ALL 2003 IOC-RACES FOR MODEL CARS

IMCA 124 MODEL CAR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP (B)

AUGUST 31, LEDE (B)

2003 IMCA NATS RESULTS   2003 IMCA NATS GALLERY   2003 IMCA NATS REPORT

'PIKI' VAN ROSSEM IS MC WORLD CHAMP!

The difficult NSR World Championship's track

 

The 8 finalists with f.l.t.r. Yves Welter jr (B), 'Piki' van Rossem (B), Frantisek Poledna (CZ), Yannick Demeyer (B), Einari Fyhr (SF), Josef Korec (CZ) and Youri van Rossem (B). Salvatore Noviello is missing.

IMCA 124 MODEL CAR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
Most important meeting at the IMCA Nats was the 124 World Championship. Absent were Philip Helmuth (USA), despite the fact that IMCA paid for him his plane ticket and hotel, and John van Hoornaar. At the last minute JPVR decided not to start so that his youngest son could race his #43 Dodge STP Cheerios and that Youri's own #5 Chevrolet Kellogg's could be raced by Belgium's most promising young racer Yves Welter jr. Four fastest qualifiers were 'Piki' van Rossem (5"7452), Yannick Demeyer (5"7558), Yves Welter jr (5"8156) and Josef Korec (5"9381). It were the lonely racers staying under the 6 seconds. They made directly the move to the Semis. Biggest surprise, however, came from the 11-year old Youri van Rossem, realising the 5th best time in 6"0066. Then followed Luis 'Gugu' Bernardino (BR), Juanma de Torres Perez (E), Matti Fyhr (SF), Frantisek Poledna (CZ),Francesc Reyes (E) and Tamar Nelwan (NL). Of the 5 fastest cars only Korec's was not a Philippe de Vries set up!
Then followed 5 Consis, where only the 2 first could make the move to the Semis, together with the the 2 best thirds. Here we lost all racers from Portugal, the 2 Americans (Fred Hood and Herman James), 3 of the 4 Britons (Aynsley even didn't start), the 3 Kiwis, Hugo and Desmond Dekker (having not practiced on the difficult track), the 2 South-Africans, and surprisingly also Kai Kivekäs (SF), Antónin Vojtik (CZ), Daniel Gonzalez (E) and Matti Fyhr (SF). The non-qualification of former world champion Geert Mertens (B) was a big deception for the public, standing behind the Belgian ace. Dramatic too was the elimination of Juanma de Torres Perez, leading his Consi until the last stages, but loosing 5 laps in the pits, enough to be eliminated.
Qualified for the Semis were the 2 Belgians of the B team (Youri van Rossem, having won his Consi, and Yves Welter jr), 2 Belgians of the A team ('Piki' and Yannick Demeyer), 2 of the 4 Spanish racers (Borras and Reyes, having been the fastest man at the Consis), the 3 Italians, 3 of the 4 Czechs, Einari Fyhr for Finland, John Brown for England, and Miskolci (SVK) and 'Gugu' (BR) for the International Team. Of the non-European racers 'Gugu' was the lonely one to make the move to the Semis.

CLICK HERE FOR PICTURE GALLERY IMCA NATS

 

Semi B went with Yannick Demeyer (B-1), Yves Welter jr (B-2), Frantisek Poledna (CZ), Salvatore Noviello (I), Daniele Malangone (I), John Brown (GB), 'Gugu' Bernardino (INT) and Jan Korec (CZ). Here Demeyer and Welter were setting the pace immediately after the start. They were followed by 'Gugu', Noviello and Poledna. After 4 segments we found Demeyer and Welter at the 2 first places, followed by Noviello, Poledna and 'Gugu'. Malangone, Brown and Jan Korec followed already 5 laps down to qualification. Towards the end Poledna and Noviello could pass Welter (saving his car for the main), whilst 'Gugu' missed the move for 5 laps.
Semi A went with 'Piki' van Rossem (B-1), Josef Korec (CZ), Francesc Reyes (E), Jozef Miskolci (INT), Einari Fyhr (SF), Youri van Rossem (B-2), Jordi Borras (E) and good old Giovanni Montiglio (I). Here 'Piki' was setting the pace, surprisingly followed by the 11-year old Youri and Josef Korec (CZ). Up from the second segment Francesc Reyes joint that trio. Montiglio was early out with technical problems. When 'Piki' increased speed, nobody was able to follow. Youri maintained his second place, one lap ahead over Reyes, Korec and Fyhr. Miskolci tried to follow and Borras was loosing field. At mid-race 'Piki' had already a 5-laps lead over Youri and Korec. One lap further came Reyes, heading Einari Fyhr. Positions remained unchanged until two segments before the end. Then Reyes, on his way to a certain move, had to come into the pits, offering Einari Fyhr the fourth place.  Youri lost during the two last segments on the difficult inner lanes 2 laps, but finished as fourth, 2 laps ahead over Miskolci. By qualifying for the main he let note a unique historical perfomance, being the youngest racer ever having qualified for the final of a world champ-ionship.
Among the 8 finalists we found 4 racers from Belgium ('Piki', Youri, Yannick Demeyer and Welter jr, all driving Philippe de Vries cars), 2 racers from Czechia (Josef Korec, Frantisek Poledna), 1 Italian (Noviello) and 1 racer from Finland (Einari Fyhr). 'Piki' and Korec stayed until the two last segments in the same lap, leaving no chances to the others. Welter maintained 3 segments long the third place but was then passed by Poledna, Demeyer and Noviello. Demeyer came back after a brilliant race to the third place. Noviello was eliminated with technical problems. Eventually 'Piki' won, 5 laps ahead of Korec who lost those lap at his 2 last runs on the inner lane. Poledna was fourt, Fyhr fifth. Youri was eliminated with braids problems and finished eighth.

1 VAN ROSSEM 'Piki'  (B)  Belgium A #18 Pontiac Interstate PlaFit 5,7452 free 226 229
2 Korec Josef (CZ) Czechia #20 Pontiac Home Depot MoMo 5,9381 free 216 224
3 Demeyer Yannick (B) Belgium A #36 Pontiac M&M's PlaFit 5,7558 free 223 222
4 Poledna Frantisek (CZ) Czechia #14 Pontiac Conseco MoMo 6,0767 216 219 220
5 Fyhr Einari (SF) Finland #8 Chevrolet Budweiser MoMo 6,1211 211 215 216
6 Welter Yves jr (B) Belgium B #32 Ford Tide PlaFit 5,8156 free 216 214
7 Noviello Salvatore (I) Italy #9 Dodge Dodge Dealers MoMo 6,2419 212 217 187
8 Van Rossem Youri (B) Belgium B #5 Chevrolet Kellogg's PlaFit 6,0066 209 214 186
9 Miskolci Jozef (SK) Internationals #29 Chevrolet Goodwrench MoMo 6,2381 210 212 -
10 Bernardino 'Gugu' (BR) Internationals #10 Pontiac Valvoline MoMo 6,0322 208 211 -
11 Borras Jordi ( E) Spain #77 Ford Jaspers MoMo 6,1301 208 209 -
12 Korec Jan (CZ) Czechia #40 Dodge Coors Light MoMo 6,3571 207 209 -
13 Malangone Daniele (I) Italy #19 Dodge Dodge Dealers MoMo 6,284 209 208 -
14 Brown John (GB) U.K. #55 Chevrolet Square D Schoeler 6,1126 210 207 -
15 Reyes Francesc ( E) Spain #2 Ford Miller Lite MoMo 6,0915 218 191 -
16 Montiglio Giovanni (I) Italy #23 Dodge Hill Bros Coffee MoMo 6,2215 211 190 -
17 Gonzalez Daniel ( E) Spain #12 Ford Alltel MoMo 6,2333 209 - -
18 Torrez Perez Junanma ( E) Spain #26 Ford BigMart MoMo 6,04 206 - -
19 Fyhr Matti (SF) Finland #15 Chevrolet NAPA MoMo 6,0542 205 - -
20 Radisich Chris (NZ) New Zealand #28 Ford Havoline Texaco MoMo 6,172 205 - -
21 Nelwan Tamar (NL) Holland #90 Ford Duke's Sauer PlaFit 6,0995 204 - -
22 Vojtik Antónin (CZ) Czechia #41 Dodge Target MoMo 6,364 203 - -
23 Stassen Robert (RSA) Internationals #31 Chevrolet Cingular Wire MoMo 6,1681 202 - -
24 Mertens Geert (B) Belgium A #22 Dodge Caterpillar MoMo 6,2733 202 - -
25 Kivekäs Kai (SF) Finland #1 Chevrolet Pennzoil MoMo 6,3383 201 - -
26 Tyler Tim (NZ) New Zealand #88 Ford UPS MoMo 6,37 201 - -
27 Hood Fred (USA) U.S.A. #48 Chevrolet Lowes MoMo 6,2268 200 - -
28 Dekker Desmond (NL) Holland #99 Ford Citgo MoMo 6,3891 198 - -
29 Dale Kieran (NZ) New Zealand #17 Ford DeWalt Tools MoMo 6,3378 196 - -
30 Saunders Brian (GB) U.K. #4 Chevrolet Kodak Film MoMo 6,4927 195 - -
31 Kimber George (GB) U.K. #21 Ford Motorcraft Schoeler 6,3172 193 - -
32 Pihno Antonio (PT) Portugal #33 Chevrolet Oakwood MoMo 6,3846 193 - -
33 James Herman (USA) U.S.A. #25 Chevrolet UAW Delphi Schoeler 6,4614 191 - -
34 Cruz Jorge da (PT) Portugal #16 Ford Family Click MoMo 6,5584 191 - -
35 Relvas Ulisses (PT) Portugal #11 Ford Hooters MoMo 6,8012 187 - -
36 Dekker Hugo (NL) Holland #97 Ford Rubbermaud MoMo 6,7691 174 - -
37 Alves Jorge (PT) Portugal #14 Pontiac Conseco MoMo 6,5425 170 - -
38 Paterson Al (RSA) Internationals #30 Chevrolet A.O.L. MoMo 6,2491 112 - -
39 Aynsley Andrew (GB) U.K. #45 Dodge Sprint Schoeler 6,3936 0 - -
40 Van Rossem Jean P (B) Belgium B #43 Dodge STP Cheerios PlaFit DNS DNS - -
41 Dohogne Gilles (B) Belgium B #44 Dodge Cheerios MoMo DNS DNS - -

IMCA 132 MODEL CAR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP (B)

AUGUST 28, DISON (B)

'PIKI' VAN ROSSEM ALSO 132 WORLD CHAMP!

IMCA 132 MODEL CAR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
Although already scheduled in 1985, at the subscription of the World Champ Act before notary Ernst van Tricht, the 132 Model Car Worlds (earlier called "Scalextric Worlds") were never organised. Main reason was that no universal chassis, fitting under Scalextric bodies, and bodies of other makes, could be found. When America's PdL launched his 132 TSRF chassis, it was found to be THE solution. However, the 132 Worlds were scheduled at the Carrera plastic 6-laner of Dison, and there the improved competition verson was found to be undrivable without traction magnet. Following PdL it was all Salvatore Noviello's fault, his tires were no good and the tuning of the club car was not better than done by PdL himself. All earlier received reports of tests with the undrivable TSRF-NSR resulted in a serious panic from the side of the organisers. PdL from his side, furious that we dared to write that his chassis was undrivable, used the lowest attacks, proving what a poor character he is.
Behind the scenes JPVR was in continuous contact with NSR's Salvatore Noviello. The Italian fully admitted that the TSRF was hardly more than a nightmare. However, creative as he is, he developed in one week time a complete new pinion and spur gear and let make 200 pair of so called "magnetic" tires. The result was just dumpfounding. Test-driver Georges Baikry could simply not believe his eyes when he made his first tests with the NSR. Contrary to the American club version the Italian version, with the ultra soft tires and the very special gear ratio, could be raced and without ballast, and without traction magnet. At once it was a very enjoyable car allowing perfectly a competition among strict similar cars.
The race started with a serious handicap: the 10 controllers, specially developed by NSR to drive this car, were forgotten at Brussels. A lot of improvisation was necessary to find 6 controllers allowing to drive this cars at the 42-metre track of Dison.
At the qualifications over just one lap Georges Baikry, the 1987 model car world champion, realised the fastest time (11"30), heading Einari Fyhr (SF), Yannick Demeyer (B), and Daniele Malangone (I) . Earlier 8 of the 16 racers having to start at the prequalifications were eliminated. Among them John Brown (GB), Andrew Aynsley (GB) and the local star Gilles Dohogne (B). Twelve racers survived the Consis, where close racing was the general rule, nl. the 4 fastest qualifiers plus Daniel Gonzalez (E), 'Piki' van Rossem (B), Jordi Borras (E), Jozef Miskolci (SVK), Salvatore Noviello (I), Kieran Dale (NZ), Yves Welter jr (B), and Georges Baikry (B). Normally Patrice Dohogne should have been among the last 12, however at the very end of his Consi, he was eliminated by technical problems.
At the Semis we lost also Georges Baikry under similar circumstances. Most surprisingly was the eliminations of the Belgian youngsters Yves Welter jr, Yannick Demeyer and of the two Italians, Noviello and Malangone, who had the most experience with the NSR 132 chassis. Kiwi Kieran Dale missed the main for less than one lap. The six finalists were 'Piki' van Rossem (B), Josef Korec (CZ), Einari Fyhr (SF), Jozef Miskolci (SVK) and the 2 Spanish youngsters Jordi Borras and Daniel Gonzalez. Following the article on the very respectful web site of Stéphane Martin, the surprising results of the Spanish racers were the consequence of illegal practices: they prepared their rear tires, which was absolutely forbidden. The main final was dominated by 'Piki', deslotting not once over 6 x 5'. Then followed in the same lap Josef Korec (2nd), Daniel Gonzalez (3rd) and Jozef Miskolci (4th). Jordi Borras, having to fix his rear spoiler during racing time was 5th, heading Einari Fyhr. All by all a very enjoyable race, thanks to the creativity of NSR's Salvatore Noviello, having been blamed without any reason by the vinegarish PdL.

Racer Nat Car PreQualif Qual Quarters Semi Main
1. "Piki" VAN ROSSEM B #5 Mercedes CLK-DTM Warsteiner - 12"79 88 119 117
2. Josef Korec CZ #1 Audi TT-R Hasseroder - 13"55 86 117 115,151
3. Daniel Gonzalez E #19 Opel Astra V8 Service Fit 88,019 12"66 87 120 115,114
4. Jozef Miskolci SVK #14 Opel Astra PM Magazine 84,006 11"74 87 117 115,021
5. Jordi Borras E #17 Mercedes CLK-DTM CEB 84,130 NT 87 117 114
6. Einari Fyhr SF #23 Audi TT-R Hasseroder - 11"49 - 117 111
7. Salvatore Noviello I #7 Opel Astra V8 - 12"19 88 115 -
8. Kieran Dale NZ #6 Mercedes CLK-DTM Warsteiner 84,127 11"69 85 114 -
9. Daniele Malangone I #11 Mercedes CLK-DTM Original Teile - 11"66 - 111 -
10. Welter Yves jr B #42 Mercedes CLK-DTM 24-h Service - 14"42 87,107 113 -
11. Demeyer Yannick B #17 Mercedes CLK-DTM CEB - 11"68 - 109,105 -
12. Georges Baikry B #24 Mercedes CLK-DTM 24-h Service - 11"30 - 109,110 -
13. Patrice Dohogne B #24 Mercedes CLK-DTM 24-h Service 85,058 11"79 87,006 - -
14. Matti Fyhr SF #23 Audi TT-R Hasseroder 84,004 12"50 86 - -
15. Kai Kivekäs SF #73 Opel Astra V8 Sport Bild 84,096 12"11 85 - -
16. Francesc Reyes E #16 Mercedes CLK-DTM Oase 84,056 12"78 84,099 - -
17. Giovanni Montiglio I #8 Opel Astra V8 TV Today - NT 84,089 - -
18. Chris Radisich NZ #8 Opel Astra V8 TV Today - NT 84,072 - -
19. Tim Tyler NZ #16 Mercedes CLK-DTM Oase - 13"85 83 - -
20. Herman James USA #12 Mercedes CLK-DTM Original Teile - 12"39 82,121 - -
21. George Kimber GB #4 Audi TT-R Red Bull - 11"98 82,117 - -
22. Luis 'Gugu' Bernardino BR #25 Mercedes CLK-DTM - 14"26 80 - -
23. Youri van Rossem B #0 Audi TT-R Red Bull - 15"96 79,077 - -
24. Geert Mertens B #10 Audi TT-R Red Bull - 13"43 79,050 - -
25. Jan Korec CZ #9 Audi TT-R Red Bull - 14"62 78 - -
26. Antónin Vojtik CZ #19 Opel Astra V8 Service Fit - 13"31 76 - -
27. Brian Saunders GB #14 Opel Astra V8 PM Magazin - 12"27 30 - -
28. John Brown GB #5 Mercedes CLK-DMT Warnsteiner 83,006 - - - -
29. Juanma de Torrez Perez E #11 Mercedes CLK-DTM Original Teile 81,020 - - - -
30. Al Paterson RSA #77 Opel Astra V8 Opel Service 79,122 - - - -
31. Gilles Dohogne B #15 Opel Astra V8 Oase 78,075 - - - -
32. Fred Hood USA #4 Audi TT-R Red Bull 78,067 - - - -
33. Andy Brown-Searle GB #8 Opel Astra V8 TV Today 77,127 - - - -
34. Robert Stassen RSA #76 Opel Astra V8 SAT1 76,003 - - - -
35. Andrew Aynsley GB #7 Opel Astra V8 Service Fit 67,000 - - - -
36. Frantisek Poledna CZ #1 Mercedes CLK-DTM Vodafone - 13"62 DISQ - -

IMCA MELLO YELLO JUNIORS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP (B)

AUGUST 31, LEDE (B)

'PIKI' VAN ROSSEM MAKES IT THREE!

MELLO YELLO JUNIOR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
In total 18 racers under 25 years were selected for the Junior Worlds. Fastest qualifier was surprisingly Gilles Dohogne in 5"6433, the fastest time of the week-end. He and 'Piki' (5"7268) made the move to the main. The 16 others had to go to the Semis. There we lost surprisingly Kieran Dale (NZ), Andrew Aynsley (GB) and Yves Welter jr (struggling with a car with a wrong set-up). Youri van Rossem took a bad start and insisted no longer during the following segments. Antonio Pihno (PT) and Desmond Dekker (NL), having not practiced, couldn't follow the pace. That Czechia's Antónin Vojtik came no further than a 14th place was totally unexpected.
Among the finalists we found 3 racers from Belgium ('Piki', Demeyer, Dohogne), 2 racers from Spain (Gonzalez and Borras), Matti Fyhr (SF), Daniele Malangone (I) and John Brown (GB). The last maintained long time the fourth place before being eliminated with technical problems. 'Piki' van Rossem was leading from start to finish. Struggle for the second place went between Demeyer, Dohogne and Matti Fyhr. Malangone and the two Spanish racers were unable to follow the pace. Having lost precious time on the difficult inner lanes Yannick Demeyer failed to pass Matti Fyhr for the third place. The young Gilles Dohogne caused a stir by holding Fyhr of the second place. At no moment he was in trouble, even not on the two inner lanes, and finished a brilliant race as vice-world champion behind 'Piki' van Rossem. The cars of the Spanish racers seemed to be handicapped by overheated motors, enforcing them to make short but fatal pit stops. Daniele Malangone, tipped to finish as runner up, was never in the race and finished not higher than sixth.

The 8 finalists with f.l.t.r. "Piki" van Rossem (B), Daniel Gonzalez (E), Gilles Dohogne (B), John Brown (GB), Yannick Demeyer (B), Matti Fyhr (SF), Jordi Borras (E) and Daniele Malangone (I).

1 VAN ROSSEM 'Piki'  (B) B-A #18 Pontiac Interstate Batteries PlaFit 5,7268 free 225
2 Dohogne Gilles (B) B-B #43 Dodge STP Cheerios PlaFit 5,6433 fee 220
3 Fyhr Matti (SF) SF #15 Chevrolet NAPA MoMo 6,0963 208 217
4 Demeyer Yannick (B) B-A #36 Pontiac M&M's PlaFit 5,863 213 215
5 Borras Jordi ( E) E #77 Ford Jaspers MoMo 6,0602 210 209
6 Malangone Daniele (I) I #19 Dodge Dodge Dealers MoMo 6,2587 200 208
7 Gonzalez Daniel ( E) E #12 Ford Alltel MoMo 6,4561 214 207
8 Brown John (GB) GB #55 Chevrolet Square D Schoeler 6,2589 204 202
9 Aynsley Andrew (GB) GB #45 Dodge Sprint Schoeler 6,3207 204 -
10 Stassen Robert (RSA) INT #31 Chevrolet Cingular Wire MoMo 6,7581 201 -
11 Dale Kieran (NZ) NZ #17 Ford DeWalt Tools MoMo 6,4331 197 -
12 Van Rossem Youri (B) B-B #5 Chevrolet Kellogg's PlaFit 6,3889 196 -
13 Welter Yves jr (B) B-B #32 Ford Tide MoMo 6,3456 195 -
14 Vojtik Antónin (CZ) CZ #41 Dodge Target MoMo 6,6941 194 -
15 Dekker Desmond (NL) NL #99 Ford Rubbermaid MoMo 6,7466 186 -
16 Pihno Antonio (PT) PT #33 Chevrolet Oakwood MoMo 6,5717 185 -

IMCA EUROPEAN MODEL CAR CHAMPIONSHIP (B)

AUGUST 29, GRIMBERGEN (B)

'PIKI' VAN ROSSEM MAKES IT FOUR...
doing even better than Josef Korec last year

EUROPEAN MODEL CAR CHAMPIONSHIP
On Friday evening 38 racers showed for the IMCA EuroNats, contested with 1/24th scale WCS Nascar cars at the viscious Grimbergen short track. At the Qualifications the 4 first places went to 4 Belgian racers with Yannick Demeyer as fastest, heading Youri van Rossem, JPVR and 'Piki'. Of the 12 racers reaching the Semis no less than 6 were Belgians, nl. the 4 first named plus Yves Welter jr and Geert Mertens. The other 6 were 3 Czechs (Josef Korec, Poledna and Jan Korec), the Slovak Miskolci, the Finn Einari Fyhr and the Dutchman Tamar Nelwan. Of them Nelwan missed the move to the main by 1 lap, Einari Fyhr by 3 laps. Top favourite Geert Mertens struggled with the wrong set-up of his MoMo and was out, just as Miskolci, Jan Korec and Yves Welter jr. The last was a big surprise, since Welter was long time leading his Semi, but could not insist when, after a couple of deslottings he was passed by 3 cars. Four of the 6 finalists (Demeyer, 'Piki', Youri and JPVR) drove the fantastic PlaFits Springsteel, prepared by wizard Philippe de Vries. The two other finalists (Josef Korec and Poledna) started on MoMos. Immediately after the start JPVR and his youngest son Youri collided twice at the end of the straight, mading JPVR loosing 4 laps. Meanwhile 'Piki' and Youri were pulling away from the rest of the field, with Yannick Demeyer in last position, after his motor failed to start. He and JPVR realised a terrible come-back, passing Korec and Poledna, as if they were air. Shortly after mid-race JPVR conquerred the second place, always 4 laps down to 'Piki'. Youri conserved his third place until the last segment, when he was passed by Demeyer. Final standings gave the 4 Philippe de Vries cars at the 4 first places: 1. 'Piki', 2. JPVR, 3. Demeyer, 4. Youri van Rossem.

 

Racers Team Car Qualif Consis Semis Main
1. 'Piki' VAN ROSSEM Belgium A #18 Pontiac GP Interstate Batteries 3,714 - 274 287
2. Jean Pierre van Rossem Belgium B #43 Dodge Intrepid STP Cheerios 3,713 - 275 283
3. Yannick Demeyer Belgium A #36 Pontiac Grand Prix M&M's 3,618 - 280 282
4. Youri van Rossem Belgium B #5 Chevrolet MC Kellogg's Got Milk 3,666 - 269 276
5. Josef Korec Czechia #20 Pontiac Grand Prix Home Depot 3,793 270 271 273
6. Frantisek Poledna Czechia #14 Pontiac Grand Prix Conseco 3,820 264 270 265
7. Tamar Nelwan Holland #90 Ford Taurus Duke's Sauer 3,785 261 269 -
8. Einari Fyhr Finland #8 Chevrolet Budweiser 3,870 263 267 -
9. Geert Mertens Belgium A #22 Dodge Intrepid Caterpillar 3,822 265 260 -
10. Jozef Miskolci Internat'l #29 Chevrolet MC Goodwrench GM 3,896 260 259 -
11. Jan Korec Czechia #40 Dodge Intrepid Coors Light 3,948 248 257 -
12. Yves Welter jr Belgium B #32 Ford Taurus Tide 3,788 260 256 -
13. Daniel Gonzalez Spain #12 Ford Taurus Alltel 3,885 259 - -
14. Luis 'Gugu' Bernardino Internat'l #10 Pontiac Grand Prix Valvoline 3,852 259 - -
15. Kai Kivekäs Finland #1 Chevrolet MC Pennzoil 3,972 258 - -
16. Salvatore Noviello Italy #9 Dodge Intrepid Dodge Dealers 3,958 256 - -
17. Andrew Aynsley U.K. #45 Dodge Intrepid Sprint 3,986 256 - -
18. George Kimber U.K. #21 Ford Taurus Motorcraft 4,085 254 - -
19. Herman James U.S.A. #25 Chevrolet MC UAW Delphi 3,958 252 - -
20. Matti Fyhr Finland #15 Chevrolet MC NAPA 3,834 251 - -
21. Francesc Reyes Spain #2 Ford Taurus Miller Lite 3,908 248 - -
22. Giovanni Montiglio Italy #23 Dodge Intrepid Bross Hill Coffee 4,004 248 - -
23. Chris Radisich New Zealand #28 Ford Taurus Havoline Texaco 3,900 248 - -
24. Antónin Vojtik Czechia #41 Dodge Intrepid Target 3,938 247 - -
25. Juanma de Torres Perez Spain #26 Ford Taurus Bigmart 3,827 247 - -
26. Kieran Dale New Zealand #17 Ford Taurus DeWalt Tools 3,999 246 - -
27. Tim Tyler New Zealand #88 Ford Taurus UPS 4,025 245 - -
28. John Brown U.K. #55 Chevrolet MC Square D 4,142 245 - -
29. Fred Hood U.S.A. #48 Chevrolet MC Lowes 4,130 243 - -
30. Daniele Malangone Italy #19 Dodge Intrepid Dodge Dealers 4,022 240 - -
31. Al Paterson Internat'l #30 Chevrolet M.C. A.O.L. 3,927 234 - -
32. Brian Saunders U.K. #4 Chevrolet MC Kodak Film 4,181 229 - -
33. Jorge Alves Portugal #04 Pontiac Grand Prix Conseco 4,326 227 - -
34. Jorge M.B. da Cruz Portugal #16 Ford Family Clics 4,325 217 - -
35. Antonio Pihno Portugal #33 Chevrolet MC Oakwood 4,356 208 - -
36. Gilles Dohogne Belgium B #44 Chevrolet M.C. Dawny 3,867 205 - -
37. Ulisses Relvas Portugal #11 Ford Taurus Hooters 5,076 144 - -
38. Robert Stassen Internat'l #31 Chevrolet MC Cingular Wire 3,914 131 - -

IMCA MODEL CAR TEAM RACING WORLD CUP (B)

AUGUST 29, GRIMBERGEN (B)

JPVR, YVES WELTER JR & GILLES DOHOGNE
despite Yannick Demeyer/Youri (2nd) and Tamar Nelwan (3rd)

 

WORLD CUP MODEL CAR TEAM RACE
The model car team race at the Grimbergen short track was hardly more than a warm-up race to test the Nascar WCS cars under race conditions. Having full confidence in team mate Geert Mertens, famous for the set-up of his cars, 'Piki' preferred to start with Mertens's #22 Dodge Caterpillar. The choice was a disaster, since Mertens's car missed elementary speed. Associated with two talented young Belgian racers (Yves Welter jr and Gilles Dohogne) JPVR had no problem to win. During his 2 stints he realised 111 lap records, enough to keep Yannick Demeyer and Youri van Rossem and their #36 M&M's Pontiac 10 laps behind. Third was Tamar Nelwan, having to start without team mates on his #90 Ford Duke's Sauer, since John van Hoornaar didn't show, as well as the second Dutch team with Hugo and Desmond Dekker. Again the 3 first cars were all PlaFits prepared by wizard Philippe de Vries. Then followed the first team of Czechia (Josef Korec/Poledna) coming ...35 laps behind the winners. Team Finland (Einari Fyhr/Matti Fyhr/Kai Kivekäs) was fifth, heading the Britons Andrew Aynsley/John Brown. The fast #30 Chevrolet AOL of South-Africa's Al Paterson/Robert Stassen, still sixth after the Qualifications, finished after several problems on the very last place. Problems too for both Spanish cars having had to start on new (and no conic) front tires. Those conic tires, initially also found on the cars  tuned by Philippe de Vries, were the center of a very long controversy, where race director Bob Demeyer (correctly) obliged all racers to respect the rule book. Several cars, among them the Italian and American cars, came at the start with a total wrong set-up. They finished deep in the overall standings.

1. Jean Pierre VAN ROSSEM/ Yves Welter jr/Gilles Dohogne B-B #43 Dodge STP Cheerios 3,661 653 109 111 104 108 111 110
2.Youri van Rossem/Y.Demeyer B-A #36 Pontiac M&M's 3,664 643 109 108 105 104 108 109
3. Tamar Nelwan NL #90 Ford Duke's Sauer 3,733 621 104 100 104 106 104 103
4. Josef Korec/Frank Poledna CZ #20 Pontiac Home Depot 3,79 618 107 102 100 105 100 104
5. E.Fyhr/M.Fyhr/Kai Kivekäs SF #1 Chevrolet Pennzoil 3,87 599 101 96 98 100 100 104
6. John Brown/Andrew Aynsley GB #45 Dodge Sprint 4,043 594 99 100 95 99 101 100
7. Daniel Gonzalez/Jordi Borras E #12 Ford Alltel 3,923 591 99 100 95 101 99 97
8. Jan Korec/Antonin Vojtik CZ #40 Dodge Coors Light 3,971 590 100 97 99 97 99 98
9. Piki van Rossem/G. Mertens B-A #22 Dodge Caterpillar 3,925 584 90 98 96 98 101 101
10. Fred Hood/Herman James USA #48 Chevrolet Lowe's 4,106 583 104 96 97 97 94 95
11. F. Reyes/J. de Torres Perez E #2 Ford Miller Lite 3,989 577 95 88 100 96 100 98
12. Noviello/Montiglio/Malangone I #9 Dodge Dodge Dealers 3,951 573 94 91 98 99 95 96
13. Radisich/Tyler/Kieran Dale NZ #28 Ford Texaco Havoline 4,245 571 96 95 98 93 93 96
14. Brian Saunders/George Kimber GB #21 Ford Motorcraft 4,099 565 93 93 87 92 99 101
15. Gugu Bernardino/J. Miskolci INT #29 Chevrolet Goodwrench 4,103 562 93 85 90 99 97 98
16. Al Paterson/Rob Stassen INT #30 Chevrolet AOL 3,876 551 95 93 87 89 94 93

IMCA'S 6TH MODELLER'S WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP (p.m.)

AUGUST 28, DISON (B)

GEORGE KIMBER BEST MODELLER
beats Einari Fyhr (2nd) and Jozef Miskolci (3rd)

MODELLER'S WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
Never before, even not in the highdays of the Boxus entries, so many splendid cars were presented at Concourse. Under the new rules anomalies as at previous years were excluded. One person per national team could vote and three model car specialists had exactly the same number of votes. After this initial round the 10 cars having scored the most points, went to a very detailed control on base of 20 objective criterions. Normally the #22 Caterpillar Dodge of Geert Mertens (presented on a complete diorama) should have won. However the steering wheel of the driver was not linked to the dashboard, making Mertens loosing all chances on victory. Difference between the three first cars, nl. the #71 Realtree Chevrolet of George Kimber (GB), the #97 Sharpie Rubbermaid Ford Taurus of Einari Fyhr (SF) and the #29 GM Goodwrench Chevrolet Monte Carlo of Jozef Miskolci (last year's winner) was infinitesimal small. Eventually the title went to England's George Kimber having entered a nearly perfect model car. The #17 DeWalt Tools Ford by Kieran Dale and the #28 Havoline Texaco Ford by Chris Radisich could have finished 2 or 3 places higher if some details of the interior had be respected.

 
Modeller Team Car pts voters concourse multiplier pts x CM pts jury total (rank) pts obj. criterion
1. George KIMBER GB #71 Chevrolet MC Realtree 10 1.08 10.80 12 22.08 (3) 250
2. Einari Fyhr SF #97 Ford Taurus Rubbermaid 14 1.37 19.18 14 33.18 (2) 242
3. Jozef Miskolci INT #29 Chevrolet MC Goodwrench 26 0.97 25.22 10 35.22 (1) 221
4. Tamar Nelwan NL #90 Ford Taurus Duke's 4 1.22 4.88 15 19.88 (4) 214
5. 'Piki' Van Rossem B-a #18 Pontiac GP Interstate Batteries 0 1.00 0,00 13 13 (8) 199
6. Geert Mertens B-a #22 Dodge Intrepid Caterpillar 21 0.52 10.92 3 13.92 (6) 193
7. Chris Radisich NZ #28 Ford Taurus Havoline 10 1.37 13.70 5 18.70 (5) 192
8. Kieran Dale NZ #17 Ford DeWalt Taurus Tools 1 1.38 1.38 9 10.38 (9) 176
9. Frantisek Poledna CZ #14 Pontiac Grand Prix Conseco 0 0.61 0 8 8.00 (10) 158
10. Al Paterson INT #30 Chevrolet MC AOL 12 0.93 11.16 2 13.16 (7) 134
11. Antónin Vojtik CZ #41 Dodge Intrepid Targey 1 1.23 1.23 6 7.23 -
12. Youri van Rossem B-b #5 Chevrolet MC Kellogg's 1 0.69 0.69 5 5.69 -
13. Francesc Reyes E #2 Ford Taurus Miller Lite 0 1.28 0 5 5.00 -
14. Yves Welter jr B-b #32 Ford Taurus Tide 6 0.59 3.54 1 4.54 -
15. Fred Hood USA #48 Chevrolet MC Lowes 1 0.69 0.69 3 3.69 -
16. Daniel Gonzalez E #12 Ford Taurus Alltel 0 1.28 0 3 3.00 -
17. Tim Tyler NZ #88 Ford Taurus UPS 1 1.48 1.48 1 2.48 -

18th NATIONS CUP (pro memore)

AUGUST 28-31, DISON-GRIMBERGEN-LEDE (B)

BELGIUM WINS ITS SECOND NATIONS CUP

September 3 - The 18th IMCA Nats were dominated by 'Piki' van Rossem who won the three world champion titles (124 Model Cars, 132 Model Cars, Mello Yello Junior Worlds) and the European Model Car Championship, despite a very strong opposition. Josef Korec and the Fyhr brothers were his strongest opponents. Belgium won for the second time in history the Nations Cup and succeeded to stop the Czech supremacy. Czechia finished second, the Belgium B team third, Finland fourth and England fifth. Biggest deceptions were the weak performances by the Italian team and the complete failure of such teams as the USA and Germany, collecting not one single point.
Public attendance could have been better, but was far from disappointing. Response in the press was beyond expectations, with, among others, a complete page on the 132 Model Car Worlds in a French newspaper. Best race was the one with the 132 model cars, exactly the one which seemed as well as impossible before the start. That is exclusively the merit of NSR: having equipped the nearly undrivable TSRF chassis with ultra soft tires and with a total new gear ratio, the cars were at once very enjoyable and could be driven without ballast and without traction magnet. At the 132 Worlds all racers had exactly the same cars (except for the DTM bodies by Ninco, Scalextric and SCX), so that the driving abilities of all racers were the decisive factor. Here 'Piki' van Rossem gave full evidence that he's not for nothing the #1 model car racer in the world. He finished two laps ahead over his most direct opponent Josef Korec (CZ), heading Daniel Gonzalez (E), Josef Miskolci (SVK), Jordi Borras (E) and Einari Fyhr, finishing nearly in the same lap. Later 'Piki' won also the Mello Yello Junior Worlds where the surprising Gilles Dohogne and Matti Fyhr were his only direct opponents. By winning the main event, the 124 Model Car Worlds, after a gruelling combat with Josef Korec, Yannick Demeyer (B), Frantisek Poledna (CZ) and Einari Fyhr (SF) he not only won his third world title at the same meeting, but did even better than Korec last year. Eventually 'Piki' won also the European Championship ahead of Jean Pierre van Rossem, Yannick Demeyer, Youri van Rossem, Josef Korec and Poledna. The Open G12 race was a brilliant spectacle where Poledna could beat country mate Poledna by a couple of inches. Einari Fyhr was third, Brian Saunders fourth. Concourse (the Modeller's Worlds) went to the grandfather of British slot-racing Georges Kimber, offering his country its first official world champion title.

 

The 18th IMCA Nats were essentially a combat between Belgium's 'Piki' van Rossem and Czechia's Josef Korec. 'Piki' won four races out of six, Korec finished three times second. In the world ranking of slot-racers 'Piki' closes up to Korec. The difference is now down to 52.5 points.

 

The 18th IMCA Nats were contested on three different tracks: the 132 Worlds were reserved to the 42-metre Carrera six-laner of Dison; the Team Race and EuroNats were contested at the Grimbergen 16.50 metre short track; the remaining races went on the extremely viscious new 36-metre NSR wooden eight-laner. At the three locations the organisation was nearly perfect. Under difficult circumstances - a shortcoming in the rulebook concerning front wheels and body weight - race director Bob Demeyer proved his integrity and did a great job, assisted by Henk Visser and Andy Brown-Searle.
The races on the short track and on the NSR track with short curbs proved the limits of the MoMo chassis, last year still so successful. The succession of accelerations under 18 Volt result in a heating Bison Mk3 motor. Having no cooling possibilities all MoMos lost speed during the last segments. That's why wizard Philippe de Vries, having prepared four of the six cars of the Belgian teams, made a good choice by using the older PlaFit springsteel chassis. Another serious shortcoming of the MoMo was its front suspension, bending at serious crashes. The Schoeler chassis as driven by the British and the Americans was a pure disaster: on the NSR track those cars were absolutely nowhere. Eventually four of the (only) five PlaFits reached the final of the main event, where they finished 1st, 3rd, 6th and 9th. At the Mello Yello the PlaFit domination was even greater, resulting in a 1-2-4.

Team Modeller's Worlds Team Race EuroNats Benelux Cup Open G12 Mello Yello Junior Worlds 124 IMCA Worlds TOTAL
1. Belgium A 10 7,5 32 0 43.5 48 141 pts
2. Czechia 2 10 9 35 0 36 92 pts
3. Belgium B 0 27.5 24 0 22.5 6 80 pts
4. Finland 15 6 1 18 18 9 67 pts
5. U.K. 20 3 0 11 1.5 0 35.5 pts
6. Netherlands 10 12 2 - 0 0 24 pts
7. Internationals 13 0 0 0 0 0 13 pts
8. Italy 0 0 0 4 4.5 3.5 12 pts
9. Spain 0 2 0 0 9 0 11 pts
10. New Zealand 7 0 0 0 0 0 7 pts
11. U.S.A. 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 pts
12. Germany - - - 0 - 0 0 pts
13. Portugal - - 0 0 0 0 0 pts

7th BXL X-MAS RACES, AALST (B)

DECEMBER 20, AALST (B)
"PIKI" VAN ROSSEM 2x DESPITE BEING ILL  

Nick de Wachter (2x2nd), Youri (3rd & 4th), Gilles Dohogne (2x5th) and Yves Welter (2x7th) prove young Benelux power!

December 21 - Despite 39° C fever triple model car world champion 'Piki' van Rossem won both X-Mas Races at Aalst, where the venue was extremely strong since such big guns as Michael Landrud (S, 2003 Scale Racing World Champ), Michael Silén (S, 2003 USRA Nats winner), Josef Korec (CZ, best racer of 2003), Vladimir Horky (CZ, best all-time racer), Lasse Äberg (S, double wing car world champ), Salvatore Noviello (1997 ISRA world champ & 2001 model car world champ), Franscesc Reyes (2003 European PlaFit champ), Tamar Nelwan (2002 European PlaFit champ), etc. were all present.
Biggest surprise came from the youngsters where Nick De Wachter (NL) finished twice second, where Youri van Rossem (B) finished 3rd and 4th), where Gilles Dohogne (B) finished twice 5th, where Yves Welter jr (B) finished twice 7th, where Antonin Vojtik (CZ) finished once 9th and once 10th and where Daniel Gonzalez (E) finished once 9th. After a splendid combat with Michael Landrud (new in model car racing, and 10th at his second race) young Gilles Dohogne won the title of rookie of the year, although it must be admitted that another direct competitor, Yves Welter jr, had back luck since his car - the fastest at the tests of one week earlier - missed a little punch to be totally competitive. Josef Korec finished 8th and 6th, but has to admit that the Dutch wizard Philip de Vries is absolutely superior in tuning model cars. Indeed at the first race the 7 PlaFits tuned by De Vries finished at the 7 first places, whilst at the second race (where Landrud could race a De Vries car) they collected 8 top-10 places. It was an extremely enjoyable meeting, but unfortunately the last BXL X-Mas Races in history. There is even a chance that it was the real last international meeting organised by JPVR: indeed without financial help of the slot-racing manufacturers it will not possible to organise the 2004 IMCA Nats, now that Winston was replaced by Nextel as Nascar Sponsor. For a complete report with pics of Stéphane Martin, surf to our special X-Mas Races Page. [JPVR]

The winners: f.l.t.r. Juanma Torres de Perez (best amateur at the Evening Race), "Piki" van Rossem (winner of both races), Nick de Wachter (best youngster at both races and Ton Jacobs (best amateur at the Night Race)

RESULTS X-MAS EVENING RACE
1 VAN ROSSEM "Piki" (EXP) B PlaFit Springst #18 Pontiac Interstate 5,234 333 57 55 56 54 56 55
2 De Wachter Nick (YNG) NL PlaFit Springst #28 Ford Havoline Texaco 5,195 331 54 56 55 56 54 56
3 Nelwan Tamar (EXP) NL PlaFit Springst #10 Pontiac Valvoline 5,260 329 55 55 54 56 54 55
4 Van Rossem Youri (YNG) B PlaFit Springst #23 Dodge Stacker 5,273 327,1 54 55 54 55 55 54,1
5 Dohogne Gilles (YNG) B PlaFit Springst #5 Chevrolet Kellogg's 5,457 327 56 55 53 54 54 55
6 Van Rossem Jean Pierre (EXP) B PlaFit Springst #43 Dodge STP Cheerios 5,382 323 54 53 55 53 53 55
7 Welter Yves jr (YNG) B PlaFit Springst #97 Ford Sharpie/Rubbermaid 5,319 322 53 53 54 54 53 55
8 Korec Josef (EXP) CZ MoMo SW1 #20 Pontiac Home Depot 5,267 321 53 53 54 53 53 55
9 Gonzalez Daniel (YNG) E MoMo SW1 #12 Ford Alltel 5,225 320 53 53 54 53 52 55
10 Vojtik Antonin (YNG) CZ MoMo SW1 #31 Chevrolet Cingular 5,321 319 54 53 52 55 54 51
11 Torres de Perez Juanma (AMA) E MoMo SW1 #88 Ford UPS 5,262 318 54 52 54 51 52 55
12 Borras Jordi (YNG) E MoMo SW1 #26 Ford K-Mart 5,330 317 54 53 51 54 53 52
13 Miskolci Jozef (EXP) SK MoMo SW1 #29 Pontiac GM Goodwrench 5,644 316 51 54 52 52 55 52
14 Noviello Salvatore (EXP) I MoMo SW1 #9 Dodge Dodge Dealers 5,344 315 53 53 52 52 50 55
15 Äberg Lasse (EXP) S MoMo SW1 #77 Ford Jasper Engines 5,419 315 54 52 52 53 52 52
16 Landrud Michael (EXP) S MoMo SW1 #14 Pontiac Conseco 5,544 314,2 54 51 52 53 52 52,2
17 Horky Vladimir (EXP) CZ MoMo SW1 #40 Dodge Coors' 5,536 314,1 51 53 51 53 54 52,1
18 Reyes Francesc (EXP) E MoMo SW1 #2 Ford Miller Lite 5,364 314 51 54 52 52 54 51
19 Korec Jan (EXP) CZ MoMo SW1 #41 Dodge Target 5,397 313,1 54 52 52 53 52 50,1
20 Demeyer Yannick (YNG) B PlaFit Springst #36 Pontiac M & M's 5,344 313 50 53 53 52 52 53
21 Baikry Georges (EXP) B MoMo SW1 #32 Ford Tide 5,530 313 54 53 51 53 51 51
22 van Hoornaar John (EXP) NL MoMo SW1 #6 Ford Viagra 5,542 312 53 51 51 52 52 53
23 Jacobs Ton (AMA) NL