August 22, 2013

Choi tops penultimate FEMCA qualifier

Choi

Sweep team driver Dani Choi has topped the fifth round of qualifying at the FEMCA Championships in China, a result that leaves the Korean tied with Atsushi Hara in the qualification ranking with just one round remaining.  Topping Q2 yesterday, Choi took his Kyosho to the top of the time sheets in the penultimate qualifier ahead of Meen Vejrak who rolled his Mugen right in front of the timing loop as he was about to finish his qualifying, losing over 4-seconds as he waited to be marshaled.  Japan’s Dai Hiroki completed the Top 3 for the round which saw Hara finish 4th after a bad tyre choice.

Choi

‘Unbelievable’ was how Choi summed up his second TQ run of the event at Fengtai Raceway.  Reverting back to Sweep’s Exagon tyre and fitting a harder rear spring to his Alpha engined MP9 having chosen too soft a spring for Q4, he was much happier with the buggy the combination giving him better corner speed. Describing the traction as being in between that of yesterday’s dry Q3 and this morning’s damp Q4, he said he expects it to be pretty much the same for the final run and so he will leave set-up and tyre choice as is.  While he is in with a chance of securing the overall TQ honours, he said Hara is one of the best in the world and so his focus for Q6 will be on trying a few different lines with a view to the final but added should Hara have any problems at the start of the 10-minute qualifier that plan could quickly go out the window!

Meen Vejrak

Vejrak was understandable a little frustrated by his last corner roll.  Having made a number of mistakes at the beginning of the qualifier he said the second half of the run went really well and he was able to close the gap to within 3-seconds of Choi.  Running Procircuit’s Hot Dice tyre in soft compound on his OS Speed powered Mugen he plans to change to super soft for his final heat.  Having lengthened his wheelbase during yesterday’s qualifying and liked the change, the versatile Thai ace plans to further extend his MBX7 taking it out to the maximum length possible.

Hiroki

Repeating his P3 result in Q1 but this time in a faster time, Hiroki was pleased to be back up towards the front of the field having only been 8th in Q4.  Switching to a red insert in his super soft compound AKA Impact tyres he said he liked the change but for the final qualifier he will change the compound to soft.  Fellow countryman and Kyosho legend Yuichi Kanai also tried the same tyre combination.  While the opening 5-minutes went ok, the former World Champion said it was too soft giving him a very nervous buggy in the second half of the qualifier leaving him to post only the 8th fastest time.  For his final heat Kanai will revert back to the black insert which he used to good effect in Q4 when he was 3rd.

Hara Setup

Hara said his main mistake in Q5 was his tyre choose.  Also changing spring to the standard kit version he said it was too hard for a track that was much drier than he had anticipated. With a hard spring and too soft a tyre he said this was the worst combination possible.  Reverting back to the springs he ran in the earlier qualifiers he will also change tyre for the Top Qualifier deciding run going to HB’s red compound Grid Lock tyre.

Chavit

Setting the fifth fastest time, just missing out on a 19-lap run, Chavit Saliguppa said he had difficulties with his driving in the low traction conditions. Feeling the set-up on his Mugen is good, he plans to change tyre for his final qualifying switching from AKA City Block to Proline’s Revolver in M3 compound.  The Top 6 was completed by Taiwan HB driver Sheng Chie Huang.

Li Cong

Setting the 10th fastest time Li Cong became the first Chinese driver to break into the Top 10 at the first FEMCA Championships to be held in the country.  Driving a Novarossi powered Kyosho, the 29-year-old was delighted by the result.  Having moved his rear shock position and changed to a lighter oil along with running less front caster, he said the buggy was much improved.  Happy with the feeling he now has with the MP9 he will run the same set-up for the final qualifier hoping to consolidate his current 15th position as the Top 16 qualify directly for tomorrow’s Semi Finals.

Round 5 Top 10 Qualifying times
1. Dani Choi (KOR) – Kyosho/Alpha – 19/10:13.544
2. Meen Vejrak (TH) – Mugen/OS Speed – 19/10:19.136
3. Dai Hiroki (JPN) – Kyosho/Reds – 19/10:20.485
4. Atsushi Hara (JPN) – Mugen/OS Speed – 19/10:29.205
5. Chavit Saliguppa (TH) – Mugen/OS Speed – 18/10:00.291
6. Sheng Chie Huang (TW) – HB/Alpha – 18/10.03.048
7. Charlee Phutiyotin (TH) – Mugen/OS Speed – 18/10:09.711
8. Yuichi Kanai (JPN) – Kyosho/RB – 18/10:13.009
9. Tommy Chung (UK) – Kyosho/Novarossi – 18/10:13.093
10.Li Cong (CN) – Kyosho/Novarossi – 18/10:15.423

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August 22, 2013

Chassis Focus – Yuichi Kanai

Thurs-KanaiMP9-3

Chassis Name – Kyosho Inferno MP9
Engine – RB Yuichi Kanai edition
Fuel – Byron (Handout)
Tires – AKA
Radio/Servos – Futaba
Remarks – Kyosho designer and former World Champion Yuichi Kanai is running a standard car with a few option parts but has nothing new in development with him for this race. Compared to how he runs his car back in Japan, he is running harder springs and prior to going out on the damp track he changed to super soft AKA Impacts and put tape on his rear wishbones and rear guards to allow quick and easy cleaning. One interesting fact is that Yuichi still runs an old crystal radio.

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August 22, 2013

Hara takes damp 4th FEMCA Qualifier

Hara

Atsushi Hara took the fourth round of qualifying at the FEMCA Championship in Beijing as day 2 of qualifying got off to a damp start at Fengtai Raceway. Despite the slippery conditions, the Japanese ace backed up his Q1 topping performance to record a new fastest 10-minute run of qualifying finishing 12.5 second clear of overnight provisional TQ holder Dani Choi with Yuichi Kanai a further 7/10th off the 2008 World Champion’s pace.

Stand

‘Really slippery’ was how Hara summed up the conditions adding that it actually suited his driving as the track was a lot more consistent because now the surface was ‘slippery everywhere’.  Choosing AKA super soft Impact tyre he also made two set-up changes to the Mugen.  Changing from a 2.6 to 2.7 rear swaybar he also moved the rear upper camber links to the outside position which he said made the MBX-7 easy to drive on power.  Having test a 2.9 swaybar earlier in the event, which he found to be two hard, he said a 2.8 would probably be the best choice only he doesn’t have one!  For the penultimate round of qualifying Hara said the weather will determine what if any changes he will make but if it stays damp he plans to continue with the same set of tyres adding that they got better and better over the 10-minutes of Q4.

Choi

Choi said he went to a softer spring all round on his Kyosho but when he got out on track the surface wasn’t as wet as he expected and the rear of the MP9 was too soft.  Switching to Sweep’s Square Armor tyre in super soft compound he said this worked really well.  While it didn’t make the car any faster it did make it a little more consistent and easier to drive.  Planning to change to a harder rear spring, the Korean said any other changes will be dependent on the weather conditions.

Kanai

Running super soft AKA Impact tyres on his RB powered Kyosho, Kanai said they gave him ‘perfect grip’ for the conditions adding that he didn’t in fact find the conditions that slippery.  Not planning to make any changes for Q5 he said that would of course depend on whether there was a big change in track conditions between rounds.

Thai

Setting the fourth fastest time, Chavit Saliguppa said it was good run except for a crash when he was coming into the pitlane for his fuel stop in which his Mugen got stuck costing him some time.  The Thai driver ran super soft AKA City Blocks which he said worked well adding that he plans to leave everything as is for Q5.  Fellow countryman and Q3 pace setter Meen Vejrak took his Mugen to the 5th fastest time.  The Nitro Touring Car World Champion said his run was really pretty good except for an incident with traffic while setting the lead pace dropped him back down the order.  On the tyre front Vejrak ran Procircuit’s Marathon tyres.

Takeshiro

17-year-old Wataru Takashiro completed the Top 6, the Kyosho driver enjoying his best run so far a fact he put down simply to better driving.  Having missed the opening day’s practice, the talented Japanese driver has had to do much of his testing in the first day of qualifying.  The only driver along with Hara to post a 30-second lap for the round, he is confident he can now build on his Q4 run in the final two qualifiers as both he and his car have got better and better each round.  Running HB Megabyte tyre he plans to run them again in Q5.

Ping

Having TQ’d qualifying for the Chinese Nationals which took place this morning at the Fengtai Raceway track, Hu Wei Ping backed up his success with a strong FEMCA Championship qualifier posting the 13th fastest time in Q4.  Chasing his fifth Chinese National title, the finals of which take place tomorrow, the S-Workz driver said it was a difficult FEMCA qualifying run as it was actually raining during his heat but he was very happy with the result among the international field.  11th fastest in Q3 yesterday, he is hoping for another strong run saying the main change he plans for his next outing is to try a different tyre having used VP-Pro’s Blade EVO tyre in Q4.

Round 4 Top 10 Qualifying times
1. Atsushi Hara (JPN) – Mugen/OS Speed – 19/10:02.825
2. Dani Choi (KOR) – Kyosho/Alpha – 19/10:15.376
3. Yuichi Kanai (JPN) – Kyosho/RB – 19/10:16.104
4. Chavit Saliguppa (TH) – Mugen/OS Speed – 19/10:19.482
5. Meen Vejrak (TH) – Mugen/OS Speed – 19/10:21.120
6. Wataru Takashiro (JPN) – Kyosho/OS Speed – 19/10:26.121
7. Charlee Phutiyotin (TH) – Mugen/OS Speed – 19/10:27.063
8. Dai Hiroki (JPN) – Kyosho/Reds – 18/10:08.180
9. Tommy Chung (UK) – Kyosho/Novarossi – 18/10:08.528
10.Liu Man Yet  (MAL) – Mugen/OS Speed – 18/10:11.951

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August 22, 2013

Chassis Focus – Atsushi Hara

Thurs-HaraMBX7-9

Chassis Name – Mugen MBX7
Engine – OS Max XZ
Fuel – Byron (Handout)
Tires – AKA
Radio/Servos – Futaba
Remarks – Former HB driver Atsushi Hara is running a stock out of the box Mugen MBX7 bought from a shop in Thailand and features only 3 option parts, the chassis front upper plate, the aluminium servo saver arm and a Futaba aluminium servo arm. Having only gotten the car prior to coming to China for the FEMCA race his first outing was with the stock setup and although he has tried many set-up changes, including set-ups from Robert Batlle which he found to aggressive, he has reverted back to the stock setup with only softer springs and .2mm thinner front and rear anti-roll bars. For round 4 of qualifying he is going to try super soft AKA Impacts in the slightly damp track conditions, having run a soft compound version on Wednesday.

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August 21, 2013

Meen V TQs 3rd FEMCA qualifier

Meen

Reigning Nitro Touring Car World Champion Meen Veijrak ended Day 1 of qualifying for the FEMCA 1:8 Offroad Championship with a TQ run making him the third driver to top the times at the Chinese event.  The Thai driver took his Mugen to the fastest time of the day outpacing Q2 pace setter Dani Choi, who having finished all the qualifiers in the Top 2 holds the provisional overnight TQ honours, with Kyosho’s Yuichi Kanai completing the Top 3 with his fastest run of the day.  For Q1 pace setter Atsushi Hara Q3 would prove difficult with a series of crashes leaving the pre-event favourite only 14th fastest.

Meen

Having extended the wheelbase of his OS Speed powered MBX-7, 28-year-old Vejrak said the change gave him better traction and made the buggy more stable than it had been in the opening two qualifiers.  With the track getting more and more bumpy each round and with the Chinese Offroad National Champions for both nitro & electric set to run on the track tomorrow, he expects a much rougher track tomorrow even after overnight repair work is carried out.  As a result he said he plans to run a softer set-up for the first of tomorrow’s remaining 3 qualifiers which are set to get underway just before lunch local time.

Choi

Choi was very happy with how is day went but said brain failure in Q3 lead to a mistake and after that he found it hard to get back into his rhythm.  Switching from a 3 to a 4 shoe clutch in his Alpha engine he said it made the bottom end a little too aggressive and for tomorrow he will switch to softer springs to cure this.  Again running Sweep’s Exagon tyre which has performed extremely well throughout the day he will change to his employer’s Square Armor tyre tomorrow after Ryan Lee successfully tested it in his 3rd qualifier in which he posted the 6th fastest time.  Choi said the tyres will lose him a little corner speed but should make the buggy more consistent.

Yuichi Kanai

Moving his rear upper camber link to the outside position on the shock tower, Kanai said this gave his MP9 much better rear grip.  Having run medium compound AKA Impact tyres in Q2 he reverted back to the soft he ran in Q1 which he also found worked better allowing him to knock almost 4 seconds off his previous best time.  Overall the former World Champion said he was very happy to end the day with a Top 3 run adding he is really looking forward to Day 2 of qualifying.  Fellow countryman and Kyosho driver Dai Hiroki followed Kanai’s set up change and he too liked the result as he set the fourth fastest time.  Suffering just one mistake after a series of errors in Q2, the Kyosho Masters Champion said the plan for tomorrow is to leave his Reds Racing powered example of the MP9 as is and just drive a little harder.

Witsarut

Thai Agama driver Witsarut Rumlarp was a lot happier with his buggy in Q3 after he changed to harder shock oil and a softer compound Beta Vmax tyre.  Setting the fifth fastest time, the 27-year-old plans to try a softer insert for Q4 which he hopes will further improve the feeling of his Bullitt powered A8.

Ryan Lee

Describing himself as the tyre tester for Choi, Ryan Lee was very happy with his Q3 run and in particularly his lap times as he set the fastest lap of the race, himself and Hara the only two drivers to do a lap in 29-seconds.   Testing Sweep’s Square Armor he said the car felt good although he has recommended that Choi run one compound softer in Q4.  For himself Lee will use his fourth heat to test the Cubix tyre in the harder red compound with a view to building up tyre data for the Semi Finals for Choi.

Hara

Hara said his buggy actually felt good but changing to lighter swaybars on the front and rear of his Mugen had resulted in too much traction.  This combined with him slightly over-driving after some early crashes left him finishing well off the pace.  Planning to revert to the harder swaybars he ran earlier in the day so he can post a third Top 10 run and book himself a spot in the Semis, he said once he can get that done he will use the final two qualifiers to test adding that he is lacking track time with the new buggy.  Asking him how the Mugen compared to the HB D812 he said the difference between the too chassis is quite big with the MBX7 a lot more aggressive than he expected.  In terms of set-up he added that the Mugen is also a lot more sensitive to small changes.

Tommy Chung

HB driver Sheng Chie Huang set the 7th fastest time ahead of Charlee Phutiyotin with the Top 8 being completed by British driver Tommy Chung. Despite his Asian sounding name, this is Chung’s first time to China and after two less then perfect opening qualifiers he was much happier with his driving in Q3.  For tomorrow the Kyosho driver plans to copy the change made by Kanai and hopefully build on his Q3 time.

Round 3 Top 10 Qualifying times
1. Meen Vejrak (TH) – Mugen/OS Speed – 19/10:04.065
2. Dani Choi (KOR) – Kyosho/Alpha – 19/10:10.363
3. Yuicki Kanai (JPN) – Kyosho/RB – 19/10:21.375
4. Dani Hiroki (JPN) – Kyosho/Reds – 19/10:25.192
5. Witsarut Rumlarp (TH) – Agama/Bullitt – 19/10:27.112
6. Ryan Lee (KOR) – TLR/Alpha – 18/10:04.098
7. Sheng Chie Huang (TW) – HB/Alpha – 18/10.05.985
8. Charlee Phutiyotin (TH) – Mugen/OS Speed – 18/10:06.451
9. Tommy Chung (UK) – Kyosho/Novarossi – 18/10:06.847
10.Trin T (TH) – Mugen/OS Speed – 18/10:18.491

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