UPDATED: 10/21/2011
Ty Tessmann, driving a Reedy/LRP-powered SC10 4x4, was the man to beat throughout the weekend. After qualifying for the pole position, Ty won the first two main event legs to close the deal and claim another title.
Xray wins German Regional Champs - XRAY Race Report
We got our hands on the 2011 XRAY XB808 after the Toy Fair in Nuremburg. Bertram Kessler had brought Luca onboard the SMI team as a team driver. Between the Hesse Cup rounds we also took part in the two German Championship races. This was a great opportunity for Luca to gain experience and for the car to demonstrate its extreme stability. The bearing problems from 2010 were a thing of the past. With Luca’s performance closing in on that of his team mate Simon Eser, both were able to work together on getting a good set-up. A win for Simon put him fourth in the expert classification.
This year’s buggy season kicked off with a Hesse Cup race on synthetic turf in Kirchhain. Both Luca Bethke in the amateur classification and Simon Eser in the expert classification quickly regained their form of the previous year, but each only managed third place in their respective classes. The amateurs’ final was pretty much dominated by Benny Queisser (also driving XRAY/Orcan) who took the top spot.
The second race of the season was the international warm-up in Bischofsheim and, with around 200 drivers taking to the rostrum, the level was very high. We found a good set-up early on in the race, which meant both drivers were able to place well. Luca kept moving up through the qualifiers on Sunday, while Simon’s 14th place after the qualifiers put him straight in the semi-final. From there he moved into the final and took 13th overall.
The third round of the Hesse Cup was hosted by RCR Peterberg, where our performance streak continued with Luca taking a convincing win in the amateur classification. Unfortunately, damage to Simon’s connecting rod meant he was unable to convert his winning speed from the qualifying round into an overall victory.
The next race saw us in Rodgau. The set-up we had worked on for the warm-up turned out to be optimal for this track. Both Luca and Simon set the pace in their respective categories, but fate was not on our side. The engines of both drivers stalled in the final as a result of testing fuel with a different mixture. Luca was still able to make it into second place but Simon’s engine cut out with just a few metres to go to the finish line and after having a lead of almost a full lap he lost more than a lap in total putting him into fourth in the final ranking.
Unfortunately, the race in Linsengericht had to be stopped during the lunch break after it started to rain heavily. The final positions were based on the ranking after the qualifiers, which meant Simon finally got to celebrate his first victory after being the fastest qualifier for the third time in succession. In contrast, over the season Luca had performed better in the finals and thus lost out on a top placing this time.
The next Hesse Cup race in Fulda, however, gave Luca the opportunity to show his mettle once again in the amateur category, where he virtually dominated the final and stormed to victory with a one-lap lead over the winner of the expert classification.
The next round took place on home turf at our local track in Bischofsheim. Our high expectations weren’t fulfilled in the end, though. Minor problems meant Luca didn’t make it through to the final and, despite once again being fastest in the qualifiers, Simon was unfortunately pipped at the post by his club colleagues Maxi Cordts and Gehard Frank.
This race was followed by a summer break, which meant the German Championships and the European A Championships in Sand am Main were on the agenda. Simon got hold of a place in the EC at very short notice and took part with relatively little preparation. Nevertheless, his driving kept improving as the event progressed and he managed to bump up twice. Simon gave a great performance among a field of 180 very professional drivers from across Europe and took 94th position.
The first of the two German Championships races was held in Schwedt an der Oder. Our car was on top form and Simon just missed qualifying directly for the semi-final by 0.1 seconds. Luca drove very smoothly and consistently on Sunday, managing to bump up three times. In the quarter finals, however, Simon lost both his concentration and a place in the semis.
The second race took pace in Welden in Bavaria, which has a unique track thanks to its concrete-like surface and ‘leap of faith’ jump. Unfortunately, our lack of experience on this track meant we couldn’t fine-tune our set-up or find the right line until very late into the race. Consequently, our placing wasn’t quite what we had hoped for.
The penultimate race of the Hesse Cup season was back in Fulda where Luca managed to repeat his mid-season win. After taking the lead mid-way through the race in bad weather, Simon had to concede defeat to Gerhard Frank, putting him – as so often recently – one place behind in second.
The season final took us to a great track in Obermörlen and with the Indian summer weather the starting grid was full to bursting. Luca settled into a good rhythm right from the start and Simon found a set-up that let him drive very confidently and fast after testing several configurations in the set-up of Team XRAY’s new addition, Reno Savoya.
Simon won the semis and went into the final in pole, but by the end of the race was trailing Maxi Cordts by just 2 seconds after a tough battle that saw both drivers secure a one-lap lead over third place. Luca once again was top of the amateur leader board and drove to victory in the final. After dropping back at the start, he managed to lap virtually the entire field and finished almost an entire lap ahead of second place.
This excellent performance secured Luca not only the top spot in the amateur classification but also the youth classification and the overall title of winner of the Hesse Cup.
Congratulations!
This triple win was also celebrated by Simon back in 2009 driving SMI XRAY with Orcan engines.
Many thanks to everyone in the Kessler family for their fantastic support and a very constructive and friendly relationship. Thanks too to A. Kobler for providing the top quality Silkion oils. And thank you to Gerhardt for giving us some good advice on what tyres to use.
Thanks from Simon for the support from Savöx-Servos, whose products worked all year without any problems whatsoever and saved huge amounts of energy whilst demonstrating fast movement times and precision.
Last, but certainly not least, thanks of course to Christoph Bethke who not only made it possible for Luca to celebrate this victory, but also made sure Simon was always well looked after and was always on hand to help with anything whether it was model car-related or not. None of this would have been possible without him.
Many thanks! We have had a lot of fun throughout the entire season.
We are now looking forward to next year, Luca and Simon will both be driving in the expert classification.
Thanks again to everyone involved in buggy racing – we’ve enjoyed it immensely.
Ryan Lutz wins Byron Fuels Western Challenge - Team Durango Race Report
Just completed my 6.5 hour trip to Southern California where I took part in the Byron Fuels Western Cup which was hosted at the World Famous Revelation Raceway. It was just a one day event with two qualifiers and 30 min Pro A-mains.
A few top pros were on hand including Adam Drake and Cody King as well as my Durango team mate Carson Wernimont.
In Buggy my Durango DNX408 was ready to do work. In the first qualifier Drake and I were running similar laps at the start but he made a mistake and I stayed cleaner for the rest of the race and took the TQ. In round two Drake started on the clock first and I started nearly 3/4 of a lap behind him. The announcer was announcing him as in the lead and on a TQ pace the whole time and announcing me down in like 5th or 6th. I was pretty sure (as I hadn’t crashed) that I was up battling for the lead but I knew that because I started late on the clock that it just wasn’t showing me at the top. So I plugged along and finally after Drake finished and the announcer said he beat my TQ time, then he said, Ryan better make a clean lap, it’s going to be close. I finally crossed the line with a 1.5 second win and the overall TQ.
JQ is the Korean National Champion - JQ Race Report
Joseph Quagraine of JQ Products made his way to Korea for the Korean 1/8 National Championship. JQ put THE Car out front taking the win, but not without a few stories to go along with it. Check out the full report and pictures by clicking HERE!
Winter Series kickoff at CRCRC - JConcepts Race Report
This past weekend was the first round of the WRL (Winter Racing League) held at CRCRC. The race was a one-day event that attracted 120+ entries with drivers from Losi, AE and X-Factory in attendance. I was running 2wd Mod Buggy, which was the biggest class with 40 entries. The race was ran in three 5 minute rocket round qualifiers with a resort after 2 rounds, with a single 8 minute A Main.
Round 1
I decided to go out on slightly worn Bar Code V2′s in Blue Compound and ended up setting TQ by 5 seconds. I had a few mistakes and a turn marshal stepping in front of me, but other than that it was a clean run.
Round 2
I noticed that the track was drying out fast so I decided to mount a fresh pair of Bar Code V2′s in Blue for the third round. In Round 2 I decided to try a little setup change that ended up making my car harder to drive. My TQ was still safe after Round 2 though.
Round 3
I went back to my first round setup and with fresh tires I was ready to go. At the start I was on a new TQ pace by about 5 seconds. Later in the race I got caught up in traffic slowing me down to miss resetting TQ. At the end of qualifying I was Top Qualifier and the only driver to turn 16 laps.
A Main
For the main I started with the lead and never looked back. I also set the single fastest lap of the weekend in 2wd with a 19.0. My JConcepts Bar Code V2′s provided me the best traction on the track along with the new JConcepts High Clearance Wing.
Aussiemove Championship Report - OCR Raceway Report
Shane Ussher driving a Hong Nor NEXX10, went into series final with an unbeatable lead after a very consistent run throughout the season. Beau Harris securing second place in the series, with a win in the final round, Adam Davies racing a Hobao H10SC taking the final podium step for the series. Young Karlo Dayap taking a close win over Ben Swan in the round to secure the B Truck Series win, Michael Evans, not having a good night, but was able to hang on to retain second outright and Steven Jackson keeping it all together for a third place trophy, all 3 drivers running Hobao H10SC, HobbyKing 6.5 turn sensored systems, powered by Turnigy Lipo's.
Sport Buggy saw Blake Ingleton driving an Alpha powered MBX6 take the round win securing him Top step on the Series podium ahead of Danny White - Alpha, Xray and Nathan Weiss - Hyper 9 - OS, for the round, but it was Paul Mansell another of the MBX6 drivers that was able to hang on to retain second place outright in the Series, and Danny White's second place in the round bumping him up to third outright.
Some of you may remember the ROAR Nationals being held at this track in 2005 (if memory serves correctly). The track was once again going to test everyone's car control. The high bite was there; however, it was covered by what I call moon dust. Not even veterans could even keep their cars straight coming out of corners. The jumps started to crumble so that by time of the mains only one jump was semi-consistent. The RC8.2s were amazing right out of the box. I purposely ran the kit setup to see where the evolution had gone and thank goodness for all the new beefy parts because I needed them! I took TQ in electric by winning each round, but Dillinger didn't make this easy. In Nitro my first two rounds gave me third behind Branham and Batlle, but in rounds 3 and 4 Dillinger found his rhythm and bumped me to fourth for the main.
The track being as loose as it was, Dillinger and I, both with RC8.2s, went down to 3K in the center and raised the rear hubs. There was so much more we could do, but it was pointless with the inconsistent track conditions. I tried every AKA tire in the book and the only thing that felt different on the track was going to I-Beam mediums instead of softs. The most important thing was to keep from wrecking; because of the oppressive heat and the amount of wrecking taking place, the corner marshals were just too worn out to hustle getting cars.
Last weekend, the last round of the Spanish Nationals was held at CARTT track, with 125 drivers taking part in the event.
On friday practice the track was very slippery on the first laps, getting a higher grip at the end of the day looking at qualifications rounds on Saturday.
After a very competitive qualifications, Robert Battle was TQ'd followed by Bryan Baldo and Borja Hernandez. Alberto Garcia finished in a good 4th place, with a very good setup for the finals, getting the second fastest time in the last qualification round on the day.
On sunday, semifinales was running at 14:00 pm. Robert Battle won the first semifinal, and Alberto Garcia won the another semifinal (Batlle was nine seconds faster than Garcia), who started the main final from grid #2.
The 45minutes finals started with Robert and Garcia getting a gap in the first laps from the rest of the drivers, being Daniel Vega in 3rd place.
After a Batlle's mistake, Garcia got the leadership, keeping it after the first refilling. Batlle and Garcia had different refilling time strategy (Batlle at 7:40 and Garcia over 9minutes), and both were running very close, changing the leadership frequently.
With seven minutes to go, Garcia made a mistake, and Robert took a gap of some important seconds.
At the end, Garcia pushed as hard as he could, finisihing with 64laps 45:01 minutes. Robert Batlle won the race in spite of crossing the finish line before the 45minutes and suffering a flame out in the 65th lap, finally finising the race with 64laps 44:50minutes.
Great job for Serpent Spain, getting a very stable setup between all our drivers & being supported by Jorge Porcar in the pit area.
Finals results:
1º Robert Batlle - Mugen/Novarossi/Procircuit
2º Alberto Garcia - Serpent/RB/Proline
3º Dani Vega - Agama/Orion/AKA
Bloomfield has been on blistering form in a season which has seen him successfully defend his BRCA 1/8th Off-Road crown. The Arena Offroad Meeting is an indoor event held in Italy and attended by a whole host of top names. None were able to get close to Darren who won the 45 minute final by over 14 seconds.
Once again Darren was using the mighty Savox servo range which has proved a significant advantage in all racing classes this year.
