.

With the IFS track originally built by his father, this is very much a home race for Tadahiko Sahashi but the reigning 1:10 Nitro World Champion declared himself as only being at 60% of his potential.  Struggling with understeer, the 2013 World Champion plans to discuss potential fixes for the issue with his mechanic and 2006 1:10 Nitro World Champion Keisuke Fukuda.

Fresh from his 1:8 GT World Championship win in Sydney recently, Toni Gruber said it had taken him up until the final practice today to get his program back on track after a huge crash on Saturday.  Describing the impact as ‘really extreme for the car’, the Capricorn driver bent his chassis.  Replacing it with a new one, over the next few runs it was discovered the impact had done more damage to the car than originally thought.  With new parts, the German said the car still didn’t feel as good as before the crash with set-up changes not helping.  Missing balance front and rear, he said it was really bad today until he put 99% of the set-up he had started out on the car.  Describing his car after the final practice as ‘really good now’ he things the chassis plate may have needed a few runs to break in and match the one he started out with.

Team-mate Dominic Greiner described his time in Japan so far as ‘up & down’.  The German said the hardness of the hand out tyres is not the same as this is causing issues.  He said on the tyres he ran in early practice his car was very good but then when he switched to a new set he was running more towards the back in terms of his pace. Declaring himself not happy in the last round he concluded, ‘we will see what we get tomorrow, it timed practice so lets hope things are better with the tyres’.

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‘Without knowledge you can drive but you can’t win’ – Jilles Groskamp

It is easy to think that the top drivers in the World have a special ability to just show up at an event and put their car on the track and be quick straight off the bat.  While there are one or two exceptions who do possess this super power, for the most part the success comes from combining that natural talent with a lot of hard work, that mostly goes unnoticed, between races.  Racing at the top level is relentless because when you are not putting in the work your rivals are, and they are making marginal gains that combined can be the difference between them winning or you not.  One driver who has always stood out as one of the hardest working drivers in our sport is Jilles Groskamp.  Even back in the dominant years of the Tamiya TRF team in electric touring car it was Jilles who was doing most of the ground work for the entire team.  That effort was justly rewarded when he became the 2012 Electric Touring Car World Champion at his home track of Heemstede.  Now at the age of 43, Jilles admitting himself ‘I’m not the youngest guy anymore’, putting in the work is even more vital than before and through that comes knowledge which he points out ‘without knowledge you can drive but you can’t win’.

The 1:8 Onroad World Championship will be only Jilles’ fifth in the category.  His first was 15-years ago when he made the trip to Argentina in for the 2007 Worlds.  A team driver for Xray back then, it was the launch of their first ever 1:10 Nitro car at the European Championship in Spain a year earlier that led to him being put in at the deep end in 1:8.  Using Sirio engines, the Dutch driver impressed the Italian manufacturer on his EC debut finishing second to Dario Balestri who successfully defended his title.  While Xray didn’t have a 1:8 car at the time, Jilles would drive a Kyosho due to Japanese company’s close links with Sirio.  While Jilles would make the Quarter finals on his debut he said the biggest issue was ‘not enough experience’.  Very much an Electric Touring Car driver at the time when Jilles moved to Tamiya he said his electric racing schedule prevented him from competing in Nitro but as he also stated, Tamiya having no competition nitro onroad chassis, racing a Kyosho car was ‘not so smart’.  Returning to 1:8 in 2013 with Shepherd and Maxima engines, he would win the European Championship which was followed by a trip to Japan for the Worlds.  Despite losing a shock in the Semi he still made the main but his race would end with an engine failure.  After another break from World Championship action due to electric commitments, his signing for Infinity would see him in France in 2017.  Making the final there, he was in a battle with Shoki Takahata for the podium when his engine broke.  As the saying goes “bad things come in threes” and in 2019 he would fail to make the final, yes his engine broke in the Semi final.

With nitro racing having become the major part of his program with 2017 1:8 and 2018 1:10 World Champion manufacturer Infinity, Jilles says he has gotten a better understanding of engine and clutch set-up and how one effects the other adding ‘you can gain at lot from understanding what to do’. He added it is the same with pipes and knowing what they do in different conditions but says ‘understanding the power and its effects is something I enjoy a lot.  If you don’t have the engine power you don’t have steering.  Sometimes I think it is not fair that other guys have more power but you need to find your way to make it best for you’.

And it is on this statement that Jilles has decided to choose to run Picco engines at Infinity International RC Speedway.  The brand that powered Tadahiko Sahasi to the World title last time it was held in Japan, Jilles explained, ‘Not many people are using Picco, most use O.S based engines.  I started with this (O.S) and it feels nothing special so I tested Picco and it had more power than my O.S did.  I also saw Steven Cypers use Picco and he had really good power.  I have been getting great support from Picco since deciding to run their engines and we are really prepared, I have 8 engines ready.’  Another bonus to running their engines is that Jille’s mechanic Armin Weihert has experience with the Italian brand from the time Oliver Mack ran them.  Also boosted by the new IF18 III Infinity has released, he said, ‘the main conclusion from running the new car is that it has more traction, is more stable, and has more steering.  Everyone in the team is happy with the new car. It is more consistent and with controlled tyres this helps a lot’.

Asked about his hard work ethic, Jilles replied, ‘I work for a company so I have to show them I work hard.  I can’t just show up at races, it looks bad.  To just arrive at a race you are already on the back foot.  This season I have mainly focused on 1:8.  Not many people see this work in the background.  I have even prepared parts boxes so it is easy to find everything.  That takes time but as well as my job it is still my hobby so it is still nice to do, sorting everything out.’  Unlike many of his team-mates, Jilles has never been to IFS before but again as part of the behind the scene preparations he has been watch videos of the track saying ‘you need a lot of steering and to ride the curbs.  It looks like a challenging track and that you need power in the bottom and mid range so I can be really confident with Picco’.  On his goals for these Worlds he said, ‘I’m realistic, especially as it is Japan.  Sometimes you have guys you never heard about that are super quick.  If I get straight into the Semi I’ll be very happy, then my game starts.  I am stronger in the finals than qualifying.’  Asked if the pressure of World Championships still make him nervous, he replied, ‘I’m not nervous.  I am more thinking of how I’m able to manage being away from home and everything can run OK.  This is my job, so for sure I’m excited to go there and to see everyone again.  If you have a good race, make the final, make the podium, it feels even more great’.

2023 IFMAR 1:10 Offroad World Championship coverage presented by Infinity

The third of the four World Championships Red RC will attend this year, starting Monday, 30th October, our coverage of 1:8 Onroad in Japan is being supported by Infinity.  Releasing their first car in 2015, the Japanese manufacturer won its first 1:8 Onroad World Championship in 2017 in France with Dario Balestri and last year completed the nitro onroad World Championship set by winning the 1:10 Onroad title in Thailand with Tadahiko Sahashi.  As well as producing Nitro Onroad kits, Infinity also offer 1:10 Electric Touring Cars and Formula 1 chassis.

‘Every race we start from zero’ – Gruber

Two weeks ago Toni Gruber took the biggest prize of his racing career yet.  Realising the ultimate dream, he clinched his first World Championship title with a very convincing victory at the 1:8 GT World Championship in Sydney, Australia.   The victory didn’t really come as too much of a surprise however as the German is in the form of his life this season.  However, despite claiming the 1:10 Nitro Onroad European Championship for a second time during the Summer, following that up a month later by becoming Top Qualifier at the 1:8 Euros where he finished on the podium, and then rounding out the European season with his first ENS title win, the sport’s newest World Champion goes into the 1:8 Onroad World Championship in Japan with the mindset ‘every race we start from zero’.

There is no denying that Toni’s 2023 season is one most drivers can only ever dream of but there is still potential to add even more prestigious silverware to his growing collection.  With little or no time to let the enormity of his win in Australia sink in, his intense level of focus on his racing was quickly turned to the task ahead of him in Japan.  Such was the tight schedule between the two World Championship events, Toni’s grandfather was busy building his Capricorn cars back in German in preparation for the sport’s longest running championship while Toni was ‘Down Under’ steering his Hong Nor GT car to the Taiwanese brand’s first World title.  And it’s such family support that Toni is grateful to have and knows that without he wouldn’t be now one the best drivers is the World.  Chatting with Toni at the banquet after his big win, our photo of his winning fist pump setting the internet alight, I mentioned it to him that we weren’t sure we’d get such an epic reaction given he has had subdued reactions to previous career highs.  As he explained, ‘I can be so in the zone it can take time to realise what I have done but the last 3-minutes of the race today was the longest 3-minutes of racing ever so the relief at the end was huge’.

A driver who began racing at just four years of age, starting with an electric touring car before getting his first nitro car three years later, we first came into contact with Toni when he arrived on the scene in the ENS as a promising newcomer trying to break into the ranks of the establishment.  First racing with ARC, his career really stepped up a level when Italy’s WRC Racing took him on to lead their efforts and that combination was rewarded with the 2017 1:10 Nitro Onroad European Championship crown.  After 2-seasons he would join Shepherd with that partnership bringing the highlight of his first 1:8 Onroad World Championship Final in 2019 – the last time the category ran a Worlds.  Now 4-years on and having joined Capricorn at the start of this season, the 27-year-old believes experience is one of his new strengths in racing.  ‘As you get older, you learn more.  You know how to work better with yourself.  You have a better mindset.’

In addition to maturing as a racer, Toni knows every nitro race he contests is a team effort and like any successful team in any sporting discipline having the right people around you contributes to a successful outcome.  With his dad as his long time mechanic, himself a Champion racer, he attributes much of his 1:8 Onroad success this season to his move to Capricorn.  ‘This was a big step’ is how he sums up the significance of his signing with the Italian manufacturer.  That’s not the full story however because it is his relationship with his engine tuner that really stood out in the pits in Australia as a special element in his current form.  15-years ago Red RC was in Portugal to witness Daniele Ielasi became World Champion when he won the 1:10 Nitro Onroad title.  The emotion that day was raw and it is still one of our most memorial World Championship moments.  Transitioning from racer to engine tuner in recent years, Daniele has since built up his Ielasi Tuned brand into a major player and with it a very close relationship with Toni.  Becoming an Ielasi Tuned team driver in 2021, Toni has given the passionate Italian’s brand its two most significant endorsements yet.  First a European title in June and just four months later a World title.  Ielasi’s emotions in pit lane over the final 3-minutes of the 1-hour Main in Sydney was an powerful sporting moment and proof that while RC Racing is a hobby for many it is sport for the many who invest their lives into it.  Asking Toni about working with Daniele, he was quick to respond, ‘ The relationship is something special.  It’s not just a factory that gives me engines.  It’s more, it’s more than a friendship’.  One just has to watch them in discussion before and after each time Toni went on track to see the trust & belief they each have in one other.

Asked about his approach to the World Championship at Infinity International RC Speedway when comparing the ocassion to other races, Toni said, ‘All the races we go there for the win but if you focus on the fact it’s a World Championship you can make more pressure on yourself.  So, I think of it as any other big race and go there with the mindset we are starting from zero.’  Suffering gearbox issues on his 1:8 World Final debut before finishing 6th as others had bigger issues, looking to the week ahead and who he is going to face up against, he said, ‘With no international races since the last Worlds because of Covid it is hard to know where we stand.  Dominic (Greiner) is always there, Dario (Bakestri) is always fast too, Simon (Kurzbuch) is a new combo with Mugen and it hasn’t been perfect but he has been learning and so you can count he will also be in there.  Tadahiko (Sahasi) and Shoki (Takahata) will also be up there and have the benefit of plenty of track experience.’  Asked his thoughts on the track which he has never been to before his response was, ‘I think Kenji made it in the same style as Fiorano which I know but the asphalt is different and there is no banking but I am looking forward to driving on it, I think it will be a good track to race on’.

2023 IFMAR 1:10 Offroad World Championship coverage presented by Infinity

The third of the four World Championships Red RC will attend this year, starting Monday, 30th October, our coverage of 1:8 Onroad in Japan is being supported by Infinity.  Releasing their first car in 2015, the Japanese manufacturer won its first 1:8 Onroad World Championship in 2017 in France with Dario Balestri and last year completed the nitro onroad World Championship set by winning the 1:10 Onroad title in Thailand with Tadahiko Sahashi.  As well as producing Nitro Onroad kits, Infinity also offer 1:10 Electric Touring Cars and Formula 1 chassis.