November 23, 2019

Jeff Hamon is Nitro Top qualifier in China

With EP now over, attention turns back to Nitro, which will run through the rest of Saturday and all through Sunday. With the nitro action again taking place under flood lights it was the perfect conditions to set a fast time but drama in the fastest heat as the car of Meen Vejrak, who was on TQ pace, start to spew smoke out the rear of the bodyshell for about 2 laps before going off at the end of the straight and going on fire. A dragging battery cable seemingly the culprit but the car is completely destroyed from both the fire and the impact. This misfortune allowed Jeff Hamon to take over at the front and claim the TQ spot ahead of another Thai Maxima driver Charlee P, with top seed Kim Ki Heung in 3rd, Motor King in 4th and Meen Vejrak with his Q2 time giving him P5 for tomorrow’s 45 minute A-main. Jeff felt he had a slipping clutch throughout his run but said it stayed consistent for the entire run. Happy with a change he made to softer springs, he thinks for the final the car is easy to drive and apart from setting the clutch properly will work out strategy closer to the race time.

Charlee P was very happy with his car and Maxima engine but complained that the organisers would run the qualifying under flood lights as ‘its too dark for me’. Needing some serious focus to not make a mistake in the 4 minute run, if the race is run under lights tomorrow it could be very difficult for 45 minutes. Asked about tire strategy, the Thai driver said he can make about 20 minutes on a set of tires so will consult with his team about the best strategy for the main.

Ranked first after controlled practice and being consistently in the top 2 in all qualifying runs yesterday, Kim Ki Heung was a little disappointed with 3rd in the rocket round qualifier. Admitting to setting his engine incorrectly, this caused a mismatch with his clutch setting and so cost him time. Continuing to be happy with his Shepherd car, looking to tomorrow he feels there will be no problems and is confident for the final that he will only need to stop once for tires.

Driving a Mugen chassis in Nitro, a driver we are more accustomed to seeing running Yokomo in EP touring, Motor King finished up in 4th place. The Shanghai based driver, who was only 1 tenth down on Kim, was pleased with his Q3 run and for the main final tomorrow will make a decision on any setup changes closer to the time of the final.

Meen Vejrak will start from 5th, thanks to his run in last night’s Q2 run, but the talking point was not where he qualified but what happened to him in Q3. Asked about the fire in his Maxima powered Infinity chassis, the former 200mm World Champion said when it was happening he wasn’t sure what the problem was but said with the smoke pouring out of the back it looked cool, ‘just like Formula 1’. Less ‘cool’ was when the car failed to respond at the end of the straight and ploughed into the track wall and went on fire, helped by the fuel tank rupturing. For tomorrow the Thai driver said he will borrow another car from a friend and try his best to get a good result.

Taking the top spot in the GT class and making it a double TQ for Serpent in the Nitro classes, Felix Law was the top qualifier using his Q1 time. Also failing to improve in Q3, 2nd placed starter Paphon Chanyasak also had to rely on his Q1 run to take 2nd, having problems in the last run that saw him fail to finish. One to improve in Q3 though was Chinese driver Ma Haoran who will start from 3rd, the Xray driver outqualifying Hong Kong veteran Fai Ho who ended up in 4th with Italian Gimar driver Natanaele Senesi improving to complete the top 5.

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November 23, 2019

Coelho & Quek are SIGP Champions

Bruno Coelho has taken the overall win in the Modified class at the 2019 SIGP in Xiamen, China. The Xray driver took his 2nd win in A2 to complete the perfect weekend and claim the SIGP title and with it the 20,000 RMB prize money. Never really challenged in the deciding second A-main, it was Akio Sobue who took the runner up spot ahead of Dominic Quek and Meen Vejrak, but in A3 it was the Thai driver that took the win, as Coelho started from the back of the grid, with Akio finishing in 2nd, the result meaning that Vejrak would finish 2nd overall with Sobue completing the podium. Asked about the deciding A2, Coelho said it was a very similar race to A1 with the time spent waiting on the grid the only reason for concern forcing the World Champion to be quite cautious on the opening lap. Once up to speed he could pull a gap to Sobue and once control the race.

Having had a difficult A2, deciding to run used tires, Meen said he struggled for the first 3 laps before the Sweep control tire came up to temperature. At that stage it was too much to ask to catch those ahead especially when combined with the drop in performance but he could get up to 4th after Nicholas Lee spun ahead of him on the last lap which let him through. In the 3rd and final A-main it was a different story as the Thai driver would start in what was effectively 2nd and from the start he was applying a lot of pressure on the Japanese driver forcing a mistake from Sobue on lap 8 that put him through to the lead. The win combined with his 3rd place in A1 meant that he was tied on points with Sobue but his 1st place finish in A3 gave the Yokomo driver the tie break and with it the runner up spot.

Another to run on old tires for A2 to save a fresh pair for A3, Sobue looked set for his plan to work before losing the back of the car on a curb in the centre section of the track which allowed Vejrak passed. Regaining his momentum the Infinity driver closed on and tried to pass the ‘Meen Machine’ on the right side hairpin making slight contact but he was not able to make it stick. Continuing to pressure the leader, Akio’s race would finally come undone when he lost the back once again, this time coming onto the main straight which allowed Meen to break clear at the front and his team mate Viktor Wilck to close up and put pressure on him. The OneTen Series champion was able to remain calm and bring the car home in 2nd to give him the final podium spot.

Winner here last year, Viktor Wilck could only manage fourth this time around as he lacked the ultimate pace of the leading trio, his 3rd position in A3 boosting his overall points score significantly and giving him the 4th spot, just ahead of the driver who replaced him at Serpent, Yugo Nagashima in 5th.

In the Hobbywing Stock class it was an exciting battle between the Xray of Dominic Quek and the Awesomatix of Max Machler. With the German taking the win in A1, it was Quek who resisted the pressure in A2 to win to set up an epic showdown in A3. Unfortunately the pair got into each other on the opening lap of the deciding final and with Quek trying to wait for Machler, Max got caught up on the curb and was dead last at the end of the first lap. Stick King was the early leader but Quek was on a mission and managed to catch the Hong Kong driver and make a pass for the lead with two laps to go while Machler could only recover to 3rd. Dominic would take the overall win ahead of Max with Stick King completing the podium, just ahead of Salton Dong in 4th and Jindong Bai in 5th.

View the complete event results here.

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November 23, 2019

A1 in Xiamen goes to Coelho

Bruno Coelho is one step closer to winning the overall SIGP title as he cruised to victory in A1 here in Xiamen this morning. Setting off from the pole position, the World Champion was never challenged and in the end could take the victory by over 4 seconds from Akio Sobue who had a lonely race in 2nd. The action was all behind as Meen Vejrak worked his way from 5th to finish 3rd with some great passing maneuvers on Nicholas Lee and Dominic Quek. The Singapore drivers would eventually come together and both ended up with a body tuck, while Nico would hold on for 4th Quek would fall down the order as he had to stop to have it fixed, ending the race in 9th and last of the runners. ‘Everything went ok and the car was good’, was how Bruno calmly described his run. Continuing by saying that they were initially worried about the wind which had picked up but it turned out to be a non issue. Running new tires in A1, he still has 2 new sets left and is so in a very good position to take the overall win and the 20,000 rmb 1st place prize money.

Coming home a distant 2nd, Akio Sobue declared A1 as an easy race, admitting to not being quick enough to catch Bruno but quicker than all those behind him so he just drove safe. Feeling that traction is a lot lower this morning and there is a lot less grip, despite this he will maintain his current set-up and just focus on driving his Infinity prototype and secure the 2nd overall position.

Meen Vejrak was the man on the move in A1, putting in some impressive passes, both in the left hander following the main straight. First getting passed Nicholas Lee, he spent 3 more laps behind Quek before he could find a way passed. Telling us ‘it was fun for the first final’, he continued by saying that he waited behind for the pair ahead to come together but when they didn’t he had to work out his own way passed. Very happy with 3rd, for A2 he said he will try to make the move sooner so that he can have the time to have a go at Sobue.

In the Stock class, the win went to Max Machler, but the German made it difficult for himself having a terrible start off the line. Explaining after that he wasn’t used to the power of the boosted stock setup used here at the SIGP, he gave it full punch but spun the wheels badly off the line and dropped back to the mid pack. He was able to recover quickly and was back up to 2nd by the 3rd lap but it would take 8 more laps of chasing Quek before he could make a move. Dominic would finish in 2nd with Stick King in 3rd and Salton Dong coming home in 4th.

View the complete event results here.

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