Team Associated 30th World Title Announcement

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Tyler Hooks

0 Sept. 26, 2019, 9:57 a.m.

By Tyler Hooks
LiveRC.com

Press Release from Team Associated:
www.teamassociated.com

The I.F.M.A.R. 1:10 Electric Off-Road World Championships take place every two years and rotates among the four blocs that make up the I.F.M.A.R. organization. This year's event was hosted by the E.F.R.A. bloc, which consists of the major European countries, and which selected the Hudy Arena in Trencín, Slovakia, as the host location for the 18th running of the prestigious event.

Team Associated entered the event prepared to compete with the RC10B6.1D, the latest generation of the iconic RC10 buggy. With drivers from around the globe, there was a wide variety of manufacturers, racers and countries ready to vie for the title of World Champion. In qualifying it became clear that the reigning R.O.A.R. and E.F.R.A. champions, Team Associated's Spencer Rivkin and Davide Ongaro, were both poised to fight for their second world championship as they qualified first and second respectfully. Also joining Spencer and Davide in the main event were 2005 I.F.M.A.R. 2WD World Champion Neil Cragg from England and first-time A-Main finalist Joona Haatanen from Finland.

In the first leg of the triple A-Main format, Rivkin made an early mistake and that was all Ongaro needed to hold on to the victory, setting the stage for quick win if Rivkin faltered in A2. In A2, Rivkin and Ongaro didn't get nearly the lead from the field as they did in A1, so as the minutes ticked off, the top four drivers were separated by only a few seconds. With ice in his veins, Rivkin held on to get the win while Ongaro finished a very close second. These results assured Team Associated of their 30th IFMAR World Championship; now it was just a matter of which driver it would be.

The drivers knew what was on the line in A3 and they didn't disappoint. Matching each other section for section, lap for lap, Rivkin and Ongaro showed why they are the top two 2WD buggy drivers in the world, putting on a master class of pace, aggression and patience. With only two laps to go, the duo was less than a second apart and a mistake by either would all but seal the deal for the other.  With just a few corners to go, Ongaro just broke traction long enough to give Rivkin a "comfortable" one-second advantage and cross the line as I.F.M.A.R. 2WD World Champion.
A big "thank you" to the staff of The Hudy Arena for hosting a fair, professionally run world championship that will go down in history as one of the top events ever. Congratulations to all the competitors for their well-earned results, and a big "thank you" to the entire team that contributed to earning Team Associated's 30th I.F.M.A.R. World Championship. With this win, Team Associated is the first company in history to hold both the 2WD and 1:8 Off-Road World Championships at the same time; arguably the two most competitive classes in RC racing today. #WeAreAE

For full report, photos, and video: http://bit.ly/2mMTvFJ 

More about the race-winning buggy: RC10B6.1DL Team Kit