Matt Bruce

Dave Simerka

Dave Fiedler

CANAM 124

124 F1

124 COUPE

OVERALL RANKING

15 racers ranked

For R4 racing Ron Hershman is what Dave Fiedler is for Sano Racing and what Duran Trujillo is for Checkpoint D3 racing. Last year Hershman won at the R4 Retro Races in the three classes (Canam, F1 and Coupe). One year earlier, at the first edition, he won also Coupe and was runner-up at F1 and Canam. This year he tried to confirm his superiority in IRRA retro racing, but he only partially succeeded to do so. He won again CANAM, with a new lap record, but finished not on the podium of F1, where he came not further than a seventh place. In Coupe GT he reached again the podium, but now on the lowest spot. The F1 race was won by Josh Crutchfield, letting behind Chris Radisich, Matt Bruce from Scotland, and the two Lauterbachs (dad & son) having been split  by Ralph Thorne. Howie Ursaner had not a good week-end at Columbus as he failed to reach the top-10 in CANAM and the coming not higher than ninth overall at the Coupe race. A much better week-end was reserved for Chris Radisich who won convincingly the 124 Coupe race, ahead over James Merriman, Ron Hershman, Ralph Thorne and Matt Bruce. Chris finished fourth in CANAM, and was runner-up in F1. So he collected in total 45 points against 36 for Ron Hershman in the overall standings. That means that Chris Radisich was the overall winner of the R4 Retro Races, good for 20 new IOC points. In the updated IOC list he moved into 39th position.  Ron Hershman, who finished as second overall, collected 15 new IOC points. In the IOC list he passes Dave Fiedler - not convincing at this year's R4 -and is now 53rd in the all-time ranking of slot-racers.   Matt Bruce, third in the overall ranking, collected already 93 IOC points and is still 27 points away to enter the elite of the historical PRO racers (they are now 121 in the list, Petteri Pirhonen and Matthias Parke, having been the two most recent racers having joined the ranks of elite PROs).
It is surely a pity that Matt Bruce had to withdraw at the last minute from the entry list for the real first World Championship Retro Racing. He could have been, just as Ralph Thorne (refused for financial reasons - too high money requirements - at the start by organiser Raymond van Campenhout), a serious threat for such favourites as Ron Hershman, Dace Fiedler, Howie Ursaner and Chris Radisich. But let's not forget that four European top racers such as 'Piki' van Rossem (B), Michael Niemas (D), Ralph Seif (D) and Giovanni Montiglio (I) will receive a brand new retro CANAM car, having been assembled by the master himself: Bryan Warmack. Although retro racing is as well as completely unknown in Europe the Retro Worlds can be an interesting confrontation among racers from the OLd Continent and the New Continent. Thrill is already now in the air. [I.Y.]   

124 JRL/F1

Production B

Open 124 GP12

ISRA 124 Production

ISRA 132 F1

ISRA ES32

ISRA ES24

February 21, 2010 - In total 43 different racers showed for the 2nd North-American Masters, functioning this year as the 5th ISRA Warm-Up races. Except for two all entrants were Americans. Two favourites for the ISRA Worlds, later this year, Paul Gawronski and Paul Ciccarello, did not show. Seriously missed were Chris Bruyninckx and M.G. Brown (who did one race) who were last year excellent reporters. Now Roger and Laura Schmitt had to do everything alone: race direction, running the shop, taking pics, setting all results on the OWH web site and doing even the race direction (after Wasserman, on vacation, couldn't accept the invitation to do so). There were 7 races, the 4 last of them being raced under strict ISRA rules. Greg Gilbert won 3 of those 4 ISRA races, proving he's ready for the upco-ming ISRA Worlds at the same location. Other wins went to Roy Hood, Chris Sanchez, George Russell and Alexandre Leite. The N-American Masters are an IOC event of level 3, what means that the winner of the ES24 race collects 10 IOC points, just as the first in the overall ranking.

New are the 0.05" lexan bodies, having been raced by most entrants. In G12 and ES24 most racers used the light Cahoza UL can with the shark teeth, whilst arms are mainly ProSlot and Koford. Prices at the ceremonial were all the new bodies having been released by RedFox (Brazil).
Although Herman James won none of the seven rounds, he collected 10 new IOC points, enough to move into the historical elite of slot-racing. He's now one of the 118 all-time pros having collected more than 125 IOC points (and is ranked as #103). Mike Stahl, who finished third at the top race (ES24) collected 8 new IOC points and has now a total of 94 IOC points on rank #147. Greg Gilbert collected twice 10 IOC points (best over the seven races and winner of the ES24 race), and has now 203.5 IOC points, bringing him on rank #66 in the all-time ranking of slot-racers, despite the fact he races only in the States. [I.Y.]

OVERALL RANKING

OVERALL RANKING

RETRO CANAM

RETRO F1

RETRO NASCAR

JAIL-DOOR RETRO

RETRO COUPE

RETRO PRO RACE

27 entrants

17 entrants

24 entrants

TQ: H. Ursaner 4"6555

TQ: B. Warmack 4"5813