Will IFMAR's new rules make 1/12-scale modified too fast for competiton? [VIDEO]

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By Aaron Waldron
LiveRC.com

This last fall during the IFMAR World Championships in Las Vegas, IFMAR officials held their AGM (annual general meeting) to discuss rule changes - with particular interest paid to the 1/12-scale category in response to another low turnout at the World Championships in Beijing.

In addition to discussing the addition of a 13.5-turn “blinky” spec class to boost entries, outlawing rollover antennas, and instituting a spec tire and rim for the World Championships at Welkom R/C Club in South Africa, big changes have made to the traditional modified category - calling for a 5.5-turn motor limit and moving to 2S LiPo packs. The battery change allegedly stems from pressure on behalf of electronics companies having to internally boost power supplied to steering servos when powered by a 1S (3.7-volt) battery pack.

Of course, response to the ruling has been mixed.

At the U.S. Indoor Champs in Cleveland last week, Dave Johnson captured and shared this video of two national champions - Josh Cyrul and Keven Hebert - driving a vehicle that Ken Miller built within the new rules to demonstrate how they feel the regulations will make the cars too fast for competition, especially on indoor carpet tracks. The video shows Cyrul struggling to navigate the faster sections of the course, and the car flying off the straightaway as he approached full throttle.

What do you think? Will the updated regulations fail to halt the problems plaguing 1/12-scale racing? Or will it simply provide a different challenge to racers?