Welcome to the LiveRC race blog for the 2012 IFMAR 1:12 and 1:10 On-Road EP World Championships! Let's get right to the essentials. The racing will be split into two separate events with two separate tracks. The 1:12 class will run on an indoor circuit constructed inside of a gymnasium, while the 1:10 portion will run on the permanent paved track a few minutes away.
Our broadcast will begin tomorrow during practice. Full broadcast with commentary from Scotty Ernst will begin during qualifying.
So now that all of that business is out of the way, let's take a look at what the 1:12 facility looks like, shall we?
The 1:12 circuit is inside of a large sporting complex that includes: a pool, football fields, a restaurant, and more. Definitely a high-class operation!
Out back, the turf is begging for some Euro-style off-road. That will have to wait for another time, though!
The large tire-truing area before it gets bombarded by hot foam dust.
Here it is; we're walking in the front door from this view.
From the rostrum.
Slam dunk your radio after a race for bonus LiveRC points.
You want corner dots? We Got 'em.
The fresh carpet awaits a 1:12 pounding.
That will do it for set-up day! Tune in to our LIVE broadcast tomorrow for practice coverage!
Six rounds of practice were run today -- two of which were "officially timed" in order to seed the qualifiers that will begin tomorrow. As expected, defending two-time world champion Naoto Matsukura was ballistically fast...at times. Other times, he was smashing into walls. When you are the most strapped driver on Earth, that will happen from time to time. When the flag drops on actual head-to-head racing, look for him to stay clean...or have the ability to charge back to the front of the field should he have any problems.
Don't get me wrong; I'm not saying we should give Naoto the trophy right now, but he is clearly the favorite and any discussion involving who is fast should begin and end with him.
Drivers like Ronald Volker, Paul Lemieux, Jilles Groskamp, and Keven Hebert showed they have speed to run near Naoto today. They might not have what it takes to run away from him, but they might be able to make things interesting, especially if Matsukura is unable to stay clean.
The big topic being discussed today was the condition of the track. There are a few spots where the carpet is starting to ripple, causing cars to catch air sporadically throughout the circuit. However, most drivers either weren't too concerned, or didn't voice their frustration with the conditions when asked about them.
Tomorrow will be chock full of qualifying -- five of the six qualifying rounds will be run. By then, we will have a pretty good idea how things should look going into the finals.
The contestants gathered for a photo after the opening ceremonies.
The "A" heat.
Staging. Too many practice bodies! Come on dudes, it's the worlds. Have your guy paint up some extra lids!
Keven Hebert isn't holding anything back in practice. He was rocking full-blown race bodies all day. Kudos to you! You make a slab of carpet much more photogenic.
Papa Wheelie made several appearances today!
If it wasn't the most overused phrase in the history of spoken language, I would probably comment on how Naoto has a bit of "swagger" coming into this event. Rightfully so. (See what I did there? By acknowledging how terrible that phrase is, it allowed me to use it without feeling guilty for contributing to the demise of modern language)
Associated's new 1:12 set-up. More pics are in the gallery for you car-starers out there.
Hey, look who's working in tech! There has to be just a little place inside Masami that is dying having to watch all this go down from the sidelines.
That's it for today! Tune in tomorrow for qualifying!
Well, what did we learn today? Naoto will start first on the grid come main time. Barring a 40 lap run from someone, which won't happen unless a portion of the track is removed, Matsukura will TQ.
Let me explain how we came to this nearly mathematical certainty. The qualifying system at the 1:12 worlds is set up to be a hybrid of various styles we all know and love. It is kind of like qual-points, but still has the "any given Sunday" possibilities of rocket round.
There are six rounds of qualifying. Each driver will take their best two laps and times and combine them to create the value that will determine their qualifying order. This is why we cannot "mathematically" declare Naoto the TQ after TQ'ing four of five rounds. However, being the only driver to turn 39 laps, and having done so twice, he is 99.9999999% likely to start first tomorrow.
One of the somewhat unexpected challengers today was Marc Rheinhard, who apparently doesn't drive 1:12 that often. He turned in the fastest run of the day by a person not named Matsukura. He even looked like he might be a hero and take down Naoto in Q4 straight-up, but eventually found his car cartwheeling across the infield and pulled it off early. In Q5, Naoto fell way back early and then walked right back through the field before putting it in the wall and pulling aside.
I'm going to go out on a fairly sturdy limb here and say barring mechanical failure or a meltdown of incomprehensible proportions, Naoto will win his third consecutive title tomorrow. As boring as it may seem to have him be so dominant, it may be an important part of R/C history. Naoto won his first title at 15. That was four years ago. If he keeps having this type of stranglehold on the class, he may surpass Lamberto Collari's run of five straight titles and then some. But then again, he may have a meltdown. We don't know. That's why we will still race tomorrow and that's why you should tune in! It will be important either way.
Here is how the rest of the field sorted out after five rounds:
Naoto Matsukura
Rheinard may have something for Naoto tomorrow. We'll see.
Ronald Volker will also be looking to challenge Naoto. If these other guys are going to have a chance, its going to rest entirely in their ability to get Naoto rattled. Like with any wheel-man, if you can get them into hard-charging, ballistic mode, their chances of driving clean drop drastically.
Jilles Groskamp, currently second overall, may have the best chance of pulling an upset.
One of the many chicanes/dog legs of the track. One of the places Naoto Matsukura kills everyone is in these chicanes. Nobody goes as straight through them as he does.
That will do it for today. Q6 is tomorrow morning followed by the main events! See you then.
It may not have been as easy as we thought it would be, but Naoto Matsukura has captured his third straight IFMAR 1:12 World Championship. The young Yokomo driver from Japan beat out Andy Moore in a tie breaker to capture the title.
Now, how did we get there?
Podium motivation
More motivation...
Here is how they would start:
If you are seeing the grid for the first time since yesterday you are probably wondering "what on Earth happened?" Those more experienced in qualifying tragedies and triumphs will easily recognize the signs of a "rocket round" having occurred. And indeed it did.
After five rounds of qualifying, Naoto Matsukura was the only driver to complete 39 laps. In Q6, six drivers accomplished the feat -- sending a wave of panic through the pits and a sense of urgency through the drivers' stand in the "A" and "B" qualifying heats as the extra lap that was now obtainable for most would easily catapult them to the top of the grid.
Of the shake-ups, the most notable case was that of Rick Hohwart whom was very much "on the outside looking in" as of Monday night. Without two runs that were fast enough to qualify him to the A, he would need a seemingly impossible 39-lap-run in the final round to make the show. After seven and a half minutes of a brilliant Q6 run, Rick was flirting with the 39 lap barrier. He remained calm yet pushed hard enough to eclipse that mark ever so slightly as the clock expired. Hohwart actually dumped on lap 39, but by then it didn't matter; he had enough to move his way into the A-final, much to the delight of old dudes around the world. I've been saying this for the last fifteen years (ask my friends, they will tell you) -- Rick Hohwart is the most underrated driver in R/C history. Look at his results -- he has been in the A-main everywhere. Everywhere.
Now, on to the finals.
A1 was about what we expected based on everything we saw prior. Naoto got out front and walked away. Un-rattled at the start, the defending champion built up a lap on almost the entire field. Only a late mistake would make it as close as it was, which it really wasn't -- Andy Moore would finish four seconds back.
A2 was a disaster for some; a Godsend for others. "Others" mainly being Andy Moore. The Brit capitalized on, well, basically everyone's mistakes. Take nothing away from Moore, he had an incredible drive. He was smart, calm and drove away from the field when it mattered. To get to the "point that mattered," however, we must also discuss the mele that occurred between P2 and P10 for seven minutes.
The race was marred in controversy right off the bat as Ronald Volker dived to the corner dots in the first turn and pushed Matsukura out of the way like he was lap traffic. Upon further review, you can see Naoto miss the line by more than an acceptable margin, to which Volker saw as an opportunity to pass. He did so, and it worked out for him. Others may say he was too aggressive. Like many "racin' deals," we may never know. The only thing that matters is what the IFMAR officials saw, which wasn't enough to warrant a penalty.
Further repercussions of the first corner pass included Naoto bouncing through the infield like a poorly lit firework for the entire first lap. After things settled down, Matsukura was in eighth. He quickly gathered himself and marched his way back towards the front. The next few minutes saw multiple leaders, multiple crashes and a whole lot of Scotty Ernst screaming. Andy Moore eventually became the first person to decide they had had enough of the nonsense that had been occurring and snuck away from the pack to win A2 and establish himself as the points leader going into A3 with a first and a second place finish.
In A3, all eyes were on Andy Moore and Naoto Matsukura. While Rheinhard still had an outside shot at winning, most realized that it was basically a two horse race in the final leg.
The defining moment of A3 came on lap one when Andy Moore and Naoto Matsukura collided. Naoto clipped a board and spun around, allowing Volker an Rheinhard to pass. In a panic, Matsukura hurried back in line behind Moore and appeared to take him out in the following corner. When played in real-time, it appears Naoto just pinned it and didn't let off before barrelling into Moore. However, upon further review of the Novak Instant Replay, you can see Moore get almost completely sideways before Naoto hits him. Most cars get sideways in the turns, however, it is inconclusive as to whether Moore was too sideways to recover when he was hit, or if he was simply in the process of "slinging" it around the track, as many drivers have had to do on the loose surface. Here is the replay; judge for yourself:
No protests were filed and IFMAR issued no penalties
After the incident, Moore plummeted to the bottom of the pack and essentially out of contention for the A3 win. He was still very much alive for the overall title, though, having a first and a second place finish.
Ronald Volker capitalized on the carnage and pulled out a small lead. He maintained the lead for the rest of the race to capture A3, but all eyes were on Matsukura who was the only driver that would be able to snatch the title away from Moore with Volker out front.
Naoto followed Volker closely at times, but didn't pressure too hard due to him not needing to win A3 to get the title. He would only need to finish second to beat Moore to break the points tie, since he already had a faster run. Naoto stayed relatively clean and unchallenged for second as he crossed the finish line, which sent the title back to Naoto for his second consecutive defense and his record-tying third straight 1:12 world championship.
Top three (L-R) Andy Moore, Naoto Matsukura, Ronald Volker
Top ten
I'm not quite sure what was going on here, but it was a lot happier than this picture depicts, I asure you.
The customary champagne bath
Ronald Volker forcing Naoto to drink alcohol though his mouth, nose and eyes. Drink up, buddy!
Third straight for Matsukura!
That concludes our coverage of the 1:12 portion of the event! Tomorrow we will be mostly working on transferring all of our equipment to the next venue and setting up (usually a two-day job). Our broadcast will resume on Thursday for controlled practice. See you then!
And...we're back! After a day off from coverage we went live today after tediously moving all of our equipment over to the new facility and hooking it back up. It wasn't easy and yesterday was hardly a "day off," but we got it done and we are ready to head into racing tomorrow with all systems go!
Actually, all systems were go today. If you tuned in, you saw lots of great interviews in the pits, in the Protoform Broadcast Center, and out on the track during opening ceremonies. You also saw lots of practice. Since I tend to side with Allen Iverson in regards to how much I want to discuss practice, I will skip the details. We have ALL day tomorrow to break down every lap from each round of qualifying and debate through and through about whom has the best chances to win. Instead, I'll touch on a few other things.
First, the track. For those not familiar with the MACH (Model Auto Club Heemstede) track, let me assure you that it is massive for 1:10 ISTC. The reason for the extra girth is because the track was originally built for 1:8 IC racing. The MACH track was built in 1985 and looks like it has been kept in pristine shape. You really have to look hard to even detect that the facility isn't brand new.
Some drivers were heard grumbling about the lack of "major changes" to the circuit for the worlds in relation to how it was for the warm-up race about a month ago. Only one section changed- the back straightaway. What once was a never-ending stretch of asphalt that sent cars well into the 75mph range has now been slowed down by a tight chicane about a fifth of the way down. This slows the momentum down some, but not much. We still clocked cars at 68mph on our radar gun today. In the end, I don't know what anyone was expecting would be done considering the very permanent nature of the course.
The major news from today is that we didn't run a qualifying round this evening as the original schedule called for. The round was cancelled/postponed after a lengthy delay in the race program due to a traffic jam of sorts in the tech area. Apparently the procedure for teching tires has proven to be more lengthy than originally expected causing drivers and mechanics to be unable to get their cars through tech, get their tires bolted back on and get to the track in time. While we still are awaiting official word on what the plan will be for Q1, most drivers expect all six rounds to be run at some point. This, of course, may prove to be a moot point should there be rain. The forecast has been showing a slight to medium chance for precipitation on Friday and Saturday all week long. And from what we're told, come Saturday -- should it be raining -- we will be racing as long as there isn't standing water or lightning. Imagine that -- an IFMAR World Championship decided on rain tires. The drivers may hate it, but it would probably look pretty cool on LiveRC. ;)
Tomorrow we jump right into qualifying at 8 a.m. See you then!
Model Auto Club Heemstede, or MACH
Just a few meters from the track you will find cows grazing. Quite the change from the wave pool that was just meters away from the carpet track!
The MACH track is one of the more decorated we've seen. The race organizers have done a great job in making the atmosphere feel international and festive at both tracks.
The "A" practice heat stages for a run in the late afternoon.
Most would agree that Ronald Volker "won" practice. The German was on another planet during free practice last night and this morning before the rest of the field could catch up.
One of the driver's that "caught up" was Viktor Wilck. The Swede was on fire late Thursday and looks to stretch his momentum into qualifying.
Some drivers were reporting 30-45 minute wait times in order to get their cars back from post-race tech.
The field.
Alright folks, that's it for today! See you bright and early in the morning! Make sure you tune in to the live broadcast! Also, check out the PHOTO GALLERY, presented by AKA!
Today's events have just about everything you could ask for...if you're really into the movie Die Hard. Rain, fire, cheating, protests, you name it -- it happened.
As I write this, five to seven countries are currently in the process of protesting whether the final round of qualifying ill be counted or not. The "not" protests are being made because of rain the fell before and during heat 14, which caused the times to be well over a lap slower than the heat 13. The "will" protests are being made because...well, I can't imagine why. They are most likely being made by the teams who Q6 helped.
Earlier in the day, Q5 was cancelled half way through due to rain -- the idea being that the track would in no way be able to produce conditions consistant to the way it was before the rain fell, causing a disadvantage to half the field. The thought process behind the protests of Q6 are exactly the same...except with much more at stake. If it is counted, Atsushi Hara will become the overall TQ thanks in large part to his TQ run in Q6. He ran in heat 13, by the way. If Q6 is cancelled, the program becomes best two-of-four and Ronald Volker starts first on the grid. Not to mention, the entire field will be shuffled around drastically depending on which way the decision falls.
Another protest has also been filed (perhaps out of spite) that claims an announcement that was supposed to be made warning drivers that a race is "two minutes to start" wasn't made. We're not sure if the lack of this announcement was responsible for some confusion that hurt someone's performance, or is someone is just nit-picking. I'm thinking it was the latter.
UPDATE: IFMAR has officially ruled that the 6th round of qualifying WILL count. Lots of people standing around scratching their heads right now. There is talk of more protests, but it sounds like there is nothing anybody can do. As of right now, the decision is solid. But as we've seen so far, these decisions seem to be open for change. There are still closed-door meetings taking place.
One driver who now starts in the middle of the A-main told us that he will sit out A1 to save his set of tires (A-finalists are only allowed one set) for A2 and A3. This seems to be a fairly legit strategy from those we've talked to. The thinking is that from P4-P10, a driver is less likely to make it to the front when everyone is on new tires. By waiting until A2 to run, a driver in the middle of the pack can have the speed to make it to the front easier.
If we actually see this strategy executed, I will say right now this whole "control tire" thing at the worlds needs to go. I mean, come on; it's our sport's world championship and people will be sitting out the first leg of the A-main as a completely legit and understandable strategy?
That will do it for us here on qualifying day. Tune in tomorrow to see the conclusion to all this madness! We have all of the ingredients for an epic finish. Think about it: right now a lot of drivers are pissed. Extreme strategies are being drawn up. Tension is high. Rain is in the air. And all of these pieces will come to a head tomorrow morning as we work our way towards deciding the world champion.
The day's early storyline was tire usage. Drivers such as Juho Levanen actually sat out Q1 in order to save his fresh tires for later in the day...
But then it rained, and everyone was all like:
And the seagulls were all like:
And the crew was all like:
Which was a lot of work, so then they were like:
Anyways, racing eventually got underway again.
And multiple "Car-B-Que's" were the result.
Straight outta tech! I'm not even lying, it had to go to post-tech...
Heat 13, which would eventually be the "rocket heat" of Q6 in staging.
So when all was said and done (as of right now), Atsushi Hara captured the overall TQ.
That's it for tonight! As I said before, tomorrow will be intense. Make sure you tune in! See you then.
Well, the show is almost over. We have reached the final day of the 2012 IFMAR On-Road World Championship! Some will say it was the best of times, others will say it was the worst of times. The one thing most people watching can agree on is that it has been entertaining! ;)
The air temperature is about 20 degrees cooler than it has been, but the rain appears to be cooperating…for now. Per IFMAR rules, racing will continue regardless of rain unless there are large amounts of standing water on the track, or if there is lightning. Let’s hope we don’t have to deal with any of those conditions and can just focus on racing today.
Here is how they will start:
The Finals:
A1
The field cycled through the circuit in a fairly clean manner for the first few laps before Ronald Volker tried to pass Atsushi Hara on the back straight. Hara moved inside ever so slightly in an attempt the block Volker. The two cars made contact, which allowed air to get under Volker’s body sending his car airborne and off the track. IFMAR officials would later review the replay in the Protoform Broadcast Center, but didn’t penalize anyone.
Capitalizing on Volker’s crash was Viktor Wilck, who charged towards the front to battle Hara for the lead. Volker was a little too impatient and rode a curb a little too far and ending up getting sucked into the grass.
Then came Jilles.
Groskamp, the driver whom has had the most experience on this track, charged past Hara for the lead only to give it back moments later. The two engaged in a heated bumper-to-bumper fight for the closing minute of the race. On the final lap and in the final section of the track before the loop, Hara held a narrow lead and approached the final corner the same way as always – he checked up and prepared to turn since the clock was set to expire at any moment. Not knowing if they would go another lap or not, Hara needed to stay conservative as he approached the corner just past the timing loop. In contrast to Hara’s strategy, Jilles punched it all the way through the to the line and flew off the track. Groskamp was able to use the extra momentum to squeak past Hara as both drivers passed the loop just tenths of a second after the master clock expired.
The win for Groskamp in A1 was important due to the fact that he has been putting in great runs on used tires the last few days. He now has the fortunate situation of going into the final two legs confident that he will be able to perform better than most on used tires.
Last night, Marc Rheinard had told us he planned on sitting out A1 to save his tires for A2 and A3. He started A1 just to see if he could get lucky and get out front, but pulled it in after two laps. Moore, Matsukura and Grainger did the same.
A2
All eyes were on the defending world champion Marc Rheinard going into A2. The German pulled aside after two laps of A1 to conserve his tires, so he would have to be perfect in the final two mains to defend his title.
Rheinard wasted no time making a gutsy pass on Jilles Groskamp for third, but ended up putting it in the grass a short time after. The incident would put him out of contention in the main and, more impotantly, for the overall title.
Atsushi Hara did everything right for a half dozen laps or so. Then, he went a little wide and Ronald Volker stormed passed him for the lead. The break in momentum by Hara caused him to tumble down to fifth in a matter of two corners without ever really crashing or wiping out.
From that point on Volker was untouchable. Naoto Matsukura tried to make things interesting by pushing hard but just didn’t have enough to catch the young German driver.
A1 winner Jilles Groskamp pulled off the track after nine laps to conserve his tires for A3. Volker, who was out of contention in A1 but stayed out for the full five minutes, will be on slightly older tires and will start with Jilles right behind him on the grid.
So we have quite the classic A3 shaping up! We will report back after. In the mean time, tune in to our broadcast to watch it happen live!
A3
Ronald Volker, who won A2, followed Hara closely for the first five laps. With his patience wearing thin, Volker tried to pass Hara in the chicane but ended up crashing. His fall through the field marked the end of his championship hopes and left the door wide open for Jilles Groskamp -- the hometown hero -- to make a run at Atsushi for the world title.
Jilles and Atsushi quickly broke away from the pack to sort things out. Groskamp and Hara went 1-2 in A1, so a reversal in their finish would send things to a tie-breaker, which is determined by the driver's laps and time in their best run. If Jilles could win A3, he would win the title outright.
As the race went on, it looked more and more like Atsushi Hara wouldn't be rattled and that Groskamp would have to make a pass to win. Knowing that he only needed to finish second, Jilles didn't take any risks. Don't get me wrong, he looked high and low for places to pass, but he wasn't going to force the issue at any point and take himself out of contention by falling out of second.
So it all came down to time. Just as in A1, it appeared that Hara and Groskamp would be flirting with making an extra lap at the end of five minutes. As the drivers approached the final corner following the timing loop (which caused them so much pleasure and pain in A1), both cars were floored when they crossed the loop -- two and a half seconds slower than Jilles' time from A1, making him the 2012 IFMAR World Champion -- much to the delight of screaming fans from his hometown.
Some of the nicest hardware I've ever seen.
The podium finishers
A fly-by for the trophy presentation. The IFMAR Worlds game has just stepped up to a new level.
Jilles Groskamp wins his first world title in front of his hometown fans. This moment was easily the coolest I've ever seen at an R/C race. Pure emotion.
That concludes our coverage! While there were weather-related hiccups along the way, I must say the event itself was outstanding. The race organizers did an amazing job getting two separate facilities prepped for a world-level event. As for the racing, I don't think a Hollywood screenwriter could have written up better way to end a worlds. A huge congrats go out to Jilles Groskamp for winning the touring car portion of the event, and of course Naoto Matsukura for winning the 1:12 leg earlier in the week.
We would like to extend our thanks to all of you who have watched our broadcast, read our blog and looked at our photos this week!
On behalf of Scotty Ernst, Bob Kendall, Ross Walters and Brandon Rohde, this is Eric Swanson signing off! See you next time.
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