ALL ASIA FINALS 2006 in THAILAND
Day 3
The HPI Challenge All Asia Finals 2006 On-road were held on 4th and 5th
at the RC Square located
in the suburbs of Bangkok. The 23T EP Pro Class was the most popular on-road
class this time. Since we received much more entries than planned, we had
to limit the entry to 99. Due to the overwhelming popularity of the class
and the diverse nationalities, we hired an MC who speaks Thai, Chinese
and English. TSUTOMU ARAKAWA (Japan) and YUJI HAYASHI (Japan) also participated
in the EP Pro Class. Meen V. (Thailand), the All Asia Champion in the HPI
Challenge All Asia Finals 2005, signed up for this class to defend the
title together with other strong Thai drivers. Australians and Koreans
were ready to avenge their defeat in last year, while Taiwan, Hong Kong
and Filipino teams sent their top drivers. Drivers from Singapore and Malaysia
where EP touring cars are popular with increasing number of skilled racers
bided their time. Though stormy weather was expected in the forecast, the
HPI Challenge All Asia Finals 2006 on-road started under the blue sky with
the temperature of higher than 30 degrees Celsius.
On-road practice and qualifying
The free attack system was also used for on-road qualifying and the drivers
were required to carefully observe the track condition, weather and competitors'
performance as well as setup and drive their cars right. We used controlled
tires and motors again this year to give a fair chance. Blue, purple and
black anodized Cyclones and Pro 4 waited in the pit area. We also saw Cyclone
S and Sprint 2, which were allowed in the Sport Class. The Moore Speed
bodies were quite popular among the racers. In the Sport Class, we saw
bodies like RX7, Saleen, Mustang and Impreza, which all looked very realistic.
Once the qualifying started, drivers ran up to the track to set their machines
and started their time attack. The high temperature in Thailand caused
quite a load to motors and drivers had a hard time deciding their gear
ratio. As soon as the first 2 qualifying rounds were done, local drivers
returned the motors and tires and left the site to prepare for Day 4. Drivers
from overseas were busy planning for sightseeing and dining out on the
way to the hotel.
Day 4
On-road qualifying
Drivers from overseas left the hotel
by bus at 7:00 and went to the RC Square. Many of them relaxed in a bar
in the hotel until late on the previous night. Thirty drivers participated
in the EP Sport Class, using the Cyclone S and Sprint 2. Tight race was
expected for the class requiring a bathtub and X30 motor to be used.
After the first 2 qualifying rounds on Day 3, drivers from Singapore,
Korea, Taiwan and Thailand were in top 10 and their maximum time difference
was less than one second. After the 4th qualifying round, IM WOO HYUNG
of TEAM HB KOREA won TQ with a perfect driving line and the machine set
by Team Korea. YEN JUNG NAN (Taiwan) finished 2nd, followed by AKARANON
N. (Thailand). MIGUEL VEA (Philippines), who participated in the All
Asia Finals for the first time, came in 13th to prove the high level
of EP touring race in the Philippines. In the EP Pro Class, Meen V. (Thailand),
who won the both EP and GP PRO classes in the HPI Challenge All Asia
Finals 2005, started on Day 2. However, his record of the 4th qualifying
round was voided due to weight violation and he lost a chance to win
the second consecutive title. In the off-road qualifying, CRAIG LAUGHTON
(Australia) finished 16th, 0.15 seconds behind the time to make the
A Main. TSUTOMU ARAKAWA (Japan) pushed hard to finish 24th, while YUJI
HAYASHI (Japan) had a difficulty in setup and finished 52nd. JANG JI
HYUN of TEAM HB KOREA won TQ. The Korean team worked so hard in their
setups in the limited time since they arrived in Thailand and their
great teamwork brought Korea TQ's to the EP Sport and EP Pro classes.
PICHIT P. (Thailand) finished 2nd, only 0.007 behind JANG JI HYUN,
followed by ARAYA I. (Thailand). It was exciting to see how the strong
Thai drivers would perform in the final rounds. Hong Kong has a long
history in EP touring just like Japan and two top drivers from Hong
Kong made the A Main to prove their strength. In the GP Pro class popular
for powerful noise, 14 drivers showed exciting battle. Fifteen-year-old
PICHAKORN K. (Thailand) won TQ after making 13.146 seconds in the 4th
qualifying round. YINGYOS Y. (Thailand) came in 2nd, followed by SAWAPONG
B. (Thailand). Fourteen cars were to compete in the long final rounds
and, at this time, no one expected to see fierce battles where a few
millimeters would make a difference.
Race of the World (on-road)
The second round of the Race of the World was held in the on-road
track after all qualifying rounds were over. The organizer chose a grid
for each driver according to their technical level. Many teams consisted
of female drivers and the Race of the World began in a friendly atmosphere.
Comical movement of the TV animation characters used by Team Japan drew
children's attention again. People started calling YUJI HAYASHI (Japan) "SAVEGIN" and
he became children's hero. After challenged by machines running a lap
behind, Team Philippines won the championship! Team China finished 2nd,
followed by Team Japan. As a result, Team China won the overall victory
in the Race of the World on and off roads! Team Japan finished 2nd and
Team Malaysia was 3rd.
On-road final
On-road final rounds started as the final race for the 4-day
event. The indoor pit area on the 2nd floor has a better view of the
track than that on the driving platform. Many spectators with a camera
or video camera surrounded the track, waiting for the final rounds. The
EP Sports Class rounds started on time. Fifteen cars competed in the
EP Sport Class B Main and SARAYUT P. (Thailand) won the championship,
7 seconds ahead of JEFF YEO (Philippines) and RACH R. (Thailand), who
ran a dead heat. Ten cars competed in the EP Sport Class A Main and drivers
from Thailand, Taiwan, Korea and Singapore ran a close race. AKARANON
N. (Thailand), who started from 3rd but ran stably for 8 minutes, won
his first championship! Having passed IM WOO HYUNG (Korea) who started
TQ, YEN JUNG NAN (Taiwan) finished 2nd. The highest number of drivers
made the finals in the EP Pro Class and 13 cars ran together in each
main except the A Main. WACHIRA B. (Thailand) won the G Main with overwhelming
speed. PATCHARA S. (Thailand) won the F Main, followed by IGNATIUS BLASIUS
(Malaysia) and CHUNG PAU KHIN (Malaysia). SAHARATT T. (Thailand) came
in 1st and YUJI HAYASHI (Japan) finished 5th in the E Main. MEEN V. (Thailand),
the current Asia champion, won the D Main, 6 seconds ahead of REEF S.
(Thailand) and TONY NEO (Singapore). WEN KANG SHIH (Taiwan) won the C
Main, 2.128 seconds ahead of TSUTOMU ARAKAWA (Japan). CRAIG LAUGHTON
(Australia), who made double wins in the off-road classes, ran in the
B Main. While BOONLERT T. (Thailand), who started from TQ, and JEONG
MYUNG DONG (Korea), who started from 2nd, lost several places, LI SHENG
(Taiwan), who started from 3rd, won the B Main, 0.5 seconds ahead of
PRASERT J. (Thailand). Ten drivers competed in the 5-minute A Main after
drivers names were called out and their photos were taken. Once the starting
counts began, the track stilled for some moments and all the cars started
with big cheers. JANG JI HYUN (Korea) started from TQ and his machine,
which looked in a good shape with a well-serviced diff and different
oil number, managed each corner without stalling. The cars behind him
were closely following him. While all the spectators were breathless
with excitement, JANG JI HYUN (Korea) was going between 13.0 and 13.5
seconds per lap, which was a little slower than his average time in qualifying,
and won the championship in style despite the big cheers from the spectators
and the intense pressure from the cars behind him. Team Korea regained
the world title in the EP Pro Class which KIM (Korea) had failed to win
last year. PADUNGKIAT K. (Thailand) started from 10th and finished 2nd.
ARAYA I. (Thailand) came in 3rd, 0.5 seconds behind PADUNGKIAT K. LEUNG
WAI (Hong Kong) and WONG CHUN KIT (Hong Kong) finished 7th and 8th, respectively.
The level of the round was extremely high. The victory of Team Korea
was attributed not only to the drivers' excellent skills but to their
great teamwork.
The GP Pro Class A Main started while the excitement from the EP Pro Class final
rounds was still running high. Thirteen cars competed for 30 minutes. Favorites
were PICHAKORN K. (Thailand), who started from TQ, and YINGTOS Y. (Thailand),
who started from 2nd. We saw dead heats throughout the round. Even in such fierce
battles where a few millimeters made a difference, it turned out to be truly
a great race with no hitting. PICHKORN K. (Thailand) was making a perfect line
and running in the front toward the end, trying to outdistance YINGYOS Y. (Thailand).
However, PICHKORN's car ran out of gas and his engine stalled right before the
end of the race! It was an unfortunate result from risking his chance with minumum
amount of fuel. While PICHKORN K. (Thailand) failed to finish, leaving just 15
seconds, YINGYOS Y. (Thailand) suffered some slow-down in the latter half but
came from behind to win! Spectators enthusiastically applauded the exciting last
round.
After the event
We had an awarding ceremony after the final rounds. Two world champions
(Atsushi Hara and Surikarn Chaidajsuriya) and Miura (TEAM HB) came to
the event and got bombarded by requests for autographs and photo-shootings
with them. At the end of the 4-day heated event, all participants were
given HB T-shirts and HPI die-cast car models as the prizes for participation.
In addition, m max (http://www.mmaxbev.com/), one of the sponsors, kindly
served some free drinks. RCS, the HPI distributor in Thailand, prepared
buffet and participants kept chatting and taking photos with others from
various countries even after dark.
More than 200 participants enjoyed the HPI Challenge All Asia Finals
2006 held for 4 days. All participants from different countries shared
and enjoyed the same time and space in the RC race event. Everyone was
already talking about a site for the HPI Challenge All Asia Finals in
2007 and perhaps you will be the All Asia champion in 2007!
Sponsors:
m max
Cosmo Oil Co., Ltd.
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