Chassis – Awesomatix A800R
ESC – Orca OE1 Mark II
Motor – Orca Modtreme 2 4.5T
Battery – Orca 6090mah
Tires (handout) – Sweep
Radio/Servo – Sanwa m17 / MKS 575 SL
Body – Xtreme Twister Speciale
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Ronald Volker is the top seed going into qualifying at the TITC, the Mugen Seiki driver fastest over 3-laps from defending Champion Bruno Coelho. With just a single round of seeding practice determining the heats for the four rounds of qualifying, most drivers completed the minimum laps possible needed to secure a place in the top while also saving tyres. Running in the second fastest practice heat due to his B-Final appearance at last year’s event, Volker took two goes at setting a time. It was his second 3-consecutive laps that counted with him fastest by 16/100th of a second over Coelho, the Xray driver making just one attempt to post a time. One of the few drivers to run the entire 5-minutes along with team-mate Akio Sobue, Axon’s Hayato Ishioka set the third fastest time with 2-time TITC winner Sobue ending up 7th. Infinity’s Naoto Matsukura posted the fourth fastest time ahead of the Awesomatix pairing of Lucas Urbain and Marc Rheinard.
Describing his current form as ‘so far the best TITC I’ve had at RC Addict ever’, Volker added, ‘I was a bit nervous about just getting 3-laps in. It was the only seeding run we get so there was always a chance something might go wrong and you are not in the top’. Explaining that this year’s new layout means the track’s bumps are more of an issue he said that during the early days of practice it was chaos with cars flying off the track, he himself destroying two body shells. Using a new compound Sweep tyre this year, grip is very high with most drivers battling traction roll something that is exacerbated when you add in the bumps. While fastest over 3-laps, Volker said his MTC2R has been fast all week and that is something he is quick to attribute to Robert Pietsch, his mechanic this week and the designer of the car. ‘Last year I really struggled to get the car to work and even though I worked hard for the B Main I still struggled. Robert is able to think out of the box and has prepared a great car for me. I am very happy with how it is working but I know there is a long way to get and I know with this event it is difficult to judge how it will go’.
Coelho said, ‘Overall we are 2nd so I am happy for now. I knew I need to make no mistakes to make sure I would be in the Top 10. I did just 3-laps because I might need the tyres later in the race. The car was trying to flip as the traction was high but I’m sure it was the same for all.’ Asked about the tyre, the World Champion said, ‘the tyre doesn’t drop off too much over the 5-minutes but it has way to much grip for the conditions. I think they should go a little harder next year.’ Chasing a record equaling fourth TITC win this weekend, asked about his 5-minute pace for qualifying, the opening two rounds making up Friday’s schedule after a round of free practice, Coelho replied, ‘I am pretty confident for the 5-minutes tomorrow.’
Finishing on the podium last year, Ishioka described this year’s track as ‘super technical’ and while he welcomed this year’s tyre and the fact each driver gets to glue their own sets, he said they offer a ‘little to much grip’. On his new TC10/3 chassis, the World Championship finalist described the car as ‘working well’ and for tomorrow he will start out qualifying with an unchanged set-up.
Matsukura was pleased with his run to the fourth fastest time having struggled earlier with traction roll. The former World Champion for whom the TITC title has evaded him, described his car as feeling a ‘little bouncy’ to drive and while he was able to improve it between the final practice and the seeding round he believes qualifying will be challenging. ‘5-minutes will be difficult for me so I will try to make no mistakes and get points. I think many drivers will have mistakes so if I can keep my run clean I should be able to collect good points.’ Another to pull up in the seeding round to safe tyres, drivers having to use one of their 5-race allocated sets in seeding, he said, ‘We have a practice round in the morning so we will use this to how car is now working over 5-minutes’.
‘OK I guess’, was Urbain’s reaction to his seeding effort. His first international event as a full time professional driver and only his second TITC, he said, ‘To be honest, for 2 or 3 days of practice it was really good but today it’s a lot worse and I have less grip. This shows my lack of experience of this race.’ The French driver continued, ‘3-laps is OK but 5-minutes is not great. The balance shifts to a lot of understeer at the end of the runs. Seeding I am where I wanted but Marc is much faster over 5-minutes which is not ideal when he is starting behind. Anyway tomorrow is another day.’
Playing a waiting game to start his 3-laps, Rheinard explained, ‘I waited 1 minute 30 to start my run as I knew everyone was going to stop early and that would give me a more calm track to get in a good clean 3-laps.’ Asked how he felt his three laps went the multiple World Champion replied, ‘I was up on two wheels a few times.’ Asked about his pace over a complete run, he said, ‘the run before it was pretty good over the 5-minutes but the track changes everyday so you never know. I’m happy to be in the top heat and I’m confident for a 5-minute run’.
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Chassis – Xpress XQ11 “Hara Edition”
ESC – Hobbywing XR10 Pro
Motor – Hobbywing V10 Xerun 4.5T
Battery – Fido 5900mah
Tires (handout) – Sweep
Radio/Servo – Futaba 10PX / Futaba CT702
Body – Lens Bodies Ghigli 2.0
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Red RC attended its first TITC in 2017. It was always a bucket list event but it was the meaning of the win on the Sunday that really endorsed for us that this is one of the greatest touring car races. The emotion of the win was powerful and that winner was Bruno Coelho who gave us the headline for our final report that read, ‘Coelho takes TITC with ‘hardest win’ of career’. Seven years on and catching up with Bruno before he took his flight to the Thai capital to defend his title, the World Champion still rates the race as ‘one of the best in the World’ adding it is ‘a completely different race to any other’. Chasing a record equaling fourth win that would put him on par with TITC Master Atsushi Hara, a driver widely acknowledged for putting the race on the world stage, as we will find out Bruno isn’t driven by records but very much being the best on the day. He knows this is one race where ever detail is critical be successful at ‘one of the most challenging races’ in the world while on the flip side offers ‘one of the best race atmosphere’ you can experience.
Bruno’s first TITC was in 2015 when the race returned to the RC Addict track and it has called it permanent home ever since. He qualified second behind Xray team-mate Alexander Hagberg who would go on to win while rough finals left the Portuguese driver 5th. It was a learning experience but a year later he returned to take the first of his victories. Defending his title in 2017, he failed to convert the TQ in 2018 and in 2019 he qualified & finished 4th as Hagberg became a multiple Champion of the legendary Asian race. Not attending the event in 2020, Bruno returned after the event’s Covid hiatus with a dominant 2023 performance but in a race where the finer details are critical Bruno takes on the challenge without one key element in his all conquering touring car campaigns – mechanic Francesco Martini. ‘I have no Franci this time as he has business commitments. We had the flights booked already but it was something very important and he can’t come. I will have Martin (Hudy) as my mechanic so it’s not a huge problem. Obviously Martin is super good, he designed the car, but myself and Franci collected all the data together in the past. I don’t want it to sound bad against Martin but myself & Fanci have a special working relationship and at a race as tough as TITC it’s these little details of knowing what to do and when can make a difference. So not having him at the race is a negative for me.’
Asked why the race is held in such high regard by drivers and one that they so badly want to win, Bruno explained, ‘How the track changes each run because of the hot temperatures makes it so challenging. In the morning it might be 28 degrees in the shade but in the sun the track temperature could be 50-60 degrees. You need to drive different to not overheat the tyres. You need to have two good set-ups for different times of the day. Every small detail is important even the electronics because they also have to deal with the high temperatures’. A race where all the team drivers come almost a week before the race to test on the track he said, ‘Everyone has plenty of time to test so we have no excuses for the race. It’s one of the most challenging races, we give all we can give. People can’t say you are here for 2-weeks and they were only able to do 2-days testing like they said in Gubbio (2020 ISTC World Championship). Everyone gets loads of practice so that’s one less excuse we all have’. He continued, ‘From practice you decide your plan for different times of the day. In the morning there is a lot of traction, mid day low traction and evening is rocket round. You think you are ready for the race and then someone finds something good for their car and you are stressed. At the end if I finish 5th I have no excuses, I was not good enough.’
On the chance of becoming one of the races most successful drivers and whether it is motivation for a fourth win, Coelho response was quite typical of a sports person at the peak their career, ‘I get asked a lot about races I have won and how many times I have won certain races but I really don’t count wins, I go to win every race. I don’t think about the past, I prefer to move forward and try to be better for the next race. If you live off your past success you don’t strive to be better for the future.’
With tyres always a topic that comes into play not just at the TITC but most touring car races these days it seems, Bruno questions the limit of 5 sets of Sweep tyres this year. I think for the importance of the race they should not limit tyres as it could be a negative thing. You will have maybe five drivers in a heat because others are saving tyres. I think for (race) series limited tyres is good but for a single race like TITC it’s one race and everyone should give their all and not be forced to pick and choose when to or not to run because of saving tyres. I think like the Worlds it causes more confusion than benefits. He also feels this years new layout will be hard on tyres, ‘the most critical part of the track is the end of the straight when you are on full brake. In the hot conditions this is going to burn the tyres’.
While his Hobbywing powered Xray package is much the same as previous years, one significant change from 12-months ago is the radio Bruno will use. ‘I used to use Sanwa but since September I have been racing with Futaba. I like the physical feel of the brake. It has more range and I can get the feeling of a normal brake. The Sanwa brake is mechanical short so you have to adjust on the radio settings. With the Futaba you can manage more with the finger and I like this.’
2024 TITC coverage presented by Hobbywing
Hobbywing is China’s earliest national-level high-tech enterprise engaged in R&D, production and sales of brushless power systems for UAV and RC models. Committed to provide high power density brushless power systems for global customers, Hobbywing and the TITC have a deep-rooted history. As early as 2009, Hobbywing’s ESC made its first appearance at TITC with this year marking a 15 years history of collaboration. Except for the three years during the COVID-19 period, Hobbywing has consistently offered on-site technical guidance to its users at TITC, ensuring the optimal performance of their power systems and providing steadfast support for drivers, allowing them to fully immerse themselves in the competition.
Every sport has its legends and for me personally the greatest of all is Atsushi Hara. Before I knew I would ever work in the RC Industry and well before a thing called ‘social media’ would consume our daily lives, there was one driver dominating the track. You couldn’t open an RC Magazine without Hara featuring as a race winner or in an ad for the brands he represented. For our younger generation of followers I should explain that an RC magazine was a thing made of paper pages that had kit reviews and reports & photographs (that you can’t zoom in on) from major RC races a few months after they happened. He was an influencer before influencers were a thing. Hara was a truly global star and was the only racer I found myself slightly star struck on first meeting him at the DHI Cup in 2008. It was also Hara who many attribute to putting the TITC on the World stage and on my bucket list of races to attend and to this day, as we approach the 20th running, he is still the Master of it. As the most winning driver in its history, Hara is the ultimate authority to be able to label this iconic race the ‘toughest race in the World’ and one he believes is the ‘most difficult to win’.
With a record four wins, Hara has been a part of the TITC history from the beginning and it was his first win that shot the race to true international legendary status. First held in 2003 at RCS when Hara had made the switch from Yokomo to Hot Bodies, he said the first two years were the peak of the career of Thai driver Surikarn Chaidajsuriya. The Tamiya driver had just become World Champion in South Africa and successfully defended his inaugural TITC win a year later. ‘It was the peak moment for him. He dominated 2003-2004. The first year of the race there was maybe 60 entries with 20 to 25 Modified. It was also a shitty track. My first win was 2005 and the entry had already grown to 150 but it was 2006 when the race became famous. Everyone was crazy to race in Thailand that year and I think we got 250 entries.’ In 2008 TITC would become Hara’s home race. “I was living in the US in 2007 but my visa expired in 2008 so I needed to move and the TITC influenced my decision along with RCS getting the 2008 Worlds. I lived in Bangkok for 12-years.’
With his last TITC victory coming in 2013, asked if any of the four wins particularly stood out more than the others his response was definite. ’TITC 2013 was my biggest win. It was right after the Worlds in the Netherlands. I had a big chance to win there and lost to Jilles (Groskamp). I was annoyed so after that I worked so hard for TITC win. I ended up with the best car I ever had and I got easy the TQ. People said I was cheating I was so far in front. They said I had different compound tyres. So for the final I was the last to get tyres from organiser and I glued my tyres in front of everyone. When I win the final they see I was not cheating’. Reminding us of the race’s slogan ‘the World’s biggest local race’, and highlighting it ‘still has the feel of club race race but with world level racing’, Hara said what makes the TITC the most difficult race to win is the free practice before the race. While officially this four day event starts on the Thursday, most of the factory drivers come the week before and so should have everything well dialled in come the start of racing, some get sorted better than others for the changing track conditions that are part & parcel of the hot weather.
With the return of the TITC last year after its forced two year hiatus due to Covid, 2023 was to be first year Hara has been absent from the race (due to work commitments). Excited to be back this year, Hara is here for the fun side of the event rather than chasing a fifth win. He said his ‘last serious race’ was before Covid so it’s been a long four year break from racing. He explained, ‘I have too long a break away from World level of racing but driving is still fun for me but my focus has changed. Before I was just focusing on win, now I want to help promote the industry, me doing well in the race doesn’t change the industry. I am also involved with the organisers helping them with any rule changes and helping to try improver the event.’
Getting in some touring car testing in Japan before his departure to Thailand he said, ‘things have changed a lot since I last raced. Bodies are thinner and lighter, they are crazy to drive. It’s fast but I’m not sure I like the current touring car. It’s too fast, it’s like a 1:12 pan car. Even for me I need to learn the new touring car. They are so fast now, even Stock.’ Asked his thoughts on this year’s contenders he replied, ‘At RC Addict track it is always same people who are fast. Bruno and Akio. Hagberg, Jilles, Meen fast before. For some reason Marc and Ronald not so good at this track.’
Unveiling his own Hara Racing brand recently, he will be racing a special ‘Hara edition’ chassis from Xpress at this year’s TITC, the car featuring anodised parts in his trademark purple. Asked his plans for the brand he replied, ‘I don’t want to just make option parts for cars. I want to do something different. I would like to do collaboration with Xpress and other manufacturers. If people are interested in the look of my Xpress, we can produce a kit for customers. Sticking with one manufacturer it is hard to survive as the industry is shrinking. I am still personally sponsored by rcMart and VP Pro tyres so maybe there are more brands I can also work with.’
2024 TITC coverage presented by Hobbywing
Hobbywing is China’s earliest national-level high-tech enterprise engaged in R&D, production and sales of brushless power systems for UAV and RC models. Committed to provide high power density brushless power systems for global customers, Hobbywing and the TITC have a deep-rooted history. As early as 2009, Hobbywing’s ESC made its first appearance at TITC with this year marking a 15 years history of collaboration. Except for the three years during the COVID-19 period, Hobbywing has consistently offered on-site technical guidance to its users at TITC, ensuring the optimal performance of their power systems and providing steadfast support for drivers, allowing them to fully immerse themselves in the competition.
