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XRAY Race Korea 2002
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Seoul, Korea
October 13, 2002
Scane, the new XRAY importer in South Korea, has organized a great race meeting as the official introduction of XRAY Model Racing Cars in South Korea. The XRAY Cup was held at the beautiful large race track in Seoul and over 60 drivers participated, including two team drivers from Europe, Jilles Groskamp/XRAY/Peak and Martin Hudy/XRAY/Orion.
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View at the track
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| The organizer provided superb grand prizes for the first three Korean drivers in both modified and stock categories, as well prizes to be drawn by tickets. The winner in each category was awarded a brand new XRAY T1 EVO2 kit, second place was awarded a Hudy Automatic Comm Lathe, and third place was awarded a Hudy Ultimate Set-Up System and Hudy tools. Prizes were available only for Korean drivers. |
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The track is really huge
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The whole race event had a very friendly atmosphere, and was a lot of fun. The track was large, and the wooden borders made it really challenging.
The night before the race it rained the entire night, so in the morning the track was still pretty wet and just a few drivers participated in the timed practice. |
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Qualifiers on the way
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Qualifiers:
Jilles set the pace right away in the first qualifier. Of the local drivers, Shi Min Soo/Yokomo (Korean champion) and Lee Jung Woo/Barakuda were showing their potential in an excellent display of driving.
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Jilles preparing his motor
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| In the second qualifier the track condition was still slippery. Jilles again set pace, followed by Martin in second place. Lee Jung Woo was 6 seconds behind Martin, but still enough for 3rd qualifying position in this round. |
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Martin Hudy as usually having fun
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The last qualifier was the most important as the track conditions improved significantly. Jilles again dominated this qualifying round and was the only one to set a 14 lap pace.
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Finals starting grid
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Finals:
The finals started at the end of the day, and it was already getting dark. Thanks to the great lighting of the track, it was possible to continue the race like under normal daylight conditions!
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The final fight was really tough
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In the first final Jilles jumped into a huge lead right after the start. Martin battled heavy traffic on the starting grid, and that relegated him to last place after the start. During the race he moved from last spot to third, pressuring second place Hyun who in the last lap got him off the track when Martin was passing him on the inside of a corner.
Jilles won the first final by a margin of 11 seconds, followed by Woo, Hyun and Martin. |
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Jilles in the lead
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| In the second final Hyun was trying to catch Jilles (who was in the lead) and in a smooth corner Hyun crashed into Jilles, making Jilles lose his leading position. Afterwards, Jilles got off the track, and did not continue this final anymore, giving space to the rest of the finalists to battle for the win of this final. Martin, in the same lap that Jilles departed, passed the leader Hyun; Martin went into the lead. Shi Min Soo, in second place behind Martin, tried to put pressure on the leader, but Martin increased his lead and crossed the finish line with a 6 second lead. |
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Drivers room
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| The last final was the deciding one, as there were still a few drivers who could take the overall win. Based on the huge traffic at the start of the previous finals, it was decided that the starting grids would be spread out to give more space to everybody. |
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Martin & Jilles
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After a clean start, Jilles made a small mistake that moved him back to 4th position, and Martin took over the lead. Shi Min Soo was again trying to catch Martin, and in the 4th lap while driving through a smooth corner, flew over a border T-boning Martin and putting Martin off the track. Martin was forced to retire due to a broken motor. Jilles showcased the crowd and other drivers with his usual excellent racing skills, passing the leaders cleanly and easily getting back into the lead, followed by Woo and Soo.
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Podium for winners
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Here are the final results of the XRAY Race Korea 2002:
Top 10
1. Jilles Groskamp (Netherlands) XRAY 1,10,1
2. Lee Jung Woo (South Korea) Barakuda 2,3,2
3. Martin Hudy (Slovakia) XRAY 4,1,10
4. Shi Min Soo
5. Jang Ji Hyun
6. Shi Chang Soo
7. Kim Joon Sik
8. Kim Ki Heong
9. Choi Joon Hyuk
10. Koo Ki Bon
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Martin, Jilles & organiser Hyun Ho
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The top drivers had very close times. Here are the fastest laps in finals:
Fastest lap:
Jilles Groskamp - 22.620
Martin Hudy - 22.660
Jang Ji Hyun - 22.950
Lee Jung Woo - 22.960
Shi Min Soo - 22.970 |
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Winners prizes (whoww)
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Some interesting facts:
- Almost every driver in both modified and stock class changed to new tires and new batteries after each run!
- The most frequently used cars: Barakuda and XRAY
- Majority of the cars at the race were from Asian manufacturers (Yokomo, HPI, Barakuda, Kawada, Atlas)
- European cars represented: XRAY and Schumacher
- US cars? Not represented...
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Team drivers work on their cars 24-7
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| We would like to thank to Scane for supporting and organizing such a great event. XRAY has been preparing several other XRAY races around the world for the near future, to meet with XRAY drivers around the world. |
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