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| Race report by Alexander Hagberg |
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The first XRAY Challenge of South Africa was held at the indoor asphalt track of the Welkom RC Club, in Welkom, close to Johannesburg, on April 26th of 2014. The race was run in TC 13.5T boosted, 1/12 blinky 10.5T as well as a FWD class.
Plenty of entries from all over South Africa had travelled to Welkom for this exciting event. I arrived well in time before the race, to practice and prepare together with the host and SA distributor Antonio Caroli. As the drivers started showing up, the practice went on and lap times dropped as we got our cars tuned in. We were looking forward to a fun event.
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Reedy race format with heads up racing was used, which means that the drivers were scrambled in heats and basically racing for positions in every round, and thus, counting together the 6 best results out of 8. In the end, I managed to win all my 8 races, as well as setting the quickest overall time, including a new lap record, to take the overall win in front of Hein Kotze, and Antonio Caroli on a strong 3rd position.
The highlight of the Saturday was definitely the Dash for Cash race which was held following the actual Reedy Race. The top 10 South African drivers started in reverse order, with myself starting from 10th on the grid. The winner would win an equivalent of 100 USD. After a rough start, with plenty of collisions, I managed to fight back all the way to the 2nd position, closing on the leader Deon Gove, with only a couple of laps remaining. Unfortunately I made a late mistake which meant that I finished just a couple tenths short of Deon who took the win. It was a fun ending to the event, which must have been especially exciting for the spectators.
In the 1/12 blinky 10.5T class, I drove my X12 2014 to a convincing victory in front of Shaun Schutte and André Greeff. Only being the 2nd time ever that I ran 12th scale on asphalt, I did enjoy it a lot. |
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I want to send out a big thanks to the host Antonio Caroli for the invitation and hospitality. Special thanks goes out as well to Heine Herholdt, Deon Gove and André Greeff who all contributed to making my trip a memorable one. Thanks as well to all other drivers who joined the event. Thanks for your support and thanks for choosing XRAY!
South Africa is safe â“ on the contrary to that general misconception, and the racing scene is vibrant with plenty of skilled racers, and a great and inviting atmosphere. I hope to come back some day!
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| Touring Car Top 10: |
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1. Alexander Hagberg â“ XRAY T4 2014
2. Hein Kotze
3. Antonio Caroli â“ XRAY T4 2014
4. Deon Gove â“ XRAY T4 2014
5. Anderton Smith
6. Dillon Du Plooy â“ XRAY T4 2014
7. Shaun Schutte â“ XRAY T4 2014
8. Jason Hillcoat â“ XRAY T4 2014
9. Willie Du Plooy - XRAY T4 2014
10. André Greeff - XRAY T4 2014
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| 1/12 Top 10: |
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1. Alexander Hagberg â“ XRAY X12 2014
2. Shaun Schutte â“ XRAY X12 2014
3. André Greeff ⓠXRAY X12
4. Riaan Truscott
5. Andre Esterhuizen
6. Willen Janse Van Rensburg
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