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Balestri to defend World title as Top Qualifier

Posted: 01 Nov 2019 12:38 PM PDT

Dario Balestri will defend his 1:8 Onroad World Championship title as the Top Qualifier for tomorrow’s final at Steel City RC Speedway in California. The Infinity driver secured his fourth consecutive World Championship TQ when he topped the sixth & final round of qualifying ahead of Simon Kurzbuch and Dominic Greiner. With the first five qualifiers seeing 4 different drivers post TQ run, the final qualifying was a four way shoot out. Running in the second fastest heat Greiner did all he could to set the provisional TQ time while the other three contenders, Balestri, Naoto Matsukura and Kurzbuch set off in reverse order in the top heat. The first to post a second TQ run when he topped the morning’s Q5, Matsukura would unfortunately crash out at two and half minutes, leaving the battle between Balestri and Kurzbuch, their predicted pace up on the time set by Greiner. In the end Balestri had it under control finishing with 4/10ths on Kurzbuch. Overall Matsukura qualified 2nd followed by Kurzbuch, Greiner and Jesse Davis.

Continue reading this report here or view our complete event coverage here.

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Balestri to defend World title as Top Qualifier

Posted: 01 Nov 2019 12:37 PM PDT

Dario Balestri will defend his 1:8 Onroad World Championship title as the Top Qualifier for tomorrow’s final at Steel City RC Speedway in California. The Infinity driver secured his fourth consecutive World Championship TQ when he topped the sixth & final round of qualifying ahead of Simon Kurzbuch and Dominic Greiner. With the first five qualifiers seeing 4 different drivers post TQ run, the final qualifying was a four way shoot out. Running in the second fastest heat Greiner did all he could to set the provisional TQ time while the other three contenders, Balestri, Naoto Matsukura and Kurzbuch set off in reverse order in the top heat. The first to post a second TQ run when he topped the morning’s Q5, Matsukura would unfortunately crash out at two and half minutes, leaving the battle between Balestri and Kurzbuch, their predicted pace up on the time set by Greiner. In the end Balestri had it under control finishing with 4/10ths on Kurzbuch. Overall Matsukura qualified 2nd followed by Kurzbuch, Greiner and Jesse Davis.

‘The last one was the best one because finally I start behind Naoto. The one in front always has more pressure’, was Balestri’s reaction to the final qualifier. The Italian added, ‘I didn’t want the battle to end with Naoto mistake but even when he went out I could not take it easy because if Simon would win he would have the TQ so I had to push to the end for sure’. With his place in the final secured, looking to the 1-hour race he said, ‘We have a perfect car for the race. It’s super balanced and consistent on the lap times so we just need to see which temperature we will have and we can adjust the balance for that. I am looking forward to the final’.

Explaining his mistake, Matsukura said, ‘the engine was a little rich, I had no power, so I pushed hard and it caused me to traction roll’. Winner of Super Pole at the last 1:8 World Championships when he made his nitro racing debut, the Japanese ace said, ‘For Super Pole I will go 100% but it is going to be super close. Dominic and Simon can make good laps and also Jesse. I will do my best and I like the single lap challenge’.

‘We gave everything I would say’, was how Kurzbuch summed up Q6. The Shepherd driver continued, ‘Overall 3rd we are third now which is a good result. Twice we were super close to Dario but he was just a bit quicker so he deserves this pole. Now the next challenge for us is Super Pole’. On contesting Super Pole, the 2015 Champion said, ‘In the last round the car was really good so we will go with it the same for Super Pole. I cant say I like Super Pole because it means we missed the TQ but the passed two years I have experience of it and I will be pushing for a good outcome for our side’.

On his final qualifying attempt, Greiner said, ‘the engine was better but my driving was not perfect. The car was fast’. He continued, ‘I am not a super pole driver. I am not so good on single laps but of course I will try my best’. Almost conceding he will be lining up in the Semi Finals the Serpent driver concluded, ‘for the Semi we have a good car so everything should be fine’.

The final of the four Super Pole contenders, qualifying 5th overall, Davis said, ‘still we have good final’s pace but we just couldn’t find that 1-second we needed for the TQ pace’. Making Super Pole last time out in France, the Australian said, ‘For Super Pole we will change the engine. Normally over one lap I can do something but here on this track I don’t think it’s going to be easy for me to do something over the 6-laps but I know we have a good Semi car. It’s easy to drive and consistent’.

View the complete event results here.

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Chassis Focus – Shoki Takahata

Posted: 01 Nov 2019 11:38 AM PDT

Chassis – Mugen MRX6 Prototype
Engine – OS Speed R2014
Fuel (handout) – VP Racing
Tires (handout) – Hotrace
Radio/Servos – Sanwa M17/Sanwa
Body – Xtreme Super Diablo

Remarks – Mugen’s star Japanese driver, Shoki is running a prototype MRX6. The same car as the one being raced by its designer Robert Pietsch and features different shocks, caster set-up and weight distribution. Other key differences with the car are the new front upper arms and uprights with eccentric aluminium inserts which give more solutions with steering angle as well as a different roll centre. At the back of the car they are running 0.8 pitch gearing and there is the option to use a standard rod or upper arm. Shoki’s car is also fitted with a topdeck carbon stiffener at the front from Yurugix.

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Matsukura first to TQ for a second time at 1:8 Worlds

Posted: 01 Nov 2019 10:54 AM PDT

After an opening day of qualifying at the 1:8 Onroad World Championships yesterday that produced four different TQ drivers, this morning Naoto Matuskura became the first driver to go fastest for a second time. Having TQ’d Q1 in cool morning conditions, the Infinity driver repeated the result on what is again a cold morning at Steel City RC Speedway. Pursuing top seed and team-mate Dario Balestri, a slight mistake from the Italian in the final minute of 4-minute run was enough for Matsukura to move to the top where he would stay to the end. Finishing 9/10ths ahead of Balestri who held on for another P2, the Q5 result means the honour of Top Qualifier at the 22nd running of Championship is looking like a two horse race between the defending Champion Balestri and the reigning 1:10 Champion Matsukura, although former champions Simon Kurzbuch and Dominic Greiner still have a chance. For the round, Greiner set the third fastest time followed by JJ Wang, Jesse Davis and Kurzbuch.

Continue reading this report here or view our complete event coverage here.

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Matsukura first to TQ for a second time at 1:8 Worlds

Posted: 01 Nov 2019 10:47 AM PDT

After an opening day of qualifying at the 1:8 Onroad World Championships yesterday that produced four different TQ drivers, this morning Naoto Matuskura became the first driver to go fastest for a second time. Having TQ’d Q1 in cool morning conditions, the Infinity driver repeated the result on what is again a cold morning at Steel City RC Speedway. Pursuing top seed and team-mate Dario Balestri, a slight mistake from the Italian in the final minute of 4-minute run was enough for Matsukura to move to the top where he would stay to the end. Finishing 9/10ths ahead of Balestri who held on for another P2, the Q5 result means the honour of Top Qualifier at the 22nd running of Championship is looking like a two horse race between the defending Champion Balestri and the reigning 1:10 Champion Matsukura, although former champions Simon Kurzbuch and Dominic Greiner still have a chance. For the round, Greiner set the third fastest time followed by JJ Wang, Jesse Davis and Kurzbuch.

Summing up his TQ run, which was just 2/100ths off the quickest TQ time set by Balestri in Q4, Matsukura said, ‘my car was pretty good but we changed engine for today and it was very good. I almost traction rolled but I wont change anything on the car as it will be more hot so the traction should be lower’. He continued, ‘Dario had a little bit of a mistake so I can get the TQ. Without (the mistake) I think I would be 0.5 off so I think we need to work on the bottom end of the engine tuning’.

Commenting on his run, Balestri said, ‘I just made a small mistake and it was finished’. Securing the overall TQ on the way to his World title in France two years ago, he continued, ‘Naoto always start behind me so there is a lot of pressure but it is OK. We have one more to go’.

Greiner described his performance in the penultimate qualifier as ‘so so’. The Serpent driver explained, ‘the engine got lean and more lean in the run so at the end I had no power. It was the same yesterday so I think we will change the engine for the last one. The car was pretty good and I think the track will be better so we change nothing just the engine’.

A driver impressing a lot of people with his pace and consistency throughout qualifying, Wang said, ‘I guess it was another solid run. It was not quite enough to fight with the guys at the front and I had a bobble at the end which cost me a few tenths’. Looking to the final qualifier, the Mugen driver said, ‘I will do some calculations and see what I need to do in the last one but I’m going for making the Super Pole’.

View the complete event results here.

View our event image gallery here.

Samix Enduro aluminium front bumper mount

Posted: 01 Nov 2019 08:20 AM PDT

Following the introduction of a brass front bumper mount for the Element RC Enduro trail trucks, Samix now also offer an aluminium variant. Like the brass version the alloy part incorporates an adjustable servo mount for the use with most standard-size servos while the rigid metal construction offers increased stability for the chassis assembly. In addition the mount relocates the servo position to the front of the chassis while maintaining the correct steering geometry. The mount is available in blue or black anodising, it features machined silver edge details and laser-etched Samix logos.

Source: Samix [rcsamix.com]

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Yeah Racing 4-Tec 2.0 aluminium conversion kit

Posted: 01 Nov 2019 08:01 AM PDT

Yeah Racing have announced the release of their all-new aluminium essential conversion kit for the Traxxas Ford GT 4-Tec 2.0 on-road car. The set includes front and rear lower arms, C-hubs, steering knuckles, as well as rear hubs all made of high-quality aluminium and coming blue or black anodised. Also included are steel suspension shafts as well as steel front and rear CV-style driveshafts. While adding visual impact the parts also offer increased rigidity and a lot less flex compared to the standard moulded plastic parts. The suspension parts set is available in blue or black anodising and all parts are also up for grabs individually.

Source: Yeah Racing [yeahracing.com]

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Axon 3mm suspension shaft shim set

Posted: 01 Nov 2019 05:26 AM PDT

Coming from Axon is an 8-piece set of 0.5mm thick 3mm inner diameter Teflon shims for the use as wheelbase washers on 1/10th scale cars. The precision-machined shims are made to be used in place of standard composite or aluminium shims with the reduced friction of the Teflon material ensuring smoother suspension movement under load. The shims are usable on all vehicles with 3mm suspension shims.

Source: Axon [team-axon.com]

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Xpress introduce new XQ1 suspension parts

Posted: 01 Nov 2019 03:07 AM PDT

Coming from Xpress are new suspension parts for their XQ1 series of touring cars. Originally introduced with the FT1 FWD kit, these parts will also fit the XQ1 4WD series with the beefed-up lower arms offering higher corner speeds and durability. Also available are redesigned C-hubs and rear uprights with the C-hubs offering improved steering response and the rear uprights increasing overall traction. To make the parts work they need to be combined with 3.0mm outer suspension shafts.

Source: Xpress [rc-xpress.com]

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JConcepts NCTS champions crowned – Report

Posted: 01 Nov 2019 02:16 AM PDT

The inaugural season of the JConcepts National Carpet and Turf Series concluded last weekend with the final round being held at Thunder Road RC Raceway in Waite Park, Minnesota. After the event also the overall series champions would be crowned and round 4 saw the overall up for grabs between two very, very fast individuals as everything was on the line for Ryan Cavalieri and Broc Champlin. By winning 2WD Modified at Thunder Road over the weekend, Broc Champlin secures the 1st ever NCTS 2WD Modified Series Championship in thrilling fashion. Ryan Cavalieri finished 2nd overall with Ryan Reavis your 3rd place finisher on points.

It was another awesome performance by Broc Champlin in the 4WD Modified class at round 4 of the NCTS. Broc secured his second series overall championship title with relative ease as his closest rival, Ryan Maifield, was unable to attend because of catching a cold. Nonetheless, Broc was on form and cleaned up at the final round of 4WD Modified in just two mains putting an exclamation on his dominate series performance. By finishing 3rd at the Midwest Carpet Nats, Ryan Cavalieri moved into 2nd and Ryan Reavis finished 3rd on points.

It’s not going to be an easy task to dethrone the 40+ champ, Brent Thielke. With years of experience racing and learning from the best drivers, BT is a shoe-in when it comes to speed and naturally found the top step in the 40+ 2WD and is your 2019 NCTS Overall Champion. JConcepts’ own, Thomas Tran, tied BT in points, but with more wins to his name, BT took 1st and Thomas 2nd.

Congratulations once again to Matthew Gonzales as he dominated the 13.5 4WD class by finishing 1 point shy of maximum points. It’s been a long road for MattyG, but the work has been done and you can’t argue with the results. Congrats on a stellar year as your 17.5 2wd and 13.5 4WD double champion. Mike Katz got the points needed to finish out in 2nd.

Unfortunately, Casey Vitale wasn’t able to make the final race at Thunder Road RC to pick up his overall series win in 13.5 Stadium Truck, but with 2 event wins at round 2 and round 3, Casey Vitale is your overall Series truck winner. Coming home with 2nd overall in the series, was Jovy Levin. Jovy was able to end the year off with a huge win in round 4 and definitely an NCTS racing highlight for Jovy.

17.5 Expert 2WDStock buggy these days is super competitive. Sometimes more competitive than the mod classes and having a perfect series with 3 TQ’s and 3 wins was Matthew Gonzales. Matthew drove exceptionally well all year long despite the different adversities at each track. Taking up 2nd overall in the series was the constantly improving, Mike Katz. Each round, Mike looked more comfortable and definitely has racing in his blood. Closing out the top 3 was NorCal’s Jovy Levin, who has found a way to keep getting faster each time we see him.

The 21.5 Independent class was never meant for the traveling racer. However, there are a few of us that just love racing and can’t imagine spending a weekend without it. Making the NCTS at 702 Raceway, Trevor finished 3rd on the podium. Next up, Trevor made an appearance at the Turf Nationals, where he felt super comfortable and took the win in 21.5 Indy 2WD. Finally, hitting the final event to count for the entire series, Trevor took it to them at the Midwest Carpet Nationals getting the win there too. Let’s not kid ourselves, this isn’t just an attendance trophy for Trevor, it’s an accomplishment that he’s not going soon forget as he won 2 of 3 races and made 3 out of 3 podiums.

Source: JConcepts [jconcepts.net]

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Spektrum Smart LiPo hardcase battery packs

Posted: 01 Nov 2019 01:40 AM PDT

Coming from Spektrum’s Smart series are two new 100C LiPo hardcase battery packs. New to the range are a 7.6V 6300mAh LiHV shorty battery pack as well as a 14.8V 5000mAh 1/8th scale battery. When a Spektrum Smart LiPo battery is connected to a Spektrum Smart charger, unique parameters and health of that Smart LiPo battery upload from the Smart memory microchip integrated into the battery. Through the charger, drivers can view and set preferences, such as charge rates, so that all they have to do to charge the pack every time is press the charger “Start” button. The Smart technology takes care of the rest. The packs come in protective hardcases that utilise 5mm bullet-type connectors.

Source: Spektrum [spektrumrc.com]

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Blockhead Motors stainless steel parts tray

Posted: 01 Nov 2019 01:19 AM PDT

Blockhead Motors from Japan have introduced their all-new stainless steel parts tray. Featuring the iconic BM turtle logo, the parts tray not only looks the part but it also helps to organise parts during building, setup or maintenance, not only of Tamiya cars, something Blockhead Motors are well known for. the tray comes in a polished shiny finish and it is available now.

Source: Blockhead Motors [blockheadmotors.stores.jp]

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Exotek release new fan mount accessories

Posted: 01 Nov 2019 12:46 AM PDT

Exotek have introduced several new accessories to make fan mounting easier. First up is the V2 variant of the company’s popular 1/8 Exo fan mount that features a larger double screw mounting bar. The mount allows to attach optional high powered 40mm and 30mm fans as the mounting bracket has multi-mount features that allows the fan to be securely affixed to the motor can in tight spaces. The extra modular design means with a few adjustments owners can mount a fan securely in any 1/8th scale truggy and most E-buggies and the mount positions the fans 10mm to 14mm away from the motor can. This proper spacing helps insure the fan does not lose power due to magnetic interference from the motor. A fan that is placed too close to the motor can actually stop spinning as the driver applies maximum throttle due to the fact that the motors stronger EMF can slow or shut down the fans EMF. The mount was designed for the use with high power 40mm and 30mm fans and standard 1/8th scale motors with 39.5mm to 40.5mm diameter and it comes in polished and anodised black or blue for a factory look.

Also new is the dual fan bar for the use with Exotek’s 1756 and 1914 fan mount clamps. The mount allows to easily attach two high powered 40mm fans to Exotek’s 1/8 fan mounts as it bolts directly to EXO1914 and EXO1756 mounts to double the cooling power in high heat applications. Machined from 7075 aluminium the mount comes black anodised and with laser-etched markings.

Source: Exotek [exotekracing.com]

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Chassis Focus – Thomas Desmaries

Posted: 31 Oct 2019 08:22 PM PDT

Chassis – WRC GTX .5
Engine – Kabuto R21
Fuel (handout) – VP Racing
Tires (handout) – Hotrace
Radio/Servos – Sanwa M12/Savox
Body – Xtreme Diablo

Remarks – Driving for Italian manufacturer WRC, Thomas’ GTX.5 is mostly standard except for the harder off colour front and rear arms specially produced to deal with high traction conditions. Otherwise the only other key items on the car are the optional aluminium servo saver and the brass battery plate. To dial the car into the Steel City RC Speedway track, Thomas has mounted weights to the front bumper.

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World Champion Balestri finally gets TQ run in Q4

Posted: 31 Oct 2019 06:59 PM PDT

Defending 1:8 Onroad World Champion Dario Balestri finally produced a TQ run setting the fastest run in the final qualifier of the day at Steel City RC Speedway. Having topped seeding, the Infinity driver became the fourth different driver to top qualifying today seeing off Q2 pace setter Simon Kurzbuch by just 5/100ths of a second. Continuing his improving results, JJ Wang claimed the third quickest time to finish just ahead of a much improved performance from his Mugen team-mate Shoki Takahata. Also finishing out today’s action with his best run, two more qualifiers to run tomorrow following yesterday’s wind cancellation, Francesco Tironi set the 5th fastest time ahead of Infinity team-mate Jeffrey Rietveld. After posting a TQ run in Q3, Dominic Greiner’s follow up attempt was full of driver errors leaving the Serpent driver 10th fastest. Having opened qualifying with a TQ run, Naoto Matsukura had a disappointing finish to the day as a crash in Q4 put him out.

‘Finally a nice run’, said a pleased looking Balestri. Having had engine issues in the previous three qualifiers but still managing the second fastest time on each occasion, the Italian explained, ‘the conditions of the track change a lot today. We had worked to get our car and engine ready for the super high traction but after the wind and day off yesterday the grip was down. The set-up is so critical that this was enough to cause the tyres to slip a little bit more and make the engine work harder and this is what was causing our problems. For the last one the grip was higher, still nothing like the days before, but everything was better for the conditions and we could get the TQ. Also the car was super easy to drive and did not want to flip so the higher the grip the better for us’.

Reacting to his battle with Balestri, Kurzbuch said, ‘It was super tight. I should be happy with the result because we are now really close to them but when you lose out on the fastest run by half a tenth its a disappointment’. The Swiss driver took the blame for losing out on what is expected to be the all important fastest time of qualifying saying, ‘It was down to errors on my side. I had one small contact with the barrier in the first part of the Omega and that put me off the line for the second part of the Omega. I lost 2 or 3 tenths’. Asked about his car, the Shepherd driver said, ‘the car was really good. I had a lot of steering and power. I flipped in the warm-up which warned me about which corner to be careful’. Looking to the final two rounds of qualifying in the morning, the former Champion said, ‘Super Pole should already be fixed but we will try of course for the TQ’.

Summing up his fourth attempt Wang said, ‘the result was not bad but I had to come in a few times in the warm to tune the engine and this cost me precious time for bedding in the tyres’. The American added, ‘my car was getting better and better towards the end of the run. Anyway, overall it was a pretty good day’. Asked if he planned to try anything in the remaining two qualifiers, he said, ‘I’m going to try and go faster and push for Super Pole’.

Having had a previous best of the 14th fastest time, both in Q1 & 3, Takahata put his improved performance to switching to his preferred set-up from practice. The factory Mugen driver opted to go with a set-up that gave him an easy & safe car for the longer qualifiers but unable to mix it at the front. Finding this set-up was causing his car to stop on turning into the corner, he reverted to his best practice set-up which immediately gave him a car that flowed better on track and with three rounds to count the Japanese driver plans to leave the car as is and try to drop his two currently counting P14 results.

Featuring in the Top 8 in each of his qualifiers, Tironi said, ‘All day the car is good and I have a good feeling on the track. I didn’t change the car just little adjustments to the front spring’. He explained, ‘Always the first run I take care to finish. The second was also good. The third round was faster but I had a mistake on the first lap. This time I finish with a 5th. I am easy in the Semi Final so now I will try to make Super Pole. I know it is not easy but I try’.

View the complete event results here.

View our event image gallery here.

Chassis Focus – Jonathan Gandin

Posted: 31 Oct 2019 04:35 PM PDT

Chassis – ARC Prototype
Engine – Novarossi Mephisto
Fuel (handout) – VP Racing
Tires (handout) – Hotrace
Radio/Servos – Sanwa Exzes/Savox
Body – Xtreme Super Diablo

Remarks – Running a prototype from ARC, this young Italian is showing great speed with it. The car Jonathan is using features a number of changes with biggest of which is the short wheelbase with the front end 6mm further back and the rear reduced by 2mm. The car also has a narrower chassis, a low mounting radio plate, new rear drive shafts, new smaller pitch gearing and a modified rear hinge pin bracket.

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Greiner hits the top at World Championships

Posted: 31 Oct 2019 04:04 PM PDT

We might have had to wait an extra day for the qualifying action to start at the 1:8 World Championship but the first three rounds have certainly delivered variety with Dominic Greiner the latest driver to put in a TQ run. Having not even featured in Q1 with the 22nd fastest time, in Q2 the Serpent driver made a huge leap forward with a P2 thanks to the set-up of team-mate Jeff Hamon and now the former 1:10 World Champion has become the third different driver to TQ. While he topped the fastest group, top seed Dario Balestri again had to settle for second with team-mate Jesse Davis completing the Top 3. JJ Wang improved on a strong showing in the morning to set the fourth fastest time, his best so far, followed by Hamon and Dutch driver Rick Vrielijnck. Having TQ’d the previous qualifier, Simon Kurzbuch return to form was short lived as he would suffer a stripped belt after just two laps. Impressing in seeding putting himself in the fastest heat, young Italian Jonathan Gandin looked set for a Top 3 run as he swapped times with Balestri until he ran out of fuel on his final lap.

‘It’s getting better but I’m still not super happy with the set-up’, was Greiner’s reaction to his TQ run. Having switched to Hamon’s set-up for Q2 and continued with it for Q3, the German continued, ‘I still have to learn how the car is, it’s just my driving. We will check the camber in the tyres but I am scared to touch it (the set-up). 1mm somewhere and it could be worse. It could also be better but I think now it is best to focus on my driving to suit the car I have’.

A somewhat bemused Balestri said, ‘now it was lean. I don’t know what is happening today, the engines stopped working’. Missing out on potential TQ runs due to his engine being too rich in the opening two qualifier, the Infinity driver now plans to use a different engine for the days final qualifying run.

Notching up three good point hauls over the first half of qualifying, on his third for Round 3 Davis said, ‘I had luck in that one. Again we were a little off in the set-up, the car was safe and easy but a few top guys were not so fast and I was lucky to get third. The engine was rich too, so down on power’. Making Super Pole at the previous World Championship in France, the Australian said, ‘we will make changes again to try make the car more aggressive so it’s a little faster on the lap times, without flipping of course’.

The host Nations top contender at this year’s Worlds, a content Wang said, ‘It going pretty good. I’m pretty consistent today. The track is changing each run but my car is working good. We are making minor tweaks here and there for that’. The Mugen driver, who has an 8th, 6th and 4th, continued, ‘we have three good ones in so I think I’m going to push it on a little more in the next one’.

Summing up his latest effort, Hamon said, ‘the car is working excellent but the traffic is horrid. One dude got called twice but still didn’t move’. Leaving his car unchanged from the previous round when he was also 5th fastest, the Australian plans to make some changes for the last run of today saying, ‘Now that I have three results in I can try a few things out’.

View the complete event results here.

View our event image gallery here.

Chassis Focus – Jeff Hamon

Posted: 31 Oct 2019 02:45 PM PDT

Chassis – Serpent 989
Engine – Max RP9.5 WC
Fuel (handout) – VP Racing
Tires (handout) – Hotrace
Radio/Servos – Sanwa M17/Sanwa
Body – Protoform X15

Remarks – Jeff is running Serpent’s new 989 which he describes as ‘pretty standard’ but like all drivers he is doing what he can to stiffen up the car for Steel City RC Speedway’s ultra high traction. With the grip something he has ‘never experienced before’ and having ‘never flipped an 8th scale before’ due to having too much grip, to the adapt the car for the conditions he is running optional carbon inserts in the rear arms and the optional front top deck brace. While the 989 comes with an aero front bumper, he has reverts to an ‘old school’ version saying it helps to make the car less aggressive.

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Kurzbuch finds his groove to take Q2 at Steel City

Posted: 31 Oct 2019 01:44 PM PDT

Simon Kurzbuch appears to have finally found his groove after taking the second round of qualifying at 1:8 World Championships in California. Only 5th in the opening round, the Shepherd driver would pass Q1 winner Naoto Matsukura on track to top the times by 8/10th over his long time Worlds rival Dario Balestri who again had issues with engine tuning. The second of today’s 4 round of qualifying would also see a marked improvement from Dominic Greiner who from the second fastest heat set the third quickest time ahead of Matsukura. Backing up their impressive Q1 performances Jeff Hamon and Jesse Davis ran the 5th and 6th fastest times respectively.

A clearly relieved Kurzbuch said, ‘That was a really good run. The car was a bit better than this morning. I had more steering and it still didn’t want to flip so I had a good feeling and was able to drive it better’. The Swiss driver explained, ‘we didn’t change the set-up just a new body which had a different mounting position. I think with this set-up we were just right for the track at the time of the run. We will see how the track is the next one or if it will be different but we have two good results from the first two so I think we can fight for the TQ’.

‘Once again the engine was rich, this time in the middle’, explained Balestri after Q2. The defending Champion added, ‘Massimo needs to check it (the engine) for sure’. Suffering a mistake over the 4-minutes, the Italian said, ’cause the engine was rich it was not changing to second gear when you expect and this caught me out. The car is good we just need to adjust the engine correctly’.

Summing up his improvement, Greiner said, ‘I was completely lost in the morning. We tried a crazy set-up and it was completely off. Jeff had a good Q1 so we copied his set-up except for the body and it was good’. Serpent’s lead driver continued, ‘I have to learn more how the car is driving now and how I can push it to the limit. We were just ready in time for Q2 and in the rush to change the set-up the camber was not correct but we will fix this for the next one’.

Having called his TQ run in Q1 ‘lucky’, Matsukura said his P4 was also helped by luck as he ‘made many mistakes this time’. The Infinity driver explained, ‘we expected the track to have more grip so we lowered the camber and the car super push. The grip was now lower than before’. With temperatures rising quite a bit from Q1, he said he also had engines issues with his engine getting hot during the run and with this in mind he plans to fit a larger cooler head for Q3.

Pleased to back up his opening performance and to assist team-mate Greiner with finding his normal form, Hamon said, ‘I had a little traffic but other than that it was another good run. I left the car the same. I was very comfortable with the car and my pace is consistent’. Looking to the third qualifier, the Australian said, ‘I might change the camber after talking to Dominic but maybe I will leave it for the next one as it’s 3 to count and I already have two good runs’.

View the complete event results here.

View our event image gallery here.

Chassis Focus – Alessio Mazzeo

Posted: 31 Oct 2019 12:33 PM PDT

Chassis – Xray RX8
Engine – Max
Fuel (handout) – VP Racing
Tires (handout) – Hotrace
Radio/Servos – Sanwa/Sanwa
Body – Xtreme Super Diablo

Remarks – Xray’s lead onroad nitro driver, Alessio is running the Slovakian manufacturer’s RX8 platform on which they are testing some new parts for the 2020 edition of the car. Asked what was new on the car, the likeable Italian replied, ‘We are testing something new for next year. I don’t want to point out the new parts.’ Jokingly adding ‘those with a sharp eye will spot some of them in the photos’. That sounds to us like a challenge for our site visitors!

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