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| 3rd Greek National race |
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The 3rd Greek National race took place at the RC Hobby Arena (www.rchobbyarena.gr) on July 24th, a few kilometers away from Athens. There are 2 categories in the Greek Championship: National and World.
The weather conditions where extreme hot with an ambient temperature of 40-46 and track temperature around 60!!! Everyone was worrying if their electronics could hold under these extreme conditions.
âśWORLDâť
Qualification started without the usual top contender â“ current championship leader Harri Katika (XRAY T2â™007) â“ and first round went by with no surprises as John Doucakis (Hot Bodies Cyclone) did a blistering round and finished 1 lap ahead of Nick Nikolakopoulos (XRAY T2â™007) and Dimitris Mitropoulos (Hot Bodies Cyclone). The second qualifier didnâ™t change anything, while in the third qualifier Kostas Zacharopoulos (Yokomo BD) climbed to 2nd place for the finals.
At the beginning of the first final, a huge pileup happened and caused Nick Nikolakopoulos to break. The rest of the final was great, with battles between John Kostas and Dimitris, with the final winner being Kostas ahead of John.
For the second final, fortunately everything went smoothly at the start. Kostas took an early lead while Nick and John were battling. Again, bad luck struck Nick when his car stopped moving (loose pinion) and John took the opportunity to take 2nd since Kostas was too far behind to catch him.
Kostas won both rounds hence he was the winner of the race but the rest of the finishing positions would be decided after the third final.
The third final started without any issues. Unfortunately for John he had to quit due to mechanical failure and Kostas was leading once again. Nick chased and finally caught and overtook Kostas (problematic battery didnâ™t allow him to have his usual speed) and took the win of this round.
Final positions:
1. Kostas Zacharopoulos
2. John Doucakis
3. Nick Nikolakopoulos XRAY T2â™007
âśNATIONALâť
Turnout for this popular category turnout was unexpectedly low, even though the Saturday training sessions were sufficient. The National category has a motor limit of 12T brushed or 6.5 brushless motor, and only 1 set of tires allowed.
The first qualification saw Nick Karabelas (Kyosho TF5 Stallion) taking pole position ahead of Kosta Flabouri (XRAY T2â™007) and Alki Balasi (XRAY T2â™007)
In the second qualification, Kostas managed to claim pole position after Nick had some issues and DNFâ™d. In the third qualification, Nick managed to regain the pole position.
Qualification results indicated that the finals would be very interesting having Nick, Kosta and Alki finishing so close.
The first final was easy for Nick to win after three drivers were battling behind him. Kostas was left behind after a crash at the start while Alkis battled with Bill Bournia (XRAY T1FKâ™05).
The second final was similar to first, with Nick dominating again and the only one to get 19 laps. Alkis again finished ahead of Bill, proving his great improvement this year.
The third final wasnâ™t important for first place as Nick had already won the first two, but the remaining places were still not decided. Alkis won the final in style after taking advantage of an early crash of Nick with Bill, and finished second ahead of Kostas. |
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| 4th Greek National race |
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The 4th Greek National race took place at the Fanatix Racing Track (www.frt.gr) on September 9th a few kilometers away from Athens. There are 2 categories in the Greek Championship: National and World.
The weather conditions where very good with ambient temperatures of 25-30°C.
âśWORLDâť
Although the track conditions werenâ™t the best, times were close to normal. John Doucakis (Hot Bodies Cyclone) took pole while Harris Katikas (XRAY T2â™007) was close behind and Nick Nikolakopoulos (XRAY T2â™007) followed in 3rd with Kosta Zacharopoulo (Yokomo BD) just behind him.
Qualifying indicated that the finals would be thrilling and so they were! John and Harris battled in all finals with John being the final winner of the race. Nick and Kostas fought for 3rd position with Nick emerging on top.
âśNATIONALâť
The National category has a motor limit of 12T brushed or 6.5 brushless motor, and only 1 set of tires allowed.
Vaggelis Alexopoulos (Hot Bodies Cyclone) drove excellently and managed to take the pole against the usual contenders. Kostas Flabouris (XRAY T2â™007) fell back as there were some issues with his transponder. Nick Karabelas made many mistakes during qualification which put him at the back of the starting grid.
In the finals, Nick Karabelas drove steadily and managed to win 2 finals hence winning another race. Vaggelis Alexopoulos, holder of pole, managed to finish 2nd with his very good driving, and Bill Bournias finished a solid 3rd. Kostas Flabouris and Alkis Balasis had some issues and didnâ™t manage to finish as high as usual. |
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| 5th Greek National race |
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The 5th Greek National race took place at the RC Hobby Arena (www.rchobbyarena.gr) on October 7th a few kilometers away from Athens. There are 2 categories in the Greek Championship: National and World.
Weather conditions were good with an ambient temperature around 30°C.
âśWORLDâť
Qualifiers were fun to watch as all cars were very fast and impressive. No major issues occurred, although there were some minor issues in different qualifiers. At the end John Doucakis took pole.
Qualifying positions:
1. John Doucakis
2. Kostas Zacharopoulos
3. Katikas Harris XRAY T2â™007
4. Nick Nikolakopoulos XRAY T2â™007
In the finals, driving was again very good with intense battles for different positions. John kept the lead from the start and Harris and Nick managed to overtake Kostas in the first turn. Unfortunately, a mistake from Harris cost him many seconds dropped him to 4th while Nick and Kostas battled the rest of the final. Both drivers drove very well with many overtakings. Kosta was the eventual winner after Nick dumped prior the end of the final.
In the second final, Harris again made a mistake that this time caused him to DNF. Nick went after John for half of the final after Kostas had some issues and couldnâ™t go as fast as he usually does. After that time Nick couldnâ™t catch John and it finished like that.
After the 2 finals John secured his overall win while 2nd-5th were still open. John and Harris decided not to run, hence the track was open for Kosta and Nick to battle for 2nd and Kosta Chatzikouva Kosta (Serpent S400) and Michael Dimitriadh (Kyosho TF5 Stalion) for 4th. Again, driving was excellent from all drivers and spectators enjoyed the great race. Nick was after Kosta the entire final but didnâ™t have the extra power to overtake him this time, so Kostas won the final and took 2nd overall
Final Standings:
1. John Doucakis
2. Kostas Zacharopoulos
3. Nick Nikolakopoulos XRAY T2â™007
4. Michael Dimitriadis
5. Katikas Harris XRAY T2â™007
6. Kostas Chatzikouvas
âśNATIONALâť
The National category has a motor limit of 12T brushed or 6.5 brushless motor, and only 1 set of tires allowed.
Qualifications here again were interesting, but in the end the favorites took their normal places:
1. Karabelas Nick
2. Kostas Flabouris XRAY T2â™007
3. Bill Bournias XRAY T1FKâ™05
4. Alkis Balasis XRAY T2â™007
In the finals Nick managed to win the first 2 with ease and thus secured the overall win. Kostas was behind (but not that close) to be a threat for Nick. There were great battles between Bill, Alkis and Alex for the trailing places. All three were battling when Alex made a mistake and another car hit him causing him to DNF and costing him 3rd overall. Kostas Mpougalis (Tamiya 415MSX) was nominated as the unluckiest man of the race as he didnâ™t manage to finish ANY round!
The next and final race is very crucial for both categories, as there are many ties or very close points on National, and World. |
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