IMCA Diary

[John Emmons]

Hopefully this thread is where I'll be posting some race reports and photos from the IMCA Worlds in Belgium and Holland next week.

If Paul K. can put a sticky on it that would be great. Paul, I also need to get the info. on posting photo's to an album from you.

So, it's off to Europe. Myself, Chris Radisch, Kieran Dale, and Paul, "split" Heath are all leaving from Los Angeles on Sunday morning. Split and Kieran are both from New Zealand, they flew up a few days ago and are going to race in our SoCal USRA race this weekend before we leave. We'll be thrashing all day and night at Buena Park raceway and then catching some early morning flights on Sunday.

Forrest Watchers, the only other So Cal racer going, is apparently still in Hawaii, he should be returning this weekend and then it's off to Uden, Holland for the Grp. 7 race.

I haven't been in touch with any of the other American racers yet, except for Paul Ciccarello, last I heard he's working on Flexi 4 chassis' at a feverish pitch...;^)

We leave Sunday morning, arrive on Monday. Grp 7 practice starts at about 2 pm local time in Uden. The rest of the races are in Uden and then we move to Aalst, Belgium, finishing with the 1/24 model car races.

I'll do my best to get race results posted along with photos, I don't know what the internet access will be like in Uden, it's a new location for the IMCA races and it's still unclear, there will also be some time restraints as I'm racing in 7 separate events over 5 days myself.

Wish us well, we'll be racing against some of the world's best model car racers and the Grp. 7 racers will be going up against some of the best wing racers in the world.


John Emmons
OWH Correspondent

[Zippity]

Especially the Kiwis

Please convey my regards and best wishes to JPVR - afterall, he did offer me a free trip to Belgium, which unfortunately, I had to decline



Ron

[CruzinBob]

Best of Luck in your worldly adventure! It'd be great to hear of USA top spots but having fun and being a light of inspiration will work

Look forward to your reports and THANKS

[Mr Tim]

Good idea John, I look forward to meeting you there, along with many other famous US racers. I'm currently in London, en route to Holland. Been here a few days, and I'm getting plenty of practice at drinking European beer in readiness for the big race (I'll need something to do after been knowcked out in the quarter-finals!)

[John Emmons]

Or close to it anyway. First we've got a race at Buena Park raceway today.

Kieran Dale, Paul "Split" Heath, Chris Radisich, and I take off for Belgium and Holland in the morning. As I write this they're down at the raceway while I finish my last minute organising.

For those who haven't flown anywhere with racing gear in your luggage, let me tell you, it ain't a lot of fun. Limited to 2 checked pieces of baggage it's an exercise in paring down your piles of stuff into one semi-managable pile that will fit into a suitcase or other case that will survive the trip unscathed. And of course there's the always pleasant security checks. One tip for those who are planning to ever travel by air, be prepared to have your slot car box or bag opened several times, I take a copy of Slot Car Bulletin with me in my carry-on bag, when I get asked the inevitable questions about what all this crap in my case is, I show them the magazine.

This will be by 3rd airline trip with slot cars, first international one. I've traveled quite a bit with camera gear and it's a similiar kind of deal, you've got to trade off what you'd like to take with what will fit. Both Split and Chris have already purchased new, larger roll-on bags, I've changed my choice of case twice already.
At any rate, a bit more packing here at home and then it's down to Buena Park to meet up with the boys. Our flights all leave early tomorrow, should be fun to fly all day after spending the night before racing.


More to come...

John Emmons
OWH IMCA Correspondent
Rolling Suitcase Tester

[Crash & Burn]

Internet access is no problem. It´s a dialup connection we have to use unfortunatly but it works. The phoneline is right behind the race-director and race computer. I used it myself a couple of months back with 24 hours plafit LMS modelcar race we had.
2 persons can easily sit there. You are even allowed to smoke when you are up there

[R. Herrera]

John ,have a good race,and thanks for keeping us up to date. Please send the other racers our best

Ron

[John Emmons]

After what seemed like a lifetime of travel, starting with racing all day at Buena Park then getting on planes in Los Angeles and Chicago, in Washington DC and Frankfurt, Germany and flying all day and into the night, we are here in Belgium. Actually we're in Holland now, we flew into Brussels this morning, got our rental van and made our way to the lowlands.

I'm sitting in the race director's stand of the MRTU Racing club at the moment,listening to some of the finest spring steel and aluminum being turned into trash by some of the finest racers in the world.

Names like Ciccarello, Schone, Korec, Okali,Horky, Landrud, Watson...world record holders, national champions, world champions, are all gathered here in Uden, to try and solve the puzzle that is this track. This unbelievable track that is turning cars into pretzels and driving the drivers slightly mad.

Will it be harder tires or a steel chassis? The Vipor or the Peugeot? It's still a guess and tech opens in less than 2 hours. And once it opens, you don't get your car back until tomorrow morning. And the racing starts at 7 am, so if it ain't right tonight, it probably ain't gonna be right tomorrow. So the testing goes on. And on...the doors close at midnight...

J.P. Van Rossem, who put this whole scene together has informed the racers that in just 40 minutes the track will close to all but the 8 fastest drivers to finish their practice...and so it goes on...

More to come as sleep is still not an option. Photo's on the gallery as soon as I figure out how to post them.


John Emmons
52 hours with little sleep, and counting

[Bent rim]

How does Bill Skinner look. Tell him I said good luck and Team USA good luck. Bring it home for USA. GO TEAM GO!!!!!!!!

Yours Truly;
Dick Gazinya
Erkle

[MSWISS]

It sounds like giving a computer whiz a 186(?) computer and a dial-up service
and tell him to go rip up the Internet.
Once your used to a certain level of technology, it's hard to step back.
One problem is G7 motors are way too reliable. You can go way too
fast with them without blowin' up and some tracks aren't up to virtually
unlimited horsepower.

PS-it looks like I should of sent out my 1990 Purple Mile
459/Quadrail/Porsche. If that track has a turn more difficult than
the Purple Mile, D Donut on Red, heaven help those guys.
I may have to fly out in the Koford Learjet to help marshall.

[TSRF]

J.P. Van Rossem, who put this whole scene together has informed the racers that in just 40 minutes the track will close to all but the 8 fastest drivers to finish their practice...

Really? And WHO selects the "8 fastest drivers" ?

[moregoo]

5 of the 8 should be Aussies I'd reckon. Well, 4 Aussies and a Kiwi import. Go kick their asses guys, one of you should win !

[TSRF]

Your guys don't have a chance, the Aussies helped the Yanks in Irak, so JPVR won't give them any break.

[CruzinBob]

Just couldn't resist...Group 7 qualifying + consi/qtrs...

1 Paul 'Beuf' Pedersen USA 1,763 1,739
2 Vladimir Horky CZ 1,789 1,756
3 Mario 'MSP' Schöne D 1,976 1,756
4 Paul Ciccarello USA 1,761 1,761
5 Juha Yli-Sipola SF 1,87 1,87 301,33 320,87
6 Leo Hongisto SF 1,896 1,896 290,72 313,22
7 Josef Korec CZ 40,477 1,925 252 311,76
8 P-A Watson USA 1,833 1,833 245,28 306,15
9 Forrest Watchers USA 2,07 1,916 267,59 299,95
10 Lasse Äberg S 1,793 1,793 240 293,12
11 Benny Justice USA 2,227 1,993 264,02 287,54
12 Vlado Okali SK 99,999 2,358 310,19 282,56
13 Joao Carlos Geraldo BR 1,829 1,829 230,09 281,08
14 Marko Pirinen SF 12,386 12,08 281,6 268
15 Bill W.H. Skinner USA 1,942 1,942 83,52 260,84
16 Einari Fyhr SF 2,025 2,025 253,13 244,54

..copied from JP's site

[Half Fast]

1 Mario 'MSP' Schöne D 1,976 1,756 510,06 894,56
2 Paul Ciccarello USA 1,761 1,761 519,74 890,93
3 Paul 'Beuf' Pedersen USA 1,763 1,739 535,81 886,74
4 Juha Yli-Sipola SF 1,87 1,87 301,33 320,87 481,17 824,22
5 Vladimir Horky CZ 1,789 1,756 503,33 816,55
6 Vlado Okali SK 99,999 2,358 310,19 282,56 523,22 809,02
7 Josef Korec CZ 40,477 1,925 252 311,76 476,05 769,71
8 P-A Watson USA 1,833 1,833 245,28 306,15 481,66 688,00

As reported on the IMCA site

Bill