The TITC inside line with Salton Dong – Day 4

Video – A-Main Leg 3

Action from the third A-Main of Modified Touring Car at the 21st edition of the TITC at RC Addict in Bangkok, Thailand.

View full results here.

Exciting A3 sees Coelho finish runner-up at TITC

Bringing the 21st edition of the TITC to a close, A3 of Modified produced the most exciting race of the event with Bruno Coelho, just, taking the win to secure the overall runner-up spot ahead of Marc Rheinard.  With a dominant performance from TITC Rookie Michal Orlowski putting the title out of reach if his rival in A2,  the third encounter was all about who and the order of the two drivers that would stand either side of the Schumacher driver on the podium.  With No.2 qualifier Coelho leading them away with his all new Infinity in A3, Rheinard’s Awesomatix was giving him no breathing however the outgoing Champion started to establish a lead and the attention focus on a good battle for third place, Axon’s Akio Sobue eventually coming out on top in that one.  As the race finish closed in so did Rheinard and on the last it looked like he timed a pass perfectly to take the leg but with one more corner to go to the loop a better line from Coelho say him snatch it right back to claim second overall as Rheinard for the second year in a row completed the podium at the Infinity RC Addict circuit.

Summing up day in Infinity pink, Coelho said, ‘I think it’s an amazing result, again the expectations were high but we still needed to be realistic with a brand new prototype car.  It’s an extremely positive result compared to the competition that has a full developed package.’  With the TITC marking the four time winner of debut race for his new Infinity team, he continued, ‘I am really happy with the result, of course we could do better and we will do better in the future but it is what it is and we need to work harder.  For the start it is already pretty impressive.’  Asked about his A3 battle with Rheinard, he said, ‘I had everything to lose so I just needed to keep Marc behind me which for the first 2 and a half minutes was kind of easy and I was kind of pulling a little away but then suddenly the emotion everything start to kick in and I start to be nervous and making small bobbles which allow Marc catch up.  Yeh, and then we had a nice battle until the end which was a nice RC moment for sure.’

Putting it to Rheinard that A3 was entertaining one, the multiple World Champion replied, ‘I tried, it was just my mistake in the last corner, I just for some reason just drove to tight which wasn’t needed because I was already by and in front.  Then I hit, it’s not really a curb, but a turtle and then I jumped off it and then I was in the dust.’  Asked about his catching of Coelho towards the end of the race he explained, ‘I saw that he was struggling, his car was kind of lose, mine was pushing, so I still kept the tyre good to the end.  The pass was there, the pass was nice and then the next one I f##ked it up.  Disappointing.’  Asked if he was pleased with the overall result, one the podium 19-years after winning the TITC, he said, ‘before A3 it’s always if Lucas (Urbain) has a 2 he would be in front of me so I couldn’t make any stupid things but we had a big gap and I was by, just the loop was too far off.  Back to back third is ok.  Still I’m disappointed but by tonight I don’t care any more I think it’s just now.  It doesn’t matter it all about the win.’

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Sparbier gives new Mugen TITC Open Brushless title

Mugen Seiki can ship its upcoming new MTC-3 electric touring car as a Championship winning car after Soren Sparbier claimed the win of the Open Brushless class at the famed TITC.  Experiencing his first ever time on a plane in order to make the journey to Bangkok, the German returns home with extra luggage in the form of his winning & TQ trophies having wrapped up the title in A2, a race that would prove somewhat controversial.  Having secured pole position by topping two of the four qualifier at the challenging Infinity RC Addict Circuit, the 18-year-old took a very straight forward A1 win on Saturday evening.  In Sunday morning’s A2 however, what was shaping up to be a great battle ended with a body tuck, yet again a great race destroyed by the modern day flimsy lightweight body shells.  After leading away, setting the fastest lap in the process, Sparbier was soon under pressure from Lukas Ellerbrock, the German carrying Awesomatix’s hopes of a fifth consecutive TITC win.  Ellerbrock would find a way passed to take up the lead but Sparbier wasn’t quite done and made a re-pass but contact resulted in Ellerbrock suffering a body tuck.  While Sparbier initially waited, as Ellerbrock pulled off to a marshal for attention, he then resumed the lead.  Taking the A2 win ahead of Fong King he would claim the victory.   In A3, the lively crowd having lot of reasons to ooh & aah, the race eventually going to last year’s Open Brushless podium finisher Adam Izsay ahead of Ellerbrock, the later getting the overall runner-up spot with Izsay’s Xray completing the podium.

A driver new to the international stage asking Sparbier how it felt to be his first time here and now be Champion, he replied, ‘Very good’.  Asked to sum up his races he said, ‘The first final was really good, the car was good, the end was good.’  On A2, he said, ‘the car was not so good but I was in front and Lukas was behind me.  Then Lukas caught and pass me and then next lap I catch Lukas but I caught his car, I waited but the body was tucked.’   With the MTC-3 designer Robert Pietsch here supporting Sparbier and Ronald Volker in Modified, asking the former Nitro Onroad World Champion about the win he said, ‘I think the second final we probably lost some speed compare to the previous race.  I don’t know if the motor is overheating, I don’t know the cause but I felt he had less power than Lukas so Lukas could catch him and then they had the little incident which was unfortunate.’   Asked when we can expected the release of the MTC, Volker giving the car a ver convincing win over new TITC Champion Michal Orlowski at the recent MIBO International race, Pietsch said, ‘I hope April’.  With huge interest in the new car he added, ‘I am scared we have not enough kits for everyone.’

Summing up his TITC debut, Ellerbrock said, ‘Overall of course second place is not bad but I came here to win it so right now still a little bit frustrating but not a bad result.’  Asked about his take on incident with Sparbier the 27-year-old said, ‘I think it is pretty clear.  I made a very good overtake in my opinion but got take out afterwards and then got taken out a second time so my A2 was the worst scenario’.  ‘A3 was a rough race, something on my car was still not right after A2, it didn’t feel great, I had a really loose rear on the right handers so I just tried to save the podium cause I had not result in A2.’  His time attending the TITC asked if the fact he missed the win does it mean he’ll be back next year to go one better he replied, ‘I hope so yes, that’s the plan.  I really enjoyed this week so would be great to come back again.’

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