Starting Grid 2004 On-Road Conference

Item 125: 1/10 IC Fuel On-Road World Championships

Entered by Mike Myers (mike) on Sat Sep 18 14:16:57 2004:

The 1/10 IC Fuel On-Road World Championships will be held in Sao Paulo 
Brazil from October 7-17.  This race is for 200mm sedan cars.  It's a 
beautiful track, and this is certain to be a memorable event!

The English web page for the event can be found at:
   http://www.saopaulorcclub.com.br/mundial/English/facil.htm 

The US Race Team can be found at:
   http://www.roarracing.com/worlds/1-10_onroad.htm 


Full coverage of the event can be found both here, and at the RC Car 
Action website, as well as other sites around the 'net.
438 responses total.

#1 of 438 by Mike Myers (mike) on Sat Sep 18 14:22:16 2004:

Thanks to Mauro Marques, here are a few images of what the track is likely to
look like:
[IMAGE] [IMAGE] [IMAGE] [IMAGE] [IMAGE] [IMAGE] [IMAGE] [IMAGE] [IMAGE] [IMAGE]


#2 of 438 by Mike Myers (mike) on Sat Sep 18 14:23:29 2004:

(The photos say RC News; I'm trying to find out who the photographer is
 so I can give him credit for taking them.  I'll ask Mauro which event
 they were taken at.)


#3 of 438 by Jkruit (bummer1) on Sat Sep 18 14:32:01 2004:

They doesn't seem like photo's to me Mike. They look like a screenshot 
of a racinggame in the same trend as virtualrc which will be bringing a 
new game in the near futur. http://www.virtualrc.com/


#4 of 438 by Jkruit (bummer1) on Sat Sep 18 14:32:49 2004:

future


#5 of 438 by Mike Myers (mike) on Sat Sep 18 14:53:56 2004:

Now that I've looked at them full-size, you may be right.  It's too 
pretty and too perfect to be real...   I changed the wording up above 
so it no longer says photos.

I'll have "real" photos here in early October, probably long before the 
race actually starts.  If it looks anything like the above images, it's 
going to be spectacular!


#6 of 438 by Mauro Marques (memarque) on Sat Sep 18 19:13:27 2004:

Guys

I’m not sure “how” Roberto Viveiros worked in these photos but they 
are real Jundiaí track where the worlds will be. I’ll ask to him.

I also I’m sure that (at least) part of them was shot in pre-worlds, 
because it was the only date when the audience had the place to see 
the race in back straight.

Of course, they have a lot of retouching to clean the cars from 
images, sheriffs guys and so on. 

As you can see this is a very technical and fast track with a lots of 
ups and downs. A little mistake and the boards take off your car from 
race. This is a new facility and we had only four races in it, and 
since end of Jully it is closed to be ready for worlds.

Regards



#7 of 438 by rcmike (rcmike38) on Sun Sep 19 00:52:44 2004:

On a track like that, I bet the fast guys never lift""      Nice place 
looks like.


#8 of 438 by Mark Pavidis (rcmark) on Mon Sep 20 14:40:54 2004:

Looking forward to going somewhere new. Track looks like it will be 
very fast for sure.


#9 of 438 by Mauro Marques (memarque) on Mon Sep 20 14:59:23 2004:

If you need or want any information please fell free to ask.


#10 of 438 by Christian Strohm (ccks) on Mon Sep 20 15:51:18 2004:

I do also live in Brazil, and went to this track a few times. It is 
fast, but also has very technical sections. It was build in four 
different levels, so there are lots of up and downhills. The main 
straight begins uphill and then goes downhill, ending in a tight "S"!

Some parts are very tricky, and the boards are really tough on the 
cars. The track is inside a city park, and there is also an off-road 
track nearby, so the wind sometimes blows a lot of dust on the track. 
You have to keep yourself on the line, or your car will certainly meet 
the boards!

If you need any other information (about the track, country, or 
anything), please let me know!


#11 of 438 by jo (evlhdlts) on Mon Sep 20 16:48:17 2004:

great game screen shots!


#12 of 438 by Mark Pavidis (rcmark) on Mon Sep 20 16:51:58 2004:

Would you happen to know if any fuel from Sidewinder has showed up yet?


#13 of 438 by Christian Strohm (ccks) on Tue Sep 21 10:02:46 2004:

This response has been erased.



#14 of 438 by Christian Strohm (ccks) on Tue Sep 21 12:41:52 2004:

Mark, I just checked with the Sidewinder dealer. He said the fuel will 
arrive here in Brazil on 29/Sep.


#15 of 438 by Mark Pavidis (rcmark) on Tue Sep 21 16:18:35 2004:

Thanks Christian ......... 


#16 of 438 by Mike Myers (mike) on Wed Sep 22 17:02:25 2004:

I think this may be a "real" photo... [IMAGE]


#17 of 438 by Mauro Marques (memarque) on Wed Sep 22 18:10:35 2004:

I talked with Roberto Viveiros who is in charge of WWW.RCNEWS.COM.BR 
from where the first images come from, and he told me that the images 
posted here inicialy are from a future game. The last one that Mike 
posted is “real”, and from the first day in the pre-worlds (training).

Of course the images from RC-Game are based on the “real thing” as we 
can compare between both.

I’ll try to get more photos of the track.


#18 of 438 by Mark Pavidis (rcmark) on Wed Sep 22 18:47:08 2004:

The lanes look narrow in the infield


#19 of 438 by Mike Myers (mike) on Wed Sep 22 19:34:28 2004:

Lots more images to come, real soon.  

Now that I've got the upload process worked out, don't forget to check 
out the RC Car Action Website.  I'll leave full details here shortly.  
The link to remember is:
   http://www.rccaraction.com/        Check the "HOT NEWS" section

Once you're there, at the left side, click on the link that 
includes "Bulletin Board" on the left, and once you get there, click on 
the link near the top that says "Bulletin Board".



With some help from Mauro, we should soon have LOTS of images posted, 
on a daily basis!



....So, for those of you who are reading this, who do you think is 
going to come out World Champion, and what car do you think he'll be 
driving?
   


#20 of 438 by Mauro Marques (memarque) on Wed Sep 22 19:53:49 2004:

Yes Mark. It looks like and really it is a little bit narrow.


#21 of 438 by Doug McNeely, #4-70448 (doug) on Wed Sep 22 20:04:34 2004:

Great pictures, check out the hot pits shown in picture in post 16. The 
pit men are standing below track level. This will make for much faster 
and better pit stops. The drivers stand is big and tall. Will elevators 
be provided for access to the 3rd level also will oxygen and parachutes 
be offered for those on the upper level? Good luck to all those 
attending, it should be a great event! GO GO GO USA ROAR TEAM!

Next WC will be Brandon McNally with Serpent 710 powered by new Mega 
engines. 


#22 of 438 by Christian Strohm (ccks) on Fri Sep 24 18:55:56 2004:

Mark, the track width varies from 4 meters (in the infield) to 6 meters 
(in the straight).


#23 of 438 by Christian Strohm (ccks) on Fri Sep 24 20:35:02 2004:

Some pics of the Jundiai track taken by me at the Pre-Worlds: [IMAGE] [IMAGE]
[IMAGE] [IMAGE] [IMAGE] [IMAGE] [IMAGE] [IMAGE]


#24 of 438 by Mike Myers (mike) on Fri Sep 24 21:01:56 2004:

Very nice photos!

That last image clearly shows the lowered pit-area that Doug was 
talking about.  It's also great to see the facilities for spectators to 
view the racing action.  Looks like a wonderful track!


#25 of 438 by mike (whynot) on Fri Sep 24 23:38:05 2004:

It looks like the infeild has some banked lanes which makes them look 
to be more narrow.


#26 of 438 by CHAD BRADLEY (chadb) on Sat Sep 25 01:22:18 2004:

This response has been erased.



#27 of 438 by Mike Myers (mike) on Sat Sep 25 09:16:16 2004:

The following is a description of how IFMAR World Championship events 
are run.  If you are familiar with ROAR events, this write-up may help 
explain some of the differences.

When you enter a World Championship, you are assigned a number that 
will follow you through the entire event.  This number will be pasted 
on your radio, engraved on your car’s chassis, and will be used in your 
Identification Badge, and will be your reference number in the computer.

Once a racer is entered in the event, he is assigned a position in one 
of the qualifiers.  None of the printouts of the qualifiers listing, or 
the results, will ever show the frequency of any of the racers.  It is 
your responsibility to be sure you are running on the frequency 
assigned to you.  If there is any doubt, your Team Manager must discuss 
this with the Race Officials.  Any communications with the race 
officials must be done through your Team Manager.  Make sure that your 
frequency is legal in the country in which you are racing.


QUALIFIERS
Qualifiers are run similarly to ROAR qualifiers, but they are ten 
minutes long, requiring at least one pit stop.  Although IFMAR does not 
do a “re-sort” of all the racers, at the end of the day the rules do 
allow a “reseeding” for faster or slower racers to be moved to a more 
appropriate qualifier, so racers with similar abilities are racing 
together.  Cars may be pre-teched to make sure they are legal, but they 
are also thoroughly checked after each heat.  The driver is fully 
responsible that his car complies with all the rules throughout the 
event.  The size and location of the holes in a body, the way a body is 
trimmed, and so on, must be done exactly as per IFMAR rules.  You 
should print out a copy of the rules, and check for yourself to verify 
that YOUR particular parts on YOUR car all meet the IFMAR rules.

As a racer, it is also your responsibility to make sure that your pit 
person is aware of all the rules.  Should he accidentally put a foot 
into the pit-lane, or refuel your car over pit lane (rather than 
outside of the pit-lane board), you may be assessed a penalty.  During 
qualifying, you are normally only allowed one pit person in the pits.  
Your Team Manager may also be there, but he is not allowed to touch 
your car.  Don’t ever do things against the rules – driving backwards 
into the pits, for example, will lead to a penalty.  Penalties in IFMAR 
are serious – should you receive three penalties and/or warnings, you 
are automatically disqualified from the event.



FINALS – Gas, On-Road (only):
When qualifying is completed, the top four qualifiers are automatically 
qualified to run in the Final (the equivalent of a ROAR “A-Main”).  The 
remaining six positions in the Final are determined by racers who move 
up through the lower Finals.

The remainder of the racers are randomly split into two groups, 
referred to as the “Christmas Tree”, an “A” group, and a “B” group.  
Depending on the number of competitors, and how they finished in the 
qualifying standings, the rest of the racers are placed in the lower 
Finals as follows:

The fastest seven racers in each of the two groups are placed in a Semi-
Final.

The fastest 14 of the remaining drivers (positions 5 to 18) are split 
into the two groups, the “A” group and “B” group.  The odd-number 
drivers (5, 7, 9, etc.) go to the “A” Semi-Final, and the even number 
drivers (6, 8, 10, etc.) go to the “B” Semi-Final.  The remaining three 
drivers in each semi-final will come from the bump-ups from the Quarter-
Finals.

The next fastest remaining 14 drivers (positions 19 to 32) are 
similarly split into two groups, the “A” and “B”.  The odd-number 
drivers (19, 21, 23, etc.) go to the “A” Quarter-Final, and the even 
number drivers (20, 22, 24, etc.) go to the “B” Quarter-Final.  The 
remaining three drivers in each Quarter-Final will come from the bump-
ups from the 1/8-Finals.

This sorting procedure continues for all the remaining drivers.  The 
maximum number of racers at any IFMAR event will be 150.  Everyone, 
even the lowest qualified racer, is entitled to race a Final, and has 
the chance to bump-up all the way to the Main Final.



The following applies to each of the two groups.  As each lower Final 
is run, the top three racers “bump-up” to the next Final.  For example, 
the top three racers in the 1/8 Final will advance to their group’s 
Quarter-Final.  The top three finishers in the Quarter Final will then 
advance to their group’s Semi-Final.  

Before any semi-finals are run, the track will be opened up for a 
practice session for only the top four racers, who have already 
qualified for the Final.

After this practice session, a Semi-Final will be run for the “A” 
group, and another Semi-Final will be run for the “B” group.  The way 
the winners advance (bump-up) to the main Final is as follows.  
Remember, the four fastest qualifiers are already “in” this Final, 
leaving six positions yet to be filled.

The first and second place from the “A-group” advance to the Final.
The first and second place from the “B-group” advance to the Final.
The next two fastest racers, from either the “A” or the “B” Semi-Final 
also advance to the Final, irrespective of which Semi-Final they ran in.
This is how the ten racers to race in the main Final are selected.



Depending on the number of racers participating at the event, the order 
of the races would be similar to the following:
B 1/1024th B Final
A 1/1024th A Final
B 1/512th B Final
A 1/512th A Final
B 1/256th B Final
A 1/256th A Final
…
…
B 1/16 Final
A 1/16 Final
B 1/8 Final
A 1/8 Final
B Quarter Final
A Quarter Final
B Semi Final
A Semi Final
Final



PROTESTS
When each heat of qualifying is completed, the results are posted.  
Should anyone wish to protest something (equipment being used, another 
racer, or the event itself), they have ten minutes after the results 
are posted, for their Team Manager to submit the protest, in writing, 
to the Race Director, along with the required amount of money 
(currently fifty dollars).  Should your protest be upheld, you will get 
this money back.  If not, not.

If a protest is made, the Race Director calls together a “International 
Jury” consisting of a chairperson from IFMAR, and one member from each 
IFMAR “member block”, currently EFRA, FEMCA, and ROAR.  The jury 
members are instructed to put aside any country, manufacturer, or 
friendly allegiances they may have, and to judge each issue strictly on 
the facts. 

It is extremely important that a written protest be worded properly, as 
the International Jury will act specifically on the exact words of the 
written protest, and will not go beyond what is written.  For example, 
if the protest is made against a particular piece of equipment, and the 
protest is approved, that particular piece of equipment will be banned 
for the remainder of the event, but the standings from the previous 
round will remain.  If the protest is made against the person who used 
a particular piece of equipment, and if this protest is upheld, the 
results obtained in that round from the person being protested will be 
voided, and the future use of that particular piece of equipment will 
be banned.  



PLAN AHEAD
If you want to be certain that the equipment you are using is legal, it 
is YOUR responsibility to be able to prove this.  If an item is 
homologated, you need to show that this is the case.  For example, if 
your r/c car body is homologated, it would be good to have a brand new 
copy of this body, complete with the manufacturer’s part number and/or 
homologation number on it.  If the item is not homologated, you need to 
be able to show that it is legal.  For example, again using a car body, 
if the rules state that the body must be an accurate copy of a body 
being used in a certain full-size car championship, YOU need to know 
which championship that body was used in, and be able to find 
photographs of the full-size body in order to demonstrate that your r/c 
car body is an accurate representation of the full-scale version.  
Don’t rely on assumptions.  If your fuel tank has passed technical 
inspection numerous times in the past, it is YOUR responsibility to 
make sure that it only holds the correct amount of fuel, when measured 
as per IFMAR rules.  Pay attention to these rules – for example, fuel 
tanks are made from plastics, which can expand in high temperatures.  



SUMMARY
While IFMAR World Championships are extremely important for the car and 
equipment manufacturers, racing at these events can be a lot of fun for 
ordinary racers.  If you can get approval to be a member of the race 
team from your country, and if you’re willing to put in the time and 
effort to be sure your car meets all the specifications, this is the 
most exciting form of r/c car racing there is!  You’re almost 
guaranteed to be a better racer afterwards, from all the things you’ll 
learn at one of these events.


#28 of 438 by Mark Pavidis (rcmark) on Mon Sep 27 18:18:18 2004:

Has the Sidewinder fuel shown up yet. The pictures look great. Looking 
forward to the trip over next week.


#29 of 438 by Christian Strohm (ccks) on Mon Sep 27 19:41:03 2004:

Mark, did you send a special shipment of fuel for you to use in the 
Worlds, or are you going to get the fuel from the Sidewinder dealer in 
Brazil?


#30 of 438 by Dave Clark #11-5661 (davec) on Tue Sep 28 09:45:19 2004:

Mike, interesting looking outer barricades.
It might be neat to find out that they are US products, but I doubt it.
Can you ask around??



#31 of 438 by Mike Myers (mike) on Tue Sep 28 12:01:52 2004:

Sure, be glad to.


#32 of 438 by Mark Pavidis (rcmark) on Tue Sep 28 12:58:21 2004:

Christian,
     Not sure but I think it was to be sent to the track.


#33 of 438 by Christian Strohm (ccks) on Tue Sep 28 21:16:53 2004:

Mark, do you know to whom the fuel was sent?


#34 of 438 by ian doroteo (ianv1rr) on Thu Sep 30 14:09:03 2004:

mike..i got lots of pics from the pre-worlds..tironi's car..ito's car..
even masami's prototype car.. how do i post pics here? i also have a 30 
min. video(no audio) of the race..


#35 of 438 by Mike Myers (mike) on Thu Sep 30 16:03:54 2004:

It's all explained here:
   http://www.rc-racing.com/sgrid-images.html

Thanks!!


#36 of 438 by ian doroteo (ianv1rr) on Fri Oct 1 11:13:18 2004:

mike, any news about ralph burch? never heard of them lately..does he 
have a new sponsor? is team losi making their first nitro touring car?


#37 of 438 by gil love (glove) on Fri Oct 1 14:06:07 2004:

i hope the new MEGA engine does well...


#38 of 438 by Mike Myers (mike) on Fri Oct 1 14:26:08 2004:

I haven't heard from Ralph in a while. I expect to see him at the electric
Worlds in Kissimee in a few weeks. Ralph's new company seems to be taking off
quite well, if the following image is based on a photograph, not an artist's
drawing... [IMAGE]


#39 of 438 by Dennis Samson (gasnut) on Fri Oct 1 18:58:21 2004:

Looks like he races better than he spells!

"Then" should be "Than"


#40 of 438 by Mike Myers (mike) on Fri Oct 1 19:11:05 2004:

That's the Austrian spelling for "than".  :-)


#41 of 438 by Ted Hammer (thammer) on Mon Oct 4 08:09:57 2004:

Tanks, Dennis.


#42 of 438 by Mark Pavidis (rcmark) on Mon Oct 4 12:11:56 2004:

The fuel was sent to the Sidewinder distributor. Thanks


#43 of 438 by Mike Myers (mike) on Mon Oct 4 18:11:51 2004:

Mauro will be taking me to the track in a day or so - I hope to have 
some photos to post very soon.


#44 of 438 by Mark Pavidis (rcmark) on Mon Oct 4 18:27:56 2004:

Mike are you there allready? If so could you track down some sidewinder 
16 % and I will take care of it when I arrive on the 8th


#45 of 438 by Mike Myers (mike) on Mon Oct 4 19:13:33 2004:

I may be able to take some photos of the track tomorrow or Wednesday.  
Open practice is this coming Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.  Everyone 
should start arriving here in the next few days.

Based on information from people who have raced there in the past, the 
W/C track is a real driver´s track.  It has elevation changes, and the 
banking changes a little as you drive, sometimes the "right" way, and 
sometimes the "wrong" way if you miss the right place to turn.  Also, 
the boards are very strong - they never yield, so un-planned 
encounters are not very enjoyable.  

It is more of a "European Style" track, rather than the type of track 
we usually find in the USA.



Mark, yes - are you missing the first day of practice?  Do you know 
who is supposed to be receiving the fuel you already sent?  I can ask 
around, if anyone will have some, but I thought I remembered reading 
that you already had some shipped there for you.


#46 of 438 by Mike Myers (mike) on Mon Oct 4 19:25:07 2004:

For anyone wishing to go, disregard anything I may have already said 
about how difficult it is to bring lots of camera gear into Brazil as 
a tourist.  I was told to go to the "red line", not the "green line".  
If you go to the "green line" (nothing to declare) and they see you 
have more than $500 worth of camera gear, or whatever, you get fined, 
and are in for a long interrogation.  In fact, the customs official 
had no questions at all, just collected the forms, and said go on.

I took Lloyd Aero Boliviano Airlines, the Bolivian Airline, in order 
to get the lowest rate.  It quickly became otherwise, when I was told 
that if you go through Bolivia, you MUST have an international yellow 
fever certificate, or Brazil won´t allow you into the country.  That 
is a $125 vaccination.  If anyone else is taking the route I did, 
don´t forget this.  My flight for Sunday was cancelled, and I was told 
I needed to go Saturday instead.  So, I flew from Miami to Washington, 
and then from Washington to Bolivia, then on to Brazil.  Interesting 
route.  The plane left Miami late, and I was worried about my 
connection, until the lady at the airport took me to the side and told 
me not to worry, it was the same plane.  It turns out that Air Bolivia 
only has two Boeing 767 planes, and I was on half of their fleet.  
Actually, all kidding aside, they treated us well, had delicious 
meals, and beer or wine was no more expensive than water or soda, so 
no complaints from me.  No problems with luggage either.

Mauro has taken me all around Sao Paulo, so I´ve had a lot to see and 
do since I got here.  You don´t want to go wandering around by 
yourself in Sao Paulo, as the "bad guys" like to borrow foreigners and 
hold them for ransom or stuff, or relieve you of all your 
possessions.  For anyone else heading off to the Worlds, have a local 
person go with you if you want to see things, so you don´t 
accidentally go somewhere you oughtn´t.  Tonight we´re working on the 
car that Mauro´s son, Mauricio, will be racing at the World´s.  Maybe 
tomorrow I´ll be able to see the track.


#47 of 438 by GILBERT MYERS (choco69) on Mon Oct 4 20:06:35 2004:

if you can,please post pics...thanks  choco


#48 of 438 by Mike Myers (mike) on Mon Oct 4 20:59:58 2004:

The following works now, but it might stop at any time.  The ROAR site 
is moving to a new server, and the ´dns´information may or may not be 
the same tomorrow as it is right now.  However, let me try this.

Thanks to Mauro for saving the file, here is a video taken at the pre-
worlds of "Ito vs. Masami".  The video is from RC News.  It will give 
you an idea of how wonderful this track is, and how good an event we 
can look forward to!

   http://www.roarracing.info/images/2004/10-worlds/video/pre.wmv



#49 of 438 by gil love (glove) on Tue Oct 5 09:19:58 2004:

AWESOME!


#50 of 438 by Mauro Marques (memarque) on Wed Oct 6 08:44:24 2004:

Dear Mark Pavidis

I'm not sure if you still will be able to see this, but I just called 
the Flyway (is the same company of Hobby Minas) and they told me that 
the sidewinder 16% fuel will only be avayable next week whe the worlds 
is almost done.

Sorry and regards.

Mauro


#51 of 438 by Mike Myers (mike) on Wed Oct 6 09:50:05 2004:

Mark - send us an email as to what you would like us to do.


#52 of 438 by Mark Pavidis (rcmark) on Wed Oct 6 10:13:15 2004:

If there is Sidewinder 30% available would it be possible to get a 
gallon of that so I could mix myself. Do you know where I could get 
some methanol?

What brands of 16% will be avialable at the track?


#53 of 438 by Mike Myers (mike) on Wed Oct 6 11:37:39 2004:

Mark, I just sent you and Rody an email about this.  We can ask about 
the 30% fuel - you would then need the methanol and oil.  Mauro is 
using Byron fuel, and says getting Byron is no problem.  I won´t know 
until tomorrow what other brands are available.  

As to what happened, we were told the ship carrying the fuel is late, 
and is not expected to dock until Saturday or Sunday.  The fuel then 
needs to be unloaded and go through customs, and finally sent on to 
Flyway, the distributor.  Mauro doubts that this can ever happen in 
time for the race.  The phone number for Flyway is 35 3222-2881.  The 
FAX number is 35 3222-6053.  Maybe they might have another solution 
for you if you want to contact them directly.  When we tracked down 
their web page, we did see other fuels listed.

I might get to the track today, but more likely it will be first thing 
tomorrow morning. 


#54 of 438 by Mark Pavidis (rcmark) on Wed Oct 6 12:59:59 2004:

Thanks Mike. What other brands of fuel are there?


#55 of 438 by Christian Strohm (ccks) on Wed Oct 6 13:02:59 2004:

Mark, I also asked the Sidewinder dealer, and they think that due to 
the shipment problem they will have the fuel here only around October 
17th, too late for the race. But I think that the Associated dealer 
here in Brazil (Fabian Kalousthian) was going to buy methanol and nitro 
for the AE team, you can check with him (kalousthian@uol.com.br) if he 
already has it.


#56 of 438 by Mark Pavidis (rcmark) on Wed Oct 6 13:11:50 2004:

Christian- thank you


#57 of 438 by Christian Strohm (ccks) on Wed Oct 6 13:18:13 2004:

Mark, I just talked to Fabian and he is trying to get two gallons of 
Sidewinder from the last shipment for you. Call him to get more details 
(55 11 9981 6555).


#58 of 438 by Mark Pavidis (rcmark) on Wed Oct 6 14:02:49 2004:

Christian - I tried to email him but it did not go thru. Thanks for 
helping me sort this out. What is the country code that I must dial 
before 55 11 9981 6555 


#59 of 438 by Christian Strohm (ccks) on Wed Oct 6 15:44:40 2004:

Mark, the country code is already included (55). 11 is the city code 
for Sao Paulo and the rest (99816555) is the phone number (cell phone).


#60 of 438 by Mike Myers (mike) on Wed Oct 6 17:11:13 2004:

Mark, I will look around tomorrow and see what I can find out.  If you 
come up with a better answer, please pass it on to Rody as well.

Byron Fuel is readily available.  That is what Mauro is using.  We 
will not know the other choices until we get to the track tomorrow.

Christian - please come over and say hello tomorrow.  Just look for 
the lost-looking person with a camera instead of a car.  :)


#61 of 438 by CHAD BRADLEY (chadb) on Wed Oct 6 17:50:25 2004:

This response has been erased.



#62 of 438 by Christian Strohm (ccks) on Wed Oct 6 18:46:03 2004:

Mike, unfortunately I have to work until Friday, so I will be able to 
go to the track only on Saturday. But I will have 10 days vacation 
starting next week, so for the qualifying and finals I will certainly 
be there!

I think there will be not much options of fuel brands at the track, as 
only Byron and Sidewinder are imported in Brazil, as far as I know. 
There are some brazilian brands, like Max Fuel and Red Knight, but I 
cannot recommend them, since I don't know much about them. But I think 
it will not be difficult to buy methanol and nitro to mix your own fuel.


#63 of 438 by Mark Pavidis (rcmark) on Wed Oct 6 18:54:50 2004:

Mike or Christian if you could arrange to get 30% Sidewinder and 
methanol I can do the rest and it would be greatly appreciative. See 
everyone Friday around noon.


#64 of 438 by GILBERT MYERS (choco69) on Wed Oct 6 22:18:31 2004:

pics,pics


#65 of 438 by gil love (glove) on Thu Oct 7 10:22:56 2004:

WELL,THE RACE HAS BEGUN...CAN WAIT FOR UPDATES...GILBERT


#66 of 438 by ian doroteo (ianv1rr) on Thu Oct 7 12:58:55 2004:

yo mike! cnt wait for the pics! more pics of the factory guy's car..
wanna know whats new on their cars hehe..go kyosho!!


#67 of 438 by Spark (spark) on Thu Oct 7 19:16:52 2004:

KFL!! :)


#68 of 438 by Mike Myers (mike) on Thu Oct 7 20:27:48 2004:

07 October, 2004

Today was the first day of the 1/10 200mm fuel World Championships.  
The race is being held at the Jundiai track, about a 45 minute drive 
North from Sao Paulo.  We arrived to a practically empty track around 
8am.  We were some of the very first people to arrive, but gradually 
the pits started filling up.  I´m guessing that about half the racers 
came out today, with the rest expected to arrive over the next two 
days.  

Thursday, Friday and Saturday are "open practice". Sunday and Monday 
are "controlled practice".  Monday is "opening ceremonies".  
Qualifying is Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.  The Finals start on 
Friday, and conclude on Saturday.

It is an absolutely beautiful facility.  The track is located in the 
middle of a local park, with an off-road track (Regan LeBlanc thought 
this was a really class track too!!), an r/c plane flying field, a 
motocross track for bikes, and lots of other "people places" where you 
can enjoy your favorite hobby.  The team trailers were already there, 
but the electrical wiring, lights, sound system, etc., were just being 
installed.  By 9am the track was ready for "open practice".  Ten cars 
were allowed out on the track at a time, for ten minutes.  This was 
the routine all day (and will be for the next three days) but for the 
lunch break.  Track announcer (and club President) Fabio Cirello did a 
great job of keeping the racers informed as to what was going on.

While everything at the track is coming together nicely, over the past 
few days, a problem has been developing for some racers.  The ship 
bringing the Sidewinder fuel for the race got delayed, and isn´t 
expected to dock until this coming weekend.  The fuel then needs to be 
unloaded, go through Customs, and then be delivered to the track.  It 
is unlikely it will get here in time.  Some racers are trying to make 
do with whatever fuel they can buy (The choice is Byrons or Byrons), 
and a few are going to get some 30% Sidewinder, some alcohol, and some 
oil, and mix up their own 16% brew.  Fortunately, the Byrons seems to 
be working out very well.  There were some other problems for a few 
racers.  From what I was told, if anyone had a passport that looked 
strange, the racer was sent back to his home country.  The rumor was 
that this happened to one racer, but I haven´t confirmed it.  Also, 
while Brazilian Customs allowed some people to come through with no 
problems whatever, others were hit with a huge duty (I was told 80%) 
on the equipment they were bringing in.  The extremely high duty was 
the reason some racing companies decided not to ship any fuel at all, 
but to use what was available locally.

The Jundiai track is large, and very fast.  It is also quite 
technical, with elevation changes and banking that sometimes works 
with you, and sometimes is banked the "wrong" way, so you have to pick 
your line carefully.  Although the track was sprayed in the early 
morning, for the first few practice sessions the track had very little 
traction.  Cars looked like they were sliding all over, but gradually 
the traction improved, as did the width of the driving line.  While 
the day started out quite cool, the sun gradually warmed everything 
(and everybody) up, and by the time the lunch break was over, it had 
turned into a really nice day.  The track has a grass infield, 
with "boards" in some places.  Running off the track usually just 
resulted in turning your car into a high-speed lawnmower, but if you 
slid or flew into something solid, the speeds are so high that it 
often resulted in a broken car.  The lanes are not all that narrow, 
but from the (extremely tall!!) driver´s stand, in the parts of the 
track farthest from the driver´s stand, they really look quite 
narrow.  The driver´s stand offers an excellent almost-overhead view 
of the track.  The pits are directly below, and the pits are recessed, 
making it easir for pit men to grab their cars for re-fueling.  The 
driver´s stand is long enough to easily accommodate 20 or more 
drivers; with only 10, it looked quite empty.

Some new equipment was here, including a new Kyosho belt drive sedan 
car.  Actually, Kyosho came out with both their sedan cars, shaft-
drive and belt-drive, along with the developer of each car, and it 
looks like Kyosho will have a mini-worlds between the two camps to see 
which car is better.  Most of the major teams arrived today, but 
others are scheduled to get here tomorrow.  Serpent is here, along 
with Mugen and OFNA, but the Associated guys will start out on Friday.

A friend of mine, Oswaldo Neto, was taking some lap times late in the 
day.  For my part, I just watched the various drivers through the 
viewfinder of my camera.  It´s interesting that we both came to the 
same conclusions.  We both felt that Adrien Bertin in his Kyosho was 
the quickest.  Oswaldo timed him in the 18.4 to 18.9 second range.  It 
didn´t take him long to look like he had been at the track for weeks, 
and while others were just trying to get their cars to work well, 
Adrien already looked really quick. Mikey Swauger´s Mugen - ditto - he 
started out with a car that looked right at home, and while I thought 
Mikey looked as fast as Adrien, Oswaldo´s stop watch had Mikey doing 
18.7 second laps.  Michael Salven (Serpent) during the same period was 
timed in the 18.9 to 19.0 second range, but Oswaldo said that lap 
after lap, Michael´s laps were very consistant.  Josh Cyrul (Kyosho) 
seemed to be working on getting his car to handle the way he wanted it 
to.  All these results don´t really count for much - it is only the 
first day of open practice, and the teams are trying different things 
to see what works best.  Starting tomorrow, we may have the scoring 
computer in place, so we´ll be able to post actual lap times for lots 
of racers.  

I´ll download my images over the next hour or so, and post some of 
them here.  They´ll give you some idea of how nice this facility 
really is.


#69 of 438 by David Diehl (dpdiehl) on Thu Oct 7 21:10:09 2004:

Thx for the report Mike. Keep them coming


#70 of 438 by GILBERT MYERS (choco69) on Thu Oct 7 22:20:12 2004:

THANKS A BUNCH!!!CHOCO


#71 of 438 by Mike Myers (mike) on Thu Oct 7 23:13:09 2004:

[IMAGE]
The Track [IMAGE]
David Spashett [IMAGE]
Michael Salven [IMAGE]
the pits [IMAGE]
Josh Cyrul [IMAGE]
Mike Swauger


#72 of 438 by Mike Myers (mike) on Thu Oct 7 23:18:40 2004:

Note: The track is much smoother than it looks in the photos - the 
curved lines are from spraying the track earlier.


#73 of 438 by Mike Myers (mike) on Thu Oct 7 23:19:16 2004:

Go to the RC Car Action site to see a few more images.


#74 of 438 by T Torres (kiddyno) on Thu Oct 7 23:50:05 2004:

Mike, I wish we were there with you.
Just checking, but did Josh change out his signature green paint 
scheme? And did he trade his FW-05RR for a V-One RRR? 

Thanks for all your text and visual reports. We're all fortunate to 
have your eyes to live through.


#75 of 438 by GILBERT MYERS (choco69) on Fri Oct 8 01:35:56 2004:

thanks Mike...keep the pics comin!!choco


#76 of 438 by welly (gearbox) on Fri Oct 8 06:27:21 2004:

arggh...forgot my login name at rcca to see those pics.


#77 of 438 by Spark (spark) on Fri Oct 8 08:40:44 2004:

nice shots Mike :)


#78 of 438 by gil love (glove) on Fri Oct 8 11:02:38 2004:

where are the pics at on rcca?i cannot find them...


#79 of 438 by Tom Kelley (tomdrccc) on Fri Oct 8 11:29:13 2004:

Mike Swager still has his ROAR nats body on. Cool!


#80 of 438 by Slow Steady (ssteady) on Fri Oct 8 12:48:28 2004:

Yes Mike, I can't find the pictures on RCCA either. 


#81 of 438 by Christian Strohm (ccks) on Fri Oct 8 12:52:25 2004:

Very nice pics, Mike! Tomorrow I will finally be able to go to the 
track!!! Can't wait!


#82 of 438 by gil love (glove) on Fri Oct 8 14:30:19 2004:

WHERE ARE THE PICS ON RCCA?


#83 of 438 by M.F. (r12) on Fri Oct 8 15:51:21 2004:

Gil is that all you ever post is asking for pictures? I dont post in 
this forum very much but i read it alot and i can honestly say is that 
Mike Myers always post as many pictures as he can on every event that 
he covers. Just wait he will post them as soon as he can!


#84 of 438 by Howard Lo (solara) on Fri Oct 8 15:58:27 2004:

Oh please....give Mike a break, like we are paying him 200k a year for 
him to take pictures and do report for us on EACH RACE all over the 
world...Mike get NOTHING from us, but still, megazine quality pictures 
(tons of them)....and more then enough race report...
Mike will post pictures when there are any new pictures.........so 
stop asking.


#85 of 438 by Tom Kelley (tomdrccc) on Fri Oct 8 16:06:28 2004:

I'd like to add to that: Mike is doing a great job, so do him a favor 
and pay for a subscription. Maybe someday his mag will get color photos.


#86 of 438 by T Torres (kiddyno) on Fri Oct 8 16:34:29 2004:

View "hidden" response.



#87 of 438 by gil love (glove) on Fri Oct 8 16:41:55 2004:

you guys need to clam dowm,i was asking about the rcca pics....i know 
if he has pics,he will post them..so quit being an a..hole and 
chill...gil


#88 of 438 by herbie (bummer1) on Fri Oct 8 17:53:50 2004:

Guys chill Mike is doing his best as allways. Mr K meyers aka Kenchoco 
aka gil love or whatever name you use on different forums easy up a 
little on the lingo as someone is giving his opinion which this is all 
about on a publicforum. Choco to losen your clutchnut you can use a 
allenwrench in the little hole in your clutchbell and feel for a slot. 
Turning clockwise is tighter and the otherway to losen it. You can also 
remove your clutchbell to make it a little easier.

Uncle Sow nice to see you here. Where's Master D and MarkP ;) seems 
like you got the ring.


#89 of 438 by Spark (spark) on Fri Oct 8 17:56:20 2004:

So where are the picts?  

























LOL, sorry I could not resist.


#90 of 438 by jackinthebox (bummer1) on Fri Oct 8 17:58:05 2004:

Guess they are still in customs near the sidewinderfuel ;)


#91 of 438 by Spark (spark) on Fri Oct 8 17:59:09 2004:

LOL,  good one.


#92 of 438 by Johan Vekselius (johan) on Fri Oct 8 19:12:04 2004:

Link to rcca thread containing pictures:

http://www.radiocontrolzone.com/forums/showthread.php?
t=179186&page=2&pp=25


#93 of 438 by Mike Myers (mike) on Fri Oct 8 20:27:02 2004:

02 - Friday

Was an interesting day today.  Pretty much more of the same, but most 
of the racers are getting a setup figured out, and getting around the 
track a lot better.  For the teams, when one member figures out what 
works better, the word is passed to others.  It doesn´t always 
directly translate from racer to racer, due to different driving 
styles, but as Regan LeBlanc put it, the Kyosho guys are telling each 
other "why" they made various changes, and how they worked out.  The 
Serpent guys had an open meeting in the race hotel, so Michael could 
explain to everyone how he set up his car, and the reasons for why he 
did things.  About 20 or so racers attended.  For the others, it seems 
to be mostly sit around the tables in the pits, and discuss what would 
help get the best handling.  Bernard is here from RB (Rody will be 
here soon) and there are always people to ask to get an experienced 
opinion.  I think the choice for fuel is still Byrons or Byrons, but 
everyone seems pleased with how it is performing.  

The rest of the Mugen team arrived today, as did the Associated team.  
So, the pits are looking a lot more full.  Speaking of new arrivals, 
John and Marion Grant are here now, along with Sander de Graaf.  We´re 
still missing a few people; Chris Tossolini is scheduled to arrive 
tomorrow (Saturday).

To answer the question up above, Josh is running the new Kyosho RRR.  
I was told he tried out a "stock" car at his home track, and it was 
immediately as fast as his own race car which was already all set up 
the way he likes it.  Josh is testing things to get the right setup - 
that is why I thought he was struggling yesterday.  He has a different 
way of finding what he likes.  Late in the day, he looked really 
good.  Oh yes - message from Josh´s dad, Jerry, to Cindy and Jennifer 
back home - hello!!!   Takaaki Shimo also looked really fast in his 
Kyosho - will have photos of him up by the evening (along with some of 
Adrien Bertin and Barry Baker, to name a few).

As to who is fast, lots of racers seemed to get a lot faster, but from 
my viewpoint Adrien Bertin was right up there at the top.  Adrien was 
turning consistent 18.0 laps, and got down to the 17.9 second range.  
By the end of the day we had the scoring computer up and running, so 
starting tomorrow I hope to have lap times from the computer for lots 
of racers.  Since we now have a working internet connection, maybe we 
can start posting these "live".  Look for an announcement on the Car 
Action site as to what the link will be.  They may have the link set 
up already, but I think it is more likely to start tomorrow.

As someone up above pointed out, Mikey Swauger is still running 
his "Nationals Body".  So is Barry Baker.  Barry is amazing - he 
showed up, put the car on the track, and immediatelly looked really 
good!  He seems to have learned in minutes what took others hours and 
hours!

There are lots of ways to get to the Radio Control Car Action 
discussion; what I do, is go to http://www.caraction.com and then near 
the top left of the page, click on "Bulletin Board".  On the next 
screen, look for (and click on) Radio Control Zone.  Scroll down a 
bit, and click on "RC Cars and Trucks".  Scroll down a bit, and click 
on "Nitro Forum".  The discussion on the Worlds will be right up at 
the top.


OK, to keep everyone happy, I will sign off now, and work on posting 
some photos from today.  The more I learn about the D70, the more I 
like it for doing R/C work.  I am much happier with today´s photos 
than yesterday´s!


#94 of 438 by Mike Myers (mike) on Fri Oct 8 20:40:21 2004:

This race is a little different from most other races when it comes to 
practice.  At many races I go to, there is a long line of people 
wanting to get out on the track and practice.  You often see 16 racers 
on a driver´s stand designed for 10.  However, here the driver´s stand 
often has far less than the permitted 10 racers.  Every ten minutes a 
new group goes up, but when it is less than the maximum of 10, the 
racers already up there can run again if they want.  Just the same, 
there never seems to be a traffic jam of racers wanting to get out on 
the track to practice.  I suspect the reason for this is because this 
is such a "challenging" track, and there are a lot of racers spending 
a ton of time in the pits trying to get their cars to work the way 
they want.  With the camber of the track changing the way it does, and 
the elevation changes, and some rather nasty bumps on the track, there 
is a lot to get used to, and to find a setup that works.  Obviously it 
can be done - Adrien has already proved that - but but I suspect some 
of the racers might pick a different word for the track other 
than "challenging".  As I see it, for a World Championship, where the 
very best in the world will end up on top, this is an ideal test to 
see how good these guys really are!


#95 of 438 by Andhy Djianto (andhy) on Fri Oct 8 21:03:55 2004:

Hi Mike, Congratulation on the D70... could you perhaps share the setting/
technique to take those awesome action shots? thanks. In addition, when
convenient could you please find out which (Japan) Kyosho driver running which
car (FW-05 & V one RRR). We know, several months ago, that from Japan there
would be only the Kyosho drivers as Yokomo, HPI, Mugen Seiki and Kawahara
canceled their plan. Did you see any Japanese drivers other than the Kyosho
Japan? thanks!!!


#96 of 438 by Mike Myers (mike) on Fri Oct 8 21:26:34 2004:

I´ll post all about the D70 a little later on.  As I see it, the 
camera is nothing more to a photographer than a wrench is to a 
mechanic.  You set up the picture you want in your mind, and make the 
camera do what you want, to accomplish the photo.  The D70 is no D2h, 
but it does have good resolution, instant response, and so far, the 
ability to do everything I want it to do.  Focus is almost always set 
on "manual", and I´m mostly using the kit lens and my ancient 80-200 
zoom.  Today I bumped the ISO up to 800, so I could try using 1/2000 
for a shutter speed.  I´m using a medium jpg setting (probably should 
use "fine" but wanted to see how this would work) and a large image 
size so I can crop.  Exposure is usually set for to underexpose 
between 1 and 2 stops, so the highlights do not get blown out.  The 
most difficult thing is getting the focus set to the "right" spot 
where the car will be.

I will find out which Japanese Kyosho drivers are using each car, but 
there is still a lot of testing going on to decide which is "best".  
There may be some switching in a few days.  No, I do not think I saw 
any Japanese drivers other than Kyosho...    By the way, Masaki 
Hirosaka (Masami´s father) is here, wearing a Kyosho jacket.  


#97 of 438 by Bob Malphurs ROAR# 3-76576 (bobm) on Fri Oct 8 21:58:02 2004:

This response has been erased.



#98 of 438 by Andhy Djianto (andhy) on Fri Oct 8 22:03:08 2004:

Thanks for the reply and all information. The D70's tip is very helpful for me.
Thanks also for confirming the Japan team member. I wonder why the list was not
so well updated as we knew this almost three months ago. Could you perhaps take
a shot of Masaaki with the Kyosho jacket?if you can't post it here due to
sponsorship reasons, perhaps you could e- mail me. It's just for my personal
viewing 'enjoyment'. I know it isn't fair to exploit this fact as it might
cause some problems to some people. BTW, I put a directlink to this thread at
www.tq-racing.com, as this is the BEST thread for any Big event such this IFMAR
Worlds. As always!!!


#99 of 438 by T Torres (kiddyno) on Fri Oct 8 22:09:31 2004:

Thanks for answering my Cyrul/RRR question, Mike! Wow! Masami was 
my all-time-hero growing up. Always excited to see Yokomo suprise 
the world with something new. But it's been a while and I am pro-
Kyosho now. It would be nice to see Masami where the jacket. Maybe 
his dad (met him once in Japan...nice guy) was cold and a Kyosho 
guy gave him his jacket. Hmmmmmmm...  Who ever thought Rossi would 
defect to Yamaha. 


#100 of 438 by GILBERT MYERS (choco69) on Fri Oct 8 22:10:10 2004:

THANKS A BUNCH MIKE,THANKS HERBIE FOR THE CLUTCH PROBLEM....CHOCO


#101 of 438 by Bob Malphurs ROAR# 3-76576 (bobm) on Fri Oct 8 22:10:49 2004:

Individual racers practice lap times as well as race results will be posted on
the JLap web- site. Race Results


#102 of 438 by Spark (spark) on Fri Oct 8 22:31:33 2004:

It sounds like the track might be part offroad.. 

Go Mark Pavidis!! :)


#103 of 438 by Mike Myers (mike) on Fri Oct 8 23:24:38 2004:

[IMAGE]
Adrien Bertin [IMAGE]
racing action [IMAGE]
racing action [IMAGE]
four marshals fixing a car that got stuck under the metal board [IMAGE]
racing action [IMAGE]
Takaaki Shimo [IMAGE]
Paul Coleman [IMAGE]
racing action [IMAGE]
racing action [IMAGE]
Francesco Tironi [IMAGE]
racing action [IMAGE]
Barry Baker [IMAGE]
Coming out onto the back straightaway


#104 of 438 by Sean Tabor (wingracr) on Fri Oct 8 23:34:30 2004:

Great shot, most of the photos make the track look flat, this is the 
first one I've seen that really shows off the elevation changes.


#105 of 438 by GILBERT MYERS (choco69) on Sat Oct 9 00:42:07 2004:

damn those pics are great!cant wait for more!!choco


#106 of 438 by T Torres (kiddyno) on Sat Oct 9 04:18:27 2004:

This response has been erased.



#107 of 438 by Andhy Djianto (andhy) on Sat Oct 9 06:04:21 2004:

TTorres: just a a small correction..that was not T. Shimo... ;)


#108 of 438 by Slow Steady (ssteady) on Sat Oct 9 06:05:32 2004:

Mike, great photos and thanks for keeping us up to date.

Thanks for posting the photos here also. They're better here than the 
same ones on RCCA.  :)


#109 of 438 by Luis Sola (lue) on Sat Oct 9 06:16:10 2004:

Looking at the photo of Shimo's car it seems that he is using his 
FW05R body but underneath it's the RRR, look at the exhaust hole on th 
ebody, also the location of the cooling head with respect to the 
cooling hole....interesting indeed!!


#110 of 438 by Michel Nijman (border) on Sat Oct 9 15:52:11 2004:

Hi Mike,
good job say hello from to Ray 
Wood please ;)


#111 of 438 by Mark Pearson (markp27) on Sat Oct 9 16:38:14 2004:

Hey Herbie, I'm here too - just lurking :D


#112 of 438 by Slow Steady (ssteady) on Sat Oct 9 16:51:15 2004:

Lurking?  ;)



#113 of 438 by Slow Steady (ssteady) on Sat Oct 9 16:52:59 2004:

Mike, tell Ray Wood we can't for his video and that we would prefer that
the video is ready sooner rather than later.  :-D


#114 of 438 by Mike Myers (mike) on Sat Oct 9 17:59:50 2004:

Today´s report will follow in an hour or so.  In the meantime, please 
disregard what I posted earlier about racers not going up to 
practice.  Apparently racers could sign up for several practice 
sessions, and if they did not show up, the spot was left "empty".  
Today was worse, as some racers signed up for multiple practice 
sessions under false names.  Whatever the true story is, the driver´s 
stand today was usually packed, sometimes with many more than ten 
racers.

Weather was hot, lap times are going down, and just about everyone is 
now here.  As Bob pointed out, the lap times of some racers are now 
being counted and uploaded to the JLap site.  We are still working on 
a good internet connection so JL can do all the things he would like 
to do, to keep everyone up to date.


#115 of 438 by Spark (spark) on Sat Oct 9 18:12:08 2004:

Hows Pavidis doing?


#116 of 438 by Mike Myers (mike) on Sat Oct 9 18:23:34 2004:

T Torres, those photos were taken in the chicane at the "right" end of 
the track, before the back straightaway.

Spark, Mark is doing great!  It did not take him long to start to look 
really good.  I don´t think he´s up there with the fastest guys yet, 
but he´s really just started to get in his practice.  He did finally 
manage to get the fuel he wanted, so that´s good.


#117 of 438 by Spark (spark) on Sat Oct 9 18:26:29 2004:

Sweet, fuel good :)


#118 of 438 by Mike Myers (mike) on Sat Oct 9 19:31:17 2004:

03 - Saturday   Part 1, a visit to the Kyosho Pits

I spent a lot more time in the pits today, talking to people and 
taking some photos of the cars.  First stop for the day was to visit 
with Josh Cyrul.  Josh and Bobby Flack are pitting next to each other, 
with David Spashett directly opposite them.  The rest of the Kyosho 
team is at the same table.  Jerry Cyrul is being pit-guy for both Josh 
and Bobby.

I asked Josh which car the team was going to be using, and he told me 
that all but one of the racers had switched to the new belt-drive car, 
the V-one-RRR.  I asked Josh what it was that was different about the 
car, and mid-way through the discussion, Mr. Yoshinobu Nikaido, the 
designer of the car, came over and gave me even more information.  The 
following is a summary of what they told me.  I have photos to 
illustrate the following, which I will post later.

The new V-One-RRR uses plastic inserts both for the rear suspension 
pins and for the front upper a-arms.  This provides a way to change 
the roll center to any of four different positions.

The car has both servos in a lay-down position, and they are about as 
low as they could possibly get in the car without scraping on the 
track.  This is to lower the CG.

The suspension geometry was changed to improve tire wear, and to 
improve performance on bumpy tracks.  (Bumpy tracks certainly does fit 
this World Championship track!!!)

The transmission ratio was changed from 2.5 to 2.0.  This allows the 
engine to run cooler, and gives more top speed.  The pulley on the two-
speed shaft was changed from 19 to 21 teeth, and the pulley on the 
rear drive was changed from 48 to 42 teeth.  This lowered the rear 
drive mechanism, which gave both a lower CG and also improved the 
angle of the rear dogbones.  The two-speed gears were made smaller, to 
further lower the CG. 

The RRR uses zero-degree steering knuckles for more cornering speed.  
The Ackerman was increased to give quicker response.  Josh says that 
the new car has so much steering response that they are dialing out 
steering.

The RRR uses a rear anti-sway bar up on top, rather than behind the 
car.  The rear arms are each 2mm longer, and lower.  The battery was 
relocated underneath and forward.



After we got done with the technical session on what is new with the 
car, I asked Mr. Nikaido to tell me in on sentence why the RRR is 
working better than the shaft drive car.  His answer, and Josh´s 
answer, are that the RRR has more aggressive handling, which makes the 
car capable of going faster (and also makes it easier to make a 
mistake).  The shaft-drive car is easier to drive, and many racers 
will prefer it for that reason.  However, here at the Worlds, the RRR 
does seem to be the faster of the two. 


#119 of 438 by Mike Myers (mike) on Sat Oct 9 19:38:00 2004:

03 - Saturday   Part 2, Serpent News

At the end of yesterday´s practice session, most of the Serpent 
drivers went over to the race hotel for a session with Michael and 
Rene.  I believe this was all arranged by the Serpent Distributor in 
Brazil, who is also racing at the Worlds.  A large board was provided, 
marked with all of Michael´s setup information.  Michael´s car was on 
display, for everyone to look at and ask questions.  There was also a 
table outside with food and drinks for all the guests.  I have some 
photos which I will try to post later.

We left after an hour or so, but there were still lots of people there 
with questions on how to get their own cars to work better.  


#120 of 438 by Spark (spark) on Sat Oct 9 20:46:08 2004:

Great info Mike :)


#121 of 438 by Mike Myers (mike) on Sat Oct 9 20:50:43 2004:

[IMAGE]
Josh Cyrul and Yoshinobu Nikaido [IMAGE]
the new Kyosho RRR [IMAGE]
the new Kyosho RRR [IMAGE]
Barry Baker, setting up his Associated Nitro TC3 [IMAGE]
Sander de Graaf, checking the Team Associated fuel for 16% nitro content
[IMAGE]
Mark Pavidis, getting ready to head out for practice [IMAGE]
David Spashett [IMAGE]
The Marshals - theyreally fast, and they are quickly learning about radio
control car racing [IMAGE]
When/if these guys get the antenna right, we will have internet access and live
reporting [IMAGE]
the drivers stand, late in the day


#122 of 438 by Mike Myers (mike) on Sat Oct 9 22:31:34 2004:

Heres the track layout, as posted on the website: [IMAGE] I will try to edit
this drawing and put numbers on the corners, so I can say which part of the
track my images were taken at.


#123 of 438 by Nicholas Altieri (nicka) on Sat Oct 9 22:59:34 2004:

Awesome stuff!!  Thanks so much! The RRR looks cool. inboard rear sway 
bar, laydown servos with protective bar, neat details.


#124 of 438 by integra (integra) on Sat Oct 9 23:13:12 2004:

Mike M, thanks for the pics and info.....GREAT pics.

Ronnie


#125 of 438 by GILBERT MYERS (choco69) on Sat Oct 9 23:35:11 2004:

keep up the good pics and info mike!choco


#126 of 438 by John Frazier, 12-86844 (jfrazier) on Sun Oct 10 02:25:56 2004:

Hey Mike,

I see:

"Sander de Graaf, checking the Team Associated fuel for 16% nitro content"

It seems that Sander gave up the Nitromax for testing and chose 'The
Glen Livet'.  If that's the case, everybody should be able to bump the
percentage up quite a bit:):):)


#127 of 438 by Joe Limon (freakah) on Sun Oct 10 04:48:47 2004:

Josh is running a front diff on his RRR?


#128 of 438 by ian doroteo (ianv1rr) on Sun Oct 10 10:24:51 2004:

yo mike! any g4 drivers?


#129 of 438 by Ron Trobaugh (duneland) on Sun Oct 10 10:55:38 2004:

Nick, that RRR does look pretty cool!  I think we should save up and 
get them next spring.


#130 of 438 by Spark (spark) on Sun Oct 10 11:03:22 2004:

Man I never thought I would see the day that Ron was talking so much 
good about the K cars ;)   lol.


#131 of 438 by Nicholas Altieri (nicka) on Sun Oct 10 12:43:07 2004:

 Gotta see what the NTC4 has to offer. I'm still happy with the ntc3!! 


#132 of 438 by Jkruit (bummer1) on Sun Oct 10 14:35:01 2004:

Hey Mark nice to see you here. Saw you cleaned your " precious " with a 
nice spectrum analyser. When is the release of the new version????
Still no word from Master D though ;)  


#133 of 438 by Mike Myers (mike) on Sun Oct 10 14:52:38 2004:

Car Action's results page is now active. For today and tomorrow, you 
can see the practice lap times. Starting on Tuesday we will have the 
heats. 

JL had the technicians correct the radio problems - the upload speed 
is now 256 kbps, so we fully expect to have the "live results" screen 
going by Tuesday. 

Please go to this web page:
http://www.jlapracemanager.com/cgi-bin/JLapVRCarAction.asp?Where=FEBARC

That should take you right to the practice lap times. If it's working 
for us here in Brazil, it certainly should work for the rest of the 
world with better internet connections! 


#134 of 438 by Mike Myers (mike) on Sun Oct 10 14:58:41 2004:

...and yes, not always, but sometimes I can now post from the track.  
It was working, then the connection died, and now it is back up again.

I've got a few lap times...
  Adrien Bertin is running between 17.6 and 18.0  

The following are a few racer's best lap times from the early practice 
session this morning:
  Barry Baker    18.4
  Mike Swauger   18.9
  Mark Pavidis   18.6
  Michael Salven 17.9
  Takaaki Shimo  18.3

Not everyone is running transponders, and many of those who are 
haven't given their transponder number to the timing people yet, so we 
may not have good lap times on everyone until qualifying starts.

Engine wise, the Sirio seems to have an edge over anything else so 
far.  It is the same engine as before, but built to the current IFMAR 
specifications.  


#135 of 438 by Jkruit (bummer1) on Sun Oct 10 15:06:25 2004:

Thanks Mike for the update ;) How are the new Mega engines running? 
Looking at the time of Michael Salven they're doing nice.


#136 of 438 by Jkruit (bummer1) on Sun Oct 10 15:39:11 2004:

John they couldn't get the sidewinderfuel om time so now they make 
their own fuel with some nice whisky's ;) Hope they don't use Oban it's 
nicer to drink that one.


#137 of 438 by Mark Pearson (markp27) on Sun Oct 10 15:46:26 2004:

Hey Jkruit, yep the old spectrum analyser did the job :D and I'm sure D
is here somewhere *sneaky* As for the fuel/whisky, as long as it isn't
Macallan, I'm not too bothered ;-)

I'm pretty interested to see that Salven isn't running a hole in his
front windscreen!! At the German champs just up the road from me, he was
very fast with the Mega engine and amazingly he ran it at only 95C!!!
and again without a hole in the windscreen.

Mike, have you any pics of Salven's 710 without its shell on?

Cheers, Mark.


#138 of 438 by Jkruit (bummer1) on Sun Oct 10 16:49:40 2004:

Mark go to bed!! and watch out for the trees tomorrow ;)

Hope the bigger brother of the Mega engine will be as promising as the 
little one.


#139 of 438 by Slow Steady (ssteady) on Sun Oct 10 17:43:48 2004:

Yes! You tell him Jkruit! He needs my concoction of whiskey + nitro ... :)


#140 of 438 by Mike Myers (mike) on Sun Oct 10 18:29:30 2004:

John, Sander also has the more exotic test equipment; he was just 
doing a quick test.

I mentioned earlier that Masaaki Hirosaka was helping the Kyosho team, 
and wearing one of their jackets.  I mentioned to him today that 
someone here had asked me to take a photo of him with the jacket on.  
He smiled, and came back a few minutes later wearing a bright red 
Kyosho shirt for the photo...   I will post that later on.  By the 
way, he is also starting a new company:
   Masaaki Hirosaka
   336-5 Oibara Misatomachi Gunma-Gun
   Gunma-Pref, 370-3102 Japan
   Tel/Fax 81-(0)27-371-7541
   Email: hirosaka@jg8.so-net.ne.jp
   Homepage: http://www.hirosaka.jp/

I believe Alberto and Lomberto Picco arrived today, but I haven´t had 
a chance to talk to them yet.  Pieter Bervoets and one of his sons 
also arrived, and started setting up his new rc video game.  Pieter 
says the game is finished, and they will be setting up a booth for 
video game competition.  

I was going to talk to more people in the pits today, but then I 
started thinking that I may or may not be allowed out on the track 
once qualifying starts, and I really wanted to get some more action 
shots.  Choco will be happy...  I got lots!  

Yoshinobu Nikaido, designer of Kyosho´s new V-One RRR was up in the 
spectator stands early in the day, watching his drivers.  He explained 
that from up on the driver´s stand, you do not get a very good view of 
the elevation and banking changes in the track, and he wanted to watch 
how the suspension was working from much lower.  He is right - when I 
was up on the driver´s stand, the track looked flat.  Several drivers 
told me they didn´t realize how parts of the track were on an "up" 
or "down" incline until they walked around to the back of the track.  
Also, it is very difficult to see the "camber" of the track from up on 
the stand.  In addition to all that, the fastest parts of the track 
are much lower than the rest of the track.  Later on, I was talking to 
Takei Tatuya as he was watching Francesco Tironi run.  Takei is the 
Kyosho team manager.  His words to describe the track - "very 
unique".  That sounds pretty typical...   I was asking Robbie Collins 
(from Mugen), Mark Pavidis (Associated), and Maurizio Busnardo 
(Serpent) about this earlier, and while nobody dislikes the track, 
they usually call it "unique", "interesting", or "very technical".


Today was "controlled practice" meaning everyone got the same amount 
of track time.  This will continue tomorrow, along with the Opening 
Ceremonies.  Qualifying starts on Tuesday, with two rounds per day for 
three days.  That is when we´ll really find out how fast everyone is.  
Everyone seems to agree that Adrien Bertin is the fastest person here 
so far, and there seems to be maybe five or six racers quite close to 
Adrien.  Others are still working at it.  

I´ll stop here, and work on some photos...


#141 of 438 by Tom Kelley (tomdrccc) on Sun Oct 10 19:01:54 2004:

I used a babelfish translation and it looks like Hirosaka san is free 
agent for technical support at races. So Kyosho must have hired his 
assistance for this race, since yokomo is not in this competition then 
there is no conflict. I'm sure what he learns from working with Kyosho 
then can incorporate into yokomo's future car.

Mike, the video game Pieter's son was working on must be virtual RC. 
Could you please ask them when is the release date? Their website says 
game coming summer 2004 and the Summer is now officially over. Many of 
us can't wait when the game is out because we need to get practice 
playing with toy cars over the winter other than electric cars.

Great Job Mike, please keep the news coming. It makes me feel like I'm 
there.


#142 of 438 by Tom Kelley (tomdrccc) on Sun Oct 10 19:08:23 2004:

Is Mike Blackstock attending? It looks like US didn't use up all its 
allowance of racers for the race. I can see only 14 ROAR memembers on 
the Worlds Team.

GO ROAR drivers!!!


#143 of 438 by Pooh (poohman) on Sun Oct 10 19:58:24 2004:

Thanks 2 Mike Myers, I almost feel like Im there. We gotta find a way 2 pay
this man 4 the work he does! Go TEAM MUGEN!!!!!!!!


#144 of 438 by Mike Myers (mike) on Sun Oct 10 20:56:20 2004:

Here is a collection of images from today, with a bit of information on some of
them... [IMAGE]
David Spashett, with Barry Baker following [IMAGE]
Barry Baker [IMAGE]
Adrien Bertin - front wheels in the air from the bump in the track [IMAGE]
Mark Pavidis [IMAGE]
Josh Cyrul, after hitting the same bump in the track [IMAGE]
[IMAGE]
[IMAGE]
Michael Salven, rear wheels in the air from hitting the bump [IMAGE]
[IMAGE]
Bobby Flack [IMAGE]
A marshal, not quite sure what to do about a runaway car... [IMAGE]
Maurizio Marques crossing the finish line


#145 of 438 by Mike Myers (mike) on Sun Oct 10 21:02:26 2004:

Regan LeBlanc was telling me about walking around the park where the track is
located, and finding these rats the size of dogs. I was kidding him that it
must have been a few too many Cervesas the night before, but he insisted they
were for real, even though the photo he claimed to have taken of them to prove
it didnt come out. I said "sure they were real...". So, we went to take another
look, and he sure enough was right!! The difference was that he saw them on
land the day before, and now the whole family was out in the lake swimming
around. I guess that technically speaking, theyre rodents, not rats, but they
are certainly huge! Heres the photo to prove it, although Ill need to get one
of them on land to really show how big they are... but from a distance!!
[IMAGE]


#146 of 438 by Andhy Djianto (andhy) on Sun Oct 10 21:20:18 2004:

Mike, thanks for the info about Masaaki ! In that case, it should be okay to
post that picture to the public... V.good observation from Tom Kelley :) I
agree.


#147 of 438 by Nicholas Altieri (nicka) on Sun Oct 10 21:22:51 2004:

 Did they have big,wide,flat tails??  LOL


#148 of 438 by David A. Deluria (dave777) on Sun Oct 10 21:51:39 2004:

Those are Capybaras, the largest in the rodent family. They are a part 
of the diet of natives who live in the rain forests in the amazon as 
well as anacondas. Let's not forget it's Brazil.


#149 of 438 by Andhy Djianto (andhy) on Sun Oct 10 21:55:55 2004:

Does anyone know the personal transponder ID number that Adrien Bertin is
using? THere are lots of ID numbers without names at the JLap website and I
could not find Adrien Bertin... thanks.


#150 of 438 by Mike Myers (mike) on Sun Oct 10 21:57:46 2004:

Masaaki Hirosaka!! [IMAGE]


#151 of 438 by Jarrod Pilone (jpilone) on Sun Oct 10 21:59:44 2004:

Isn't that Masami's dad?


#152 of 438 by Mike Myers (mike) on Sun Oct 10 22:01:46 2004:

Andhy, JL went through all the sheets to try to find that for me, but 
apparently Adrien hasn´t provided the information yet to the people in 
Timing and Scoring.  For that matter, we do not even know if there is 
a transponder in his car yet; other racers are running without one, 
and he might be as well.  

I will try to find that out tomorrow.  I also hope to get photos of 
Adrien´s car, Barry Baker´s car (or Mark Pavidis), and Michael 
Salven´s car.  Since tomorrow is opening ceremonies, there are other 
shots I hope to get as well.



Jarrod, yep - that´s Masami´s father.   I was just going to take the 
photo with the Kyosho jacket, but he wanted me to wait so he could put 
on this shirt for the photo!  :-)


#153 of 438 by Pete (peterc) on Sun Oct 10 22:14:17 2004:

I liked how they spelled "BLAZIL" on the shirt! LOL

So who won?


#154 of 438 by Spark (spark) on Sun Oct 10 22:37:22 2004:

Pete I think thats how they spell it in Japan.   The race has not 
yet started :)




#155 of 438 by Spark (spark) on Sun Oct 10 22:38:23 2004:

Mike great photos.  Its crazy how many cars are in the air in those 
photos.  The surface of the track looks really crazy.  

Tell Regan I want to see a photo of him with his new giant pet rat. 
:)


#156 of 438 by Andhy Djianto (andhy) on Sun Oct 10 22:41:31 2004:

Mike, THANK YOU for Papa Masami's on the Red Kyosho T-Shirt.. I hope you don't
mind if I am posting this picture on www.tq- racing.com. I put a number of
links to this forum ...


#157 of 438 by Tom Kelley (tomdrccc) on Sun Oct 10 22:47:12 2004:

ha ha ha!!! Thats because their chassis must be frat!!! You can see the 
R is overwritten by the L. Japanese have problem pronouncing words with 
R's and L's in them.

I assume most racers who are practicing are keeping their own times and 
don't want anyone to no their personal lap times during practice, it 
could cause them to loose advantage if one could easily gage their 
times versus others. At least thats what some might think.


#158 of 438 by Mike Myers (mike) on Sun Oct 10 22:56:41 2004:

I am covering the World Championships in Brazil, and am staying in the home of
a local racer who is competing in the event. Mauro Marques invited me to stay
with him - his son, Mauricio, has been racing for many years, and is competing
with his Serpent 710. I will have a lot more to say about my stay in Brazil,
but that is another story. The entire car was rebuilt in preparation for this
event. All the latest hop-up parts were fitted, and for the first testing
Mauricio went out with the front one-way configuration, with the rear diff
mostly locked up. In a practice session at a local track, the car worked very
well, but when we got to the Jundiai Worlds track, it was a different story.
Part of that of course is because the track started out with very poor
traction, but as the track got better, the rear end of the car remained very
loose. The best lap time was 19.4 seconds. This is with the Mazda body. After a
couple of days of practice, Mauricio changed to the front diff setup, softening
up the rear diff allowing it to work. The setup he chose was very similar to
the one posted by Michael Salven at the Serpent meeting. The car was very
smooth and stable, but the lap times did not improve. The car was
under-steering when the grip came up. To make the turn, Mauricio had to slow
down quite a bit more than he wanted to. Lap times are getting much worse. He
even tested out the shorter wheelbase setup, to see if that would help, but it
did not and they put it back to standard setup. Mauricio had been running 38
shore tires front and rear when the grip was not so good. For tomorrow, he is
going to try to run 40 fronts and 45 rears, to see if that helps. Another test
is going to be trying to stiffen the rear differential. Tune in tomorrow for
the sequel for this story!! [IMAGE]
Mauro and Mauricio


#159 of 438 by Andhy Djianto (andhy) on Sun Oct 10 23:02:21 2004:

Yes, that's true. Most factory drivers/ or better drivers do not want others to
know what they are doing and always try to 'hide' their lap times. I don't
think they'd show their true potential at all times ... not until the
qualifying heats...


#160 of 438 by John Patterson (jdp530i) on Sun Oct 10 23:06:06 2004:

I believe those rodents are nutria and they can weigh up to 20 lbs. I 
think they were imported into the U.S. from S. America to feed on the 
water hyacinths or lilies that deplete waterways of oxygen. Now they 
are multiplied greatly because there may not be enough predators to 
control the population.

Looks like most of the cars are running lots of ground clearence to 
clear the bumps.


#161 of 438 by Mike Myers (mike) on Sun Oct 10 23:13:26 2004:

Tom, considering how many racers are up in the bleachers with stop 
watches timing the other racers, the information is getting around 
anyway, at least to the racers.  I sometimes hesitate to use the 
numbers I get, as I would rather get them from a computer that doesn´t 
allow for any "interpretation".  

I did "white out" the frequency number in the photos of Josh´s car, as 
frequencies are not published at World Championships, and I didn´t 
want to be posting information that is not supposed to be posted...  
which surprised me anyway, as I didn´t think the camera would capture 
it so well!

Anway, it is now midnight here; I am off to sleep.  The weather 
forecast for the next few days is not all that great.  We´ll see what 
happens.


#162 of 438 by Mike Myers (mike) on Sun Oct 10 23:24:41 2004:

http://www4.climatempo.com.br/novo/index.php

Click on "details" under Sao Paulo.
Where it says "Selecione a cidade" select Jundiai
You can now see the weather we are expecting.

                           It helps if you can 
                           read Portuguese, but
                           it is not hard to
                           figure out that we are
                           expecting rain...


#163 of 438 by Luis Sola (lue) on Mon Oct 11 04:48:05 2004:

Mike, how many drivers (if any) are still running the FW05R?....or 
have they all switched over to the RRR??


BTW, great pics!


#164 of 438 by Slow Steady (ssteady) on Mon Oct 11 06:19:35 2004:

Is it raining cats and dogs there now Mike? Forecast really doesn't look
good. :(


#165 of 438 by gil love (glove) on Mon Oct 11 10:13:08 2004:

thanks Mike for the pics!!you knew i was gonna be happy!!choco


#166 of 438 by Carlo Dionisio (xtremecd) on Mon Oct 11 10:26:42 2004:

mike, 
hi! keep up the good work!!! by any chance, take a picture of Luca 
Piromalli and his car if you can. THANKS!!!
carlo


#167 of 438 by RC Scoring Pro (motoxx) on Mon Oct 11 10:58:13 2004:

Mike, the pictures aren't working for me, I tried cutting and pasting 
the links too.  Is the server down ?

Doug


#168 of 438 by gil love (glove) on Mon Oct 11 11:06:58 2004:

I KNOW,I WASA GONNA PRINT SOME COLOR PICS BUT THE PICS WILL NOT SHOW 
UP...WHATS UP WITH THAT?CHOCO


#169 of 438 by Jarrod Pilone (jpilone) on Mon Oct 11 11:11:51 2004:

Two Words: Rain Tires

One More Word: Balloon

I successfully weatherproofed my old MTX-3 and ran it in the rain... It 
was kind of exciting...


#170 of 438 by gil love (glove) on Mon Oct 11 12:26:41 2004:

WHAT HAPPENED TO THE PICS?I CANNOT PULL THEM UP.IS ANYONE HAVING THIS 
TROUBLE?


#171 of 438 by Jarrod Pilone (jpilone) on Mon Oct 11 13:04:44 2004:

Gil, I don't see the pics either. Maybe the server is down.


#172 of 438 by gil love (glove) on Mon Oct 11 13:31:39 2004:

YEP...WELL ALL WE CAN DO IS WAIT....THANKS JARROD...GIL


#173 of 438 by francisco ortiz (picoso) on Mon Oct 11 15:12:25 2004:

i cant see the pics too.


#174 of 438 by Slow Steady (ssteady) on Mon Oct 11 17:03:11 2004:

No news at all? :(  

Maybe that antenna got knocked off in the thunderstorms.


#175 of 438 by gil love (glove) on Mon Oct 11 17:13:15 2004:

HAHAHAHA,I KNOW...I HOPE ALL IS WELL OVER THERE...CHOCO


#176 of 438 by Slow Steady (ssteady) on Mon Oct 11 17:38:05 2004:

Yeah me too 'cos I'm like starving for news. On the other hand, I've
seen pictures of the wet track ... no chance of any practise there let
alone heats!


#177 of 438 by Mike Myers (mike) on Mon Oct 11 19:20:26 2004:

It is a long story, but the server I was using now says that ftp is 
not working.  So, I moved all the images to a different server, and 
corrected the links up above.  If anything is still broken, please let 
me know - just leave a response here.


#178 of 438 by Mike Myers (mike) on Mon Oct 11 19:57:07 2004:

05 - Monday

We got to the track today to find lots of unpleasant surprises.  For 
starters, the ground was soaked.  It rained pretty hard last night, 
and the track was quite wet.  Worse yet, the wind and rain had severly 
damaged the tent everyone was pitting under, and the officials were 
concerned the whole thing might collapse.  So, everyone was told to 
find another place to pit.  Many racers headed over to the radio 
control airplane areal, where there was a covered shelter with 
concrete floor.  Others set up shop next to one of the containers that 
were spread around the pit area.  Many racers figured the day was a 
washout, but the IFMAR officials said they would hold a meeting at 
noon, and then decide what to do.

With nothing much else to do, we ended up sitting around talking, or 
working on cars.  Some racers wandered over to a tent where Pieter 
Bervoets and his son were demonstrating their new rc video 
game, "Virtual RC Racing".  I spent some time with the various teams 
asking how they dealt with the problems with the customs officials.  
There were some ingenious answers, but I will leave out who said 
what....   For starters, since it was so difficult and/or expensive to 
bring in fuel for the cars, some teams decided to just bring in the 
oil and mix their own fuel at the track.  It´s a good thing the 
customs officials didn´t decide to test out the "shampoo" in some of 
these racers suitcases, or it might have turned out to be something 
quite unsuitable for washing your hair!!!!!  For the teams that played 
things out "by the book" it was a matter of luck if they got through 
customs or not.  Some people had to pay over $1,000 to get through, 
while others had all their gear photographed, to make sure when they 
left the country, so did the racing gear.  Still others just walked 
through customs, with no problems whatever.  For whatever reason, when 
one team said they wanted to bring in fuel, they were told that for 
every "dollar" of value for the fuel, there would be one 
hundred "dollars" in duty.  When the team asked to talk to a 
supervisor to complain, the person explained that he WAS the 
supervisor, and that was the final answer!  It was universally agreed 
on that when World Championships are held around the world, an effort 
should be made to find countries that do not make it overly 
complicated for the racers to bring in their gear!

As the day went on, the sun worked its way through the clouds 
eventually, and it started turning into a decent day.  With a little 
help from the sun, the track dried out, and by lunchtime the track 
looked ready to drive on.

At the meeting, it was decided that we would run some more practice 
rounds today until around 5pm, when the Opening Ceremonies would be 
held.  Since tomorrow is also looking like rain, it will be another 
practice day.  The six rounds of qualifying will be held on Wednesday 
and Thursday, running three rounds per day.  With only 100 or so 
racers here, that should work just fine, assuming that the weather 
decides to co-operate just a little.

The internet link died a couple of times today, but was brought back 
to life each time.  We are still hoping to have a "live" update, but 
it is not a sure thing yet.  The link you want to remember is:
http://www.jlapracemanager.com/cgi-bin/JLapVRCarAction.asp?Where=FEBARC

Here is what we hope you will be able to see:
   If racing is going on at the track, you will see the computer
     screen that the people at the track also get to see.
   When the race ends, the computer screen will remain, for up to 
     an hour, unless another race starts.  
   If another race starts, the computer screen will go "live" again,
     and you will see the next race as it happens.
   If no other race starts, after an hour the screen will switch back
     to the "static" race results page.
   At any time if you are seeing the "live" results, you will be able
     to click on a link and go to the "static" results.


The afternoon today was spent on several rounds of controlled 
practice.  The track, as could be expected, was pretty bad for a while 
until traction built up again.  By late in the afternoon, the track 
was once again in fairly decent shape.  Practice stopped a little 
before 5pm, and everyone got ready for the Opening Ceremonies.

Many of the racers got dressed up in special matching uniforms, so all 
members of the team from each country looked the same.  While that 
country´s national anthym was played over the loudspeakers, the 
country members marched in front of all the country flags, and lined 
up behind the flag for their country.  One by one, each country´s team 
was introduced.  All the cars were spread out in front of the racers, 
and afer several speeches opening up the event, there was a concours 
judging to select the best paint jobs.  The winner will be announced 
after the end of the event.  It was a nice ceremony, not overly long, 
and it was nice for the many spectators to get a good close-up look at 
all the cars.

Concourse ended, and many of us headed off to home and/or dinner.  As 
we drove away from the track, in about fifteen minutes we drove right 
into a rainstorm.  I guess we lucked out in being able to get in 
today´s events.  I hope tomorrow´s weather is also reasonable.


#179 of 438 by Mike Myers (mike) on Mon Oct 11 21:44:47 2004:

[IMAGE]
What was left of the tent. [IMAGE]
Team Sirio [IMAGE]
Adrien Bertin [IMAGE]
Pieters new rc video game, Virtual RC Racing [IMAGE]
Team Mugen [IMAGE]
Michael Salvens Serpent 710 [IMAGE]
Michael, helping set up Mauricio Marques car [IMAGE]
The Track [IMAGE]
Bobby Flack, green car, in practice [IMAGE]
Close Racing! [IMAGE]
Barry Baker, middle car [IMAGE]
Barry, just missing another car by inches! [IMAGE]
Adrien Bertin [IMAGE]
Mikey Swauger [IMAGE]
Michael Salven, Mark Pavidis [IMAGE]
Opening Ceremonies


#180 of 438 by henry bell (isuzuguy) on Mon Oct 11 22:17:46 2004:

if things work out for a live feed of the mains,what is the time 
differental for california ?


#181 of 438 by henry bell (isuzuguy) on Mon Oct 11 22:49:27 2004:

hey mike could u go snoop around team mugen and see if the mtx-4 might 
be hiding under a towel or table or something!lol.


#182 of 438 by Chance McDaniel (cam) on Mon Oct 11 23:04:48 2004:

I dont think that car is Marks!  Its not his paint scheme and it has a 
odonnell sticker on it.  That is his ugly mug though!


#183 of 438 by chris verano (ceexlo) on Mon Oct 11 23:11:36 2004:

Mike,

If you get a chance , can you swing by the OFNA pit and see how they're 
doing?

Thanks


#184 of 438 by Chris Fowler (cf) on Mon Oct 11 23:15:08 2004:

Real nice Job Mike !! 


#185 of 438 by Chavo Figueroa (mrx3man) on Mon Oct 11 23:17:43 2004:

Can't thank you enough Mike... Great coverage!


#186 of 438 by Patricio Concha (tabushi) on Mon Oct 11 23:42:40 2004:

HI all !!!


Arrggghhh im about 50km from the track and im stuck on my job !!! ...

So Mike, if you talk to the guys from Venezuela say HI to them by me
(Patricio Concha) ... 

Just a question Mike, what digital camera and camcorder are you using ?,
i love the quality of your material ... im about to buy a digital
camcorder and i think you have a valuable opinion for that ...

cya and enjoy the worlds !!!

Pat



#187 of 438 by GILBERT MYERS (choco69) on Mon Oct 11 23:55:42 2004:

once again,awesome pics mike!!choco


#188 of 438 by Christian Strohm (ccks) on Tue Oct 12 00:15:08 2004:

Mike, I think that the blue/white car with flames is not Pavidis', but 
Baker's car.


#189 of 438 by Carlo Dionisio (xtremecd) on Tue Oct 12 00:29:02 2004:

i saw a guy on the pic.wearing a Team Magic shirt... is that Luca 
Piromalli? Any RB Concept drivers? Awesome work mike... Great 
coverage!!!
carlo


#190 of 438 by David Warren (daswarre) on Tue Oct 12 00:42:00 2004:

Mike,
Thanks for the great coverage, it is like I am sitting in the 
bleachers at the track watching the whole event.  Thanks a bunch.
         David


#191 of 438 by Andhy Djianto (andhy) on Tue Oct 12 02:45:59 2004:

Christian Strohm: you're right.. that 'flame' car is Baker's. Pavidis' is the
distinctive jagged blue red white designed by a famous Japanese artist
Takashima Design.


#192 of 438 by Slow Steady (ssteady) on Tue Oct 12 06:11:33 2004:

Mike, I'll repeat what everyone is saying ... thanks for the very good 
coverage.

We're keeping our fingers crossed that your TV screen idea works and if 
you need help (from Europe) let me know.

:D


#193 of 438 by Spark (spark) on Tue Oct 12 08:47:07 2004:

"#188 of 192 by Christian Strohm (ccks) on Tue Oct 12 00:15:08 2004:
Mike, I think that the blue/white car with flames is not Pavidis', but Baker's
car."
Mark has had very similar paint jobs for a VERY long time. Here he is with his
car...
[IMAGE]
Here is his car on the track...
[IMAGE]
This car is not Pavidis as Mike said a few posts back and I assume Christian is
talking about :)
[IMAGE]


#194 of 438 by Ron Trobaugh (duneland) on Tue Oct 12 09:43:46 2004:

Mike-------You are Awsome!  Keep up the good work.


#195 of 438 by gil love (glove) on Tue Oct 12 12:36:35 2004:

IS IT RAINING THERE?CHOCO


#196 of 438 by gil love (glove) on Tue Oct 12 15:03:46 2004:

ANY UPDATES?


#197 of 438 by Bob Malphurs ROAR# 3-76576 (bobm) on Tue Oct 12 15:06:00 2004:

Looks like they are running controlled practice today. Controlled Practice I
wish they would show the "Average Lap Time" instead of the "Average Speed" in
the print-outs. To me that's more better to know! BTW, "More Better" is a
technical term we use here in the southern USA!


#198 of 438 by Andhy Djianto (andhy) on Tue Oct 12 18:25:06 2004:

looks like another rainy day.. only one round of controlled practice ..


#199 of 438 by GILBERT MYERS (choco69) on Tue Oct 12 18:30:16 2004:

any pics of the sexy girls?choco


#200 of 438 by Mike Myers (mike) on Tue Oct 12 18:37:02 2004:

Let´s see...   to answer questions first.

Henry, to find the time difference between Brazil and anywhere, start 
here and you´ll quickly have the info: http://www.timeanddate.com/

Henry, I´ll try to get some spy shots inside the Team Mugen trailer.  
(I´ve already got spy shots from inside the RB trailer - will post 
them as soon as I get a chance.)

Chris, OFNA´s new car is working out very well; I will try to get a 
photo tomorrow.

Patricio, camera is Nikon D70.  Lenses are the standard lens that 
comes with it, a 10.5mm fisheye, and an ancient 80-200 zoom.

Christian, thanks - the caption is now corrected to say Barry´s car, 
not Mark´s.

Carlo, yes, RB is here with Rody, Bernard, engines, parts, and lots of 
support help for the racers.  I am not sure who the driver is - maybe 
he is identified on the RB site?

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Report coming soon; photos coming later on tonight.  Some will be, hmm,
well, rather interesting!  :-)  I hope I don´t get Barry into too much 
trouble!


#201 of 438 by Pete (peterc) on Tue Oct 12 18:58:51 2004:

I believe Brazil is on the same time as the east coast so that would 
make it 3 hours ahead of us Henry.


#202 of 438 by Mike Myers (mike) on Tue Oct 12 18:59:52 2004:

One of the reasons qualifying was put off until tomorrow, is because 
we expected it to rain today.  The day started off nicely though, and 
we thought maybe someone paid off the weatherman to fix things for 
today.

There was one complete round of controlled practice from 8:30am until 
10:00am.  After a short break, we had a second round of practice, but 
it was run as if it was a qualifier, with a three minute warm-up, then 
all the cars coming back to the pits, and then an IFMAR start for 
the "practice" qualifier.  This ran from 12:30 until 12:45, when 
everything stopped for a lunch-break.  

The weather at this point had gotten rather nice.  The park was packed 
with people, not only in the r/c area, but all over. There is an off-
road track (empty today but for some bicycles), a motocross track, all 
kinds of sports areas, a bicycle motocross track, a bandstand, and 
tons of other things I haven´t checked out.  Since today was a 
holiday, many hundreds (thousands maybe?) of people were out enjoying 
themselves.

The first practice round had run quite smoothly, but in the second it 
seemed that a lot of cars started traction rolling.  The turn as cars 
come downhill and make a tight turn onto the straigtaway was 
particularly nasty, and quite a few cars ended up on their lid or off 
on the grass.  Michael Salven, Mikey Swauger, and Mark Pavidis were 
three of the ones who did it right in front of my camera lens, which 
made for some nice photos (coming soon).  I´m not sure if all this was 
because of a change in track conditions, or that it was now a 
simulated race, but there were definitely more problems than in the 
first session.  

Racing was scheduled to resume at 2:00pm with a second "practice" 
qualifier, but as 2pm approached, the skies turned gray, the 
temperature dropped, a little bit of moisture fell (warning everyone 
as to what was to come), and about five minutes later we got a huge 
downpour, flooding the track and surrounding area, and changing the 
pit area from a dirt floor to mud.  The rains lasted at least half an 
hour, ending any hopes we had of getting a bit more racing in.  Still, 
we got in the morning session, which many people didn´t think we 
would, and everyone seemed in a very good mood!  

There was a roar from the crowd every few minutes, and I went over to 
check out what was happening.  You´ll get to see the photos in a few 
minutes, as soon as I post them, but they rapidly took everyone´s mind 
off r/c racing and the rain!!!!!

Anyway, after we hung around the track for another hour or so, some 
people (me included) headed off for home.  The drive back to Sao Paulo 
is about a 45-minute drive when traffic is light, and I think it 
rained for all but maybe ten minutes of the trip.

The plan for tomorrow is to start qualifying at 9am.  There is an 
interesting schedule, to try to get everyone equal track conditions.  
The big question of course is the weather.

Schedule:
heat 1     9:00    10:00               14:45
heat 2     9:15    10:15               15:00
heat 3     9:30    10:30               15:15
heat 4     9:45    10:45               15:30
heat 5             11:00    13:30      15:45
heat 6             11:15    13:45      16:00
heat 7             11:30    14:00      16:15
heat 8             11:45    14:15      16:30
heat 9             12:00    14:30      16:45

The heats will be re-seeded at the end of Wednesday´s qualifying.  I 
have the schedule for Thursday´s qualifying as well, but I think I 
will wait until tomorrow to post it, in case anything changes due to 
the weather.


#203 of 438 by Pete (peterc) on Tue Oct 12 19:00:51 2004:

I believe Brazil is on the same time as the east coast so that would 
make it 3 hours ahead of us Henry.


#204 of 438 by Eric Gonzalez (gonzoy5) on Tue Oct 12 19:05:26 2004:

hey Mike, this is off topic. But how do you feel about the new Canon
20D? I have an EOS3 35mm SLR, so i wanna get a digital version since I
have like 4 canon lenses. Any thoughts?


#205 of 438 by Mike Myers (mike) on Tue Oct 12 19:17:39 2004:

Sure - the camera helps you get a good photo, but it is the least 
important part.  The camera to a photographer is nothing more than a 
wrench to a mechanic.  It helps to have a nice collection of tools 
(meaning several lenses) but whether you use Canon, Nikon, Olympus, or 
whatever, what will make the photo good is you, not the camera.  The 
camera I am using here is the least expensive Nikon DSLR they´ve ever 
made.  My advice - get a DSLR (not a "point and shoot") and learn how 
to get it to do what you want.  As to the "point and shoot", that 
would be like handing the mechanic a pair of pliers and telling him 
that´s all he gets to use...    :-)

Canon 20D should be a wonderful camera for you!!


#206 of 438 by Patricio Concha (tabushi) on Tue Oct 12 19:19:41 2004:

Mike,

Are you staying in São Pulo rather than Jundiai ?, why ? ... and where ? ...

If you need something that i can arrange for you just say it ...

cya !!

(crying and suffering from hard pain for not being able to show up to
the track !!!) ...

Pat



#207 of 438 by Jose Alvarez (jose) on Tue Oct 12 19:24:10 2004:

Is that lap under 17 seconds from Barry Baker real or a mistake?. It is
 more than a second faster than anyone else.


#208 of 438 by Slow Steady (ssteady) on Tue Oct 12 19:31:09 2004:

Can't be under 17 secs ... 


#209 of 438 by Christian Strohm (ccks) on Tue Oct 12 20:54:17 2004:

Barry made a mistake and ended taking a shortcut in the infield.


#210 of 438 by Christian Strohm (ccks) on Tue Oct 12 21:01:11 2004:

I watched the heats this morning, and I think that until now the 
fastest are the Kyosho/Sirio drivers. The V-One RRR is really working 
very well on the Jundiai track, and it seems to me that the Sirio 
engines have a little more top end then the others. On heats #8 and #9 
(were almost all of the faster drivers are), the drivers from the other 
teams were having a hard time to keep up with the Kyosho/Sirio drivers!


#211 of 438 by Mike Myers (mike) on Tue Oct 12 21:26:45 2004:

Patricio, I am staying with Mauro Marques in Sao Paulo, which is why 
we are going back and forth each day.  Everything is working out fine, 
except that I seem to finish photos, get an hour of sleep, and it is 
time to wake up again. :-)   Seriously, thanks, but everything is 
going very well.  Mauro has shown me a few parts of Sao Paulo, and it 
has been a very enjoyable trip.


As to the cars and engines, an hour race is a very long time, and a 
lot of things can influece who will be in the lead when the race 
ends.  As to just plain watching the cars, I see things the same way 
Christian does.  The Kyosho/Sirio combination does seem to have an 
advantage.       ...OK, enough typing.  Time to finish up the piccys.


#212 of 438 by Pooh (poohman) on Tue Oct 12 22:02:04 2004:

I think Swauger is waiting untill it counts and u're gonna c the MTX-3 on
rails.


#213 of 438 by Mike Myers (mike) on Tue Oct 12 22:20:01 2004:

[IMAGE]
Oops... [IMAGE]
Rubbing Fenders! [IMAGE]
Francesco Tironi [IMAGE]
Chris Tosolini [IMAGE]
Craig Drescher [IMAGE]
Fabio Domanin [IMAGE]
Michael Salven traction rolling in the corner leading onto the back straight.
[IMAGE]
Josh Cyrul coming up on Craig Drescher [IMAGE]
Josh Cyrul trying to avoid Fabio Domanin [IMAGE]
Mark Pavidis traction rolls, as Takaaki Shimo approaches [IMAGE]
The Associated Pits, during the afternoon thunderstorm [IMAGE]
Is Ray Wood planning another video? :-) [IMAGE]
The Press. Really!! [IMAGE]
Barry Baker getting some Press Coverage! [IMAGE]
Err.... Wow!


#214 of 438 by T Torres (kiddyno) on Tue Oct 12 23:21:24 2004:

I'll make sure to send these to Barry's wife. Mike, can you rip off 
one of those shirts for me... souvenir of course. Barry can keep 
his. And tell Ray, he's a nut. Can't wait for his... err... video. 
Great job! 


#215 of 438 by Carlo Dionisio (xtremecd) on Wed Oct 13 05:27:07 2004:

nice pics mike:) RB Hot Chicks!!! Any Team Magic G4 drivers? good 
job!!! keep it up:)


#216 of 438 by gil love (glove) on Wed Oct 13 08:54:47 2004:

ahhhhhh!i am loving it.....i cannot talk right now....choco


#217 of 438 by Howard Lo (solara) on Wed Oct 13 11:31:10 2004:

LOL.......RC verion of "Girl Gone Wild"........
Anyhow.....at the Jlap site...already posted the 10/16/2004 Final 
result...no need to guess who win or lose....(another LOL).


#218 of 438 by EDDY FIKES (mudduck) on Wed Oct 13 15:07:41 2004:

so who is on top


#219 of 438 by Mike Myers (mike) on Wed Oct 13 15:12:27 2004:

This response has been erased.



#220 of 438 by Mike Myers (mike) on Wed Oct 13 15:44:08 2004:

Heats Standings
10/13/2004 15:32:14
Gas Touring
    Pos. Car               Racer's Name                               
Results
     1    6  Francesco Tironi            33/10:05.575(1) 32/10:05.928
(2)                 
     2    3  Takaaki Shimo               33/10:07.294(2) 27/10:18.144
(1)                 
     3    7  David Spashett              33/10:11.248(1) 33/10:12.222
(2)                 
     4    5  Adrien Bertin               33/10:11.555(2) 32/09:45.837
(1)                 
     5    5  Josh Cyrul                  33/10:11.957(1) 25/07:43.704
(2)                 
     6    2  Chris Tosolini              33/10:12.661(2) 29/10:14.979
(1)                 
     7    8  Mark Green                  33/10:14.896(2) 25/07:57.509
(1)                 
     8    3  Massimo Fantini             32/10:02.196(2) 16/04:56.239
(1)                 
     9    8  Ken Furukawa                32/10:04.922(2) 30/10:13.509
(1)                 
    10    1  Takuya Ito                  32/10:05.453(1) 32/10:06.701
(2)                 
    11    4  Craig Drescher              32/10:08.109(1) 31/10:00.714
(2)                 
    12    6  Michael Salven              32/10:11.075(1) 32/10:14.548
(2)                 
    13    5  Bobby Flack                 32/10:12.078(2) 27/09:18.852
(1)                 
    14    8  Stefano Colombini           32/10:13.247(2) 32/10:24.129
(1)                 
    15    6  Steve Olanier               31/10:00.686(2) 31/10:09.016
(1)                 
    16    8  Teodorio Syah Teddy         31/10:02.176(2) 30/10:10.458
(1)                 
    17    7  Mark Pavidis                31/10:02.818(1) 18/06:08.612
(2)                 
    18    9  Michael Swauger             31/10:03.803(2) 0/00:00.000
(1)                  
    19    5  Reto Koenig                 31/10:04.070(2) 31/10:20.553
(1)                 
    20    3  Niki Duina                  31/10:04.879(2) 23/10:04.763
(1)                 
    21    7  Darin Ishitani              31/10:06.231(2) 10/03:18.318
(1)                 
    22    2  Paul Coleman                31/10:06.410(2) 30/10:05.200
(1)                 
    23    8  Brandon Mcnally             31/10:06.490(2) 21/10:03.539
(1)                 
    24    6  Carlos Peracho Heras        31/10:07.549(2) 30/10:08.387
(1)                 
    25    4  Mauricio Busnardo           31/10:07.557(2) 31/10:13.983
(1)                 
    26    9  Renato A. Tradardi          31/10:13.607(1) 29/10:06.423
(2)                 
    27    1  Guillermo San Martino       31/10:13.793(2) 30/10:15.352
(1)                 
    28    1  Arnaud Chaussard            31/10:15.371(2) 27/10:11.150
(1)                 
    29    7  Cheung Hang Hung            31/10:18.086(2) 30/10:12.086
(1)                 
    30    3  Alain Levy                  30/10:00.612(2) 30/10:11.258
(1)                 
    31    4  Robbie Collins              30/10:02.862(2) 30/10:07.949
(1)                 
    32    9  Gerhard Kandelhart          30/10:03.146(1) 14/07:48.581
(2)                 
    33    7  Chung Min Hsu               30/10:04.158(1) 26/10:00.898
(2)                 
    34    7  Chad Bradley                30/10:05.408(2) 30/10:09.839
(1)                 
    35    5  Luca Piromalli              30/10:12.870(2) 23/10:05.448
(1)                 
    36    1  Fabian Kaloustian           30/10:15.437(1) 29/10:05.498
(2)                 
    37    1  Adrian Castro               30/10:17.839(2) 20/09:52.734
(1)                 
    38    8  Ramon Guasch Palma          30/10:18.422(2) 29/10:01.652
(1)                 
    39    2  Erich Heshiki               29/10:03.892(1) 25/09:51.555
(2)                 
    40    5  Dennis Picthail             29/10:06.108(2) 28/10:22.153
(1)                 
    41    8  Patrick Bandeira            29/10:06.409(1) 26/10:15.139
(2)                 
    42   10  Hermann Berger              29/10:10.689(1) 29/10:17.917
(2)                 
    43    6  Jeffrey Lin                 28/09:31.659(2) 22/10:01.873
(1)                 
    44    8  Mauricio Marques            28/09:46.744(1) 26/10:16.663
(2)                 
    45    1  Keevin Sharp                28/10:00.524(1) 21/09:53.971
(2)                 
    46    1  Fernando Gaspareto          28/10:04.957(2) 16/09:37.649
(1)                 
    47    7  Javier Hernandez            28/10:05.197(2) 1/09:42.731
(1)                  
    48    9  Per-Ola Hard                28/10:06.428(2) 1/10:01.392
(1)                  
    49    3  Felipe Francheschi          28/10:07.442(2) 1/10:12.687
(1)                  
    50    9  Marcos Corbani              28/10:10.841(2) 27/10:21.534
(1)                 
    51   10  Clebs Spessoto              28/10:12.603(2) 1/10:14.076
(1)                  
    52    8  Javier Godoy Panebian       28/10:15.578(1) 21/07:29.652
(2)                 
    53    4  Barry Baker                 28/10:17.619(2) 14/04:19.663
(1)                 
    54    4  Marcos Pena                 28/10:19.902(2) 1/10:07.641
(1)                  
    55   10  Rolando Dias Olivan         28/10:34.383(1) 1/00:37.994
(2)                  
    56    2  Andres Calens               27/09:45.663(2) 25/10:10.730
(1)                 
    57    6  Christian Ausweger          27/09:51.024(2) 1/10:05.465
(1)                  
    58    5  Rafael Alvares              27/10:02.815(2) 19/10:00.781
(1)                 
    59    3  Herman Lebenbaum            27/10:11.480(1) 0/00:00.000
(2)                  
    60    9  Paolo Morganti              26/09:35.766(1) 16/09:36.141
(2)                 
    61    3  Luiz Marco Pozzan           26/10:14.451(2) 1/10:03.271
(1)                  
    62    2  Fabio Domanin               25/10:13.186(1) 15/09:27.869
(2)                 
    63    3  Thiago Nascimento           25/10:17.977(1) 20/09:09.020
(2)                 
    64    1  Antonio Benchimol           25/10:19.598(2) 24/10:01.323
(1)                 
    65    5  Pablo Iravedra              24/10:00.625(1) 17/10:01.456
(2)                 
    66    7  Eduardo Dulac               23/08:35.419(1) 17/10:01.478
(2)                 
    67    1  Martin Zuccala              22/08:17.859(2) 21/10:08.027
(1)                 
    68   10  Nestor Vidaurre             22/10:18.300(1) 14/09:22.057
(2)                 
    69    7  Felipe Ribeiro              21/10:09.259(2) 20/10:44.588
(1)                 
    70   10  Alejandro Cabrera           20/09:33.017(1) 3/01:13.787
(2)                  
    71    2  Gabriel Wolanski Brito      20/10:14.466(2) 15/04:59.228
(1)                 
    72    2  Ariel Monaco                19/10:06.028(1) 12/10:18.915
(2)                 
    73    3  Flavio Elias                14/05:29.718(1) 9/05:38.413
(2)                  
    74    4  Martin Forms                14/10:19.485(1) 13/08:20.905
(2)                 
    75    9  Renato Paiva                10/03:27.178(2) 1/10:21.613
(1)                  
    76    2  Henrique Winik              8/06:13.480(2) 2/01:39.364
(1)                  
    77    4  Juan Carlos Rossi           1/08:09.772(1) 0/00:00.000
(2)                  
    78    9  Vitor Carneiro              1/10:08.723(2) 1/10:09.093
(1)                  
    79    6  Cesar Salvadori             0/00:00.000(2) 0/00:00.000
(1)                  
    80    9  Decio Moraes                0/00:00.000(2) 0/00:00.000
(1)                  
    81    6  Gabriel Rasteli             0/00:00.000(2) 0/00:00.000
(1)                  
    82    4  Milhen Farah                0/00:00.000(2) 0/00:00.000
(1)                  
    83    5  Rodrigo Canselo             0/00:00.000(1) 0/00:00.000
(2)                  
    84    2  Rafael Viveiros             0/00:00.000(1) 0/00:00.000
(2)                  
    85    6  Eduardo Dias                0/00:00.000(1) 0/00:00.000
(2)                  
    86    4  Brett Parker                0/00:00.000(1) 0/00:00.000
(2)                  


#221 of 438 by gil love (glove) on Wed Oct 13 15:45:31 2004:

the heats are overlapping the pics...i cannot see...choco


#222 of 438 by Mike Myers (mike) on Wed Oct 13 16:01:32 2004:

The above list is the un-official results, directly from the computer.
They may change or be revised if any racer is disqualified.  I hope to 
have final, official, results by early this evening.


#223 of 438 by gil love (glove) on Wed Oct 13 16:40:08 2004:

HEY MIKE,WHEN ARE WE GONNA SEE A PIC OF YOU WITH THE PRESS GIRLS?
CHOCO   ALSO HOW IS SALVEN DOING?I HEARD HE WAS NOT FEELING WELL 
TODAY...


#224 of 438 by Darryl Bingner (ke4pjo) on Wed Oct 13 16:55:36 2004:

Hey Mike, Get over to Josh and Jerry, and get them fired up. Tell Josh I
said to have fun.


#225 of 438 by Tom Kelley (tomdrccc) on Wed Oct 13 17:00:27 2004:

It looks like Bobby Flack won't be doing too much bumping up through 
the finals this time, lol. Which car is he driving the RRR or the FW05?


#226 of 438 by EDDY FIKES (mudduck) on Wed Oct 13 17:22:35 2004:

WHERE'S BAKER


#227 of 438 by Ted Flack (tflack) on Wed Oct 13 17:35:40 2004:

Tom,
He is running the RRR,so is Josh.

Ted


#228 of 438 by Howard Lo (solara) on Wed Oct 13 18:15:05 2004:

Eddy....Baker is 53, 28 laps, and we all know that he was messing 
around, tried not to show all he can do in 10 minutes too early.
It is not even a qualifier....just practice.


#229 of 438 by Slow Steady (ssteady) on Wed Oct 13 18:25:21 2004:

Eddy, T Torres probably got Barry into trouble when he sent those pics
of Barry with the ladies to his wife!

Barry is probably back home answering some tough questions! LOL


#230 of 438 by Jason Ashton (motoxpj) on Wed Oct 13 18:35:48 2004:

When do Quals start?


#231 of 438 by Mike Myers (mike) on Wed Oct 13 18:44:05 2004:

The above listing was qualifying, not practice.  It was also un-
official.  Here is the official list of standings, from the printout I 
was given at the end of the day:

 1 Francesco Tironi
 2 Takaaki Shimo
 3 David Spashett
 4 Adrien Bertin
 5 Josh Cyrul
 6 Chris Tosolini
 7 Massimo Fantini
 8 Ken Furukawa
 9 Takuya Ito
10 Craig Drescher

More later - am trying to figure out where things stand after most of 
round #3.


#232 of 438 by KEENAN WHITE (bdambx4) on Wed Oct 13 19:26:24 2004:

Mike how are paul's ofnas looking?


#233 of 438 by Howard Lo (solara) on Wed Oct 13 19:31:17 2004:

Mike, thanks for the clarification, I thought today is the 12th....if 
that is the case, Kyosho does dominated the whole thing, so far.


#234 of 438 by Mike Myers (mike) on Wed Oct 13 20:03:58 2004:

07 - Wednesday

Well, up until now it´s been just practice, but racing started today 
for real.  Everyone was at the track bright and early, and ready to 
finally get on the track when it counts!  The qualifying heats were 
run in a very unusual order.  Basically, the order was:
  heats 1, 2, 3, 4
  heats 1, 2, 3, 4
  heats 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
  heats 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
  heats 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9

Qualifying started off right on time, and ran pretty smoothly until 
just about the end of the morning´s schedule.  Around noon, we had a 
power failure, while heat #8 was running, but it only affected the 
public address system, not the scoring computer, so while the racers 
ran out of fuel, wondering what had happened, the race actually did 
get completed properly.  Since it was going to take a while to fix, we 
stopped for an early lunch break.

After lunch, we continued on with the qualifying, but for a brief 
interruption during heat #5 in round #3.  Fortunately, the rain was 
minimal, and racing continued on.  I think everyone breathed a sigh of 
relief as heat #9 was completed.  We would have run heat #5 over again 
right then, but moments after running race #9, it started raining yet 
again, this time a bit harder.  So, round #3 is sort of complete, but 
won´t really be finished until we get to run heat #5 over again, which 
will happen around mid-day tomorrow, weather permitting.

The racing was excellent.  The guys at the top are all quite talented, 
and while they sometimes get within inches of each other, there are 
very few collisions.  Some of the top racers looked great, and others 
who are normally up at the top really looked like they were 
struggling.  Michael Salven was still having traction roll problems.  
Barry Baker´s car did not look as good as it had during practice.  
Craig Drescher and Mark Pavidis have the best performing Associated 
cars here.  Josh Cyrul looked ballistic, but in his first heat he ran 
out of fuel inches before the finish line, in his second heat 
something in the car broke, and in his third heat he had a problem 
during his pit-stop.  To me, Josh´s car "looked" the fastest on the 
track, but that was partly because of his driving style.  Adrien 
Bertin looked flawless on the track, and Francesco Tironi ditto!  
Ditto also for Takaaki Shimo!

The Kyosho/Sirio cars certainly seem at this point to have an 
advantage.  If my attempt at sorting out where things stand right now 
after almost finishing three rounds is right, they fill the top six 
places so far, and eight of the top ten!  We´ve still got three more 
rounds of qualifying, and only the top four racers will qualify 
directly into the Final, so there is still a lot of racing to go.  
Then too, the Final will be a full hour, so while it´s important to be 
the quickest, the winner has to last a full hour on what is an 
extremely "technical" track!

The following are the official standings for the first ten places 
after round #2:

 1 Francesco Tironi
 2 Takaaki Shimo
 3 David Spashett
 4 Adrien Bertin
 5 Josh Cyrul
 6 Chris Tosolini
 7 Massimo Fantini
 8 Ken Furukawa
 9 Takuya Ito

Barring any exceptionally fast runs from any of the racers in heat #5, 
I think the following will be the qualifying standings after three 
rounds.  I will get the complete, official list tomorrow, so this is 
not an official list.  I just took the results for each of the top 
racers and listed their best qualifying finish so far: 

 1 Adrien Bertin       Sirio/Kyosho    33  10.04.361
 2 Francesco Tironi    Sirio/Kyosho    33  10.05.575
 3 Josh Cyrul          Sirio/Kyosho    33  10:05.592
 4 Takaaki Shimo       Sirio/Kyosho    33  10.07.294
 5 David Spashett      Sirio/Kyosho    33  10.07.935
 6 Chris Tosolini      Sirio/Kyosho    33  10.09.553
 7 Massimo Fantini     Serpent MAX     33  10.11.342
 8 Mark Green          Serpent Picco   33  10.14.896
 9 Takuya Ito          Sirio/Kyosho    33  10:17.383
10 Ken Furukawa        Sirio/Kyosho    32  10:02.463

Tomorrow we will run the remaining three rounds of qualifying, as well 
as running heat #5 from round #3.  We will see if the weather 
cooperates.  It should be another exciting day of racing!! 


#235 of 438 by Pete (peterc) on Wed Oct 13 20:23:25 2004:

Mike, are these Sirio motors newer versions? 


#236 of 438 by GILBERT MYERS (choco69) on Wed Oct 13 20:28:35 2004:

any pics for wednesday?choco


#237 of 438 by Mike Myers (mike) on Wed Oct 13 20:38:02 2004:

Other than meeting current IFMAR specifications, Andrea said the 
engines are not really "new".  What is very different in the "whole 
package" is the car.  


#238 of 438 by GILBERT MYERS (choco69) on Wed Oct 13 20:43:29 2004:

pics mike,pics...i am having withdrawls....help......choco


#239 of 438 by Andhy Djianto (andhy) on Wed Oct 13 21:39:35 2004:

This response has been erased.



#240 of 438 by Mike Myers (mike) on Wed Oct 13 22:01:47 2004:

I was told that this made it more fair.  To me, it seems like it did 
the opposite.  

Tomorrow, we run
  heats 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
  heats 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
  heats 1, 2, 3, 4
  heats 1, 2, 3, 4
  heats 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1

I think the people involved probably do have a really good reason, and 
I´ll try to find out what it is.


#241 of 438 by Andhy Djianto (andhy) on Wed Oct 13 22:08:15 2004:

thanks ..for the explanation


#242 of 438 by EDDY FIKES (mudduck) on Wed Oct 13 22:08:36 2004:

SO WHO LOOKS FAST MIKE


#243 of 438 by Mike Myers (mike) on Wed Oct 13 22:19:20 2004:

[IMAGE]
Team Associated [IMAGE]
Qualifying [IMAGE]
Mark Pavidis, Craig Drescher [IMAGE]
Michael Salven, Takaaki Shimo [IMAGE]
Craig Drescher, bottom-side up [IMAGE]
Armaud Chaussard trying to avoid Michael Salven [IMAGE]
Chris Tosolini [IMAGE]
I told you we had fast marshals! [IMAGE]
Adrien Bertin (we expect Adrien to be TQ after three rounds) [IMAGE]
Francesco Tironi (we expect Francesco to be in second place in the standings
after three rounds) [IMAGE]
Josh Cyrul (We expect Josh to be third in the standings after three rounds)


#244 of 438 by Andhy Djianto (andhy) on Wed Oct 13 22:22:53 2004:

great shots !! THANK YOU !


#245 of 438 by integra (integra) on Wed Oct 13 23:02:36 2004:

Can someone please post the brand of tires most of the Kyosho drivers
are using?  Those white spoked wheels....are the ones I'm talking about....

Oh, by the way.  THOSE ARE GREAT PICS MIKE!!!!!!! 

Thanks for posting them.

Ronnie


#246 of 438 by T Torres (kiddyno) on Wed Oct 13 23:03:51 2004:

It's a Cyrul World... Kick some @ss, Josh! 
Thanks, Mike! Each day I wait for your photos... it's like waiting 
for Christmas. 


#247 of 438 by Andhy Djianto (andhy) on Thu Oct 14 00:02:00 2004:

to integra: those are Kyosho touring tires, the box are red color (not the
green GRP Powers)


#248 of 438 by Dave Calwell (dcalwell) on Thu Oct 14 01:12:10 2004:

Just curious,

Note Josh's front window cutout, i would have thought that was illegal 
as it extends from the window to the roof.

I thought the windscreen cooling hole and refuelling hole had 2 be 2 
seperate holes.

Any clues.

Dave


#249 of 438 by welly (gearbox) on Thu Oct 14 01:25:21 2004:

mike, you wouldn't have refueling piccys by any chance, would you ?


#250 of 438 by Joe Hwee (joehwee) on Thu Oct 14 02:33:30 2004:

Dcalwell: As long as the hole is don't exceed 50mm it should be fine 
cos that's consider the refuel hole.


#251 of 438 by GILBERT MYERS (choco69) on Thu Oct 14 04:08:33 2004:

OH MY!AWESOME PICS MIKE...DAMN...YOU OUTDO YOURSELF EVERYTIME...CHOCO...


#252 of 438 by craig hawkins (craigh) on Thu Oct 14 06:31:11 2004:

Very impressed with the RRR.

It may be early but they seem to have it covered.

I recon Josh will be the man and take the big trophy.


#253 of 438 by Jim La Stella (jiml) on Thu Oct 14 07:46:46 2004:

Looks like the K cars are kicking serious butt!!!

Note to Team Associated:  Get your butts in gear, guys!


#254 of 438 by Ron Trobaugh (duneland) on Thu Oct 14 08:14:46 2004:

Go Kyosho/Sirio! -----------Spark looks out the window for signs 
of 'flying monkeys' or perhaps an off-worldly hue to the sky!


#255 of 438 by gil love (glove) on Thu Oct 14 08:46:38 2004:

GO SERPENT!WIN!WIN!CHOCO


#256 of 438 by Spark (spark) on Thu Oct 14 08:49:49 2004:

:-D  Kyosho good.  I been saying it for a long time.  haha.


#257 of 438 by Slow Steady (ssteady) on Thu Oct 14 11:19:51 2004:

Yeah choco ... GO SERPENT! 


#258 of 438 by gil love (glove) on Thu Oct 14 12:02:44 2004:

I HAVE FAITH THAT SERPENT WILL BE IN TOP 10 THIS YEAR....GO SERPENT!!!!
CHOCO


#259 of 438 by J Pablo Ramirez V (juparave) on Thu Oct 14 12:13:34 2004:

Where are the HPI guys?  Guess that Kyosho is going to take the win for
the first 200mm World Championship.


#260 of 438 by Slow Steady (ssteady) on Thu Oct 14 12:20:22 2004:

J Pablo, I understand that the only people driving HPI cars are Team
Brazil.  I think you might be right about Kyosho too. There's a
dinstinct advantage to have 8 out of 10 drivers up there plus they're
all fast. If one drops out, there's others to take the win.


#261 of 438 by Tom Kelley (tomdrccc) on Thu Oct 14 13:07:04 2004:

No HPI no Hara? Guess this one is the fault of IFMAR scheduling both 
electric TC and World TC events one after the other. This is why Yokomo 
is not even going.


#262 of 438 by Robert Morris (maxrpm) on Thu Oct 14 13:33:42 2004:

Masami and Hara both wanted to concentrate on the electric worlds and 
that is why they did not go to Brazil.  Traveling back and forth is 
grueling.


#263 of 438 by Andhy Djianto (andhy) on Thu Oct 14 13:42:11 2004:

A lot of people have been saying this. So, I just want to point out that EP
Worlds is definitely NOT the main reason. It isn't fair to say that to IFMAR.
If it were the case, then JMRCA (Japanese body) would have informed IFMAR
through FEMCA. Moreover, Masami n Hara would not have registered in the first
place, especially Masami would not have participated in the Pre Worlds. Every
one knew about the dates in Brazil n Florida. In addition, Mugen Seiki (Fukuda,
Tanaka, Osaka) and Kawahara (Kitade, Yuruki) do ot have anything to do with EP
Worlds, yet they cancelled. I am sure Yokomo, HPI, Mugen Seiki and Kawahara are
dying to get the 200mm IFMAR title. Mind you, Surikarn also canceled as soon as
Kawahara canceled. You might remember that both Kawahara drivers (Surikarn &
Kitade) made it to the Grand Final in 1:8 Worlds Cincinnatti and were doing
really well! THe true reasons might not come out to the public, perhaps not for
the time being. Some people knew what actually happened but it is not fair to
the parties involved if those people who knew started to spread the stories.
Besides, travelling from Sao Paulo to Florida is not that hard...


#264 of 438 by Andhy Djianto (andhy) on Thu Oct 14 13:51:04 2004:

Mike, how's the track condition this morning? Did it rain overnight?


#265 of 438 by Pooh (poohman) on Thu Oct 14 13:52:36 2004:

Now Im wondering what happend. The race is not as big as I thought it would b.
Im sure Im not the only one that feels this way.


#266 of 438 by Andhy Djianto (andhy) on Thu Oct 14 14:18:25 2004:

86 racers in an IFMAR Worlds can't be called 'big'. Also if we look at the
number of the countries present.


#267 of 438 by Jarrod Pilone (jpilone) on Thu Oct 14 14:20:46 2004:

the 1/12th and ISTC electric worlds coming up later this month has 
around 209 entries.


#268 of 438 by gil love (glove) on Thu Oct 14 14:35:21 2004:

THATS NO GOOD....CHOCO


#269 of 438 by Pooh (poohman) on Thu Oct 14 14:44:05 2004:

Thats what im talking about there seeems 2 b very few drivers there. Sometimes
we get more drivers at club races. Someting is wrong. But Im happy 4 the guys
that did make it there.. KICK ASS TEAM MUGEN!


#270 of 438 by Douglas Day (dougday) on Thu Oct 14 15:17:52 2004:

I suspect that the cost of travelling there was very high. The 
Brazilian customs is making it harder for them as well, in terms of 
future races.

We had more racers last weekend at our state series race.


#271 of 438 by Jason Ashton (motoxpj) on Thu Oct 14 15:53:52 2004:

Jarrod- Are all the ifmar worlds limited to 150 entries? i know 1/8th 
off-road are, and they have a waiting list 100 strong for each worlds.


#272 of 438 by gil love (glove) on Thu Oct 14 15:54:22 2004:

GOGOGOGOGOGOGOGOGOGOGGOGOGOGOGOGOGOGOGOGOGGOGOGOGOGO SERPENT!!!CHOCO


#273 of 438 by Slow Steady (ssteady) on Thu Oct 14 16:29:22 2004:

I've posted the top 10 positions if you're interested. This is only 
after partial round 4 but its the faster groups that ran first and 
even so only Mark Pavidis managed to improve. go to http://3hobby.com


#274 of 438 by Pooh (poohman) on Thu Oct 14 17:00:59 2004:

Yeah 86 drivers at a worlds is really poor attendance. Thats y 1/8 is the
best!!! MRX-4 all day! Winternats it's on!


#275 of 438 by Pooh (poohman) on Thu Oct 14 17:49:59 2004:

Man I don't think they should ever have a worlds in Brazil anymore! IFMAR
really needs 2 look in2 these things b4 they alow a race somewhere. I hear that
there r tons of tyres stuck in costoms. And there having problems with fuel.


#276 of 438 by craig hawkins (craigh) on Thu Oct 14 18:21:54 2004:

Andy, in post 263 you seem to indicate that you have some idea as to 
why there are some big name pull outs. Would you like to give us some 
more info?

In regard to the numbers (or lack of). The 235 part of the event was 
cancelled because of lack of entries for the pre-worlds (or so I'm lead 
to believe).

I think the pre-worlds in Aust for 1/8th only attracted 3-4 entries.

At least there would have been more poeple there if they had of run the 
235 class as well.


#277 of 438 by Slow Steady (ssteady) on Thu Oct 14 18:24:49 2004:

Pooh, I agree with you. Sort of defeats the purpose of holding a race
when half the field is "limping" on the wrong tyres (if they have any
left by now) and whatever else that the customs are holding.


#278 of 438 by Pooh (poohman) on Thu Oct 14 18:31:23 2004:

Yeah then there woulda been 88 total drivers. 86 1/10 and 2 235...lol I love
IFMAR and they've done a great job in the past. But this time I think it was a
waste.


#279 of 438 by Tom Kelley (tomdrccc) on Thu Oct 14 18:59:07 2004:

In my post earlier I stated IFMAR was wrong for making both worlds on 
the same day. Since this opinion was not adequately informed I apolgize 
for making that statment. I'm sure IFMAR did what they had to do. In 
any case, I'm sure it was a scheduling compromise. In any case we'd 
like to hear why there was so many last minute pullouts. Maybe they 
knew ahead of time about how customs with the tires and fuel. I wonder 
if Masami had a bad trip through customs and told others from Japan to 
save the trip.
 
Perhasps 235mm racing would have made for an interesting addition to 
fill out the entries a little more. At the last event in 2002, both 
classes were run in the same event, but the 200mm was a 'World Cup', 
and the 235mm were 2wd TC's. Many top drivers went back to back for 1 
hour twice, which is probably why no one wanted to do it.


#280 of 438 by Mike Myers (mike) on Thu Oct 14 20:14:08 2004:

08 - Thursday

We got to the track this morning to find the whole place soaked.  It 
was still raining, and didn´t really stop for another hour or so.  The 
weather forecast was pretty poor, but we were hoping to get some 
qualifying completed.  Eventually, the sun came out, the track did dry 
up, and by mid-morning qualifying got started again.  There were a few 
weather interruptions, but by the end of the day, we had finished 
round #3, finished round #4, and started round #5.  

The situation on qualifying right now, is that if tomorrow morning is 
decent weather, we hope to be able to complete the fifth round of 
qualifying.  If the weather is wet, round five will be scrapped, and 
qualifying positions will be as posted below as of round #4.

It wasn´t really all that bad a day; while the rain did make a mess of 
things, we still got in lots of racing.  One advantage of not having a 
full field of 150 racers is that the Finals will not take as long as 
they otherwise would, an the IFMAR crew can be more creative about 
scheduling, having from now through Sunday to complete the event.  As 
to the qualifying itself, the positions at the top remained relatively 
unchanged.  The only big change is that Mark Pavidis got in a good 
run, an moved into 10th position, moving Michael Salven down to 11th.

I do have a cute story regarding Michael.  In resp:sgrid8,125,158 I 
wrote about Mauricio Marques, who had been struggling with his Serpent 
710.  I asked Michael if he would mind looking over their car, and 
Michael said he would be glad to.  So, I brought Mauricio and his car 
over, and Michael checked everything out, making some suggestions on 
how to fix the problems.  Well, that made a night and day difference!  
The car was finally working again, and Mauricio was again able to 
drive it without all the strange handling problems.  Well, today, 
while Michael and his mechanic were sitting in the stands, I noticed 
Mauricio ready to go out and qualify, and pointed him out to Michael.  
Michael watched for a bit, turned to his mechanic, and said Mauricio´s 
car was working better than his own car!  In parts of the track where 
Michael had to be so careful not to traction roll, Mauricio was just 
driving real hard, sometimes getting up on the berm and everything, 
with the car having no tendency to traction roll whatever.  We talked 
about it for a while, and after the qualifier Michael borrowed 
Mauricio´s car to check it out.  I have not yet heard back from 
Michael as to what the differences were, but his mechanic said 
that "Mauricio´s car was a completely stock car", and Michael would go 
back to a basic setup.  I´ll say one thing - it sure made Mauricio 
feel good to have Michael ask to borrow his car to look it over!

Michael is far from the only racer having troubles - a quick look 
through the Qualifying List will show some extremely talented racers 
way down in the list.  While it is true that some of the better racers 
did not show up for this event, there is no lack of talent here!  We 
have most of the world´s best gas racers, and despite the problems 
with customs and so on, this is a maybe the best "Driver´s Track" that 
I have ever seen.  It is an extremely challenging track, and racers 
need to adapt to some really unique track situations (on-camber, off-
camber, up-hill, down-hill, bumps, etc.) 


In my previous report I wondered about the very strange qualifying 
schedule.  I asked Dallas about that this morning, and his answer 
makes sense.  Very often, the qualifiers are run from #1 through to 
the last qualifier, and then the order is reversed, with another round 
starting with the last heat and running backwards down to heat #1.  
That effectively switches the "first" and "last" heats, but the guys 
in the middle are still in the middle, regardless of the switch.  
IFMAR is trying to give everyone a chance to qualify at the beginning, 
middle, and end of a round, so everyone get an equal chance to run on 
a "better" track.

Having been at this race for so long, it is almost beginning to feel 
like I live here.  As I said earlier, the track is in the middle of 
this huge park.  It is absolutely beautiful, as you can surely tell 
from the photos.  There is a huge tent that most racers are pitting 
under.  Electrical power (220 volt) is available at each table.  There 
is also an internet connection at a corner of the tent - bring over 
your computer, plug in the network cable, and you´re on.  It is a 
short walk to the track area.  The opposite side of the track has this 
huge grandstand set up, that can hold lots of spectators.  When racers 
want to take a break, they can head up to the stands, and get an 
excellent view of the whole track.  Behind the grandstand is the food 
concession area.  The food is good, an very reasonably priced.  If you 
really want to get away from it all, you can go for a walk in just 
about any direction and go through different areas of the park.  

Here is the qualifying standings as of the end of the day today, 
through round #4.  There are 84 names, and I will type in the top 50:

Adrien Bertin
Franesco Tironi
Josh Cyrul
Takaaki Shimo
David Spashett
Chris Tosolini
Massimo Fantini
Takua Ito
Ken Furukawa
Mark Pavidis
Michael Salven
Craig Drescher
Stefano Colombini
Bobby Flack
Brandon McNally
Luca Piroalli
Barry Baker
Armaud Chaussard
Steve Olanier
Paolo Morganti
Teodorio Syah Teddy
Michael Swauger
Reto Koenig
Mauricio Busnardo
Niki Dulna
Darin Ishitani
Fabio Domanin
Paul Coleman
Carlow Peracho Heras
Flavio Elias
Gerthard Kandelhart
Felipe Francheschi
Renato Tradardi
Guillermo San Martino
Robbie Collins
Alain Levy
Cheung Hang Hung
Chad Bradley
Ramon Guasch Palma
Mauricio Marques
Fabian Kaloustian
Renato Paiva
Fernando Gaspareto
Adrien Castro
Per-Ola Hard
Marcos Pena
Erich Heshiki
Martin Zuccala
Jeffrey Lin

If I can get the official data from JL, I will type in the complete 
qualifying standings, including qualifying times.

What happens tomorrow depends completely on the weather.  If we are 
not able to complete round #5, then the top four names on the above 
list will be placed directly in the Final, and the rest of the field 
will be placed in sub-finals and have to advance up throught the field 
to make it into the Final.


#281 of 438 by Mike Myers (mike) on Thu Oct 14 20:16:37 2004:

Oh yeah...   today´s collection of photos should be pretty exciting.  
I hope to have them posted in an hour or two.  

I´ve also created item:sgrid8,141 which will ONLY have pictures in it, 
no text.  If you know someone who may not speak English, but would 
like to see the pictures, just mail them the following link:

  http://www.rc-racing.com/cgi-bin/backtalk/peek:sgrid8,141



#282 of 438 by Christian Strohm (ccks) on Thu Oct 14 20:28:17 2004:

After the qualifying heats of today, I have to change my oppinion about 
the engine power. I saw Michael Salven running, and he doesn't seem to 
lack on power. I watched him racing head-to-head with Josh Cyrul on 
round 4 for a couple of laps, and Salven would even pull up a little on 
the straight, but Cyrul catched him in the infield. It seemed that 
Salven had to slow down too much to make the tighter corners without 
traction-rolling, while Cyrul's V-One RRR seemed more planted. But 
power was definitively not a problem for the new Mega!


#283 of 438 by Christian Strohm (ccks) on Thu Oct 14 20:36:36 2004:

Mike, where can I post the articles translated into portuguese?


#284 of 438 by Juan Pablo Ramirez Vega (juparave) on Thu Oct 14 20:38:10 2004:

Slow Steady, it is a shame that for whatever reason some teams decided
not to attend to such event.  I was waiting to see the ROAR Champion.

On the other hand I'm really exited to know stories like the one's that
Mike tells about things happening on track.  Also, those great photos
that he takes (better every time), I'm looking forward to get the video.

So, keep posting.


#285 of 438 by Patricio Concha (tabushi) on Thu Oct 14 20:45:35 2004:


Mike,


What you think about the finals ?, they will be held on Saturday as 
scheduled or will be at Sundays morning ? ... i will have to work over 
until saturday night but i would love to drive to Jundiai and at least 
see the finals ...

thanks and WOW, you are doing a GREAT JOB OUT THERE !!!

Pat


#286 of 438 by Mike Myers (mike) on Thu Oct 14 21:18:23 2004:

Christian, just create a new item (go to "conf home" and click on the 
icon for entering a new item) and post it in Portuguese.

Patricio, I expect they will be held on Saturday.  If it rains all day 
Saturday, that would be a different story, but the chances are that we 
will have enough good track time Saturday to get the racing in.

....and you´re welcome!    ....to everyone!


#287 of 438 by Andhy Djianto (andhy) on Thu Oct 14 21:21:51 2004:

Craig, it's a long story and I'd like to leave that to those directly 
involved to clarify. Sorry. It had been a subject of discussions among 
people in the industry (in Asia) since almost 3 months ago. At first, 
it was two manufacturers pulling out, then the other two followed. 
That's all I could I say, really.

I mentioned about the 'true reasons' because there's been too many 
speculations which were not fair to the parties involved. It's 'not' 
EP Worlds schedule, for sure. THe 235 would not have been much of 
help.  All those missing top drivers from Japan's best manufacturers 
do not have any interests in 235 and the 235 is really dead in most 
part of Asia.

The custom story is also not a reason. Everybody, who are used to 
racing "worldwide" knows exactly how the custom in many countries can 
be a real problem. May be it isn't fair to say this: but I am from and 
am living in countries where custom duties are extremely unreasonable 
(30-50% subjected to rc goods, classified under 'exclusive items') and 
charge duties based on retail values (if they could find them printed 
somewhere, i.e. regardless of any invoices accompanying the goods. 
However, the good news is that "everything" can be arranged in such 
countries, if you know what I mean.

But being a race organizer myself, it is the responsibility of the 
race organizer to prepare this thing and to ensure all visiting racers 
(with all their equipments) could get into the country without too 
much hassles. I am sure that the organizer of this event had done 
their job. But sometimes 'things' happen. I don't know what exactly 
happen in this event. I am not speculating, but could give you some 
examples based on our own experiences. e.g. the manufacturers not 
using the "right" freight shipping method due to miscommunications, or 
manufacturers/ shippers not being flexible enough etc.

In my opinion, some manufacturers must learn to appreciate there are 
still so many countries having unreasonable custom duties/ regulations 
and if they are interested to bring in their goods (for racings or 
sales distribution), they must be more flexible and listen to the 
local parties involved.


#288 of 438 by Mike Myers (mike) on Thu Oct 14 22:07:56 2004:

Photos from heat #8 of Thursdays Qualifying [IMAGE]
Chris Tosolini [IMAGE]
Barry Baker [IMAGE]
Massimo Fantini [IMAGE]
Francesco Tironi [IMAGE]
David Spashett [IMAGE]
Takuya Ito [IMAGE]
Paulo Morganti [IMAGE]
Adrien Bertin


#289 of 438 by Mike Myers (mike) on Thu Oct 14 22:17:09 2004:

Photos from heat #9 of Thursdays Qualifying [IMAGE]
Ken Furukawa [IMAGE]
Takaaki Shimo [IMAGE]
Craig Drescher [IMAGE]
Fabio Domanin [IMAGE]
Amaud Chaussard [IMAGE]
Mike Swauger [IMAGE]
Mark Pavidis [IMAGE]
Josh Cyrul (just as Mark started to give Josh a bit more room)


#290 of 438 by Mike Myers (mike) on Thu Oct 14 22:19:19 2004:

...and no, that last picture is real, not a setup!  Mark was a bit out 
of control and was trying to give Josh a bit more room just at the 
exact moment I snapped the shutter.  The cars are flying - it´s the 
1/2000 shutter speed that froze the action!




#291 of 438 by Andhy Djianto (andhy) on Thu Oct 14 22:30:12 2004:

thanks again, Mike. I wondered why Massimo Fantini used Mugen Seiki (Fast)
tires/ rims.. the last shot in post #288 conveyed the elevations in the track..
cool!


#292 of 438 by Brett Waudby (brettw) on Thu Oct 14 22:31:21 2004:

Mike those pic are amazing! Thanks for the updates!


#293 of 438 by Mike Myers (mike) on Thu Oct 14 22:32:44 2004:

More Photos from Thursdays Qualifying [IMAGE]
Checking a Sirio pipe [IMAGE]
The start of a qualifier [IMAGE]
Rene pitting during a qualifier [IMAGE]
Alberto pitting during a qualifier


#294 of 438 by T Torres (kiddyno) on Thu Oct 14 22:41:15 2004:

Wonderful job, Mike!!! Regarding everyone's take on countries that 
IFMAR World events should be held to avoid excessive duties or 
detained shipping problems... wherever you go now a days, it will 
be the same thing. It's just like Andhy Djianto said, "everything" 
can be arranged, you just need to be creative. 


#295 of 438 by Andhy Djianto (andhy) on Thu Oct 14 23:02:19 2004:

Indeed..it's been a great event... the best coverages ever, especially through
Mike's writing and Mike's lenses ... Regardless of the missing of some of the
world's best drivers and the rains, it's been amazing ... As Mike rightly
pointed it out: internet connections at the paddock, good food with reasonable
price etc. etc. It's all good !


#296 of 438 by Dave Calwell (dcalwell) on Thu Oct 14 23:20:50 2004:

Bodies,

Is the Mazda 6 the new Stratus :-), sure seems to be popular.

DC


#297 of 438 by Jerry S (jez) on Thu Oct 14 23:26:39 2004:

just what i was about to say....is everyone using the mazda 6?
great photos mike


#298 of 438 by pwidjaja (pwidjaja) on Thu Oct 14 23:27:13 2004:

Hi Mike, if there is a change, please snap one of Teodorio Syah Teddy 
either in action or in the pit. Thanks a lot.


#299 of 438 by welly (gearbox) on Thu Oct 14 23:46:46 2004:

thanks mike for the refueling/pitting pics. are they not using fuel guns
?


#300 of 438 by welly (gearbox) on Thu Oct 14 23:48:26 2004:

who's alberto pitting for ?


#301 of 438 by integra (integra) on Fri Oct 15 00:08:22 2004:

Again, Great Pics Mike.  I am amazed how many Kyosho's are at the top. 
Kyosho has some great drivers and good car setups......

Just if I could find out where we can get some of those Kyosho tires
that all of them are using.....that would be great.

Thanks.

Ronnie


#302 of 438 by chris verano (ceexlo) on Fri Oct 15 00:17:28 2004:

I think Alberto is fueling Darin Ishitani's car.


#303 of 438 by welly (gearbox) on Fri Oct 15 00:33:01 2004:

why wasnt he pitting for serpent ?


#304 of 438 by T Torres (kiddyno) on Fri Oct 15 00:36:34 2004:

I'm glad to see all the Mazda6 bodies. At least the full scale 
version of the 6 is being raced in the SWC TC Series. I think Dodge 
stopped racing the vintage Stratus way back. It's too bad EFRA 
won't approve it because the full scale Mazda6 in the UK has a 
different truck lid. If IFMAR approves it, shouldn't EFRA? If IFMAR 
approves any body shouldn't all organizations (ROAR, EFRA, FEMCA, 
FAMAR, BRCA) allow them? 


#305 of 438 by pwidjaja (pwidjaja) on Fri Oct 15 02:38:49 2004:

T Tores, I think they have their own pride and wanted to be aknowledge.


#306 of 438 by Mike Myers (mike) on Fri Oct 15 05:49:17 2004:

Today is going to hopefully be the remainder of round #5, and then the 
lower Finals.  Hopefully I will wake up in time to figure which way 
the cars are going...   :-)

Weather outside is cool and damp, but not raining.  That is probably a 
good sign, although it is a 45 minute trip to Jundiai, where the track 
is located.


#307 of 438 by Slow Steady (ssteady) on Fri Oct 15 07:10:49 2004:

Mike, drink a cup of them Brazilian coffee brew before you make your 
way to the track. We don't want out star reporter getting lost on the 
way to the track! LOL


#308 of 438 by Jim La Stella (jiml) on Fri Oct 15 07:45:32 2004:

All region 1 gas racers please note where the cars are during 
refueling!!!


#309 of 438 by gil love (glove) on Fri Oct 15 08:59:37 2004:

thanks mike for a great report!great pics!choco


#310 of 438 by gil love (glove) on Fri Oct 15 10:07:37 2004:

WHY IS CUSTOMS HOLDING THE 2000 GRP TIRES?I THINK ITS A SET UP AGAINST 
TEAM SERPENT...THAT SUX!CHOCO


#311 of 438 by Pooh (poohman) on Fri Oct 15 11:23:25 2004:

No thats means tyres r heldup 4 everybody.


#312 of 438 by gil love (glove) on Fri Oct 15 11:26:05 2004:

thats not good for all teams then.....hey pooh,i still may get that mrx 
4....choco


#313 of 438 by Howard Lo (solara) on Fri Oct 15 11:39:17 2004:

Serpent cannot get 42 shore foams (Ellegi) locally at Brazil? No one 
run Serpent and Ellegi in Brazil? Or no local shop carry Ellegi?


#314 of 438 by Howard Lo (solara) on Fri Oct 15 12:38:35 2004:

They just cancelled TODAY's (15th) qualifier (cannot completed the 
full 5th qualifying).....so that means the result after the 4th round 
is the final orders.......www.mytsn.com does have some updated/latest 
info.


#315 of 438 by Pooh (poohman) on Fri Oct 15 12:46:36 2004:

The 4 is a great car so get it. Trust me!


#316 of 438 by gil love (glove) on Fri Oct 15 13:28:49 2004:

thanks pooh...got any pics of your mrx 4?choco


#317 of 438 by Pooh (poohman) on Fri Oct 15 14:38:18 2004:

Naw no pic not yet. i don't paint very well so I kinda keep pic 2 a low. U
going 2 the winternats?


#318 of 438 by Rick Wilson (m2spec99) on Fri Oct 15 14:41:09 2004:

I just spoke to John Grant (President of IFMAR)they are starting to run 
the lower mains now....


#319 of 438 by gil love (glove) on Fri Oct 15 14:53:39 2004:

HEY POOH,I MIGHT GO...


#320 of 438 by greg degani (gregdeg) on Fri Oct 15 16:06:56 2004:

THere has been on on going strike at the ports in Brazil for some time 
now, your lucky to get anything delivered at all...   MAn I cant belive 
that the Kyosho Cars are working that good...I was considering going 
but Bradley talked me out of it, he was like "why go, your guys car 
sucks" He's like 3 laps off the pace now...


#321 of 438 by Spark (spark) on Fri Oct 15 17:24:16 2004:

lol, sorry bout his luck :)


#322 of 438 by craig hawkins (craigh) on Fri Oct 15 18:04:58 2004:

Thanks for the reply Andy.

I guess we will have to read about it in Racing Lines.

I hope it isn't a political thing because it's sad when that happens.


#323 of 438 by EDDY FIKES (mudduck) on Fri Oct 15 19:03:11 2004:

SO WHO'S TQ NOW


#324 of 438 by greg degani (gregdeg) on Fri Oct 15 19:29:46 2004:

Adrien Bertian, Go to www.Rbproducts.com for mor ecomplet listings


#325 of 438 by greg degani (gregdeg) on Fri Oct 15 19:30:11 2004:

Thats Complete!I mean..


#326 of 438 by Patricio Concha (tabushi) on Fri Oct 15 19:39:53 2004:

I dont believe the lack of tires for serpent team.   The local serpent 
distributor (who is runing the worlds too) is distributor for Enetti 
Tires too ...



#327 of 438 by Tom Kelley (tomdrccc) on Fri Oct 15 19:46:25 2004:

On TSN their saying Mark Green ran all lower finals in the rain. Mark 
Green had to start from the bottom final and bumped up all the way. I'm 
just curious what different things they do for the setup for the wet 
conditions?


#328 of 438 by Mike Myers (mike) on Fri Oct 15 20:04:43 2004:

09 - Friday

The weather Friday started out cool, but dry.  It looked like we would 
be able to get int he fifth round of qualifying after all.  The track 
crew got busy early in the morning sweeping off the track, in 
preparation for the rest of round #5.  

Observations - There are three main things you need in order to do 
well on this track.  First, you need a very fast engine.  There are 
many long straight sections of the track, and wide, sweeping turns, 
and to do well you need as fast as angine as possible.  Second, you 
need a chassis that is "planted" on the track, and which allows the 
car to make the best use of all that engine power.  The track is a 
combinatin of many different sections, and you need a chassis that 
works well on all of them.  Third, you need outstanding driving 
ability.  With the best drivers in the world racing here, the 
difference between them is measured in hundredths of a second, and 
that is the difference between being at the top and being an "also 
ran".  I guess I should add one more thing you need - luck.  While the 
best drivers make their own luck, stuff happens, and it´s best to not 
have things beyond your control go wrong.

If you have a team competing at an event like this, it certainly helps 
to have as many talented racers as possible racing your brand of car.  
That way, if something does go wrong for one driver, you have someone 
else ready to step into his place.

Applying the above to this race, the Kyosho/Sirio team seems to have 
an advantage.  The Sirio engines are right up there at the very top 
performance wise.  As to top speed, all the better cars are reasonably 
equal.  With a radar gun, Massimo Fantini was clocked at 103kph with a 
Max engine.  Adrien Bertin was turning 100 to 101 kph.  Josh Cyrul was 
getting up to 99kph.  Most of "the fast guys" were in the range of 98 
to 100, so engine power alone is not going to give anyone a huge 
advantage. However, over the whole track, the Kyosho/Sirio cars seem 
to be a step above the rest.  They look the most stable, and seem the 
easiest to drive fast.  As Jerry Cyrul put it, "The Kyosho is the only 
car that will allow the hoursepower to be put down".  I should add 
that while most of the Kyosho drivers were using Kyosho tires, Josh 
was using Jaco.  There is a 2mm difference in off-set between them, so 
the setup on Josh´s car is slightly different than the setup of the 
rest of the team cars.  While just about the whole Kyosho team is now 
using the new V-One-RRR, Takuya Ito and Hung Cheung Hang are still 
using the shaft drive car.  

As to driver ability, Associated, Kyosho, Mugen, and Serpent each have 
drivers at the very top level.  All of them are capable of going home 
with the World Championship victory.  However, Kyosho now has the most 
cars (seven) in the top 10.  Serpent has two, and Associated has one.  
The four cars that did advance directly to the Final are all Kyoshos.  
Everyone else will need to work their way up through the lower 
finals.  

At this particular event, the track has a huge influence on the 
event.  Most tracks are built on a level field, and while they might 
have "better" or "worse" asphalt, it isn´t too hard to eventually find 
a good setup for the track.  The Jundiai track is different from 
anything I have yet seen.  The layout is technical, but not too 
difficult.  What makes it so unique and challenging is the vertical 
changes.  Unlike most tracks, the far-away sections of the track, 
including the back-stright are much lower than the front sections.  
This is obvious if you look at the track from either end, but you can 
not see it from up on the driver´s stand.  It takes additional skill 
to compensate for something you can "feel" but not "see".  Then too, 
the camber of the track is constantly changing.  Sometimes the track 
is "banked" at an agnele to allow you to go faster, but there are also 
places where it is banked the wrong way - sometimes right next to each 
other.  It takes excceptional skill to drive this track at the fastest 
possible speed.  Many racers were still trying to find a good setup, 
even as they were running the qualifiers.


Today´s Events:

Qualifying started at 9:30am.  It was cool, but dry.  We started out 
with heat #7, ran #8, and got started on heat #9.  Michael Salven´s 
traction rolling problems were still evident.  Actually, none of the 
cars "looked" as good as they had when the track was in better shape.  
Midway through the event it started to drizzle.  Josh started to spin 
out on the wet track coming onto the straightaway, the wheels hit the 
berm, and the car rolled.  A few minutes later it was beginning to 
rain a bit harder, and the heat was stopped.  It was announced that 
the heat would be re-run at the end of the round, and weather 
permitting we would still get to complete the full round #5.  Well, 
the weatherman was not cooperating at all, and the rains started up 
again even harder.  After a short delay, it was announced that round 
#5 would be cancelled, and qualifying would be finished as of round 
#4.  


It was announced that the lower Finals would start at 1:30pm, rain or 
shine.  Racers were quickly scrambling to find suitable tires, and to 
weather-proof their electronics.  It was raining even harder when the 
first sub-final started.  With only three cars in this race, and since 
all three would bump-up, all they needed to do was put in a lap. The 
race actually went a bit longer than that, while everyone at the track 
crowded around to see what racing in the rain was going to be like.  
For the most part, the cars were just slipping and sliding, creating 
nice rooster-tails for my photos.  It was lots of fun for the 
spectators, but probably not much fun for the drivers.

The 1/32 B-Final was a full field of ten cars.  Mark Green easily 
dominated this event, driving as if racing in the rain was no big deal 
for him.  Coming from England, it isn´t!  The first three finishers, 
who get to bump-up, were Mark Green (37 laps), Christian Ausweger 
(34), and Luiz Marco Pozzan (29).

The 1/32 A-Final had half the cars out before the race was even 
minutes old.  The rains started up again, and for a while were down to 
just one car running.  As the rain got harder, the track got more and 
more slippery, as the puddles grew into lakes.  The race eventually 
settled down to around three cars running at a time.  The top three 
finishers were Javier Hernandez (34 laps), Henrique Winik (33), and 
Eduardo Dulac (24).

A computer glitch delayed the start of the 1/16 B-Final.  The rain 
hadn´t let up, and the track almost looked more suitable for small 
boat racing.  I was told that most electric rubber tires work well on 
a wet track.  The real problem is keeping the engine running well.  
The electronics of course have to be waterproofed.  For many, MANY 
racers, that was the real problem today!  Anyway, Erich Heshiki won 
this race doing 42 laps.  He was followed by Mark Green (39), and 
Hermann Berger (33).

The rain slowed down a bit before the start of the 1/16 A-Final.  The 
track was still soaked though.  The marshals tried to sweep off the 
water into the drains, but the puddles instantly re-appeared as soon 
as they were emptied.  About this time, the track people got some 
raincoats that we could use, to help keep dry.  The pitmen really 
appreciated them!  Again, several cars had radio problems, almost 
certainly from wet electronics.  Gabriel Wolanski Brito won this 
event, with 41 laps.  The other two bump-ups were Keevin Sharp (38) 
and Dennis Picthail (38).

There was a delay in starting the 1/8 B-Final.  It was just long 
enough to allow the rain to start up again.  Yet again, cars that had 
bumped up from a previous race had radio problems, apparently from 
moisture working its way into the electronics.  Despite the wet track, 
these guys looked quite a bit faster, and seemed more like they were 
actually racing each other, rather than just trying to get through the 
wet track.  Mark Green and Alain Levy were the fastest - Alain was a 
tad faster than Mark, but got into difficulty more.  Mark Green won 
this race with 42 laps.  Alain also did 42, and Guillermo San Martino 
is the third bump-up who will get to race in tomorrow´s events, 
finishing with 41 laps.

The final event for the day was the 1/8 A-Final.  There was a long 
delay before starting the race, and it was already getting dark.  
Cold, wet, dark...  not very exciting racing conditions!  Gabriel 
Wolanski Brito never started.  Mauricio Marques went half a lap before 
his electronics quit.  Chad Bradley got in a whole 4 laps.  Mid-way 
through the race, the only way to even attempt to get a photo of the 
cars was to use a flash, which I stopped using when I heard it might 
bother the racers.  Dennis Picthail won the race with 41 laps.  Cheung 
Hang Hung finished in second, also with 41.  Keevin Sharp took third 
with 39.  It´s a good thing the race ended when it did.  A few more 
minutes and the cars would need headlights!



Racing is now finished for today.  The upper Finals are scheduled to 
start at 9am tomorrow (Saturday).  With any luck, we will get some 
better weather than we had today.  We´ve got the whole weekend if 
needed to get in the last few races, and everyone is hoping to be able 
to race on a dry track!


#329 of 438 by Mike Myers (mike) on Fri Oct 15 20:07:31 2004:

....look for some fascinating photos to be posted later on tonight!


#330 of 438 by Mike Myers (mike) on Fri Oct 15 22:17:01 2004:

Lower Finals - Racing in the RAIN!! [IMAGE] [IMAGE] [IMAGE] [IMAGE] [IMAGE]
[IMAGE] [IMAGE] [IMAGE] [IMAGE] [IMAGE] [IMAGE] [IMAGE] [IMAGE] [IMAGE] [IMAGE]
[IMAGE] [IMAGE]


#331 of 438 by Mike Myers (mike) on Fri Oct 15 23:05:14 2004:

Photos from the Pits, Friday Morning [IMAGE] [IMAGE] [IMAGE] [IMAGE] [IMAGE]
[IMAGE] [IMAGE] [IMAGE] [IMAGE] [IMAGE] [IMAGE] [IMAGE]


#332 of 438 by Steve Talley (hothead) on Fri Oct 15 23:24:34 2004:

I see Raygun found his giant guinea pigs again. lol


#333 of 438 by EDDY FIKES (mudduck) on Sat Oct 16 00:10:29 2004:

LOOKS LIKE PAUL IS GONNA BE IN TROUBLE


#334 of 438 by T Torres (kiddyno) on Sat Oct 16 00:35:24 2004:

Eddy, maybe Paul was inspired by Masaaki. Or maybe he stole the 
hat, because the Mugen pit looks pretty sad.

BTW... Great stuff, Mike! Thanks for relaying the Finals and pics. 
The pit shots are awesome! Were they shot today? All I see are foam 
tires and no balloons. 


#335 of 438 by Mark Pearson (markp27) on Sat Oct 16 03:06:57 2004:

Is there a list of who has made it through to the 1/4 finals?


#336 of 438 by Michel Nijman (border) on Sat Oct 16 03:27:27 2004:

I see Paul use a New Mega too ?
Mike is the best RC reporter ;)
He Mike please say hello from me too JP please 


#337 of 438 by Slow Steady (ssteady) on Sat Oct 16 04:00:02 2004:

Mike, you saying there's two Serpent in the top 10, who are they? I
thought Massimo was the only one?


#338 of 438 by Slow Steady (ssteady) on Sat Oct 16 05:04:49 2004:

Not sure how useful it is but if you *need* to see it I've listed the
top 7 positions of each Semis at http://3hobby.com

We just need to wait for today's Quarter finals now.


#339 of 438 by Slow Steady (ssteady) on Sat Oct 16 07:02:02 2004:

Mike, are you able to access your email? 


#340 of 438 by Bob Malphurs ROAR# 3-76576 (bobm) on Sat Oct 16 09:35:43 2004:

 I had an e-mail from Jl Pereira (JLap) last night, he said they where 
having problems with the Internet connection at the track. They're 
using a radio antenna type connection but uploads are very slow to non-
existing!


#341 of 438 by Slow Steady (ssteady) on Sat Oct 16 10:17:31 2004:

No wonder there's draught of news.:(


#342 of 438 by Spark (spark) on Sat Oct 16 11:42:05 2004:

Mike this is some of your best coverage yet.  Thank you so much.


#343 of 438 by Slow Steady (ssteady) on Sat Oct 16 12:28:49 2004:

And we know it would be even better if Mike had good internet access! 


#344 of 438 by andrew chan (choisan) on Sat Oct 16 12:59:43 2004:

Bros, anyone knows what is the result of the other Kyosho Japanese 
driver such as Ito & Ken Fukuyama?


#345 of 438 by Bobby Flack (bflack) on Sat Oct 16 13:37:24 2004:

RACE #1 - 1/2 #B

Pos Car Driver´s Name  Laps Total Time  Fastest Lap  On Lap  
1 8 Mark Green 93 30:06.519 18.415 1 
2 1 Chris Tosolini  92 30:14.773 18.151 85 
3 7 Arnaud Chaussard  90 30:02.890 18.639 22 
4 10 Flavio Elias  89 30:05.628 18.806 22 
5 3 Mark Pavidis  82 29:49.384 18.067 1 
6 9 Michael Swauger 73 24:19.780 18.610 59 
7 4 Craig Drescher  72 23:19.355 18.238 45 
8 6 Luca Piromalli  65 20:00.923 18.933 2 
9 2 Takuya Ito  60 19:43.448 17.717 1 
10 5 Bobby Flack  10 03:22.626 19.060 3 


No this isn't Bobby, its his mom


#346 of 438 by Bobby Flack (bflack) on Sat Oct 16 13:40:16 2004:

RACE #1 - Semifinal #A

Pos Car Driver´s Name  Laps Total Time  Fastest Lap  On Lap  
1 1 David Spashett  95 30:10.992 16.282 1 
2 10 Teodorio Syah Teddy 94 30:10.771 18.359 40 
3 4 Michael Salven  94 <font size="1"  

This all they had for A


#347 of 438 by Andhy Djianto (andhy) on Sat Oct 16 14:02:09 2004:

more news for our SE Asian friends: Teddy Syach made a history ... please read
here www.tq-racing.com I am just too excited to write anything more..


#348 of 438 by Cindy Cyrul (ccyrul) on Sat Oct 16 14:11:55 2004:

This is running order for the A-Final based on the info posted at 
www.tq-racing.com to start at 3PM Brazil time / 2PM EST

1.Adrien Bertin (Kyosho) 
2.Francesco Tironi (Kyosho) 
3.Josh Cyrul (Kyosho) 
4.Takakaki Shimo (Kyosho) 
5. Davit Spashett(Kyosho) 
6. Teodorio Syach Teddy (Kyosho) 
7. Michael Salven (Serpent) 
8. Ken Furukawa (Kyosho) 
9. Mark Green (Serpent) 
10. Chris Tosolini (Kyosho) 


#349 of 438 by Bobby Flack (bflack) on Sat Oct 16 14:19:17 2004:

GO JOSH!!!!!


#350 of 438 by Andhy Djianto (andhy) on Sat Oct 16 14:26:18 2004:

Thanks Cindy... I have been so overwhelmed .... with all due respects to all
other drivers, I must say that Teddy has just written a history. Mark Green is
also re'mark'able indeed... I don't know if anybody else ever did from 1/64th
all the way through the grand final. In all honesty, no one would have expected
Teddy to make it to the Grand Final in 6th place.. I know the Final is not even
started yet, but for us in SE Asia (I think), Teddy has just 'won' the Worlds.
From an unpopular country like Indonesia with a very tiny RC market. Even Team
Kyosho did not consider Indonesia was part of their team as we can see pretty
well from the photo session, where A HongKong driver was there, but the
Indonesian man. FYI, Teddy is not new to rc racing and have been attending a
few IFMAR WOrlds (1:8 Mexico, Sydney etc.). He is the best in Indonesia and
among the very best in SE Asia.. It's good to know more and more people from SE
Asia make their name (after Surikarn Chaidajsuriya etc.) All the very best to
the Grand finalist .. and MAY THE BEST WIN!!!


#351 of 438 by Slow Steady (ssteady) on Sat Oct 16 15:51:05 2004:

Yes, two names are special this WC ... Mark Green and Teddy Syach!!! Go
guys, go guys!


#352 of 438 by masaaki hirosaka (masaaki) on Sat Oct 16 15:55:22 2004:

Results

1  Adrien Bertin
2  Takaaki Shimo
3  Chris Tosolini


#353 of 438 by Douglas Day (dougday) on Sat Oct 16 16:01:49 2004:

Kyosho VoneRRR makes it 1,2,3. Dominating the worlds in a most 
devastating manner.

Wow!


#354 of 438 by Andhy Djianto (andhy) on Sat Oct 16 16:39:46 2004:

It's a total KYOSHO DEMOLITION !!! Congratulations to Kyosho - Sirio and of
course to the winner : Adrien Bertin ...


#355 of 438 by Mick (assassin) on Sat Oct 16 16:47:29 2004:

This response has been erased.



#356 of 438 by Mick (assassin) on Sat Oct 16 16:49:17 2004:

The 1/8 worlds and now this (too bad about the offroad lol.)

Spark will now jump in and tell us, kyosho good. :-)


#357 of 438 by Michel Nijman (border) on Sat Oct 16 16:55:27 2004:

1  Adrien Bertin
2  Takaaki Shimo
3  Chris Tosolini


if this the final result then Adrien has a Top-Top-Top Year !
already European Champ. 1/8 th
and Now this ..
Whow 
that's kicking....


#358 of 438 by Slow Steady (ssteady) on Sat Oct 16 17:01:27 2004:

Yes Michel, agreed. Big congratulations to all three of them as well
Team Kyosho/Sirio.

Now the question is will you give us a huge discount for the 710 and
*cough* the V1RR.  :-D


#359 of 438 by Spark (spark) on Sat Oct 16 17:30:37 2004:

Mick, Kyosho good!!

Kyosho had 6 consecutive offroad 8th titles they had to let someone 
else have a chance ;)  lol.


#360 of 438 by GILBERT MYERS (choco69) on Sat Oct 16 18:02:08 2004:

its not over yet,,,choco


#361 of 438 by Spark (spark) on Sat Oct 16 18:05:13 2004:

Whats not over yet? I thought it was?


#362 of 438 by Michel Nijman (border) on Sat Oct 16 18:28:39 2004:

Adrian Bertin World Champion
French Kyosho--Sirio driver Adrian Bertin is the first IFMAR World 
Champion for 1/10 scale 200mm. He drove a flawless and superb race. For 
the first half hour the race was between Bertin and Cyrul. Cyrul lost a 
full lap on the tire change, and when later on the side belt went he 
was out of the top-3. Shimo and Toselini backed up Kyosho's victory 
with 2nd and 3rd.

source mytsn


#363 of 438 by Tom Kelley (tomdrccc) on Sat Oct 16 18:48:26 2004:

The entry list says Bertin is from Luxembourg. Anyone else change 
tires? Oh yeah we gotta wait for Mike's report :-(. Sounds like Josh 
got his side belt back on, Not an easy task with a hot pipe even with 
gloves and they must have got it back on fast.


#364 of 438 by Cesar Salvadori Jr (csjr) on Sat Oct 16 20:17:49 2004:

yep....he's from luxembourg.......

the drivers changed their tires........


#365 of 438 by Cesar Salvadori Jr (csjr) on Sat Oct 16 20:34:19 2004:

hey mike.....i'm the guy that took a picture of you today....please 
publish my photo....becoming famous with some help of mike 
myers......hauhauahuhahauhauhuahuahua! thanks! you did a very nice 
job!!!!


#366 of 438 by Douglas Day (dougday) on Sat Oct 16 20:40:02 2004:

Mike, you have totally outdone yourself.

This is the best coverage of a race that I have ever seen.

Thank you for your wonderful pictures and writeups. I felt as if I were 
there.


#367 of 438 by Mike Myers (mike) on Sat Oct 16 22:47:14 2004:

10 - Saturday

Saturday started off with gray skies with occasional patches of blue.  
The only thing good about the weather report was that the 80% chance 
of rain was better than Sunday´s 90% chance.  Who knows, maybe we 
might get lucky...

When we got to the track it was soaked (no surprise), but the skies 
were only partly cloudy and with a little help from the sun the track 
started to dry off.  The schedule called for racing to start at 9am, 
weather permitting.  The local TV station was already here, and set up 
a broadcast truck to beam the television feed off to the station for 
live coverage.  

As this is being written, at 9am, who knows how the event will turn 
out.  An hour is a long time to race, especially for these 200mm 
touring cars.  We have the top four positions filled in the Final 
(Bertin, Tironi, Cyrul, Shimo) an the ret of the field will need to 
advance from the lower finals.  One thing is for sure - whatever car 
wins at this track is going to be the most-wanted car for anyone 
racing in the 200mm class!  (If it wins on Sunday, it sells on 
Monday.)  Of couse, this is really Saturday...

One of the interesting things about this event is that there isn´t 
really anything "new" in way of cars and engnes.  Rather, it is seeing 
the existing designs refined and enhanced.  Mugen does have a new car 
in the works, but it isn´t expected to be available until some time 
next year.  Serpent is racing the S710, with only some minor new 
parts.  The team cars are quite stock.  Even the Kyosho V-One-RRR is 
based on their previous model (but has numerous changes to provide 
additional adjustment and to improve the handling).  Of course, they 
also have their shaft drive car, but the latest belt drive design has 
proven to be faster.  (There seems to be an ongoing race between the 
Kyosho belt-drive design team and the shaft-drive design team to out-
do each other!)  The OFNA car looks quite good, but will any of their 
drivers be able to run with the fastest racers in the world in this 
class?   We will see...

1/4 FINALS
The track dried off, everyone got organized, the sun came out, and we 
were ready to go racing!  The B 1/4 Final started at 9:45 under 
(temporarily?) sunny skies.  It was a nice start, but after one lap 
Paulo Morganti got tangled up in traffic, spun around, and was quickly 
way back in the pack.  The running order was Flavio Elias, Mark Green, 
Mauricio Busnardo, and Mikey Swauger.  Flavio got into a crash with a 
lapped car and had to be brought to the pits for repairs.  Shortly 
after that, Mike Swauger got into a wreck with another car.  His body 
got pushed in, and the car wouldn´t move.  The turn marshal was trying 
to stop the engine by closing off the stinger when a track official 
came running over, took the car, fixed the body, and put Mikey back on 
the track.  The incident put Mikey way back, but not nearly as much as 
if the turn marshal had shut off his engine.  The order was Mark, 
Darin Ishitani, Mauricio, Flavio, and Paolo.  Mikey was driving like 
his life depended on it, and quickly got by Mauricio.  It was soon 
Mark out front, with Mikey battling with Flavio.  Mauricio later on 
told me that the other cars had more traction, and he was really 
struggling to keep up.  When he saw Mikey coming up on him, he knew 
that Mikey was faster and would get by.  When time ran out, Mark won 
with 61 laps, Mikey got second with 60, and Flavio finished in third, 
also with 60 laps.  They would all advance into the B Semi-Final.

After a short break, we started the A 1/4 Final.  By this time the sun 
had come out, it was getting hot, and the skies were a perfect Kodak-
blue.  There wa a slight delay in starting this race due to a 
transponder problem, but that was quickly sorted out.  Steve Olanier 
in car #1 flamed out at the start, and had to start from the pits.  
The initial running order was Fabio Domanin, Teddy Syach, Reto Koenig, 
and Carlos Peracho Heras.  It was obvious who the crowd was rooting 
for - Teddy!  Whenever he did something particularly good, everyone 
started yelling and cheering him on!  Fabio meanwhile was having 
problems, flaming out a couple of times.  Carlos quickly moved into 
the lead, and the running order was Carlos, Niki Duina, Teddy, and 
Steve Olanier. They traded places a few times.  Steve and Niki were 
soon fighting over second, but while this was going on, Teddy was 
gaining on both of them.  With a couple of minutes to go, Teddy made a 
pass and got up to third spot, but then spun out and had to do it all 
over again.  With a minute to go, Teddy clearly had the faster car.  
He caught up and took over the third bump-up spot, leaving Steve 
behind.  So, the cars that advanced to the Semi-Final were Carlos (61 
laps),  Niki (also 61) and Teddy (60).

After the Quarter-Finals there was a long break.  The top four cars 
had a full hour of practice and test time.  As I saw it, that meant I 
had an hour-long photo session to try to get the best possible close-
ups of each of them!  The practice session gave the rest of us some 
free time, but it was soon time to get back to racing.


SEMI FINALS
The B Semi-Final had a clean start for the cars near the front, but it 
was a mess in the back half of the field.  Takuya Ito had the lead at 
the start, but Mark Pavidis was soon out front.  Mark had to make a 
lengthy pit stop, and Takuya took back the lead, followed by Craig 
Drescher, Mikey Swauger, and Mark Green.  Around nine minutes into the 
half-hour race, the order was Craig, Takuya, Mikey, and Mark Green.  
Mark Pavidis flamed out, and Takuya had problems.  Mikey was soon in 
the lead, with Mark Green trying to catch him, followed by Craig.  
Mikey pitted, and spun out coming out of the pits, but quickly 
recovered.  Mark Green took over the lead, with Mikey in second, and 
Craig in third.  The race was a little more than half over.  Mikey 
tangled with a lapped car, but recovered without losing too much 
time.  However, Mikey´s car just didn´t seem to be as fast as it had 
earlier.  With nine minutes left, the order was Mark, Craig, and 
Mikey, with Flavio just a little further back.  Several cars had 
problems and came into the pits.  Mikey´s car looked like it flamed 
out, and it too had to be brought back to the pits.  Then Craig had 
problems, and it was back to the pits for him too.  Mikey´s car 
wouldn´t keep going - we later on found out it was a broken throttle 
servo.  Craig was out as well.  With four minutes to go, the order was 
now Mark Green, Chris Tosolini, and Flavio.  Flavio got a "stop-and-
go" penalty with under two minutes to go, which put Amaud Chaussard 
into third, out of reach of Flavio.  That´s how the race ended, with 
Mark going 93 laps, Chris going 92, and Amaud going 90.  The top two 
cars (Mark and Chris) would advance to the Final.  Amoud might 
advance, unless the third and fourth place cars in the A Semi-Final 
were both faster than his time, in which case he was done and the four 
cars from the A Semi advanced into the Final.  Speaking of advancing, 
Mark Green deserves special attention here!  Mark started out in the 
1/32 final, and advanced all the way to the Final!  He raced in the 
rain, he raced in the dry, and he maybe had the best performing 
Serpent at the event!  We would soon find out.

The A Semi-Final was now up.  Niki Duina broke one of the first rules 
of racing - do not break your car in warm-up.  He had some repairs to 
do.  Michael Salven also had problems, and asked for a ten-minute time 
to fix his car.  Michael, his pitman, and Rene all started working on 
the car, trying to get it finished in the allowed time.  They finished 
with a minute or so to spare, but Michael now had to start from the 
11th spot on the grid, rather than his #4 spot.  The race started, and 
it looked like a David Spahett show from the beginning.  Dave was way 
out front, building up his lead.  He was followed by Barry Baker, 
Michael Salven, and Ken Furukawa.  Michael and Barry got together in a 
turn, and Michael got the better end of the deal, leaving Barry 
behind.  Ken Furukawa then came up to pass Michael, and they too got 
into a tangle, with Ken getting the worst of it.  He had a lot of 
ground to make up to catch up to Michael again.  The running order was 
now Dave, Michael, and Teddy.  This is where it really gets 
interesting...   Here is Michael Salven, one of the world´s fastest on-
road fuel racers, and this completely un-known (to me) driver is 
catching up to him, and fast.  So who is Teddy?  Whether any of us 
knew him or not made no difference, he wanted to get by Michael, and 
right now!  He did, too, with Michael´s car ending up in the grass.  
Dave had a problem, and dropped back, but was quickly working his way 
back to the front.  Teddy was leading, with both Dave and Michael 
coming up on him.  Teddy went wide to give Dave room to pass (it was 
obvious Dave was quicker than Teddy) but with Michael trying to catch 
him, Teddy just went faster.  With 15 minutes to go, it was Dave, 
Teddy, Michael.  Michael did go by, and with ten minutes left in the 
race, Michael was in second, with Teddy back a little, but Teddy just 
pushed a bit harder and was soon up with Michael trying to go by.  The 
crowd loved it - everytime Teddy closed in on Michael, they yelled, 
and when Teddy passed Michael they yelled even louder!  With seven and 
a half minutes left Dave led, then Teddy, then Michael.  Michael got 
by Teddy, but then took a turn a bit too tight, went through the dirt 
a bit, and Teddy got by once more.  The race ended with David getting 
95 laps, Teddy doing 94, and Michael also doing 94.  The crowd in the 
grandstands was going wild, and I figured I needed to find out who 
this Teddy person was.  It turns out he is a rather famous television 
person in Asia, with lots of websites talking about him...   
Unfortunately, I can´t read them, as they are all in Indonesian!



THE FINALS
So, we now had a nice long break to allow all the drivers in the Final 
to get ready.  Finals were to start at 3:00pm.  The starting order for 
the Final would be:
   Adrien Bertin    - Kyosho
   Francesco Tironi - Kyosho
   Josh Cyrul       - Kyosho
   Takaaki Shimo    - Kyosho
   David Spashett   - Kyosho
   Teddy Syach      - Kyosho
   Michael Salven   - Serpent
   Ken Furukawa     - Kyosho
   Mark Green       - Serpent
   Chris Tosolini   - Kyosho

After driver introductions, warm-up, and a practice start for each 
driver, we were ready for the big one.  I think the news of this race 
must have spread all through Jundiai, as not only were the grandstands 
packed, so was every available inch of fencing surrounding the track.  
I´ve never seen this many spectators at an r/c car race before!  The 
race was on!

Adrien Bertin took off in the lead.  Francesco Tironi was second, but 
had a problem on lap #5 and dropped back to last.  Eight minutes in, 
on lap #17 Josh Cyrul, who had been shadowing Adrien, went by, and now 
it was Adrien´s turn to play shadow.  The order was now Josh, Adrien, 
and Takaaki Shimo.  About 11 minutes in, Michael Salven had a problem, 
and his car went flyng quite high up in the air.  Chris Tosolini 
meanwhile had worked his way back up to the front, and went by Takaaki 
to take over third place.   By 17 minutes in, Adrien had re-taken the 
lead, with Josh a short distance back, followed by Chris.  Josh closed 
the gap, and got by Adrien.  It was now 22 minutes into the hour-long 
race.  Takaaki dropped back a bit, and the order became Josh, Adrien, 
Chris, and David Spashett.  Teddy "Cinderella" Syach had a problem on 
lap #45 - Chris´car did something unexpected, and Teddy´s car hit 
him.  It didn´t hurt Chris, but the rear pulley on Teddy´s car was 
damaged, and he had to come in for very lengthy repairs.  (I was told 
that the Kyosho team nick-named Teddy "Cinderella" as they had all 
their official "team cars" in the Final, and here they got one bonus 
car into the final, driven by a privateer!!)  Half way through the 
race, many of the cars came in for a tire change.  Takaaki didn´t plan 
on changing tires though, so the new question would be whether 
Takaaki´s saving the time for a tire change would give him an 
advantage over the others.  About this time Michael started having 
problems.  He spun out once, and then flamed out on the back straight. 
After that, he also got a "stop-and-go" penalty.  Shortly after 
Michael´s trouble, Josh also had problems, with his car being carried 
back to the pits.  It turns out that both Josh and David had the same 
problem during this race, with the pressure line coming off.  With 39 
minutes into the race, the running order was Takaaki, Chris, and 
Adrien.  Takaaki was fast, but Adrien, after his tire change, was 
faster yet, and quickly was closing in on Chris and Takaaki.  By 44 
minutes into the race, Adrien was in the lead, followed by Takaaki and 
Chris.  Ken Furukawa was in 4th, ready to take over a podium spot if 
anything happened to one of the leaders.  However, the remainder of 
the event was rather un-eventful, with everyone playing "follow the 
leader".  The only racer who could run with Adrien was Josh, and while 
he did get by Ken, he was six laps down from Adrien, with no chance 
whatever to catch up.  That´s how the race ended...

  1 Adrien Bertin       190 laps
  2 Takaaki Shimo       188 laps
  3 Chris Tosolini      185 laps
  4 Josh Cyrul          184 laps
  5 Ken Furukawa        184 laps
  6 Mark Green          183 laps
  7 Francesco Tironi    182 laps
  8 David Spashett      179 laps
  9 Michael Salven      167 laps
 10 Teddy Syach         124 laps

I did not say it during practice, and I tried not to say it during 
qualifying, but now I guess it´s appropriate...  It was nothing short 
of total domination by the Kyosho/Sirio team!  They had eight of the 
top ten cars in qualifying, and after the bump-up process had sorted 
itself out, they had eight of their cars in the Final...   and 
finished 1, 2, 3, 4, 5!  It´s a job well done!!!!


When everything was over, I asked Adrien for his thoughts about the 
race.  "I think it was a nice competition, a real competition, as all 
the factories and the best drivers were here.  This gives a real 
credit to the title.  I am very proud about the work of our team; I 
want to cheer all the work done by my team mates, and I have a special 
vote for Josh.  I think if I ever lose a title in the future, I hope 
it will be to Josh, because he is for sure one of the best in the 
world.  And I am very proud of our performance for Kyosho and Sirio."

I asked Adrien if there was anything special about the race he might 
want to say.  "I did not expect that Shimo would not change tires.  
But then, I pushed, and was sure I could be much faster.  I knew our 
qualifying tires were 4 tenths faster per lap, so I could catch him 
easily.  They also help save the engine."  (As far as I know, on the 
Kyosho/Sirio team, only Shimo did not change tires.)


Well, the race is over, and it was a fantastic event!  The group from 
Jundiai that put on the event did a superb job!  There were certainly 
a lot of difficulties that they had to overcome, but in the end, it 
all worked out wonderfully!  The track was certainly challenging, as a 
World Championship track should be.  the facilities were first rate.  
Everything happened reasonably well, and despite having to deal with 
some horrible weather mid-week (this is the fist time I have ever 
experienced racing in the rain!), in the end it was a real winner!  
They should also get an A+ for maybe the very best public address 
system of any race I have ever been to.  You could hear the speakers 
from anyplace around the track.  I do not think that anyone is going 
to forget this event for a long, LONG time!


#368 of 438 by pwidjaja (pwidjaja) on Sat Oct 16 23:05:27 2004:

Great coverage mike!!.. hoping more pictures coming :).. Looks like 
there is reasons for the next worlds event will be in Indonesia. 
Congratulation to Teddy Syach... Dont you worry, all serpent drivers 
WORLDWIDE knows your name well before your result... 
http://www.daltonshop.com/tips_tricks.htm



#369 of 438 by Mike Myers (mike) on Sat Oct 16 23:56:51 2004:

Pictures are on the way...  there are four 512-meg Compact Flash cards 
all full of images from today!  Yikes!!!!   I know who I should email 
all of them to...    :-)


#370 of 438 by Pooh (poohman) on Sat Oct 16 23:59:50 2004:

GREAT JOB MIKE,


#371 of 438 by Jim La Stella (jiml) on Sun Oct 17 00:20:13 2004:

What's this about the first 200mm World Champion?  What about the race 
in Ohio 2 years ago?

It's one thing for one driver with one particular car to win a world 
championship.  It's another when 8 out of 10 cars are the same make!  
Congrats to Kyosho and Sirio, and Adrien.


#372 of 438 by Mike Myers (mike) on Sun Oct 17 00:27:09 2004:

Jim, if I remember correctly, at the race in Ohio, there was only 
one "World Championship", and that was for the 235mm class.  As I 
recall, the 200mm class was a "World Cup".   


#373 of 438 by David Joor (joor) on Sun Oct 17 00:43:57 2004:

The words that come to mind are, "Holy Crap", when I think of the 
domination at an IFMAR Worlds.  Congrats Kyosho Team and especially to 
Teddy, privateers own!

Thank you Mike for the awesome coverage, you'll be going down in 
history as well :)


#374 of 438 by Mike Myers (mike) on Sun Oct 17 01:10:31 2004:

[IMAGE] ADRIEN BERTIN -- 2004 IFMAR 200mm On-Road Fuel WORLD CHAMPION!!!


#375 of 438 by Mark Pearson (markp27) on Sun Oct 17 02:26:07 2004:

Like the comment about emailing the pics, Mike!! *evil-grin*


#376 of 438 by J Pablo Ramirez V (juparave) on Sun Oct 17 02:51:13 2004:

Great coverage Mike, I really appreciate your work and effort to give 
us all the info available of the first 1/10 200mm World Championship.

Thank you.


#377 of 438 by iwan tirtha (iwan) on Sun Oct 17 05:58:04 2004:

Thank you very much for your a great coverage on the events! Can't 
wait for more pictures!


#378 of 438 by Andhy Djianto (andhy) on Sun Oct 17 08:44:48 2004:

Oct 17 More bits about Teddy Syach ... We just received more stories from
Racing Lines' chief editor, about the famous TV actor from Indonesia.
Apparently, the crowd were amazing. Perhaps the name "Teddy" and the fact he
was from a fellow third world country captured the crowd's imagination and they
really got behind him, cheering wildly when he moved into the lead at one stage
of one of the lower finals and then when he made the move ups. At the
introduction of the drivers the crowd chanted "Ted-dy, Ted-dy" for ages - also
the same at the presentation. Quite amazing, we have never heard that before!
It was apparent that he was pretty excited as well, a couple of times the
persona was dropped and the real Teddy was unmasked! In the final he got up to
third placing at one stage but that collision with Tosolini damaged the idler
gear. Bad luck but a fantastic effort. We hope everyone in Indonesia (and SE
Asia as well) are excited and happy and that it helps lifts RC in this region


#379 of 438 by Christian Strohm (ccks) on Sun Oct 17 09:21:37 2004:

This response has been erased.



#380 of 438 by Christian Strohm (ccks) on Sun Oct 17 09:22:28 2004:

This response has been erased.



#381 of 438 by Christian Strohm (ccks) on Sun Oct 17 09:25:06 2004:

This response has been erased.



#382 of 438 by Christian Strohm (ccks) on Sun Oct 17 09:25:15 2004:

This response has been erased.



#383 of 438 by Patricio Concha (tabushi) on Sun Oct 17 09:46:01 2004:

GREA GREAT GREAT JOB MIKE !!!

Thanks a lot for bring us all the info about thjis fantastic event !!!

cya !!

Pat



#384 of 438 by Mike Myers (mike) on Sun Oct 17 12:10:37 2004:

Miscellaneous images from the last day, Saturday [IMAGE]
Paul Colemans OFNA Hyper GPX4 [IMAGE]
Pauls OFNA Hyper GPX4 [IMAGE]
Mark Green [IMAGE]
Teddy Syach [IMAGE]
Takaaki Shimo, heading for the Final [IMAGE]
Team Serpent, at the Awards Ceremony [IMAGE]
The Serpent Virtual Team, at the Awards Ceremony, Tim Bervoets and Pieter
Bervoets [IMAGE]
Some of the people who put on this race! Good Job!!!!


#385 of 438 by Andhy Djianto (andhy) on Sun Oct 17 12:32:09 2004:

I will repeat what everyone else has said: THANK YOU Mike for bringing such
prestigious event closer to us who are not able to be there ... Cheers....


#386 of 438 by Mike Myers (mike) on Sun Oct 17 13:35:10 2004:

LOWER FINALS [IMAGE]
The start of the 1/4 B Final [IMAGE]
1/4 B Final [IMAGE]
The start of the 1/4 A Final [IMAGE]
Action in the 1/4 A Final [IMAGE]
Teddy Syach (car 2) fighting Steve Olanier (car 1) for the bump-up position in
the 1/4 A Final. Teddy got it. [IMAGE]
The start of the B Semi-Final [IMAGE]
Action near the start of the B Semi-Final. [IMAGE]
More action in the B Semi-Final [IMAGE]
Mark Pavidis had car problems; here he got jammed under one of the track
boards. [IMAGE]
Michael Salven had car problems in the A Semi-Final; he was given a ten minute
period to get his car fixed. [IMAGE]
More action in the B Semi-Final [IMAGE]
The start of the A Semi-Final [IMAGE]
Action in the A Semi-Final [IMAGE]
The start of the battle between Teddy Syach and Michael Salven in the A
Semi-Final. [IMAGE]
Michael and Teddy fought back and forth for most of the race for second place.
[IMAGE]
Michael and Teddy, still fighting with just minutes to go! [IMAGE]
Teddys cheering section went wild when he passed Michael to finish in second
spot. [IMAGE]
The cars from the A Semi-Final ready for tech inspection. [IMAGE]
Teddy, extremely happy over his victory, getting ready for the Final


#387 of 438 by Mike Myers (mike) on Sun Oct 17 13:36:27 2004:

The photos of the Final, and those of the winners, will be posted in a 
few hours.  Time to head out for dinner.  :-)


#388 of 438 by Saul Fernandez (saul) on Sun Oct 17 14:14:48 2004:

Mike, Nice pictures, what camera you use to take this pictures?


#389 of 438 by Mike Myers (mike) on Sun Oct 17 16:55:36 2004:

Nikon D70, mostly with the 18-70mm lens.


#390 of 438 by Mark Pearson (markp27) on Sun Oct 17 17:33:39 2004:

Mike there is a piece of software which I use to remove noise from my
high iso pictures: Noise Ninja - it is a superb piece of software and
one which you may consider yourself.

You can find more info here: http://www.picturecode.com/index.htm

Cheers, Mark.


#391 of 438 by Mike Myers (mike) on Sun Oct 17 18:52:34 2004:

THE FINAL (A photo story - 46 photos) [IMAGE]
The start of the Final [IMAGE]
first lap [IMAGE]
first lap [IMAGE]
[IMAGE]
a huge crowd came out to watch the final! [IMAGE]
the drivers stand was full of red t-shirts [IMAGE]
the battle between Adrien and Josh went on for almost half the race [IMAGE]
here Josh is out front [IMAGE]
Mark Green made it to the Final, starting from the 1/32 Final [IMAGE]
Josh and Adrien, still at it. [IMAGE]
Tosolini goes by, as Salven is in the air. [IMAGE]
Josh and Adrien [IMAGE]
Adrien and Josh [IMAGE]
Takaaki Shimo [IMAGE]
Mark Green [IMAGE]
Josh Cyrul (photo from early Saturday) [IMAGE]
Adrien Bertin (photo from early Saturday) [IMAGE]
Takaaki Shimo (photo from early Saturday) [IMAGE]
Ken Furukawa [IMAGE]
Michael Salven and Francesco Tironi [IMAGE]
Chris Tosolini [IMAGE]
The crowd [IMAGE]
Josh [IMAGE]
Michael [IMAGE]
Michael with problems [IMAGE]
[IMAGE]
Tire change for Francesco Tironi [IMAGE]
the track [IMAGE]
the officials, running the event [IMAGE]
Just a few minutes to go... [IMAGE]
Its over! Adrien Bertin wins! [IMAGE]
the cars are stopped in front of the stand, where the officials take them to
tech inspection [IMAGE]
Adriens car [IMAGE]
off to tech inspection [IMAGE]
Adrien Bertin, World Champion! [IMAGE]
Shimo, Bertin, Tosolini [IMAGE]
Jerry and Josh Cyrul - Josh fought with Adrien for half the race, until
technical problems dropped him back. [IMAGE]
[IMAGE]
[IMAGE]
[IMAGE]
[IMAGE]
[IMAGE]
[IMAGE]
Brazilion RC enthusiasts, thrilled with how well this race went! [IMAGE]
Takaaki Shimo [IMAGE]
reviewing the race results


#392 of 438 by Mike Myers (mike) on Sun Oct 17 19:47:52 2004:

THE WINNING TEAM [IMAGE]
Team Sirio, and Kyosho, happy with Adriens victory! [IMAGE]
Adrien Bertin, World Champion! [IMAGE]
The winning car. [IMAGE]
The winning car, less body. [IMAGE]
Adriens team: Francesco Munafo - mechanic, Adrien, and Laurent San Jose -
pitman. [IMAGE]
Awesome! [IMAGE]
the Awards Ceremony


#393 of 438 by Mike Myers (mike) on Sun Oct 17 20:24:02 2004:

[IMAGE]
Team Kyosho


#394 of 438 by T Torres (kiddyno) on Mon Oct 18 01:22:56 2004:

Mike, our words can't say enough, but thank you! You're reports and 
photos have said it all!!! 


#395 of 438 by gil love (glove) on Mon Oct 18 08:15:38 2004:

CONGRATS ON KYOSHO!!CHOCO


#396 of 438 by Jeff Keeton (jkeeton) on Mon Oct 18 12:11:18 2004:

what tires were they running while running in the rain anyone know??


#397 of 438 by dkingston (mosateft) on Mon Oct 18 12:19:40 2004:

I was curious about that also.


#398 of 438 by Mike Myers (mike) on Mon Oct 18 15:07:06 2004:

Michael Salven said it did not matter; he said the big thing is to 
keep the engine running, and to waterproof the electronics.  When I 
asked again, Michael said that just about any "rubber electric car 
racing tires" will work OK in wet conditions with these sedan cars.


#399 of 438 by Mark Pearson (markp27) on Mon Oct 18 15:34:57 2004:

Hi Mike,

I take it then, that the guys were using rubber tyres? There are some
special rain tyres from a Swiss (I think) firm called Kissling, but they
are pretty expensive, ehm, no, they are very expensive: at least €77 for
a set!

Cheers, Mark.


#400 of 438 by gil love (glove) on Mon Oct 18 16:21:03 2004:

HEY MIKE,ANY MORE MISC. PICS?CHOCO


#401 of 438 by Mike Myers (mike) on Mon Oct 18 18:23:00 2004:

I asked Cesar Salvadori Júnior to send me a list of all the people who 
worked so hard to put on this race.  Here are the names:

Race Director :          Sander de Graaf
Assitent R.D.:           José Roberto Machado
IFMAR Referee:           Dallas Matthiesen
FAMAR Referee:           Manolo Vasques
FEBARC Referee:          Sergio D´Angelo Moraes
Technical Director:      Armando Nascimento, Rafael Alves de Souza
Assistent Tech Director: Claudio Margini
Timing / Scoring:        Marcelo Daud
Assitent Timing:         Jose Luiz Pereira
Radio Impound:           Alexandre Manzona, Marcos Roberto Mayer
Official Starter:        Helio Mattos
Turn Marshal Director:   Willian Batista
Annoucer:                Fabio Cirello & Diego Cirello
Registration:            Giulianno Lucca
Secretary:               Haroldo Negrini
Webmaster:               Roberto Viveiros / Cesar Salvadori Jr
General Co-Ordinator:    Edgar Ochiai


Now, another list of people that really helped with the race and/or 
deserved to be mentioned:

    Mike Myers of course!!! (race coverage)
    Rody Roem and Bernard Duran (helping some drivers and pitting)
    Mugen Seiki staff (Chris Moore, Robbie Collins, etc / offering  
      parts for free)
    Roberto Viveiros (Drivers, mechanics and press ID cards)
    Pieter Bervoets and his son (presenting the Virtual RC game)

The press (missing some names):
    Mike Myers
    Raywood R/c Videos
    Rolando Dias (RC Model Spain)
    Marc Maurus (RC Ragind Cars / RC Power - France)
    Valentino Colli (RCM magazine - Italy)
    Roberto Putvinskis & Altemar Fernandes (www.sixspeed.com.br )
    Roberto Viveiros (www.rcnews.com.br )


#402 of 438 by Mike Myers (mike) on Mon Oct 18 21:20:28 2004:

Well, thanks to Marcelo Berton, who took the following photo, if youd like to
know how all those low-angle car shots were done, heres how: [IMAGE]


#403 of 438 by Bobby Moore (bmoore) on Mon Oct 18 21:29:34 2004:

Jeff, They were round tires..prolly foam...lol


#404 of 438 by integra (integra) on Tue Oct 19 00:46:37 2004:

great pics again........Thanks Mike for the great coverage.  



#405 of 438 by Marcelo Berton (adz) on Tue Oct 19 05:45:46 2004:

Ok ... thank you Mike to put my picture here ... Now I know how to take 
this fantastics pics ... 


#406 of 438 by Mike Myers (mike) on Tue Oct 19 08:35:31 2004:

Equipment used at by the 10 racers in the final:
----------------------------------------------------------------------
 1 - Adrien Bertin
     Car: Kyosho V-One-RRR    Engine: Sirio S12TRPI   Pipe: Sirio 2611
     Tires: GRP               Fuel: Sirio             Radio: Sanwa
---------------------------------------------------------------------- 
 2 - Takaaki Shimo
     Car: Kyosho V-One-RRR    Engine: Sirio S12TRPI   Pipe: Sirio 2611
     Tires: GRP               Fuel: Sirio             Radio: Airtronics
----------------------------------------------------------------------
 3 - Chris Tosolini
     Car: Kyosho V-One-RRR    Engine: Sirio S12TRPI   Pipe: Sirio 2611
     Tires: GRP               Fuel: Sirio             Radio: Sanwa
----------------------------------------------------------------------
 4 - Josh Cyrul
     Car: Kyosho V-One-RRR    Engine: Sirio S12TRPI   Pipe: Sirio 2611
     Tires: Jaco              Fuel: Sirio             Radio: KO
----------------------------------------------------------------------
 5 - Ken Furukawa
     Car: Kyosho V-One-RRR    Engine: Sirio S12TRPI   Pipe: Sirio 2611
     Tires: GRP               Fuel: Sirio             Radio: Sanwa
----------------------------------------------------------------------
 6 - Mark Green
     Car: Serpent 710         Engine: Mega            Pipe: Mega
     Tires: Ellegi            Fuel: Runner Time       Radio: Sanwa
----------------------------------------------------------------------
 7 - Francesco Tironi
     Car: Kyosho V-One-RRR    Engine: Sirio S12TRPI   Pipe: Sirio 2611
     Tires: GRP               Fuel: Sirio             Radio: Sanwa
----------------------------------------------------------------------
 8 - David Spashett
     Car: Kyosho V-One-RRR    Engine: Sirio S12TRPI   Pipe: Sirio 2611
     Tires: GRP               Fuel: Sirio             Radio: KO
----------------------------------------------------------------------
 9 - Michael Salven
     Car: Serpent 710         Engine: Mega            Pipe: Mega
     Tires: Ellegi            Fuel: Runner Time       Radio: Sanwa
----------------------------------------------------------------------
10 - Teddy Syach
     Car: Kyosho V-One-RRR    Engine: Sirio S12TRPI   Pipe: Sirio 2611
     Tires: GQ                Fuel: Sirio             Radio: Sanwa
----------------------------------------------------------------------


#407 of 438 by gil love (glove) on Tue Oct 19 08:57:23 2004:

GQ TIRES ARE GONNA SELL NOW!!CHOCO


#408 of 438 by Jeff Keeton (jkeeton) on Tue Oct 19 09:06:44 2004:

LoL Bobby kinda figured that. Whats up bro ya get lost again, Off Road 
conference is up a little.....


#409 of 438 by Andhy Djianto (andhy) on Tue Oct 19 12:04:15 2004:

Please allow me to add the name of one of the missing press: Mr. David Smith
from Racing Lines magazine; the premier RC car magazine from Australia which is
also distributed in South East Asian countries. All reports & pictures posted
in www.tq-racing.com were from Mike Myers (this forum) and Mr. David Smith who
updated us with pics n infos on a regular basis and had provided us with
invaluable information during the crucial moments (the last day).


#410 of 438 by Cesar Salvadori Jr (csjr) on Tue Oct 19 13:00:52 2004:

sure.....

I don't know hoy caould I forget Dave Smith.....
Racing lines is a great magazine and Mr Dave is surelly a very friendly 
people....was nice to met him in Jundiai


#411 of 438 by Christian Strohm (ccks) on Tue Oct 19 14:48:29 2004:

That's right! David is a very nice guy!


#412 of 438 by Cornholio (bummer1) on Tue Oct 19 15:27:36 2004:

Mike thanks for the effort put in by you for all the write ups and 
photo's. 

Do you by any change got some info about the virtual rc game ( release 
date or so )?

Greetz


#413 of 438 by Mike Myers (mike) on Wed Oct 20 00:05:23 2004:

I will make sure to add Dave to the writeup.  

As to the virtual rc game, I know it is sometime soon, but I do not 
have an exact date.


#414 of 438 by Mauro Marques (memarque) on Wed Oct 20 08:22:19 2004:

Mike

Are you in one piece?

regards


#415 of 438 by Mike Myers (mike) on Wed Oct 20 18:55:21 2004:

I just now walked in the door.  Yes, as far as I can tell, I'm still in 
one piece.  I got to the ticket counter in Sao Paulo, only to be told 
that my flight was cancelled, but it turned out to be the situation I 
knew of, where I would have to spend the night in Santa Cruz.  Flight 
was fine, and they put me up in a first class hotel (The Gran Hotel), 
meals and everything.  The flight home today was quite late, as they 
kept the plane waiting for other arriving flights that were rather late.

I'll send you an email later tonight; I wrote something about my stay 
with you in Brazil, but I think it will be much better if you post the 
story.  :-)


#416 of 438 by Bobby Moore (bmoore) on Thu Oct 21 01:08:51 2004:

Just poking around..... Checking out whats going on in the Flat part of 
racing.. lol    looks like fun.


#417 of 438 by Slow Steady (ssteady) on Thu Oct 21 02:51:36 2004:

This response has been erased.



#418 of 438 by Slow Steady (ssteady) on Thu Oct 21 02:52:05 2004:

Must be good to be back Mike ... what's your next coverage? 


#419 of 438 by Mike Myers (mike) on Thu Oct 21 07:54:05 2004:

Next is Electric Worlds, but between now and then I need to finish up 
the race report and cut my images down to a reasonable number that I 
can put on a single CD, with captions.

Bobby's right, it was fun, especially if you were wearing a red t-shirt.


#420 of 438 by Mike Myers (mike) on Thu Oct 21 11:04:40 2004:

I took all my notes from up above and combined them into a (very long) 
race report.  I was going to post it here, but that means new people 
coming here would need to go through over 400 responses before finding 
it.  So, I created a new item for it.

The race report for the World Championships can be found in item:149.
Photos are still in item:141.


#421 of 438 by Mauro Marques (memarque) on Thu Oct 21 16:18:34 2004:

About Mike coverage.

Everybody wants to know ASAP the results and what’s in going on in a 
race like the worlds and stay on line waiting for any information (like 
me in any other “big” race). Now that the race is finished I must tell 
something about Mike’s efforts. 

I never said a word to Mike before this event and I invited him to stay 
in my home during the worlds in respect of his efforts during so many 
years before (in sgrid for instance) and his presence with us was a 
pleasure. We can’t talk so much during the races days because I was 
involved with the preparation of our car and Mike with the coverage but 
now (after the trip and coverage in Brasil) I thing that he has a new 
and different experience.

We wake up every day at 6AM and at about 8 we were in the track (for 
all days). Mike takes his camera and block note and begins to take 
pictures and talk with everybody (when possible) about the cars, setups 
and impressions. As you can imagine this is not always fast or 
possible. 

Mike also was not able to put “live” information from the track, mostly 
because he must stay tuned for everything that was going on, and after 
each run he tries to talk with the races. Then, another run starts, and 
Mike begins again to take pictures, and so on …

When we arrive at home maybe at 7pm Mike takes the computer and his 
camera, and begins to select all the relevant facts and pictures, and 
begins to write, and work with the pictures. 

This work was done every day at least 1AM (6 we wake up). His coverage 
was amazing with all the relevant facts and photos that happened in 
these days. In my opinion all the RC community must say TANKs to Mike 
(me included).

I found a secret about Mike to share with everybody. We (my family) 
believe that Mike has two empty legs. When he begins to eat something 
first both legs are filled and only after this his stomach begins to 
fill, so we need 2 or 3 cows  (rare done) every night to kill his 
hunger… hehe.


#422 of 438 by Mike Myers (mike) on Thu Oct 21 17:41:36 2004:

<grin>

Yeppers, one of the best parts of the whole trip were the trips to the 
various "Churrascarias" that we went to.  I've never had better food to 
eat in my life!  You come in, and get a table.  The waiter covers up 
your briefcase (or in my case, my camera case), and you get up to get a 
salad.  The salad bar is so good, that you could spend your entire 
night visiting it, but you need to save room.  In front of your plate 
is a small disc, red on top, and green on the bottom.  As long as you 
leave it with the red side showing, the waiters leave you in peace...  
but once you turn it so the green side shows, look out!!!  One after 
another, all the waiters start visiting your plate, each with a 
different kind of meat (steak, pork, chicken, etc...).  For a listing 
of just a few of these, there is:
  Rabo / Ox Tail
  Lagarto / Eye of the Round
  Coxao Duro ou Cha de Fora / Outside Round
  ?Coxao Mole ou Cha de Dentro / Top Inside
  Musculo / Muscle - Shank
  Picanha / Rumpsteak
  Alcatra / Top Sirloin
  Contra File Argentino (Noix) / Sirloin
  File Mignon / Tenderloin
  Aba de File / Skirt of Tenderloin Beef
  Fraldinha / Bottom Steak
  Ponta de Agulha / Short Ribs
  Capa de File / Prime Rib
  Acem / Chuck
  Braco, Pa ou Paleta / Shoulder
  Peito / Breast
  Pescogo / Neck
  File de Costela / Strip Loin
  Maminha de Alcatra / Trip-Tip
  Cupim / Hump

Most of these are on a metal "spit", and this is put back on the bar-b-
que every few minutes, so when it gets to your plate, everything is 
just dripping with flavor!!!!   (Which is why your bags and things were 
covered up).  

As long as you leave the green side showing, they keep piling your 
plate up with more food.  When you are ready, you can call for a new 
plate, and start all over again!!!!

There is no way I could describe in words how good these meals were!!!!
On a scale of 1 to 10, they are completely off the scale!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


#423 of 438 by Mauro Marques (memarque) on Thu Oct 21 20:46:49 2004:

I would like to say something about the 200mm worlds in Brasil. To 
begin something about us (my son – driver - and I –mechanic-):

We are involved with RC auto competition for about 10 years, electric 
at first and gas in the last 6 years. I’m an engineer with 49 years 
old and since 9 I flight planes. In 2000 we begin to race in 1/8 scale 
on road and love it, my son, with 20 years old now is the driver.

Here in Brasil the amount of people running 1/8 scale and 235 class is 
decreasing in the last 3-4 years, (the budget is definitively an 
issue) and we also stop racing in 2002 – 2003. 

When we knew that it will be a 200mm “worlds” in Brasil, we decided to 
join the party. We can’t miss the change to participate. We always 
were above the average team around here (locally, we “thing”) so we 
think that we can do our part in this competition.

We always like “very very” much Serpent stuff like some guys like 
green and others blue. I thing that Serpent introduced very important 
solutions for our Hobby/Sport in last X years, and is a milestone in 
this area. Our last car was a Vector and we loved it, so since we have 
to make a choice of a new car in 200mm class (after 2 years stopped) 
nothing more comfortable for us than to try the “new” 710, from a 
company that we respect so much, “we can’t go wrong with this car”.

The first time that we put this car to run was in the pre-worlds in 
Jundiaí track and we can not make the car run well. My son’s filling 
was that the car can not make the tight turns (that is so common here) 
in the same speed that the others cars can (understeering), and if he 
tries to go a little bit faster then the traction rolling appears.

At this time and during the next 5 races that we had before the worlds 
we were not 100% comfortable with the response of the car, and I 
imagined that this was because we were expecting the same response of 
1/8 scale, or that we can not be able to find a decent setup.
 
Then the Worlds begin.

The Jundiaí track is one of the most challenge tracks around here, and 
for sure it is also difficult if we compare with others tracks in the 
world, of course this is MY feeling.

For me to be close and see the top races of the world, with the best 
support, the best engines, the best everything for each one of these 
racers was very nice.

What I realized during all the worlds was that the same tendency that 
we had in our car was very similar with the top drives. Of course, our 
lap times were much worst than the top serpent guys, but all the 
serpent cars responded very similar. I’m not a so experienced guy like 
the ones from serpent of course, but this was what my eyes saw.

Nothing more natural for me (as a mechanic) to pay close attention to 
the serpent team. We went to the serpent meeting to see the best setup 
that the serpent team found until that moment and to talk with Salven 
and Rene about. I must say that Salven and Per-Ola (we had some 
contact with then) are both very nice and decent guys and Salven even 
help us in the following day to setup our car and he talked with my 
son about some tips like “how can you drive faster”.  I was surprised 
with this kind of attention and much beyond the commercial factor I 
must say tanks to both particularly, and to all Team Serpent. After 
all we are two nobody guys from Brasil !!!??? 

I thing that nobody can say that something extra field determined or 
influenced the results. I didn’t realize missing things for the 
serpent guys, like tires or something like this. The serpent team 
dispatched everything before the race (temporary importation) and as 
far I know when they arrived everything was there and ok. Beyond this 
the serpent dealer in Brasil has all stuff that we need.

In my view, the performance of Salven and Mark was ahead of the 710’s 
capabilities in the slow and tight corners if we compare with any 
other car. Maybe the 710 project was never in check before in a track 
with tight corners like the ones in Brasil and must be changed for 
this. The reason is simple: If after almost ten days nobody that 
drived Serpent cars (team serpent included) was able to find a decent 
setup to compete with others … who will? I’m not influenced by the 
results. Even if the serpent 710 was able to win the race, if you 
compare how difficult was to drive this car faster, and how easy was 
for the other cars you can conclude that the 710 has some problems (at 
least in this kind of track).

Before the worlds I was in doubt about my skills to setup the 710 and 
my son’s drive style, but now I realize that everyone that was running 
the 710 had very similar complains: The car understeer very hard 
specially in tight corners. We tried everything (even shorten the 
wheel base) and found a setup very comfortable to drive (with the 
Salven’s help), but the lap time was high. So, like the team serpent 
(congratulation to all anyway) we tried to do our best and we had a 
very good time here.

Maybe this race showed that actually there are some faster cars than 
710 especially in tracks like this, and maybe what really matters is 
the bottom line: Which one can be faster or at least more stable or 
which one can offers the best solution to the drive’s skills, and we 
could thing to change the car, but my respect to Serpent as a Team and 
specially for the Serpent´s drives like Salven and Per-Ola has 
increased a lot.

Congratulations to all, especially to team Kyosho (the red ones). 
These guys from the first day showed a very stable and a quick 
response car. It was really a shame the problem with Josh´s car. In my 
opinion the drives Josh, Bertin and Timo with the Kyosho´s car were 
two steps above anybody else.

The Kyosho´s car was so good that even Salven (no doubt one of the 
best drives) with his 710 was in trouble with Ted (from Indonesia) in 
the semi final. If I’m not wrong in the semi after every pit Salven 
comes ahead of Ted, and Ted overtake Salven in few laps. Maybe Ted was 
the happiest guy but Bertin after the race.

See you.



#424 of 438 by Jim La Stella (jiml) on Fri Oct 22 08:19:05 2004:

Definitely some great coverage,  Mike went above and beyond the call.

Great personal story from Mauro.  Would like to see more of these from 
other teams and drivers, mostly Associated.


#425 of 438 by Phil Bone (philbone) on Fri Oct 22 10:12:13 2004:

There's a Fogo de Cho resturant in Atlanta, but they don't quite have the
exotic selection as you described above. http://www.fogodechao.com/


#426 of 438 by Phil Bone (philbone) on Fri Oct 22 10:12:36 2004:

This response has been erased.



#427 of 438 by Mike Myers (mike) on Fri Oct 22 13:03:25 2004:

The following three pages will give an idea of what a Churrascaria is 
like.  Mauro took some photos of me at the table...  will download them 
and post sometime soon.
  http://www.salecarvao.com/img/img_gauchos_02.jpg
  http://www.greenfieldchurrascaria.com/Gf-logo.gif
  http://www.picanharestaurant.com/index.php?page=7


#428 of 438 by Chavo Figueroa (mrx3man) on Fri Oct 22 16:48:34 2004:

Good LOW carb diet food.


#429 of 438 by Mike Myers (mike) on Sat Oct 23 01:41:43 2004:

Some interesting statistics...   When the entry list for the race was 
at 81 cars, someone compared all the entry forms to see what people 
were using.  This was printed on a hand-out sheet at the race, that I 
never really got to looking at until earlier tonight.  Here are the 
statistics:

Cars raced:
  Associated      11
  Hyper            1
  Kyosho          11
  OFNA             3
  Mugen           20
  Serpent         27
  HPI              3
  Schumacher       2
  Team Magic       1


Motor:
  RB              15
  Picco            7
  Sirio           17
  JP              16
  Novarossi        5
  Picco Mega       5
  Novamega         5
  Max Power        6
  Top              2
  LRP              2
  Prototype        1


Radio:
  Airtronics      15
  Futaba          19
  KO Propo        24
  Sanwa           17
  JR               6


Body:
  Mazda 6         66
  Alfa             2
  Stratus         13



#430 of 438 by welly (gearbox) on Sat Oct 23 03:33:01 2004:

only 11 kyoshos ??


#431 of 438 by welly (gearbox) on Sat Oct 23 03:36:16 2004:

brazilian delicacies sure make me starve !!


#432 of 438 by Slow Steady (ssteady) on Sat Oct 23 05:39:39 2004:

Interesting stats Mike. Looks like Kyosho will be invading the Brazilian
market that has been a Serpent dominant one though.

Mazda 6 was the trick then as far as bodyshells go.


#433 of 438 by Spark (spark) on Sun Oct 24 20:33:23 2004:

Mike if you look around most major US cities have Brazilian style 
dining these days, there are a few major chains also :)  Everytime I 
go to one I walk away so full its insane.

So there really were only 11 Kyoshos there and they had 7 in the 
main?  Thats insane!

Mauro, thanks for sharing your story it was a good read.  Thanks 
also for sharing you home/internet with Mike so he could get all the 
RC junkies our fix everynight :)


#434 of 438 by Mauro Marques (memarque) on Sun Oct 24 20:42:50 2004:

Spark

No problem. Mike is always well come at my home. But I must now in 
advance when Mike is arriving to bye the cows ... hehe. Next time we 
will only eat green stuff.





#435 of 438 by Spark (spark) on Sun Oct 24 20:55:34 2004:

Ive never had a green cow :)  lol.


#436 of 438 by Mike Myers (mike) on Wed Nov 3 08:10:02 2004:

Michael Salven's Worlds 

Dear racers!
Coming back from the 1/10 scale worlds, it took me some time to 
recover. I am still thinking about the race, where we had “only” 2 cars 
in the final and Kyosho took over the other 8 places.
I was quite disappointed right after the race, but slowly I start to 
see the good points. But I have to admit, that it’s difficult. 

What happened? We arrived on Wednesday after a long flight to Sao 
Paulo, and another 1-hour trip by car to the track. The track is 
located in a nice recreational park, quite a contrast to the city of 
Sao Paulo. It has a lot of uphill and downhill parts, the straight is 
some 3m higher than the lowest part of the track. We also noticed that 
it was very dirty and quite narrow in some places. 

Thursday was the first practice day, where we struggled for grip. Our 
tires hadn’t arrived yet, so we used the few we had, all 40 shores.
Friday and even more Saturday was quite good. I get the car good over 
the bumps, which where basically everywhere, but which unsettled the 
car mostly in the very fast sweeper onto the straight. We did good lap-
times and I was quite happy. Our Ellegi tires, which should be provided 
by GRP, hadn’t arrived yet.

On Sunday the grip changed, and we started to have traction rolling. 
Because GRP was still struggling with the Brazilian customs, we had no 
harder tires to try and worked on the set-up to solve the problem. At 
the end of the day we kind of get there, no traction-roll, but a little 
bit too slow in lap-times. Basically we hoped for harder tires to go 
back to the initial set-up. 

In the night to Monday it had rained and obviously the grip had changed 
again. In terms of lap-times we where back again, but at the end of the 
day we traction rolled again. No tires yet!

Qualifying days where a mess, it rained a lot, and the race director 
tried his best to get all 6 heats, but he finally had to cancel 2 runs. 
Traction was never as good as on Sunday, which should be good news for 
us, but somehow we never found a good set-up again. That we where in 
the middle of qualifying, didn’t exactly help and the same goes for the 
tires, they never arrived. The rest of the days I borrowed whatever I 
could get, thanks a lot to team Venezuela! 
  
I had to run the semi-final, where I struggled at the end, running out 
of tires. But I managed to go through. The other final was won by Mark 
Green, who climbed all the way up from the 1/32 final, after his best 
run, a 33 lapper, who would have put him 6th or 7th on the grid, was 
cancelled, because they couldn’t finish that round due to the rain. 
Mark climbed up in the wet finals on Friday and managed to win all 
finals, including his semi-final.

I changed some things for the final, where the car felt much better and 
I could actually climb up to fourth after a short period, but then I 
touched with David Spashett and got a stop and go. After that my race 
started to get messy. Also the car became worse with smaller tires, and 
at one time I hit the pit entrance, bending my stinger pipe, which 
caused the engine to flame out a few times. After we bend the pipe back 
into shape, it ran fine again. As I said, it was a mess. 
Marks final was a bit better, he could have finished 3rd or 4th, but he 
came in a few times without the pit-crew having him called in, but also 
he was out of contention for the win. 

After a week has gone, I realize that we didn’t do too badly. With all 
the problems with customs and so on, we still got 2 cars in the final. 
We definitely had no engine or horsepower problems, and in some way we 
did better than others. But after the European title and all the other 
races where the car worked so well, it was less than we expected. We 
will do better next time, I am sure.


#437 of 438 by Slow Steady (ssteady) on Sun Nov 21 08:32:34 2004:

There's an interview with Mark Green posted over at 3hobby.com.


#438 of 438 by Mike Myers (mike) on Mon Nov 22 00:03:58 2004:

Quick link:   http://www.3hobby.com


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