Brothers Peter and Steven Jovanic demonstrate their dominance in Australia at their home track in Victoria – MRCCR / Lilydale. An excellent start by Peter saw him draw a huge gap to the rest of the field with his brother Steven in 2nd position. Even with one of the fastest tyre changes by Steven’s pitmen, Peter held his position and the brothers re-enforced their national status as the two best drivers in the country.

All bodies seen in the video are PROTOform Race Bodies!

Source: CapricornRC

Some of the best names from the Midwest were in attendance in both TC and 1/12. The largest class was Stock 17.5 TC and after a few practice rounds I already felt comfortable with my Reedy-powered TC6.1. Only a few small changes from my US Indoor Champs setup were needed to lock her down.

Modified 1/12 was a little bit more challenging. I lost traction early in the run for the first few runs but this situation continued to improve and by the second round of qualifying the problem was resolved. At the end of qualifying on Saturday I held the TQ position in both Mod 1/12 and Stock 17.5 TC.

On Sunday, I was able to improve my TQ times in both classes to secure the advantageous pole position. In the TC 17.5 main event, I was able to take advantage of the number one start and lead wire-to-wire ahead of Dave Johnson in second and Brad Johnson in third.

Things were a bit more difficult in 1/12 Modified. Andrew Knapp challenged me for the first half of the race, but thanks to a small mistake on his part, I was able open up a comfortable lead and take my second win of the weekend.

Thanks to Rapid Competition Raceway for a great event and first-class facility!

Source: http://www.myrcbox.com

Keven used a PROTOform Mazdaspeed6 body on his AE TC5 and a PROTOform AMR12 on his 12R…great job Keven!

Mike explained that he was an RC drag racer and he really needed a better funny car body to race with. Upon hearing this I immediately started fashioning a new pattern in hopes of meeting his needs. A month later I red labeled him a couple PROTOform Dodge Stealth funny car bodies and within 3 days he had used one of them to set a new world record as well as score a victory at the IEDA WORLDS in Colton CA. Needless to say this was very encouraging. NASCAR type racing was a large part of the RC on-road scene back then so I knew I needed to try my hand in that venue, a place where aerodynamics played a huge factor. A few months later (a very young) Mike Boylan used our first ever PROTOform oval body to lap the Domingues Hills velodrome at over 77 MPH (average) to become the fastest NASCAR bodied RC oval racer ever.

At this point in time I made the decision that I was “all in” on a new career change. As a lifelong car racing enthusiast, I’d already spent years hot rodding and customizing full size cars for myself and friends, so it seemed like a natural “fit” for me. I’d just need to learn how to do things in a smaller scale. So I frantically prepared eight more body styles in preparation for PROTOform’s official company debut. Yes, it seems like yesterday, but twenty years ago, in Nov of 1991, my wife and I nervously set up a homemade trade show display at the (then) huge RCCTA show in Chicago in hopes that there was some niche I could fill in this new and exciting world of RC car racing.

Well, the next couple years could be summed up in one word: tumultuous. Long and tedious “coffee fueled” days and slim profits made me wonder at times if PROTOform would survive long term. Our NASCAR style bodies were really making a mark in the USA based oval racing scene, but then in 1994 an interesting and crucial thing happened. RC racing legend and mega champion Masami Hirosaka used an off-the-hobbyshop-wall PROTOform racebody to win the IFMAR On-Road WORLDS in Germany. American Jon Orr put a second one on the podium to boot! That day, PROTOform’s horizon’s expanded immensely.

The next year saw an exciting new chapter in PROTOform’s development as we merged with the fine folks at Proline Racing in southern California. Working with Todd Mattson, Tim Clark and the entire Proline team has been an exciting and rewarding time to say the least. The RC racing world has seen the benefits of this move as well. PROTOform race bodies have now been used by the winners at 15 different IFMAR On-Road WORLDS Championships, as well as being used at every conceivable national and regional title winner around the globe including those of EFRA, ROAR, FAMAR, FEMCA, and the BRCA. It’s been gratifying to personally witness the PROTOform brand become the body of choice by competitors at the Reedy Race of Champions, the International Indoor Championships in Las Vegas, the Snowbirds Nationals in Orlando, and the US Indoor Champs in Cleveland. In the amazing European Touring Car Series, PROTOform race bodies have been on every podium.

Without a doubt, the best part of this 20 year journey has been the privilege of meeting so many great people! To the many team racers I’ve met and worked with, and have consistently made me look better than I actually am (with their amazing skills on the track and in the pits) – THANKS! To the dealers, distributors and race organizers – you’ve also added something to my life that is priceless. It’s so nice to be able to call so many of you friend.

At this time I’d like to say a huge THANK YOU to all the racers and enthusiasts out there that have used our racebodies over the last two decades.

I recognise that without your support, none of this would be possible. I’d also like to express my heartfelt gratitude to my wife Katie, to Pro-Line Racing, to our team drivers, and all our dealers, for the contributions you made toward PROTOform’s success over these last 20 years.

I’d also like to wish everyone a very MERRY CHRISTMAS and a blessed NEW YEAR!

- Dale Epp, PROTOform Race Bodies Founder

The 5th Annual Fall Classic gave the opportunity for racers to see what is in store for the upcoming 2012 Roar Carpet Nationals to be held at Mikes in March. At the race it was a friendly atmosphere with locals and some out of towners. Drew Ellis and Paul Lemieux came in from the mid west to support XRAY and the race. The classes raced at the fall classic were VTA, F1, 12th scale 17.5 non boost, 12th scale 13.5 boost, TC 17.5 non boost, TC mod. Practice was Thursday and Friday which gave everyone plenty of time to get their cars working. Qualifying started on Saturday and went three rounds, on Sunday morning there was a 4th qualifier to set up the triple Amains.

In the fun VTA class it was Andrew Doherty who wrapped up the TQ.The VTA Finals were very interesting do in part to the field being inverted at the start along with 8min race lengths and a 12 car final. In A1 it was the second qualifier Justin Lyons who took the win. In A2 the third qualifier Doug Bryson took the win. In A3 it was Justin Lyons again grabbing the A3 win and the overall win, Doug Bryson ended up second overall with Andrew Doherty finishing third overall.

In The F1 class it was Alex Giovinazzo who sat on the pole, Alex would win A1 and also A2 to wrap up the overall win. Alex was not unchallenged though; In A2 Robert Bremmer was only defeated by .1sec. Top three was Alex Giovinazzo taking the win with Jordan Born sneaking in to the second spot with Robert Bremmer finishing third overall.

In 12th 17.5 non timing it was Matt Ward who was TQ. Matt also won A1 by a large margin. In A2 it was the 5th qualifier Otha Belcher who made it interesting and surged through the field to claim the win. A3 it was Matt Ward who stayed the course and took home the overall win. Otha would finish second overall with Robert Bremmer rounding out the top three.

The 12th 13.5 timing class saw Andrew Doherty take the TQ. In A1 it was Andrew who went on to take the in by a comfortable margin. A2 was a repeat of A1 with Andrew taking the win again over Chris Metheny. A3 Andrew sat out and it was Metheny who went on to take A3. This made it Andrew Doherty with the win, Chris Metheny second and third qualifier Terry Vaughn finishing third.

In TC 17.5 non timing it was Chris Adams driving a XRAY T3 2011 who sat on Tq. Qualifying was close in the final rounds with young Aaron Breuer putting up a fight. In A1 and A2 it was Chris Adams who drove almost flawless and secured his win in both A1 and A2. Sam Hand would race into the second spot overall with Aaron Breuer finishing third.

In Mod Tc it was Paul Lemieux and his new T3 2012 that took the TQ along with the wins in A1 and A2. After some great racing it was Christian Tabush who snuck it in to the second spot with Drew Ellis rounding out the top three.

Overall it was a great fun race. XRAY would like to thank all who showed up to race and of course Mike and the whole crew who made sure that the race went off perfect. See you at the nationals!

Final results:

Mod TC 1. Paul Lemieux  2. Christian Tabush 3. Drew Ellis 4. Steve Breuer 5. Andrew Doherty 6. Terry Vaughn VTA 1. Justin Lyons 2. Doug Bryson 3. Andrew Doherty 4. Alex Giovinazzo 5. Double D 6. Randy Novak 7. Paul Forgey 8. David Walker 9. Ron Cunningham 10. Bill Belsher 11. Jason Smith 12. Eryk Sharer 13. Stuart White 12th 17.5 non timing  1. Matt Ward 2. Otha Belcher Jr 3. Robert Bremer 4. Christian Jones 5. Doug Bryson 6. Russell Hamilton 7. Carlos Garcia 8. Robert Bell 9. Jim Hartnett 10. Juan Baylock 12th scale 13.5 non timing  1. Andrew Doherty 2. Chris metheny 3. Terry Vaughn 4. Larry Bradshaw 5. Robert Bremer TC 17.5 non timing 1. Chris Adams 2. Sam Hand 3. Aaron Breuer 4. Matt Ward 5. Justin Lyons 6. James Lundberg 7. Morgan Davenport 8. Gilbert Santos 9. John Hodges 10. Christian Jones

Source: www.teamxray.com

I enjoy all facets of RC, but my true passion is onroad.  This past weekend was the Byron Onroad Challenge at what used to be my home track, Leisure Hours Raceway in Joliet, Illinois.  I now live just north of Milwaukee, so Scott Ernst’s Trackside is my new home

There were 90 entries racing in either GT, 1:10 touring, or 1:8 onroad.  Saturday started with four rounds of qualifier, and they would use the best two to determine starting order for the mains.  Each qualifier was 10 minutes, with the A main being a solid 45 minute race.

I went to the track on Friday to put in some practice and shake out the car.  I made several chassis adjustment which dialed in the car nicely, but my strategy for qualifying was to try and make the 10 minute heat without pitting.  By experimenting with different carb restrictors, various pipes, and several clutch settings, I was able to make 10 minutes.  My lap times were not the fastest, but I felt my direction was worth a shot.  I won my first qualifier, but struggled with the 2nd and 3rd.  For the final qualifier on Sunday AM, I opted to change my setup toward a race setting with a fresh OS VG .21 engine, OS 2040 pipe and Fioroni Twin Turbo clutch setup.  This was FAST, and with this setup, I won the final qualifier.  This would slot me in for an overall 3rd starting position for the A Main.

Got off to a super solid start, moving forward into the 2nd spot within the first few laps.  Top Qualifier (Mike Lyday) began to roll off the front.  Mike is a solid competitor, winning this event several times.  He would be the man to beat in this event.  With 12 cars on the track, there was lots of traffic to navigate, but I was able to stay clean.  The car was fast and dialed in perfectly for the conditions.  I maintained a solid 2nd place until about the 20 minute mark when the leader came into the pits to repair damage.  He had about two laps up on me, but with his car idle, I made up these laps to take the lead as well as put a few laps up on him before he made it back out.

My plan was coming together, as my Kyosho Inferno GT was running 100% reliable, and clicking off clean laps.  Traffic was busy, but I managed to run pretty clean, consistent laps.  Lyday in the number 2 position was running quicker, but I had longer pit windows, so he was not threatening to catch me…yet.  Fast forward to about 20 minutes remaining in the race, and Mike was clearly beginning to reel me in.  With the clock winding down, Mike was able to get back on the same lap as mine and a real race was begging to shape up.  The announcer was really having a good time talking this one up, as most races this long don’t get closer as time goes on.  My pit stops were on point and the car was good, but he was clearly faster.  I was doing the math in my head, Mike was on track to reach my back bumper on the last lap…  With about 3 minutes remaining, and the 2nd place car only a straightaway behind me, the handling on my car began to fail.  Headed down the back straight, my left front tire suffered a catastrophic failure, with a section of the rubber tire and foam insert launching from the rim.  I limped into the pits where my crew scrambled to get me back out.  They succeeded in changing out the wheel quick enough, but I also popped the glow plug at the same time.  Time would expire before I was able to get back out.  I did, though, finish in a respectable 3rd place.  Crazy exciting race, with the ending bittersweet.  I can’t wait to do it again!

In addition to racing this event, I was also there as a Contributing Editor.  This is my first project with RC Car Action Magazine, with hopefully more to come.  Check their site for race updates as well as print coverage to come.  Here’s a link to my first entry on Saturday night.  http://www.rccaraction.com/?p=223223

Hugh props to the brands that continue to support my RC racing!  Here’s the gear I successfully ran this weekend.  Big Shout Out to Byron Fuel for ‘fueling’ yet another fun and successful event!!!

Kyosho Inferno GT1, 40 shore V Slick tires and rims
Airtronics MX3x transmitter, 94361 Servos
PROTOform PF8 GT body, molded tire inserts, air cleaner
Byron Gen II 20% fuel
Merlin Glow Plugs
Ballistic Batteries rx battery/lipo tx battery
OS .21 VG and .21 VSpec engines, 2040 & 2050 pipes
Fioroni Twin Turbo Sliding Clutch

Also…
Al’s Hobby Shop
RC Car Action Magazine

Last weekend saw 5th from 6 legs for the Austrian championship Nitro Onroad! With overall 53 drivers and perfect weather a lot of hot race action was offered at Aigen/Schlaegl track which will be a candidate for 2013 1:8 EFRA B-Euro!

In 1:8 it was already in practice a battle between Mugen/Novrossi driver Mikie Klausner and Motonica/Picco driver Herfried Pucher – both running around 2/10 sec per lap faster than the rest. In first qualifier Pucher had a clean run and overnight TQ. In second qualifier on Sunday morning Klausner strikes back with a 2 seconds faster run than Puchers TQ time. In third and last qualifying round Klausner had after some smaller setup changes a more stable car on the rear and was doing new Track and Qualifyer record – so we had following TOP 3:

1. Mikie Klausner Mugen/Novarossi 26 7:04.520 (15.803 fastest lap)
2. Herfried Pucher Motonica/Mugen 26 7:09.463 (15.950 fastest lap)
3. Manuel Gremlica Serpent/Mega 26 7:12.603 (16.114 fastest lap)

For the finals the biggest problem was the tire wear of the bad quality controlled tires from ATS – in qualifying we had up to 5-6 mm tire wear on the outside in 7 Minutes with some prerun time. Semi-final B won Pucher with a tire change only on the outside at 10 minutes of the 20 minutes final. Klausner won Semi-final A and had to go slower the last 4 minutes of his final, because he was running out of tires and so he was only 0.5 sec faster than Pucher! So it was clear that everybody in the 30 minutes final who was going fast have to make a tire change! Before the start of the final Pucher had to take a “Time Out” – his Picco engine had a failure and had to be replaced! At the start Klausner moved away from the field and catching Pucher after 2 laps who had a crash in this starting lap going from 11th start place. Both where doing identical lap times but at 5 minutes mark Pucher had a flame out and got again problems with his engine – a damaged exhaust pipe was the reason!

Klausner was doing a perfect final without any mistake – oh sorry his pit crew was doing a slow tire change with more than 17 seconds – so it was a nearly perfect final! On second place Manuel Gremlica – he was running without a tire change – which surprise – maybe ATS team drivers have better quality of controlled tires – Manuel mentioned that he was driving very smooth but Alain Levy was calling him during and after the final as “World Champion in A..h..e”? Christian Bartacek also Mugen/Novarossi become 3rd with a clean run and perfect pit crew work and 11 sec tire change shortly before half time – only 0,8 seconds ahead of Nec Mihelic.

1. Mikie Klausner Mugen/Novarossi 107 30:02.502
2. Manuel Gremlica Serpent/Mega 106 30:06.118
3. Christian Bartcek Mugen/Novrossi 105 30:12.893
4. Nejc Mihelic Motonica/Picco 105 30:13.611

So Mikie Klausner is already Austrian National champion 2011 (3rd time in a row) 2 weeks before final 6th round at LAMAC track!

In 1:10 we got very solid runs by Manuel Singer and Overall TQ! Surprising was Michael Meisinger who became second with his special non commercial available Italian tires? 3rd Richard Furtner – Gerhard Kandelhart – all weekend fast managed no clean run and became only 6th after qualifying. TOP 10 cars are all XRAY – best not XRAY driver after qualifying young talented driver Markus Berer with his old style Mugen MTX-4.

In the Semi finals – Kandelhart made a clean run and put his car to Pole position for the final, Singer 0.4 sec slower on position 2! After the start 3rd placed driver Richard Furtner had bad luck and his body was pushed from behind and had come to the pits in the first lap! On the front Kandelhart and Singer have been moving away – but Singer had the better fuel millage and it was clear that Kandelhart had to push a little bit harder – and the last laps have been an absolute amazing – Kandelhart in the lead – but his tires not anymore so good than tires from Singer – so Singer made the move 5 laps to go – Kandelhart was pushing harder and managed to attack Singer in the last lap but at same height with Singer but on the insight in the turn before the chicane – Kandelhart run out of fuel – so the battle for the last 4 corners was easy for Singer and no additionally action for the cheering crowd.

1. Manuel Singer Xray/RB 100 30:16.134
2. Gerhard Kandelhart Xray/Orcan 99 29:57.536
3. Kurt Hubeny Xray/Orcan 97 30:06.219
4. Richard Furtner Xray/RB 96 30:00.526

Manuel Singer is now leading the champion ship before the final leg!

For more details see also:
http://www.mav-aigen-schlaegl.at/

Date: September 5 – 11, 2010
Location: Riviera Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas

TC – Modified – A Main Hara, Atsushi – PF Mazdaspeed6 Rheinard, Marc – PF Volker, Ronald – PF TQ Volker, Ronald TC – Super Stock 17.5 – A Main Hara, Atsushi – PF Mazdaspeed6 Haynes, Mike – PF Tessman, Ty – PF TQ Hara, Atsushi TC – Amateur 17.5 – A Main Perez, Jerry – PF Mazdaspeed6 Willener, Jason – PF Morehead, Patrick – PF TQ Breuer, Steve TC – Stock 17.5 – A Main Layne, Dustin – PF Mazdaspeed6 Stampfel, Nick – PF Stanton, Brian – PF TQ Sydor, Bill

World GT – Expert – 10.5 – A Main Wynn, Brian – PF Sophia GT D’Agnolo, Peter – PF Honigl, Hupo – PF TQ Wynn, Brian World GT – 13.5 – A Main - Bodine, Brian – PF Sophia GT Ficco, Mario – PF Borgheiinck, Ryan – PF TQ Bodine, Brian 1:12 – Modified – A Main Cyrul, Josh – PF AMR 12 Honigl, Hupo – PF Matsukura, Naoto – PF TQ Cyrul, Josh 1:12 – 13.5 – A Main Lia, Donny – PF AMR 12 Kuenning, Max Honigl, Hupo TQ Kuenning, Max

Complete results care of IIC 2010: PDF

6th Round Results

1. Patrick Wendy Serpent/Mega
2. Alain Levy Serpent/Mega
3. Christian Schiff Mugen/Novarossi

Overall Final Standings

1. Mikie Klausner Mugen/Novarossi/PROTOform/Sanwa/Tornado – 2010 Austrian Champion
2. Patrick Wendy Serpent/Mega
3. Herfried Pucher Motonica/Picco

The German said while the win had come easy on the day, a lot of hard work had gone to prepare for the event.  Touring Cars most successful driver who has won all his three World titles driving for Tamiya said he wanted to thank all the Tamiya team in particular his team-mates and Speed Passion for their support.  Rheinard said he felt really bad for Jilles Groskamp saying the Dutch ace never has any luck.

With his challenge in Leg 1 ending on the opening lap, things did not get any better for Groskamp in Leg 2. On Lap 4 his Orion powered Tamiya got tagged by the Xray of Alexander Hagberg leading to an incident that Elliot Harper, Christopher Krapp and Ronald Volker would get caught up in.

Coming from last on the grid to finish second in Leg 2 Hayato Matsuzaki believes he can repeat the performance again. The former 2WD buggy World Champion said his factory Yokomo is working really well after he changed from an LTC-R to a Speed 6 shell.  The Japanese driver said his Nosram powered BD5 is now much easier to drive and Rheinard sitting out the last Leg of the final he feels he has a chance of winning, which would secure him 2nd on the podium.

Matsuzaki’s team-mate Yannic Pruemper is less confident he can repeat his third place finish saying he was very lucky.  Starting 9th on the grid, the newest recruit to the Yokomo team said his Speed Passion powered BD5 had very bad understeer and unless we have another crazy race he doesn’t have the pace for a podium finish.

Setting the fastest lap of the Leg, American Champion Paul Lemieux managed to fight his way back to fourth after he had to serve a Stop & Go penalty for hitting TRF’s Viktor Wilck.  The Xray driver said the penalty was deserved as he ran into the back of the Swede.

Second in the opening leg, Elliot Harper said he ‘almost made it through’ the carnage of the lap 4 incident.  The young British Tamiya driver just got tagged by Groskamp’s airborne car but the contact bent the front drive shaft on his Speed Passion powered TRF416 into the shape of a banana causing the car to understeer.  Holding on to finish fifth, Harper is confident he can still finish on the podium as he starts ahead of both Matsuzaki and Pruemper.  Mathematically 8 drivers can still finish runner up here with the unlucky Groskamp the only driver who cant do it.

Source: redRC.net

Final standings

1. Marc Rheinard (Tamiya TRF416) – 20pts
2. Hayato Matsuzaki (Yokomo BD5) – 17pts
3. Elliott Harper (Tamiya TRF416) – 15pts
4. Christopher Krapp (Kyosho TF6) – 15pts
5. Ronald Völker (Yokomo BD5) – 14pts
6. Jilles Groskamp (Tamiya TRF416) – 13pts
7. Yannic Pruemper (Yokomo BD5) – 13pts
8. Paul Lemieux (Xray T3) – 13pts
9. Alexander Hagberg (Xray T3) – 11pts
10.Viktor Wilck (Tamiya TRF416) – 9pts

Full results can be found here.

View the official redRC.net event image gallery here.

Naoto Matsukura has retained his World title after an amazing performance in the second A-Main here at the 2010 IFMAR 1:12 World Championships in Burgdorf, Germany.  Making a mistake in the opening section of corners, the Top Qualifier dropped to last but the driving display that was to follow shows just why the 16-year-old is a truly worthy winner of his second World title.

Following his error Matsukura literally sliced his way through the World class field and by lap 16 had his Yokomo R12 back out front where he would stay to wrap up the event.  Successfully defending his crown the Japanese youngster becomes only the 3rd driver in the history of the fifteen 1:12 World Championships to achieve this feat, one of the other drivers being his mentor and rc legend Masami Hirosaka.

Afterwards Matsukura said he felt ‘unbelievably happy’ with the result and it was a great reward for his hard work and preparation over the past two years.  He said his biggest worry coming to German was the new car but early on he proved that it was a capable package. Asked about his mistake, the hugely popular character said everything went blank for a split moment but he regained his composure telling himself he was faster than the rest of the field and he could still win the Leg. That exactly what he did.

Rheinard who lead the field briefly paid great respect to Matsukura for his spectacular drive.  ‘I thought when he crashed I could push the title out to the third leg but I could hear Scotty (Ernst) announcing lap after lap that he had made up more places and I knew he was going to do it.’ The German said that even without his mistake he would not have been able to hold off Matsukura saying he was just the class of the field at this event.

Although the World title is decided it is all still to play for in the 3rd leg of the final with the remaining two spots on the podium up for grabs.  Rheinard has two second place finishes but Paul Lemieux took third in Leg 1 and Jilles Groskamp was third for Leg 2 and so the place is not guaranteed yet.  With Matsukura set to sit out the last race of the day we can expect a very close fight to decide the final ranking of the Top 10 1:12 drivers in the world.

Source: redRC.net

Final results:

1. Naoto Matsukura
2. Jilles Groskamp
3. Marc Rheinard
4. Ronald Völker
5. Simo Ahoniemi
6. Paul Lemieux
7. Elliot Harper
8. Josh Cyrul
9. Keven Hebert
10.  Marc Fischer

Full results can be found here.

View our event image gallery here.