WORLDS: The history of international nitro touring car racing

The oldest class in IFMAR-recognized RC competition, 1/8-scale nitro on-road, has always been the pinnacle of nitro on-road competition - but given the speed of the cars, and the cost to compete at any level, it desperately needed and deserved a stepping stone. The 200mm nitro touring car division is supposed to provide that more entry-level platform, but it wasn’t the first shot at starting up a support class.

 

Serpent first tried creating a 1/10-scale nitro on-road vehicle in the mid-90s with the Impact, a 235mm-wide chassis that was 2WD and resembled a smaller version of a 1/8-scale chassis. Mugen, Picco, BMT, and others joined with 235mm cars of their own. In 1998, IFMAR first recognized the 235mm class with two different divisions at the same event, separated by the body type - Class I fitted with typical Group C bodies, and Class II with wider touring car-style bodies. Fittingly, the Class I race was won by Serpent engineer Michael Salven who created the class himself. There was never another Class II race, as the class defaulted to traditional open cockpit sports car bodies, and the 235mm class continued in 2000 and 2002. By that time, however, the class had come apart at the seams - only Serpent continued making a viable chassis, there had been an unsuccessful attempt at transitioning 235mm to 4WD, making it a smaller and only mildly less expensive alternative to 1/8-scale racing, and the popularity of electric touring car racing dominated the on-road scene. In response, Serpent created the Impulse - the first 200mm nitro touring car fit for the racetrack. Once again, other manufacturers joined the fray and the class was first recognized as a demonstration class with the “World Cup” accompanying the 2002 IFMAR Worlds for 235mm, in Hamilton, OH. Mark Pavidis won the race with a Team Associated NTC3 and a broken steering wheel spring on his transmitter, and the 235mm class was officially dead.

 

Here’s a chart showing every winner of the 200mm nitro touring car World Championship: