UPDATE: LiveRC Weekend Round-Up!

0 Oct. 3, 2011, 3:20 a.m.

10/7/2011
By Mike Garrison
LiveRC.com

This past weekend was full of racing from all sides of the world! Welcome to another edition of the LiveRC Weekend Round-Up!

UPDATED 10/7/2011

Team Orion is the Japanese National Champions! - Orion Race Report

The Japanese 1/12 EP Racing Car Nationals was held from October 1-2 in Yatabe Arena, Japan. In the 17.5T Stock Class, Naoki Watanabe TQ'd and won using a Team Orion ESC and motor. Kazuma Murai qualified and finished on 2nd place in the same class. He used a Team Orion ESC and motor, as well. It was a perfect result for Team Orion.

Congratulations to the whole team!

Luca Albanese takes 1st in McRae Trophy 2011 - Schumacher Race Report

Following on from his excellent 2nd place at the Italian 2wd UISP championship race, Luca Albanese has taken 1st position in the McRae trophy 2011 championships in both 2wd and 4wd.

Luca drove his Speed Passion powered Cougar SV and CAT SX to victory in the final race this past weekend in Vinovo, Turin to convincingly take the championship win with a perfect set of results over the three rounds. Fellow Schumacher/Speed Passion driver, Nicolo Contorno was the closest challenger and took 2nd place in both classes, leaving him 2nd overall in both the 2 and 4wd championship standings.

Not only did Schumacher drivers dominate the podium positions, they also dominated the top ten in both classes with 4 Cougars in the top 10 in 2wd and 6 CAT SX in the top ten in 4wd.

Congratulations to Luca, Nicolo and all Schumacher drivers who participated.

Andy Robson wins TORC Championship - Schumacher Race Report

The OnRoad Championship Series (TORC) came to an end 2 weeks ago at Bedworth. This years Series comprised of 8 Rounds, 3 at Stafford, 1 at Broxtowe and 4 at Bedworth.

After a very relaxed but competative series Schumacher's old timer Andy Robson came out on top with his Mi4CX!
This years championship was really competitive and friendly, with some very close racing in all 3 classes :- 10.5T, 13.5T and 17.5T. The Final results from the best 5 out of 8 meetings was 1st Andrew Robson 10.5 racing a GM Powered Schumacher Mi4CX, 2nd Ian Whittingham, 3rd Dale Burr and 4th Byron Humphries running a Schumacher Mi4CX. The top 3 in the 13.5 class were 1st Zak Finley, 2nd Jordon Norwood and 3rd Richard Norris. The results of the 17.5 class were 1st David Hough, 2nd John Davis and 3rd Bob Burr.

Next years Series will consist of 6 rounds, 3 at Stafford 3 at Bedworth, Classes will be 13.5 & 17.5.
Congratulations to Andy on a great TORC series!

Proline wins RC Pro Series Rd.16 - Proline Race Report

This past weekend was the 16th round of the RC Pro US Series in Harlingen, TX at Gears Raceway. The crew at Gears had built a great track about 90 racers from all over the region. This was a 2 day race with 4 rounds of qualifying on Saturday and the Mains on Sunday. The track looked very fun and challenging and I couldn’t wait to get on it!

PRACTICE
In practice the track was already in dry and very dusty conditions and it was very loose. In buggy my car was very good from the start, I put M2 Calibers on my car and they felt great. I didn’t have to do anything else to my car except tune my engine a little bit and sharpen up my driving! In truggy my car was also very good from the start, I had M2 Calibers on my car and they were awesome! I just had to sharpen up my driving and be more consistent.

QUALIFYING
In qualifying for this race they were using the format taking your best 2 out of 4 rounds. In the first round of truggy, I just wanted to get a good, clean run out of the way, so I could try to clock in a faster run in the next 3 rounds. I did exactly what I wanted to do setting the TQ for the round, but making a few mistakes along the way. In buggy I was going in with the same mind set. I was unable to finish the race because of a battery issue, but I was not that worried because I knew I had 3 other rounds to work with. In round 2 for truck I had completely no brakes, making it even harder to drive on the slick racing surface, and I ended up fourth for the round and second overall after 2 rounds. In buggy I was able to drive a clean and smooth run with almost no mistakes and take the TQ for the round and fourth after 2 rounds. In the third round of truck I was on a TQ pace with about 2 minutes to go, but made a mistake that took about 10 seconds away from my time and finished second for the round, and gave the TQ to another racer. In buggy I tried some M3 Blockades that fellow Pro-Line team mate Jason Branham recommended and they were even better than the Calibers! I had another good run and finished second for the round. In the final round of qualifying in truggy I set a new TQ pace for the class that was 10 seconds faster than the previous time, but due to the tie breaker system, I was starting second on the line in the main. In buggy I was on another good TQ run, but I over jumped a triple in the middle of the track, causing my chassis to slap, and my flywheel caught a rock, so my car flamed out, ending my run, and a chance at TQ. I was still starting second in the main, so I knew I still had a good chance at winning or taking home a good finish.

MAINS
My 30 minute truggy main started out great, I got the lead early and started pulling away. At the 7 minute mark, I already had a 10 second lead, and was driving really good, but I landed funny off a jump, causing the front left dogbone to pop out of the outdrive. The marshall got me back to the pits fast, but it still took a while to pop the dogbone back into place, and I ended up loosing about 3 laps to the field. This happened numerous times again throughout the main, so I did not finish. In the buggy main, I got out to the lead early again, and was trying not to wreck, while the second place driver was driving on edge trying to catch up. I pulled away early and never looked back. My car was awesome and it got better as the main went on. I ended up winning, and putting myself in the top 5 in points in the US Series. I was very happy with that. I used the same set of M3 Blockades I used in qualifying and they still had a great amount op tread after the 30 minute main!
Overall it was a great weekend and my cars were awesome all weekend!!! I had some bad luck, but thats racing and I will get them next time! Thanks for the support and awesome products PRO-LINE!

Till next time,
Cade “Young Gun” Whitenton

JQ Products and Van Luken are the Dutch Champions! - JQ Race Report

JQ Products THECar, and THE Engine are now Dutch Champions 2011 in the hands of Jorg Van Luken! Congratulations. The top 3 in the Championship series were:

1. Jorg Van Leuken JQProducts THECar - THE Engine - Merlin Fuel
2. Jeffrey Halsema Mugen Seiki - O.S. Engines - Tornado Fuel
3. Paul Geelen Mugen Seiki - O.S. Engines - Meccafuel

Thomas Jones Wins E-Buggy at SDRC Race For The Cure - Tekno Race Report

This past weekend SDRC Raceway in sunny San Diego played host to the Susan G. Komen Race For The Cure. Good weather in San Diego and a great day for a benefit race to help fund breast cancer research. In the midst of the 124 entries and perfect indoor track conditions, Tekno RC driver Thomas Jones TQ'd all 3 rounds of qualifying in 1/8th eBuggy. He went on to win the A main with and bring home the victory. Thomas was using a Tekno RC V4 equipped HB D8 along with all of the other Tekno RC upgrades for the D8. The buggy ran great all day with the Castle electronics and Hitec servos. Congrats on a good race for a good cause.

Viper R/C wins at JConcepts Indoor Nationals - Viper RC Race Report

Viper R/C Solutions attended the J Concepts Fall Indoor Nationals at RC Excitement, in Fitchburg MA. In its second year that race has already become one of the premiere evens in the Northeast, this year attracting 296 entries from 22 different states to compete in eight different classes.

Viper drivers were very competitive in all the 17. 5 classes. Earning 2 class wins, 1 TQ Spot, and 5 of the 9 possible podium places. All the drivers were using the VTX10 or VTX10R speed controls to power their VST17.5 motors.

17.5 Buggy

Royce Berrio – 1st Place

Mark Smyka – 2nd Place, TQ

17.5 Stadium Truck

Nick Malato – 1st Place

Steve Semeraro – 3rd Place

17.5 Short Course

Royce Berrio – 2nd Place

In the Modified classes Viper drivers also competed well in the deeply talented classes, which featured world class drivers in every category. Again using VTX10 and 10R speed controls and VST 7.5 and 8.5 motors and the VST-XL 4.5 in

4wd Short Course.

2wd Modified

Mike Wilder – 3rd Place

Stadium Truck Modified

Paul Sinclair – 4th Place

Nick Malato – 7th Place

4wd Short Course Modified

Royce Berrio – 8th Place

Tekin wins Race for a Cure - Tekin Race Report

This past Saturday Derek and other Tekin team drivers participated in the Race For A Cure at Modesto RC Raceway which brought in a 148 total entries. After 2 rounds of qualifying Tekin Powered Phillip Atondo(TLR) would take Tq in 2wd Mod buggy, Derek 2nd. Derek Stephansen would take TQ honors in 4wd Mod Buggy.

2wd Buggy A1 Phillip and Derek would start battling for the first minute or so intill Phillip bobbled allowing Derek to get out front and slowly build up a slight lead. In the closing minute Derek would bobble while out front allowing Eddie Bernal to take A1. A2 would have Derek out front early taking the win in A2. A3 was probaly one of the most intense battles of the night with the front runners all batlling for the lead. Derek would bobble over the demanding quad allowing Johnathan Hernandez and Eddie Bernal to get by. Derek would chase down Eddie quickly.The leaders battled out nose to tail for the next four minutes. A3 would end with Johnathan in 1st, Eddie second, and Derek in third. Derek Stephansen would end up winning 2wd mod Buggy with the tie breaker over Eddie Bernal!

In Mod 2wd SCT Derek Stephansen would start from the fifth spot in A1 and would quickly work his way up to second behind TQ Eddie Bernal and would finish there. In A2 Derek would be able to get out early from the start and hold on over a hard charging James Arluck to take the win in A2. A3 would once again be a battle between Derek and Eddie Bernal once again going at it, with both bobbles and recoveries from both. As time expired Derek would win giving him the overall Mod 2wd SCT title!

In 4wd buggy Derek would make several mistakes in A1 allowing Cody and Jason Smith to get by, dropping him to 3rd. Derek had better luck in A2 checking out from pole to take the win. A3 Derek would once again check out but a minute in he would have mechanical issue pulling out of the race and giving Austin Blair the win for A3. Overall Derek would end up 3rd in this class.

Derek " I was super happy to be able to put both Tekin Esc's and Tekin Motors on Top!!"

Durango wins Slough Summer Series - Team Durango Report

Round 5 of the Slough summer series saw 83 competitors arrive for what was going to be a hot days racing! – with temperatures reaching 30 degrees C and little or no cloud cover – not bad for October

Qualification was dominated by Kevin Brunsden TQ’ing all three rounds. Callum managed 3rd in the first round narrowly missing out on 8 laps by just 0.17 seconds due to a mistake just before the timing loop. Round 2 saw Callum go 5th which was enough to secure 5th on the grid in the A final.

To cope with the track conditions which were very dusty and bumpy in places, we elected to go for longer top arms on the suspension, moving the pivot balls to the inner holes on the shock towerss. Additionally we all upped the shock oils by 50CST to 600 in the front and 550 in the rear to cope better with the high temperatures.

In the main final Kevin led from start to finish in a class of his own. Tommy Chung was forced to retire with a mechanical issue. Callum put in some clean laps moving up the field slowly and eventually finishing in 3rd place overall and meant he’d TQ’d and won the juniors.

Overall a good turn out and a good days racing.

Costas win Greece National Champs - Serpent Race Report

Last weekend was held the last round of the National Champs 1/8 off road buggy and truggy on the new design Arena track near Athens, Greece. For team Serpent we had 4 drivers for buggy and 1 for truggy. Costas Agrafiotis participated in both categories with his new Serpent cars for first time.

In truggy category Costas was very fast from the qualifiers and missed the TQ by 1 second after a stop and go! In the main final after a spectacular race with the second placed driver he took the victory in this first race with new Serpent Cobra Truggy.

In buggy category there were lot of experienced drivers in a new track with Costas to drive for the first time the Cobra 811. On qualification Costas trying to find a good setup and has taken 8th place on main final after success at the semi final.

After 45 minutes Costas finished on 8th place not bad for a driver that had not practiced a lot the new design and with a new car. Congratulations to all Serpent drivers!

Photos By www.rccars.gr (with Parthenon background)

Smolnik wins the Fall Brawl - HobbyPro USA Report

The 4th Annual Fall Brawl was held at the Snake Pit Raceway in Maplesville Alabama.

This weekend provided great weather and some great racing! My Team C 2wd Short Course was hooked to the track with VP Pro SC Axman tires. Thanks to Protek Batteries and Viper electronics the truck powered through the triple 10 min A mains in flawless form to take the TQ and win.

I would like to thank my sponsors for their great products and support!

Sponsors: Team C, Viper RC, Protek RC, VP Pro USA, Airtronics, Avid , EazyRC.com

JBRL Round #7 - TLR Race Report

The 1/8th expert truck class Team Losi Racing / Novarossi's Adam Drake took TQ honors with his Novarossi powered TLR 8ight T 2.0. The beginning of the 25 minute final was a great between Adam Drake and Cody King. King had mechanical problems 10 minutes into the race and was forced to retire. This opened the door for Castellano to move up to second. Drake took the victory followed by teammates Castellano in second and Schreffler in third.

1/8th Expert Truck Chassis
Engine Fuel Tire

1st Adam Drake (TQ) TLR 8ight T 2.0
NOVAROSSI Bonito Nitrotane Losi Kingpin

2nd Matt Castellano TLR 8ight T 2.0
OS Nitrotane AKA

3rd Matt Schreffler TLR 8ight T 2.0
NOVAROSSI Bonito Nitrotane Losi Kingpin

The 1/8th expert buggy class Cody King TQ'ed followed by Castellano and Drake. At the start of the 25-minute final Drake made a pass on both Castellano and King. King made a few attempts to get back around Drake in the early laps, but made a few small mistakes and fell back about 5-6 seconds behind Drake. King would make up a little time and then drake would pull back away keeping the same 5-6 second lead for most of the race. With about four minutes to go Drake made a mistake and allowed King to close the gap. King then made a pass of the lead, but Drake battled back. The two drivers got together going for the same line and Drake got the better end of it. King was now 1-2 seconds behind, but made a few mistakes in the closing laps and allowed Drake to take the win. Cody King finished second and TLR's Matt Castellano finished third.

1/8th Expert Buggy Chassis
Engine Fuel Tire

1st Adam Drake TLR 8ight 2.0
NOVAROSSI BTTS Nitrotane Losi Digit

2nd Cody King (TQ) Kyosho
Orion Byron's AKA

3rd Matt Castellano TLR 8ight 2.0
OS Nitrotane AKA

Mesker and XFactory domination! - XFactory Race Report

X Factory’s Stefan Mesker drove his SCX – 60 to a smashing win at the first Short Course Shoot-out on Sept 24. The race, at Bergschenhoek MVB, was the largest short course race ever held in The Netherlands with over 60 entries, and Stefan won every qualifier and all three A mains.

The track was fast, with a bit of dust on it, but as the day went along it became faster and faster, ending up almost blue groove. Mesker’s original SCX – 60 was dialed. Stefan said, “The spectators kept asking me about the car; it was so stable, had so much raw speed, and so much grip.” In each A main event, Mesker’s fast lap was a mid-23; nobody else had a fast lap lower than 24.5. Stefan won A-1 & A-2 with the only 15-lap runs, and A-3 by 12 seconds!

Mesker continued, “Driving the SCX – 60 was like cheating, and the SCX – 60CF, made entirely of carbon fiber, will be even better. The mid-motor concept works even better in short course than in buggy. I can’t wait to get my prototype of the new carbon fiber truck! They look so cool.”

Daniel Vega at the US Gas Champs - HobbyPro USA Report

This years Gas Championships highlighted a new format that would prove to be challenging and very exciting. Traditional Ifmar qualifying was set aside, while old school heads up racing took front stage making qualifying an entertaining site.

One of Agama's top drivers Daniel Vega from Spain was on hand to test his skills on the American style tracks which tend to be much more animated with elevation changes. Daniel Vega was in for a treat when he arrived to Thunder Alley. The finely sculpted layout by Levi Jackson was very technical with elevation changes that offered no room for error.

With only 5min of practice for each class Daniel Vega would have a tough task to learn the technical layout. Vega piloted his Agama A8 buggy with VP Pro Tires into the A Final event with an outstanding performance. This shows the versatility of the Agama A8 buggy. Daniel Vega finished 11th overall in a world class A Final in the USA. Congrats to Dani on his great driving.

Here are a few words from Dani himself:
" I would like to thank Rob jackson by his hospitality in all our staying there at his awesome track, also to congratulate to Levi by his great job doing the track and driving the Agama. On Saturday we arrived to Thunder Alley very early in the morning to be able to make one single run of 5 minutes for practice, it was a 100% surprise when I saw the track.. I must admit, I felt some fear as I never raced on any track like this so far!"

"I think that it has been a very good experience with a tons of learning about how to set the cars there in USA, also I had much fun running on the 3D awesome Thunder Alley track."

Thanks to Hobby Pro USA, Thunder Alley Raceway, Agama and VP Pro.

Branham wins RC Pro Series in Texas - HobbyPro USA Race Report

Jason Branham had a dominating performance at the RC Pro Series Rnd in Harlingen TX. Congrats to Jason on his great performance!

"The track was huge and it ended up blowing out really bad, we were running around 45 second laptimes. I was able to TQ 3 of 4 rounds and I also took the win by nearly 2 laps over the field. The A8 was awesome in these conditions handeling the rough track very well. I had no issues what so ever so it was a great and nearly flawless weekend". - Branham

Chambers dominates at Dirtworks RC - TLR Race Report

TLR's Matt Chambers was on hand for round #17 of the RC Pro National Series. Dirtworks R/C in Burlington, CO played host to the event that brought in racers from many surrounding states. In the Expert 1/8 Buggy class Matt was in top form taking the TQ in all 4 rounds of qualifying and cruising to a 2 lap victory in the 45 minute A-main. In the 1/8 Expert Truggy class, TLR privateer Chris Peralta took home the TQ and win making it a TLR sweep of the Expert Classes.

Expert Buggy
1st - Matt Chambers TLR/Nitrotec/Nitrotane
2nd - Chris Peralta TLR/RB/Sidewinder
3rd - Vincent Ringler Mugen/NovaRossi/Sidewinder

Thomas Mayr is the Austrian Champ! - Proline Race Report

The third and final leg for the Austrian Nationals in 1:8 Off-road was held last weekend at WMW Fehring track – EC-A track for 2012.

The arrangement after the first 2 races was that only 3 drivers can become Austrian champion (Dominic Bauer, Thomas Mayr and Andreas Scharinger). In Qualifying, Dominic Bauer was dominating – winning 3 from 4 rounds – so we had following qualifying result:

1. Dominic Bauer Mugen/Novarossi/Pro-Line Blockade M2
2. Martin Karner Agama/Go/VP-Pro
3. Hupo Hönigl Durango/LRP/Pro-Line Blockade M2
4. Jürgen Trieb Crono/OS/ProCircuit

Thomas Mayr (Mugen/Novarossi/Pro-Line) had problems and became only 7th after qualifying. The third title candidate, Andreas Scharinger (TLR/Novarossi/Pro-Line) was in the 11th position.

During lunch break, Hupo Honigl made a complete rebuild of this Durango car putting more weight in the front to correct the steering. Much to his surprise in Semi Final A the car was working perfect and Hupo made a new lap record with 36.582 sec (Pro-Line Blockade M2) and easily won before Dominic Bauer and Thomas Mayr, who both had to run around 5 minutes with electronic problems where sometimes they had no steering in left corners! Slower Semi final B was won by Patrick Schweinzer before Rene Kargl and Martin Karner.

Hupo Honigl should start from pole position for the 45 minute final, but while revving up his LRP motor a few seconds before the start the conrod broke with a big ping – so Dominic Bauer was easily leading the final. Thomas Mayr, starting from position 6, managed to become second by lap 3 and was pushing hard to close the gap on Dominic – both where running at full risk just like in qualifying and at first pit stop it was clear that Dominic had to refuel one time more than Thomas, both were running so fast that they had already lapped the complete field at 25 minutes mark. The lead was only changing during different refuel strategy but Thomas managed to close the gap more and more and got into the lead. Both drivers were fighting hard but fair for the lead and the title! In the end, Dominic had to make his additional refuel 3 minutes before the end – and so Thomas was running save for the last minutes and allowed Dominic to close the gap and became second with 2 seconds back.

1. Thomas Mayr Mugen/Novarossi/Pro-Line Blockade M2 70 45:15.504 36.727
2. Dominic Bauer Mugen/Novarossi/Pro-Line Blockade M2 70 45:17.828 36.773
3. Jürgen Trieb Crono/OS/ProCicuit 69 45:30.781 36.867

Final result for the Austrian championship is same than the day result:
1. Thomas Mayr Mugen/Novarossi/Pro-Line Blockade M2 600 points
2. Dominic Bauer Mugen/Novarossi/Pro-Line Blockade M2 580 points (Austrian Junior champion)
3. Jürgen Trieb Crono/OS/ProCicuit 520 points

Easton wins Novarossi Cup - Serpent Race Report

Billy Easton with Cobra buggy wins semi final ahead of Batlle and also takes victory in the main Final ahead of Battle, Perin and Binachi. Great race.

Congratulations to Easton and his pitcrew!

Easton got his Cobra buggy dialed in really well. The fight with Batlle ( current European Champion) was very close but fair.
In the end Easton managed to create a one lap gap. Well done!

Ovidiu wins in Romania! - Team Associated Race Report

Romania racers recently held their first-ever Short Course 4WD race. FxModells and FxRacing team driver Manolache Ovidiu won the honor of being the champion of this debut event! He used his Team Associated SC10 4x4 FT powered by Reedy LiPo batteries to propel him to the top podium. Thanks to FxModells and FxRacing for this good news. And congratulations to Manolache Ovidiu for his victory!

Baird is the Irish National Champion - CML Race Report

Bradley Baird and his Associated RC8 took his third win of the season which rapped up the 2011 national championship for the Team Associated/CML driver.

The fifth and final round of the Irish national championship took place at the fantastic all astro turf track at Navan hosted by the Navan Nitro Nuts.The facility was in great condition with a tricky layout. This was the crucial decider of the championship which could have gone three ways depending on the final results. Bradley walked into the final round with two firsts and a second and it was Christopher McCauley holding a first, a second, and a third so Christopher needed a win to help his championship hopes were as Bradley needed a top three finish.

In qualifying it was a very up and down story. Christopher took TQ in round one with Bradley taking second in round. Christopher carried his fast pace through to round two and again claimed TQ and in round three it was Gary Baird driving the Kyosho who took TQ and Bradley again taking a second. So at the end of qualifying it was Christopher McCauley who took pole on the grid with Bradley in second with solid second places.

In the B final it was Arron Vance who bumped straight through to the main after having a bad qualifing earlier in the day.

At the start of the main final it was Bradley and Christopher who made the early break from the chasing pack it the battle continued between the two contenders went on for about the first fifteen minutes of the final until a crucial mistake from Bradley left him upside down between two jumps which let Christopher pull a huge gap and give himself plenty of breathing space to a recovering Bradley. Then after the last pit stop with only four minutes to go Mccauleys Novarossi powered Xray cut handing the lead back to Bradley and giving him the win and the 2011 national championship. Christopher recoverd and still hung on to second place and Alan Scroggie claiming the last spot on the podium driving his Novarossi powered Xray.

So the championship is as follows:

Bradley Baird - 399 points
Christopher Mccauley - 396 points
Alan Scroggie - 394 points

A big thank you must go to Andrew Rennick for all his help and support on and off the track this year, CML for all the help at every event, John Matthews for ensuring my RC8 was in top form and my brother Blaine for all the help during the entire year.

Panic wins Thunder Tiger Cup - JConcepts Race Report

The fourth round of the Thunder Tiger Cup was held over the weekend of the 1st and 2nd of October in Senai just outside of Joho Bahru in Malaysia. The event run by the Niko Club is hosted at a facility which houses both an on-road an off-road track for the RC enthusiast. For this round of the Cup there were in excess of 80 drivers attending all vying for the win. With this many entries most drivers took the opportunity to hit the track on Saturday to practice and dial their cars in for the race on Sunday. Track conditions for practice on Saturday were excellent with the weather playing its part and only some misty rain arriving in the afternoon. The feeling from most drivers was that racing would be close as the track is on the smaller side for 1/8th with lap times down in the 28 second range. With plenty of short corner to corner racing there was going to be plenty of emphasis placed on clean passing and running tight lines – this would be the way to quick consistent laps.

JConcepts/Novarossi team driver Ben Panic headed up from Singapore on Sunday morning to race and was greeted with a wet track for the first outing. The format for the race would be three 7 minute qualifiers with the best single run to count. Finals would be 20 minutes for mains B through F and 40 minutes for the A Main. Top 3 drivers would bump up.

The track condition in the morning it was really damp but with the sun breaking through the clouds there was every chance the surface would get a lot better as the day progressed and cars ran on it. The surface was really smooth and it looked like it would provide a good opportunity for a quick run in the first round. This proved true as local Malaysian driver David Lim layed down a superb 15 lapper. Ben had a solid 8th for the round which left him feeling like if he could find a bit more pace he could put in a top 5 run.

The next 2 rounds were completed in similar fashion, David showing plenty of pace and Singaporean drivers Roy JJ and Joe Hwee also putting in some fast runs which would place them 2nd and 3rd on the grid for the main. Ben finished out round 2 and 3 with similar runs, 8th and 9th which would have him start the main from 9th position. More pace was needed for the JConcepts/Novarossi driver and a better run through the back markers as constant passing was present during most laps in qualifying.

As the day had progressed the track had changed dramatically. The smooth surface from the morning was gone and there were plenty of large stones protruding thought the dirt catching cars mid corner and causing them to roll. This along with the need for more pace was the reason enough for some major pre-final set up changes for Ben. His Novarossi powered Mugen was just too edgy so with some camber, spring and castor changes he dialed in a bench setup that hopefully would provide the stability and pace required to move up the field in the final.

The start of the mains proved hectic on the small track and there were plenty of crashes, with this noted Ben decided to opt for a cautious start and try and get the first few laps in clean. The warm-up had given Ben confidence in the car as the bench setup was much better than what had been on the car in qualifying. When the buzzer sounded the inevitable crash occurred and from 9th Ben navigated his way through to 3rd position. David was in the lead and the pack was chasing hard. With 10 min fuel stops Ben moved in to second at the first stop as other drivers pitted. David still held the lead by around 15 seconds and it would stay that way for much of the race. Ben pushed hard and at one point got to within 3 seconds of David but could not catch him. It was an exciting race for these two drivers as they drove at the limit for the whole race trying to stay ahead. At the sound of the tone Ben just crossed the line and missed out on the extra lap by .12 second thus giving David a deserved victory in a hard fought race. Vincent Yong placed 3rd with a consistent fast drive just behind David and Ben.

Aussiemove Championship Round #6 - OCR Raceway Race Report

Tim Nicol driving a Ninja powered Serpent, takes a dominating win over Tony Knauth's RB powered MBX6, The pair pushing each other to the limit all night on the very rough circuit, both drivers setting new track records, Nicol resetting the Holeshot, taking 0.08 sec off, Knauth topping the FTD record by 1.483 secs. Even with a new race record and racing as hard as possible Nicol still had Knauth's measure all night taking 4 of the 5 rounds. Nathan Tampe - Alpha - Hyper Star fast early on only to suffer some mechancial gremlins. The always fast Phil Ciccone, Nova Rossi - MBX6 keeping the front two honest taking third place for the night.

In the always competitive Sport Buggy class, young Blake Ingleton Alpha - MBX6 took hard earned 5 point win over Paul Mansell RB - MBX6, Henri Raafs hanging on for a close third over Rory O'Connor.

A Trucks saw another dominating performance with Shane Ussher - Hong Nor taking 4 of the 5 round wins over Danny White - Hong Nor, and Beau Harris - Hong Nor, 2 points back in third.

B Trucks, saw a very very close competition over the night between young Karlo Dayap - Hobao and Michael Evans - Hobao, the pair finishing on equal points in the end, Karlo just taking the win based on time, under 10 seconds seperating them. Adam Davies - Hobao taking third place finishing only one point behind.

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