Race Results for HPI Racing!

2001

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This is where you can find all of HPI's newest race reports from HPI Team Drivers around the world. Race events are listed with the most recent event first. Races that have lots of coverage have their own series of pages. 

Benjamin Wheeler, organizer of the ESLROC Silver Cup Series based in Washington state, informed us that HPI was the winner of the Manufacturer's Championship for the ESLROC 2001 series! Using points earned by the number of cars starting each race and the number of wins, HPI Super Nitro drivers took the championship with 78 starts and 17 wins, while the Nitro Division was a more narrow competition with just 10 points putting HPI ahead of second place.

Thanks a ton for the plaques, Benjamin, we hope that ESLROC drivers take HPI to the top again for the 2002 season!

Hara and Umino sweep the NORRCA Touring Car World Cup!

Atsushi Hara continued his run of success with the dominating run he showed at the first ever NORRCA Touring Car World Cup! Yukijiro Umino took the second spot in a convincing manner over David Jun, Jimmy Jacobson and other top Pro drivers!

After the 2001 Reedy Race (see below), Hara and Umino spent three weeks practicing at Speedworld Raceway in Roseville, California. The track is a wonderfully smooth, flat track using boards and plastic walls to make the boundaries. Owned by Billy Bowerman, a diehard racer and overall nice guy, the track has flourished even though Nitro cars cannot be run at the track because of zoning restrictions.

Atsushi Hara in his pit area, prepping his car for racing action.	Yukijiro Umino's pit - who's that behind him?	IFMAR starting grid - Thad Garner (silver, white, blue), Hara (white, pink, black), and Umino (white, pink, maroon).

While Hara and Umino spent lots of time tuning their cars and testing, HPI USA racers Thad Garner and Frank McKinney made the 8-hour trip to get in a solid day of practice. The setup advice (and more importantly, insert information for the tires that will be used at the ROAR On-Road Nationals at this same track) from Hara and Umino was invaluable and really illustrated how important it is to do back-to-back testing of parts, setups, tires, inserts and more.

Frank squints for the camera	Thad looks relaxed!	Other racers played basketball to pass the time

The first day of racing showed how important a long-term test period is at any track - Hara pulled off several 13.3 second laps, Umino did 13.4 second laps and a few 13.3's, while their closest competitor was only able to make 13.7 and 13.8 second laps.

On the second day, the temperature was much cooler and most drivers improved their times dramatically. It seemed that a low 13-second lap was the "magic" time to hit, until Hara ran a few 12.9 laps in one of the qualifying rounds! By this time, Team Tamiya drivers Dave Jun and Jimmy Jacobson were doing 13.3-13.5 second laps, however. By the end of qualifying, Jimmy had pulled ahead of Dave and Umino into second spot on the A-Main grid, with Umino in 3rd and Jun in 4th. Thad Garner had had several good runs in Sedan Modified, refining the setup of his car until it got him into the 6th spot on the A-Main grid. Frank McKinney had kept working on his setup, but two missed qualifying runs put the pressure on the last heat of qualifying, where he was able to maintain a pace that would put him in the A-Main of Sedan Stock, however a quick check of his screws would have prevented a shock from falling off and ending the run - he would qualify 3rd in the B Main.

Hara, Jacobson, Umino and Jun (in order, front to rear)

On Sunday the main events started, the first heads-up racing of the weekend, and the first chance for racers from various heats to see how they stacked up against similarly quick drivers. From the beginning, Hara pulled out a half-lap lead on al the other racers, with Umino, Jimmy Jacobson and Dave Jun all battling for the second spot. Although Hara seemed to have everything wrapped up, out the door and waiting for the mailman, all the positions from 2nd to 10th were still wide open!

Hara leads the top mod racers through the chicane	The track was pretty big!	First turn, 3rd modified A Main	Thad getting around another racer	Hara pacing Jun

In the second race of the triple A-Mains, Hara again pulled out into a comfortable lead while Umino struggled to get around Jacobson and hold off Jun. A critical couple of errors in the race left him far behind the Tamiya racers at the end of the race, meaning he would need a second or a first-place finish in the last race to take second overall.

Dave Jun following Hara	Hara crossing the finish line, with Umino and Garner right behind

Although Hara had sewn up the overall win, he ran again in the third race of the triple A, and had a terrific race with Dave Jun from Tamiya, who looked like he had a great setup dialed in for his car. Hara finished first again, with Umino right behind and Dave in third.

The finishing order was Atsushi Hara in first, Yukijiro Umino second, Dave Jun third, Jimmy Jacobson fourth, and Thad Garner finished seventh.

Hara (1st), Umino (2nd) and Jun (3rd)	The top ten racers in the Sedan Modified class

See the RCRacing.com website for lots of info and more race reports!

See Hara's handwritten setup sheet here! (courtesy of Dennis Racine and RCRacing.com)

See Thad Garner's handwriteen setup sheet here soon!

HPI takes third at the 2001 Reedy Touring Car Race of Champions USA!
More Pictures! Click here
Atsushi Hara, reigning IFMAR ISTC World Champion, took several wins on the way to a well-deserved third place finish at the recent Reedy Internationa Touring Car Race of Champions at Ripon R/C Speedway in Ripon, California!

The Invitational class gathers all the world-class drivers from several manufacturers around the world and pits them against each other in round-robin heads-up racing through eight rounds of four races each, spread over two days. If a racer finishes first, they get one point. Second gets two points, and so on. The worst result for each day is thrown out to keep the best three.The racer with the lowest total points at the end of both day's racing gets the overall win. It's a unique points system that rewards consistency and smooth driving.

The Open class features sponsored and privateer racers in four qualifying heats using staggered (IFMAR) starts to put in their best run. This year's Reedy race used the ROAR style points system that threw out each driver's two worst runs and then put them in order for each round, relative to all the other racers. The top qualifier for each round was the racer with the most laps for their two best races, with the lowest overall time. This system also rewarded consistency while making the "rocket round" less important. Each racer then was sorted into their appropriate main event, with the A Main drivers using the triple A Main format.

After the first day of Invitational racing, Hara was tied for second with two other world-class drivers. All three were just one point behind the leader, so it was a tight competition for the top spot. With fifth place and on having much higher points, it was clear at the start of Sunday's race schedule that this year's title of Reedy Race Touring Car Champion would be given to one of these four drivers. Interestingly enough, each driver was using a separate brand of car, showing that a good driver using any car could be fast in the heat using the control tire.

Sunday's racing proved to get really tense as the day went on, like past Reedy Races. The fifth, sixth and seventh rounds proved to be pivotal, although it must be remembered that the first day's runs counted just as much as the second day! The announcers seemed to let more things go as "racing incidents" and gave out fewer warnings, so there was a lot more banging in the first lap of each race. By the end of the seventh round it seemed that the overall winner was decided, with Mark Pavidas taking three wins for the three rounds run so far. At that point it was down to Chris Tossilini and Atsushi Hara to decide in the eigth round who would take the second spot. It was these three drivers who were tied for second on Saturday!

In the final race of the day (round eight, race four), most of the fastest drivers were put in the same race, and it was this race that decided the second, third and fourth place finishers.

Top three finishers: Hara (3rd), Pavidis (1st), Tossilini (2nd)

In the end, there were 6 different car makes in the top 7 spots, making it a tight and very interesting series of races throughout the weekend! Lots of great racing and a lot of fun for sure!

The 2001 Reedy International Touring Car Race of Champions top ten, Invitational class

For round-by-round Invitational race results, click here! (rcresults.com)

For the final Invitational class results, click here! (rcresults.com)

Final Open class results (rcresults.com)

Lots of pictures of the Invitational class racing are available at rcracing.com!

Team Orion's Oscar Jansen posted each day on the Live section of the Team Orion site.

Extra Pictures!

Erik Shauver works on his car in the hotel room	Thad spreads out on the bed to make room for all the gear	Dan Tanis (in his trademark straw hat) goes through the driver's meeting
Galvin Salmon takes a break from working on his Pro 3 to say hi to the camera	Lee Henderson ran a Team Orion-decaled Pro 3	James Ryan cools off after the racing action!	Anthony Pena drove all the way to Ripon to compete as well

HPI takes third at the 2001 Reedy Touring Car Race of Champions UK!
Racing with a stock Pro 3 kit, Jonas Andersson of Sweden qualified 9th yet finished an astonishing 3rd place at the largest BRCA (British Radio Control Association) race of the year!

Jonas qualified ahead of recent LRP Touring Car Masters winner Teemu Leino, and in the A final with such illustrious names as David Spashett, Barry Baker, Craig Drescher, Mike Blackstock and other high-ranking professional European drivers. Jonas qualified 9th because of terrible traffic in his qualifying heat races but was able to work his way to the front of the pack, finishing the triple A final with a 2nd, 4th and 3rd place finishes!

This is probably the first time you've heard of Jonas Andersson's name if you live in the United States, but we can guess that he will be a force to be reckoned with in Europe in the future!

We will have pictures and additional text as soon as possible!

For a decent article on the race weekend, click here!

For a better article from CML, click here!

For the complete main event results, click here!

HPI takes the 2001 Western Canadian Touring Car Championship!
At the invitation to participate at the Western Canadian Touring Car Championship, HPI sent Customer Service Representative Thad Garner to participate with the new RS4 Pro 3 car. The race was hosted by One Stop Hobbies of Abbotsford, British Columbia. 

The race took place over the weekend of April 7th and 8th, and featured prominent Touring Car racers from Canada and the United States. Although he had little setup help, limited carpet track experience and HPI tires (as opposed to the current "hot" tire popular at the track), Thad was able to get a setup that worked well for him by the time practice was finished April 6. 

Just before the first stock car race (using ROAR-approved 24 degree motors), Thad was informed he had been signed up and quickly borrowed a stock motor from a pit row neighbor. After qualifying was finished, Thad had solidified the Top Qualifier (TQ) spot in the A Final of the Stock class, plus qualified second in the A Final for the Modified class! 

The racing was rough and quick on the carpet track, and Thad finished third overall in the Stock class after three A Main races. And starting from the second spot for the three A Main Modified races, Thad took the overall win for the Modified class!

Thad Garner wishes to thank the owners and staff One Stop Hobbies, as well as all the racers in attendance, for their sportsmanship, support and generosity throughout the weekend. As he says, "The racing was tight but really good and a lot of fun! The Pro 3 handled wonderfully. I've always known the Canadian Touring Car scene was pretty tough, but I developed a ton of respect for these guys. I hope to make it again next year, and although I was only able to race with a few of the racers at the Western Canadian Touring Car Championship, I count all of the racers there as my friend."

Good job, Thad! 

You can contact One Stop Hobbies at 604.852.6497 for a racing schedule and HPI parts needs. For Thad's winning modified and stock TQ setup click here!

The brand new Pro 3 gets two spots in the A Main of the LRP TCM!
During the weekend of April 7 and 8, the LRP Touring Car Masters, one of the fastest-growing Touring Car races in Europe, took place, with hundreds of drivers around the world in attendance. Several dozen racers took part in the LRP-HPI Challenge event that took place, and in between their races they were able to watch the "Masters" class at work. 

Several HPI Team Drivers were in the Masters class and after three hard qualifying rounds the Pro 3's from Atsushi Hara, reigning World Champion, and LRP's Reto Koenig were in the hunt for the top spot in the A Main. With the Masters class reaching all the way back to a P Main, that means 150 racers were in the Masters class alone! At least five brands of cars were in the A Main, piloted by drivers from seven different countries, making it a very interesting show of talent and skill! 

With Reto handling the Team Manager duties for LRP drivers (and only having had the car for two weeks!), we think the Pro 3 definitely headed for major success in the 2001 racing season!

Read more about the race, including daily reports, full qualifier and main listings, at the LRP-HPI Challenge website. Click here to go directly to the 2001 LRP Touring Car Masters web site!

Hara takes his first win for the HPI Racing team!
On January, 21, 2001, the 6th Annual Yamamoto and Yamazaki Cup, sponsored by players from the Chunichi Dragons baseball team and Miwa hobby, was the site of new HPI Team Driver Atsushi Hara's first win for HPI! The race took place in Aichi, at Misawa Track. 

More than 160 drivers competed in the race, including top drivers of many Japanese R/C teams, and interviews with a local television station helped make the race event more lively. 

HPI's newest team drivers, Hara and Umino (see below), debuted at this event and combined forces with other HPI drivers Yoshioka and Oyaizu running the Pro 2.

Hara showed his championship-winning form by winning the first and third rounds of the triple A-Final to take the overall win. Hara used the latest version of the Pro 2 Japan Edition to win the race, showing that the Pro 2 still has plenty of teeth left to take a bite out of the competition! 

Players from the Chunichi Dragons baseball team pose with Atshushi Hara (in white). Yamazaki, Yamamoto and Iwase.	Atsushi Hara signs an autograph for one of his fans.
The pits were very busy - and cold!	Hara is in the middle, with Umino at the far right.

World Champion R/C driver Atsushi Hara joins the HPI Racing team!
Atsushi Hara, current IFMAR Touring Car world champion, has become an HPI professional team driver!

Atsushi Hara joins HPI as a professional driver!

On Friday, January 12, 2001, Atsushi Hara officially joined forces with HPI Racing to race HPI chassis in competition and help develop current and future HPI kits. He will use HPI chassis and LRP speed controls in his races and will officially debut as an HPI driver in March 2001 at the the LRP Touring Car Masters race in Germany. He will continue to race mainly in the electric touring car class as well as a variety of other classes, including Nitro cars and 1/10 and 1/12 pan cars. In addition to World Championships and the All Japan Championships, he will participate in as many other big race events around the world as possible.

On the same day, Yukijiro Umino, who took the third place in the 2000 JMRCA All Japan Touring Expert Class, signed the contract with HPI as an HPI works driver.

HPI Racing owner Tatsuro Watanabe with Yukijiro Umino, Atsushi Hara, and Masayuki Murai (Sales Manager HPI Japan) and Mitsuhiro Ohe (General Manager HPI Japan) 

With Murai, Yoshioka, Hara, and Umino, the HPI Racing team will be a powerful force in R/C racing! We look forward to providing new racing tips, setups and other information for our dedicated owners!