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| Race report by Alexander Hagberg |
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| The 2014 FEMCA Championships in 1/8 & 1/10 on-road classes was held at the Jakarta International Twin Circuit in Senayan, central Jakarta, Indonesia. The race was joined by some 100 entries with drivers from all over Asia. |
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| In the 1/10 class, I managed to take the overall TQ position in front of Charlee P. from Thailand. The qualifying was disrupted by rain on Saturday, which meant that only 2 full rounds would be completed. Surikarn C. from Thailand would place his NT1 2014 on 3rd place after qualifying. |
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| The bumpy yet high grip track in Senayan proved difficult to all competitors as tire wear was extremely high this year. For the finals, it was going to be all about tire strategies. |
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| In the semi final A, I managed to narrowly take the win in front of Surikarn C. This meant that I would line up first on the grid for the main final. In the final, I was fighting with Surikarn and Charlee for the lead early on. I held the lead when I faced some strange engine problems. As the engine would go completely out of tune, we were left with nothing to do but try to fix it, changing glow plug, and reset the needles. No luck as the engine was impossible to set after that. I would retire at the 25 minute mark as the engine was way too rich from the bottom to even get out of the pits. It was a shame to not be able to fight for the win, considering that the qualifying and semi final had gone so well. |
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| In the end, Surikarn C. managed to take a convincing win in front of Charlee and local driver Bowie Ginting (XRAY NT1 2014) on 3rd place. |
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| In the 1/8 category, I was unsure at first, whether to run or not, as I didnâ™t bring a car to the race. Thankfully, I was able to borrow a ready to run RX8 2014 from my good friend Kenji. I didnâ™t put much effort into this category, as I would just put the car on the track in time for the controlled practice. I managed to qualify 2nd overall, even with a mistake in the pit lane, which would give me a good opportunity to advance from the semi finals. I had a really good feeling with my RX8 as it was really easy to drive and with plenty of steering. I really enjoyed driving it. |
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| I had a really good semi final, where I managed to take the win by a couple of laps, even with a planned tire change. I would line up first for the main final, in front of pre-event favorite M. Tanaka. I was really determined to do well after the disappointing 1/10 race. I was off to a good start, and was able to build a 5-6 second lead after a mistake by Tanaka. My pit crew did a great job with 2 tire changes, and also made up some time by using a very clever fuel strategy. I was able to take the win, thanks to almost flawless driving, and doing one less fuel stop compared to Tanaka. It was a really exciting and fun final not only to drive, but for the public to watch. I was delighted to take the win in 1/8 on-road. Something I definitely had not expected to do before the event. |
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| I would like to give special thanks to my pit crew Andreas Myrberg, Akok, and my good friend Kenji Jkt for the invitation to this event. Thanks to Dimas Ardian, and all the rest of Kenjiâ™s crew as well for the hospitality. It was an enjoyable time in Asia as always, with hot weather, lots of humidity, and spicy food. The on-road scene is still going strong over there and thatâ™s great to see. Until next time! |
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| 1/10 results: |
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1. Surikarn Chaidajsuriya â“ XRAY NT1
2. Charlee Phutiyotin
3. Bowie Ginting â“ XRAY NT1
4. Trin T.
5. Azri Amri
6. Fluke
7. Billy
8.H. Irman
9. Dimas Ardian â“ XRAY NT1
10. Alexander Hagberg â“ XRAY NT1
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| 1/8 results: |
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1. Alexander Hagberg â“ XRAY RX8
2. Masao Tanaka
3. Luk Chi Hung
4. Suwardi Suliandy â“ XRAY RX8
5. Azri Amri
6. Bowie Ginting
7. Nelson Lee
8. Charlee Phutiyotin
9. Ronny Suwarto â“ XRAY RX8
10. Trin T.
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