Hi everybody! I have just returned home from the famous Madinina cup, organized every 2 years on the little French Island of Martinique.
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In the middle of January the FMC club contacted me directly with the invitation to the race.
Even if it was really late, it was impossible for me to answer no to this personal invitation. With the short notice, I was only able to travel to the Carribbean island for the weekend for race, no days off. I am hoping it will be possible to extend my visit for the next race there as the island was very beautiful.
I was really welcomed by everybody when I arrived on the end of Friday. The race began for me on Saturday with some practice time in the morning. Saturday afternoon, the first 3 qualifying rounds were held. I was able to set the best time of the 3 rounds, even with the excellent driving of the local drivers like Crofils or Ursulet.
On Sunday morning, one last round of qualifying was held, but it rain during the night and the track was wet! This delay didnâ™t last long as the tropical sun helped get the track perfectly dry in just a few hours.
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In the afternoon, the temperature was really hot, nearly 40C. The track condition was similar to the euro race this past summer in Crete. For me, the race was perfect with no problems on my car. With things working perfectly and the car handling well, I was able to win the semi and the final.
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Final Results
1. Sartel Jerome XRAY XB808
2. Menaphron Max 3. Crofils Yannick XRAY XB808
4. Bernard Patrice
5. Elie Auze Yan
6. Ursulet Cedric
7. Scholent William
8. Gabriel Vianney 9. Silou Roland XRAY XB808
10. Blondin Frederic
On Monday, after drinking some local punch, I returned to the airport to return home. I had some extra time to re-adjust to the European winter as my flight arrived 2 hours late because of the snow in Paris!!!
I would like to thank everyone I met at the track, organizers of my trip and the Manini Familly worked as my mechanics for the race. Everybody was really fun and permitted me to enjoy the moments at the track as much or even more than the evening events! Hope all my help and advice will help them for the future, and will help them improve on track as well.
I hope now to return again for the next race in 2 years and I invite everybody who wants to take part in a fun race with fun people, to go there too! One other advantage, is that this tropical paradise is one of the only places where you can bring your wife to an RC race with a smile!
