The AAC (Academic Association of Coimbra) hosted the first race of the Portuguese 1/10 Electric TC National Championship on March 27th, with 14 entrants in Modified class and 14 in Stock class. New rules and procedures were successfully implemented for the 2011 season, such as control tyres, battery voltage check, mandatory LiPo bags, and motor checking for the Stock class (13.5 turns).
Sunday morning the track was still a little wet, but as the grey clouds departed the Race Director declared a dry heat and it happily stayed like that until the end of the race day.
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Modified qualifying heats saw big battles between Hugo Miguel (XRAY T3â™11/27Lda/SpeedPassion), Ruben Faria (417/SpeedPassion) and Helder Silva (Mi4CX/LRP). At the end of the heats, Helder took a well-deserved Pole Position, followed by Ruben and Hugo.
This year the new motor choice for the Stock class showed again that higher-turn motors still have guts to power these models on medium-to-big tracks like the ones we have in our country, most of them built with nitro 1/10th, 1/8th and 1/5th scale in mind. Average lap times were only 2 seconds higher compared to Modified class lap times.
After lunch break, all competitors were refueled and got ready for the Finals.
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The first heat of Modified class was disastrous for Hugo as the rear belt broke after 1 lap, probably caused by some debris on track. This left the gate open for his rivals Helder and Ruben.
In the second heat, pressure flooded Hugoâ™s brain because he couldnâ™t waste more heats. By the sound of the horn of the 2nd final started and he put in a nice, strong and impressive run, following his competitors closely. On lap 7 the fastest lap of the day was achieved (15,683sec) and he overtook Ruben on the last lap. Helder had problems and had to retire on the 3rd lap.
In the final run, it was a true battle as the three front runners were able to reach the top spot. âśInsane but thoughtfulâť driving described the last heat, with the SpeedPassion-powered XRAY T3´11 crossing the finish line 3 seconds ahead of Ruben and 7 seconds ahead of Helder.
Congratulations to the race organizer, drivers, and everyone that supported a great season opener event!
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Final results
1. Miguel Hugo - XRAY T3'11
2. Francisco Ruben
3. Silva Helder
4. Martinho Joao 5. Moura Pedro â“ XRAY T3'11
6. Aires Artur
7. Rosinha Luis
8. Chalupa Jorge 9. Monteiro Ruben - XRAY T3'11
10. Pita Pedro - XRAY T3
11. Catarino Alexandre - XRAY T3
12. Oliveira Carlos - XRAY T3
13. Guerreiro Pedro - XRAY T3
14. Angelo Jorge â“ XRAY T3
