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RACE COVERAGE: 2012 International Indoor Championships (IIC)

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Eric Swanson

0 Oct. 4, 2012, 4:27 p.m.

10/3 - 10/6, 2012

By Eric Swanson

LiveRC.com

PHOTO GALLERY
LIVE BROADCAST

Las Vegas -- There may not be a discipline of R/C racing that has been more consistent over the years than indoor, carpet on-road. While not exactly the “center focus” of the R/C industry, there have been, and still are, numerous enclaves of hard-core carpet racers placed throughout the Untied States.

The reason for this is simple: a carpet track is the easiest type of facility one can set up. In a country where a large portion of the population heads indoors for half the year to escape poor weather, indoor carpet tracks have become the last bastion of R/C racing activity for many people during the winter months.

Naturally, with the onset of the winter season also comes major carpet races. Large carpet races have been around forever; before the RC10 was even a blip in the back of Gene Husting’s mind and long before any of the current generation of young superstars were born. It is even more amazing, then, that the International Indoor Championships (IIC) has become such a major race in the eight short years of its existence.

The man behind the IIC, Scotty Ernst, is the main reason behind the event’s short ascension to elite status. Having traveled the world and establishing himself as the most widely-known R/C race director and announcer in the biz, drawing entries becomes much easier, and convincing people from other countries to come to a brand new race is much easier than it would be for an "Average Joe." And for good reason -- Scotty has seen it all, and racers know that any race he puts on will be comprised of the best aspects of events all over the world -- and hopefully devoid of all of the bad things. Oh yeah, there is also that whole “being in Las Vegas” thing that probably has a bit to do with it as well. At any rate, the race is now the most important indoor carpet race in the U.S., and perhaps the entire world.

This year’s event builds on the successes of prior IICs. The unique Las Vegas atmosphere is accentuated by little details that make the whole event a flawlessly executed R/C experience. From the VIP treatment to all racers in the form of food, gifts, and even a poker tournament, to the immaculately clean facility and masterfully built track, everything screams “well-done” when you come to the IIC. Everyone you talk to will agree; the race is as good as it gets.

Here are some bits of info you need to know regarding the event and our live broadcast:

-There are four rounds of qualifying; two on Thursday and two on Friday, followed by the main events on Saturday.
-Qualifying is done in the “rocket round” format.
-Single A-mains will decide this year’s champions.

Qualifying Day One Results:

17.5 1-12 Scale
1) Tortorice, John (45/8:02.533 R1)
2) Hanulec, Michael (45/8:02.732 R2)
3) Lambert, Kenny (45/8:03.105 R1)
4) Smyka, Mark (45/8:03.541 R2)
5) Block, Tony (45/8:03.750 R2)
6) Bohlman, Brian (45/8:04.286 R2)
7) Kennedy, Mike (45/8:04.622 R1)
8) Wiita, John (45/8:04.665 R2)
9) Lundberg, James (45/8:06.057 R2)
10) Bergstrom, Kyle (45/8:07.103 R2)

Expert World GT 10.5
1) Dumas, Mike (32/5:07.855 R1)
2) Cyrul, Josh (32/5:08.629 R1)
3) Lia, Donny (32/5:09.718 R1)
4) D Agnolo, Pete (31/5:04.062 R2)
5) Honigl, Hupo (31/5:04.798 R2)
6) Ehrlich, Dave (31/5:04.867 R1)
7) Wynn, Brian (31/5:07.824 R2)
8) Calandra, Frank (29/5:01.865 R2)
9) Bodine, Brian (28/4:48.033 R2)
10) Nolasco, Joe (2/0:22.352 R1)

Amateur 17.5 Rubber Tire Sedan
1) Nelson, Sam (28/5:01.923 R2)
2) Zorn, David (28/5:05.473 R2)
3) Gelinas, Philippe (28/5:05.723 R2)
4) Sanford, Aaron (28/5:07.447 R2)
5) Cooper, Ryan (28/5:08.463 R2)
6) Breuer, Steven (28/5:09.427 R2)
7) Hillier, Chris (27/5:02.968 R2)
8) Chennell, Dave (27/5:04.458 R2)
9) Chan, Franky (27/5:05.928 R2)
10) Larcher, Michael (27/5:07.790 R2)

Super Stock 13.5 Rubber Tire Sedan
1) Hebert, Keven (30/5:03.978 R1)
2) Matsuzaki, Hayato (30/5:04.262 R1)
3) Haynes, Mike (30/5:07.206 R2)
4) Johnson, Brad (29/5:01.144 R2)
5) Darroch, Ray (29/5:03.076 R1)
6) Scrimo, Arthur (29/5:03.807 R2)
7) Hardman, Andrew (29/5:04.029 R1)
8) Yu, Keith (29/5:04.245 R2)
9) Hohnstein, Josh (29/5:04.608 R2)
10) Knapp, Andrew (29/5:05.204 R2)

Spec Gran Touring
1) Haynes, Mike (27/5:08.706 R2)
2) Kasuya, Hiro (26/5:05.958 R2)
3) Layne, Dustin (26/5:06.958 R2)
4) Morehead, Patrick (25/5:00.999 R2)
5) Chan, Franky (25/5:05.403 R2)
6) Franco, Carlos (25/5:06.062 R2)
7) Gray, Gus (25/5:11.600 R2)
8) Understiller, Todd (24/5:01.000 R1)
9) Riedinger, Bruce (24/5:07.329 R2)
10) Smith, Jeff (24/5:08.404 R2)

13.5 1-12 Scale
1) Lia, Donny (50/8:08.362 R2)
2) Fairtrace, Larry (50/8:09.372 R1)
3) Darroch, Ray (49/8:01.278 R2)
4) Knapp, Andrew (49/8:02.492 R1)
5) D Agnolo, Pete (49/8:05.607 R2)
6) Dumas, Mike (49/8:06.324 R1)
7) Tortorice, John (49/8:08.658 R2)
8) Robinson, Peter (48/8:00.622 R1)
9) Henderson, Walter (48/8:00.689 R1)
10) Honigl, Hupo (48/8:00.696 R1)

World GT 13.5
1) Ehrlich, Dave (30/5:02.492 R2)
2) Bohlman, Brian (30/5:03.119 R2)
3) Hanulec, Michael (30/5:07.716 R2)
4) Berger, Dave (30/5:08.528 R2)
5) Klingforth, Brent (29/5:01.983 R2)
6) Ficco, Mario (29/5:03.649 R1)
7) Vautour, Joel (29/5:05.896 R1)
8) Krysinski, Joey (29/5:06.052 R2)
9) Morehead, Patrick (29/5:07.252 R2)
10) Bruce, Michael (29/5:07.834 R2)

Modified 1-12 Scale
1) Hebert, Keven (55/8:04.528 R2)
2) Levanen, Juho (54/8:00.346 R2)
3) Cyrul, Josh (54/8:00.396 R2)
4) Hohwart, Rick (54/8:02.141 R2)
5) Volker, Ronald (54/8:05.129 R2)
6) Lemieux, Paul (54/8:08.276 R2)
7) Ehrlich, Dave (53/8:02.846 R2)
8) Dumas, Mike (53/8:03.199 R1)
9) Henderson, Walter (53/8:04.095 R2)
10) Knapp, Andrew (53/8:07.550 R2)

Formula 1
1) Ficco, Mario (25/5:03.194 R2)
2) Born, Jordan (25/5:04.651 R1)
3) Lightfoot, Charles (25/5:09.454 R2)
4) Tam, Tony (24/5:01.173 R2)
5) Cannon, Blake (24/5:02.132 R1)
6) Kennedy, Mike (24/5:03.464 R2)
7) Smyka, Carissa (24/5:04.553 R1)
8) Burgess, Mark (24/5:05.574 R1)
9) Jackson, Steven (23/5:06.485 R2)
10) Skinner, Nick (23/5:12.327 R1)

Stock 17.5 Rubber Tire Sedan
1) Wynn, Brian (29/5:06.934 R2)
2) Xavier, Craig (29/5:07.286 R2)
3) Harrison, Austin (29/5:07.663 R2)
4) Kuriger, Sandro (29/5:08.072 R2)
5) Hohnstein, Josh (29/5:08.726 R2)
6) Haynes, Mike (29/5:09.113 R1)
7) Keulen, Blake (29/5:10.108 R1)
8) Johnson, Brad (28/5:00.850 R1)
9) Yu, Keith (28/5:01.492 R1)
10) Bergstrom, Kyle (28/5:02.084 R1)

Modified Rubber Tire Sedan
1) Volker, Ronald (31/5:03.577 R2)
2) Levanen, Juho (31/5:05.812 R2)
3) Matsuzaki, Hayato (31/5:06.108 R2)
4) Lemieux, Paul (31/5:07.194 R2)
5) Hebert, Keven (31/5:08.079 R1)
6) Haynes, Mike (30/5:01.137 R2)
7) Hardman, Andrew (30/5:02.697 R1)
8) Dumas, Mike (30/5:03.877 R1)
9) Hohwart, Rick (30/5:06.230 R2)
10) Cyrul, Josh (30/5:06.946 R2)

Day One Photos:

The track is located in a ballroom in the Riviera Hotel and Casino's convention hall.

Another view of the track from the opposite side.

Scotty Ernst doing what he does best -- commanding a microphone.

The newest class at the IIC is "Spec Gran Touring," which is sponsored by Novak Electronics. Each driver is allowed to borrow a Novak ESC system with an option to buy it for a discounted price after the event. Pretty sweet deal. Gotta love the realism of the class.

MC Charlie Suangka was on hand to not only help you with your speed controls and motors, but to give manicures as well. Novak orange is the only color offered, however.

Need a body painted at the IIC? Charlie B is on hand in the Parma booth whipping up amazing lids every day. In this picture, he has nearly completed an exact replica of another body someone brought in.

Another unique offering at the IIC is the F1 class! While not the fastest cars on the track, they definitely draw a crowd.

Newly crowned touring car ROAR national champion Rick Hohwart pushes his Associated TC6.1 WC through the sweeper. Rick has been on fire lately, and will try to continue his hot streak in Vegas.

XRAY's Paul Lemieux knows a thing or two about driving touring cars on carpet. This weekend he will try to overcome the fact that he has to do it with rubber tires.

The fastest man on day one of qualifying and all throughout practice was Yokomo's Ronald Volker. Ronald showed he has the speed to win any race on Earth when he nearly won the IFMAR worlds in Holland last summer. An IIC win may provide some redemption.

Volker after setting the new high-water mark for modified touring car in Q2 Thursday evening.

Qualifying Day Two Results:

17.5 1-12 Scale
   1) Tortorice, John (46/8:06.440 R4)
   2) Bradley, TJ (46/8:10.196 R4)
   3) Smyka, Mark (46/8:10.266 R4)
   4) Hanulec, Michael (46/8:10.759 R4)
   5) Bergstrom, Kyle (45/8:00.490 R3)
   6) Lambert, Kenny (45/8:01.235 R4)
   7) Block, Tony (45/8:01.365 R4)
   8) Dirla, Robert (45/8:01.911 R4)
   9) Vautour, Joel (45/8:02.889 R4)
   10) Smyka, Carissa (45/8:03.029 R4)

Expert World GT 10.5
   1) Cyrul, Josh (32/5:05.279 R4)
   2) Dumas, Mike (32/5:07.170 R4)
   3) D Agnolo, Pete (32/5:09.033 R3)
   4) Lia, Donny (32/5:09.716 R1)
   5) Honigl, Hupo (31/5:04.656 R3)
   6) Ehrlich, Dave (31/5:04.865 R1)
   7) Wynn, Brian (31/5:07.824 R2)
   8) Calandra, Frank (30/5:01.547 R4)
   9) Bodine, Brian (30/5:04.523 R4)
   10) Nolasco, Joe (5/1:49.085 R3)

Amateur 17.5 Rubber Tire Sedan
   1) Nelson, Sam (28/5:01.168 R4)
   2) Gelinas, Philippe (28/5:02.639 R3)
   3) Zorn, David (28/5:04.776 R3)
   4) Sanford, Aaron (28/5:05.083 R3)
   5) Breuer, Steven (28/5:08.420 R3)
   6) Cooper, Ryan (28/5:08.463 R2)
   7) Espina, Roel (27/5:00.437 R4)
   8) Larcher, Michael (27/5:02.834 R4)
   9) Hillier, Chris (27/5:02.968 R2)
   10) Shaffer, Eddie (27/5:03.009 R3)

Super Stock 13.5 Rubber Tire Sedan
   1) Hebert, Keven (30/5:03.158 R4)
   2) Matsuzaki, Hayato (30/5:03.259 R4)
   3) Darroch, Ray (30/5:04.168 R4)
   4) Haynes, Mike (30/5:05.470 R4)
   5) Knapp, Andrew (30/5:05.651 R3)
   6) Hardman, Andrew (30/5:06.567 R4)
   7) Ellis, Drew (30/5:09.060 R4)
   8) Johnson, Brad (30/5:10.317 R3)
   9) Hohnstein, Josh (29/5:00.307 R3)
   10) Scrimo, Arthur (29/5:00.420 R4)

Spec Gran Touring
   1) Layne, Dustin (27/5:03.992 R4)
   2) Haynes, Mike (27/5:05.338 R3)
   3) Kasuya, Hiro (26/5:00.995 R3)
   4) Morehead, Patrick (26/5:08.617 R3)
   5) Perez, Jerry (26/5:12.839 R4)
   6) Chan, Franky (25/5:00.120 R1)
   7) Kadonaga, Jarrod (25/5:05.276 R4)
   8) Understiller, Todd (25/5:05.697 R3)
   9) Franco, Carlos (25/5:06.059 R2)
   10) Gray, Gus (25/5:11.600 R2)

13.5 1-12 Scale
   1) Lia, Donny (51/8:09.716 R3)
   2) Knapp, Andrew (50/8:01.694 R4)
   3) Fairtrace, Larry (50/8:01.970 R4)
   4) Darroch, Ray (50/8:03.427 R4)
   5) Dumas, Mike (50/8:06.579 R4)
   6) Anderson, Eric (50/8:07.946 R4)
   7) D Agnolo, Pete (50/8:08.949 R3)
   8) Tortorice, John (49/8:03.331 R3)
   9) Honigl, Hupo (49/8:05.065 R3)
   10) Robinson, Peter (49/8:05.658 R3)

World GT 13.5
   1) Ehrlich, Dave (30/5:01.144 R3)
   2) Bohlman, Brian (30/5:03.119 R2)
   3) Hanulec, Michael (30/5:05.461 R1)
   4) Berger, Dave (30/5:07.067 R4)
   5) Klingforth, Brent (30/5:09.555 R3)
   6) Ficco, Mario (29/5:01.348 R4)
   7) Vautour, Joel (29/5:01.403 R4)
   8) Krysinski, Joey (29/5:02.377 R1)
   9) Morehead, Patrick (29/5:03.805 R4)
   10) Day, Mark (29/5:04.509 R4)

Modified 1-12 Scale
   1) Hebert, Keven (56/8:04.759 R4)
   2) Levanen, Juho (56/8:06.137 R3)
   3) Hohwart, Rick (55/8:00.802 R4)
   4) Volker, Ronald (55/8:01.000 R4)
   5) Cyrul, Josh (55/8:06.259 R3)
   6) Lia, Donny (54/8:04.011 R3)
   7) Lemieux, Paul (54/8:04.896 R4)
   8) Ellis, Drew (54/8:08.713 R4)
   9) Henderson, Walter (53/8:00.262 R4)
   10) Honigl, Hupo (53/8:00.966 R3)

Formula 1
   1) Tam, Tony (26/5:10.035 R4)
   2) Ficco, Mario (25/5:03.194 R2)
   3) Born, Jordan (25/5:04.108 R3)
   4) Kennedy, Mike (25/5:05.995 R3)
   5) Lightfoot, Charles (25/5:08.076 R4)
   6) Cannon, Blake (25/5:11.310 R3)
   7) Burgess, Mark (25/5:12.521 R4)
   8) Smyka, Carissa (24/5:04.555 R1)
   9) Jackson, Steven (23/5:03.398 R4)
   10) Nick Malato (23/5:04.500 R3)

Stock 17.5 Rubber Tire Sedan
   1) Haynes, Mike (29/5:02.779 R4)
   2) Anderson, Eric (29/5:04.531 R4)
   3) Johnson, Brad (29/5:04.625 R3)
   4) Kuriger, Sandro (29/5:04.636 R4)
   5) Harrison, Austin (29/5:05.579 R4)
   6) Scrimo, Arthur (29/5:06.197 R4)
   7) Xavier, Craig (29/5:06.663 R4)
   8) Hohnstein, Josh (29/5:06.853 R4)
   9) Wynn, Brian (29/5:06.932 R2)
   10) Keulen, Blake (29/5:07.261 R3)

Modified Rubber Tire Sedan
   1) Volker, Ronald (31/5:03.362 R3)
   2) Hebert, Keven (31/5:04.612 R4)
   3) Levanen, Juho (31/5:05.807 R2)
   4) Matsuzaki, Hayato (31/5:06.107 R2)
   5) Lemieux, Paul (31/5:07.194 R2)
   6) Dumas, Mike (30/5:01.076 R3)
   7) Haynes, Mike (30/5:01.136 R2)
   8) Hohwart, Rick (30/5:01.951 R4)
   9) Hardman, Andrew (30/5:02.509 R4)
   10) Ellis, Drew (30/5:05.266 R4)

Day Two Photos: