IIC: Hagberg and Volker hang on for mod-class wins [VIDEO]

0 Oct. 20, 2014, 7:48 a.m.

10/20/2014
By Aaron Waldron

LiveRC.com

With the racing groove darkening considerably, the grip came up on Saturday for the finals at the tenth annual International Indoor Championships - and so did the excitement, with the first races featuring heads-up starts of the entire week. With ten cars struggling for every position possible the crashes were spectacular, and the battles for the win in many classes came down to the wire.

1/12-Scale Stock

TQ Michael Herald Jr. had a disastrous first lap, dropping back to fourth and falling out of the race just three minutes in. Second qualifier Craig Xavier inherited the lead and held on to beat Andrew Knapp by just under one second, with sixth qualifier Kyle Goodwine finishing third.

World GT

Top two qualifiers Max Kuenning and Brian Wynn got together on the first lap, letting third qualifier John Wiita go by. Kuenning drove by Wiita on the following lap and took off, hanging on for the title by one second as Wynn charged his way back to make it a race by the end. John Wiita held on for third.

1/12-Scale Modified

Cyrul crashed on the first lap and dropped back to third, allowing Hagberg and Hébert to get away. Cyrul made a mistake around the five-minute mark and allowed Mike Haynes by for third.

Expert World GT

With the only position changes occurring in 4th through 6th, and the race ending in nearly perfect qualifying order, the closest battle in the final was simply to see how many cars Josh Cyrul could put a lap down - and the answer was all but one. Cyrul dominated, followed by Hönigl and Haynes.

1/12-Scale Super Stock

Cyrul and Darroch got away cleanly while Wiita and Knapp stacked up on the second lap, allowing Tony Block to third. Block made a mistake on lap 17 and Hupo Honigl, from ninth on the grid, was there to take advantage after charging through the field and staying out of the rough wrecks happening around him. Cyrul got by for a victory lap while Darroch beat Honigl to the line by 4.9 seconds.

Amateur Touring

A false start from TQ Ryan Cooper caused a huge pile up, especially as third qualifier David Walker’s car failed to move an inch. A short delay to let mechanics fix the cars postponed the start of the race slightly. Once the race got off to a clean start, third qualifier David Walker made a mistake on the first lap and dropped to fourth behind Brian Card. Walker and Card both crashed through the first left hander on lap three and John Choi, from eighth on the grid, moved to third. Just before the two minute mark Cooper hit the board coming onto the straightaway and Michael Herald Sr. passed him on the inside for the lead. Cooper crashed two laps later and John Choi passed him for second, only to give up the spot just past the halfway mark. They swapped spots again at 2:50, and then Cooper made a big mistake with just over a minute to go, dropping out of the top five and moving Brian Card back to third. Card crashed with three laps to go and Evan Morey moved onto the final step of the podium.

Super Stock Touring

Another pre-race delay for Sandro Kurger to get on the grid - he hit a board on the warm-up lap and bent a tie-rod. The first lap was ugly behind the top four, and Mike Gee gave up third to Kody Knudtson on the first lap. Scrimo and Knudtson both had rough luck on lap three, putting Mike Gee to second and Scrimo hung onto third. Meanwhile, Hébert checked out and got by for the extra lap, while Gee held off Scrimo by 35-hundredths.

Formula 1

Brian Wynn crashed into the boards turning onto the straightaway for the first lap and fell back. A big crash through the chicane on the following lap shook up the order and put Dave Ehrlich out front with Mario Ficco to second and allowed Brian Wynn back to third. At the 2:00 mark Ehrlich crashed on his own coming onto the straightaway and Ficco got by, only for Ficco to throw it away in the sweeper one lap later and drop to third behind Ehrlich and Wynn. Ficco bounced off the boards through the center straight just past the three minute mark and broke, moving Kevin Cole to third. Ehrlich got some distance with a minute to go and despite Wynn’s brilliant last lap Ehrlich crossed the line seven-tenths ahead, with Cole hanging on for third.

Spec Grand Touring

The top five ran in formation until lap two, when Bill Sydor hit the board coming onto the straightaway and let Fabio Evangelista into third. Evangelista stuffed the board in the center S-turn on the final lap and Sydor retook the final podium position. Michael Herald Jr. led from start to finish, getting by for a victory lap, and David Zorn finished second about two and a half seconds ahead of Sydor.

Stock Touring

Kyle Klingforth and Eric Anderson got a clean start by Arthur Scrimo wasn’t so lucky, hitting the board coming onto the straightaway and letting Michael Herald Jr. into third. Herald Jr. crashed at the 1:30 mark and Craig Xavier, from sixth on the grid, moved to third with Scrimo not far behind. Klingforth got by for a victory lap, and Anderson beat Xavier to the line by two seconds to round out the podium.

Modified Touring

Alexander Hagberg kept it close for about three and a half minutes, but Ronald Völker got by for a victory lap and Paul Lemieux was another two seconds behind as the top five finished in qualifying order.