There are just sixty minutes of racing left before a new 200mm nitro touring car World Champion is crowned, after the remaining nine positions on the grid were decided in a pair of thirty minute semifinals. Tempers rose, favorites were finished off, and the final spot was decided by mere seconds.
“It was a safe drive, and the car was perfect,” said defending World Champion Meen Vejrak, who had his best run of the week when it mattered most. The Thai driver adjusted his KM Racing car to have more toe-out, making it more stable and safe for the longer race.
“I’m super excited!” said JJ Wang after finishing easily within the transfer position to the final. “It was a really good race. The track conditions were really difficult, and especially in the last ten minutes the grip was crazy high. I was just trying to keep it on all four wheels,” said the young Chinese-American driver. After exceeding his goal of making the semifinals the 16-year-old feels any pressure on him has been lifted. He said, “I’ll just see what happens.”
“It was very difficult,” said Francesco Tironi, who said that the track was very different from qualifying and it made his Velox V10 very difficult to drive. Commenting how the tires have even more grip as they wear down, he flipped after the finish line and chunked a tire just past the halfway point, which made his car slip in right-hand corners. “Maybe I’m competitive,” said the Italian about the long final, adding, “so I’ll just try to make a consistent race and see where we are at the end.
“It was perfect! What can I say?” said Australian Peter Jovanovic, who had a miscommunication with his pit crew that resulted in an extra pit stop as he neared the end of the race a bit short on fuel. Though his LAB-C03 was edgy for the first ten minutes he didn’t make a mistake, and after that his car flattened out and got better. Peter was the only driver to mention that he’s planning on a tire change, despite the fact that quick-change axles are illegal in the 200mm class. “I don’t know if anyone can do it, staying out there for an hour on the same tires and be comfortable. I wouldn’t risk it.”
Japanese Serpent driver Yuya Sahashi tore down his 748 Natrix completely before the final to inspect the drivetrain and make a front suspension change that he felt would make the car safer for the final. Yuya is trying to join his brother, current 1/8-scale World Champion Tadahiko, to make the only family members to both earn a world title.
Finishing order - Odd Semifinal
Driver - Country (Car/Engine/Controlled Fuel Choice/Body)
- Meen Vejrak - THA (KM Racing/O.S./Cosmo/PROTOform) - 121/30:01.128
- JJ Wang - USA (Mugen Seiki/Novarossi/Maxima/PROTOform) - 121/30:08.865
- Francesco Tironi - ITA (Shepherd/Novarossi/Maxima/PROTOform) - 121/30:09.306
- Peter Jovanvic - AUS (Capricorn/Capricorn/Maxima/PROTOform) - 121/30:11.301
- Yuya Sahashi - JPN (Serpent/Picco/Cosmo/PROTOform) - 120/30:11.643
- Mark Green - GBR (Serpent/Novarossi/Maxima/Xceed) - 120/30:13.836
- Martin Hudy - SVK (XRAY/MAX/Maxima/SRC) - 118/30:00.848
- Nicholas Lee - SGP (XRAY/Novarossi/Maxima/PROTOform) - 118/30:06.781
- Jeff Hamon - AUS (Mugen Seiki/Novaross/Maxima/PROTOform) - 111/30:04.970
- Andy Moore - GBR (HB/Maxima/Maxima/PROTOform) - 39/9:49.877
Upset that the official timing booth missed his car one lap and called him in second position when he knew he was leading, current Electric Touring Car World Champion Jilles Groskamp was otherwise happy with the progress of the semifinal. He crashed on the left-hand 90-degree corner on the left side of the track on the fourth lap, but knew he had the pace to drive back to the front and was confident that he could make six minutes on a tank of fuel. Confident in his tire wear, how smooth his car feels especially on worn tires, and that he turned his personal best lap of the week in the semis, the Dutchman living in Thailand said, “I found what I’ve been looking for all week, and I’m looking forward to the final.”
“I didn’t have any big problems or anything, but it was a little bit too slow,” said Alexander Hagberg, still looking for his first world championship. The Swede commented that the track was different again and that it made his car feel tippy. Visibly upset after the race, he said, “I didn’t have a good feeling driving for the last 20 minutes. The first ten minutes were good, but then I struggled to keep the racing line and didn’t enjoy it knowing that now I have to do it for 60 minutes.” Planning to run less front camber to take away a bit of steering, Alex said, “I’m just going to try to keep it going for the final, so we’ll see.”
Very excited to make the final, which he never expected in his second Worlds after being more prepared than he was two years ago, Mongkolpan “Game” Lomrose said he just tried to get into a rhythm in the semifinal and take advantage of his fuel mileage advantage being able to run six minutes on a tank of fuel. The Thai driver plans on running the final with the same strategy as he did the semi - run his own race, stick to the fuel strategy, and drive as fast as he feels comfortable.
2010 podium finisher Takehiro Terauchi was very happy with the result of his semifinal, during which he described the track conditions as very difficult. A crash on the left-hand 90 after the finish line preceded a flameout on his first pit stop. With no adjustments planned for the final, his strategy was simple: “Just go for it!
Finishing order - Even Semifinal
Driver - Country (Car/Engine/Controlled Fuel Choice/Body)
- Jilles Groskamp - NLD (Shepherd/Maxima/Maxima/PROTOform) - 122/30:10.356
- Alexander Hagberg - SWE (XRAY/ORCAN/Maxima/PROTOform) - 121/30:00.990
- Mongkolpan Lomrose - THA (HB/Maxima/Maxima/PROTOform) - 120/30:09.567
- Takehiro Terauchi - JPN (Mugen Seiki/Novarossi/Cosmo/PROTOform) - 120/30:11.079
- Simon Kurzbuch - SUI (Shepherd/Novarossi/Maxima/PROTOform) - 118/30:03.083
- Surikarn Chaidajsuriya - THA (Mugen Seiki/Maxima/Maxima/PROTOform) - 117/10:07.216
- Bruno Coelho - PRT (XRAY/O.S./Maxima/PROTOform) - 115/30:03.463
- Sinnosuke Yokoyama - JPN (XRAY/O.S./Cosmo/PROTOform) - 99/25:12.307
- Teemu Leino - FIN (HB/Novarossi/Maxima/PROTOform) - 73/19:13.336
- Tadahiko Sahashi - JPN (Serpent/Picco/Cosmo/PROTOform) - 24/24:49.100
Starting grid for the 60-minute world championship final
- Dominic Greiner - DEU (Serpent/Max/Maxima/SRC)
- Jilles Groskamp - NLD (Shepherd/Maxima/Maxima/PROTOform)
- Alexander Hagberg - SWE (XRAY/ORCAN/Maxima/PROTOform)
- Meen Vejrak - THA (KM Racing/O.S./Cosmo/PROTOform)
- JJ Wang - USA (Mugen Seiki/Novarossi/Maxima/PROTOform)
- Francesco Tironi - ITA (Shepherd/Novarossi/Maxima/PROTOform)
- Peter Jovanvic - AUS (Capricorn/Capricorn/Maxima/PROTOform)
- Yuya Sahashi - JPN (Serpent/Picco/Cosmo/PROTOform)
- Mongkolpan Lomrose - THA (HB/Maxima/Maxima/PROTOform)
- Takehiro Terauchi - JPN (Mugen Seiki/Novarossi/Cosmo/PROTOform)
11/15/2014
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