Race Results for HPI Racing!

1999

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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. 

HPI wins the German Touring Car National Championship!

We are very proud to inform you that Team Orion/HPI has won the very prestigious German Touring Car Nationals! Germany is the center of scale Touring Car racing in Europe, and this is a great way to show racers around Europe that the RS4 Pro 2 is in no way behind any other Touring Cars in development and refinement!

Christian Wittke won the 2nd and 3rd final in great style, starting from a 3rd qualifying position. The whole weekend his HPI Pro 2 looked great and it was just some bad luck that prevented him from taking Pole Position, which was taken by Benjamin Groschl, driving Team Orion/Losi.

The track is in Nördlingen, and is the home track of Team GM/Graupner, and was very demanding on car and motor setup. Christian and all the other HPI/Team Orion racers chose the Team Orion Chrome 12 Double with a ratio of  6.7 and Team Orion TM 3003S brushes. Batteries were of course Team Orion RC 2000 V-Max Plus. The Novak Cyclone TC speedo was used for smooth power and control.

Christian used the following items on his RS4 Pro 2 car: #7316 Dodge Stratus Body, #3735 Type R5 White 24mm Wheels, #4631 Green Medium 24mm Pro Molded Inserts, #4753 33R 24mm Tires, #73006 and #73004 Front and Rear Woven Graphite Shock Towers, #A789 Purple Anodized Heat Sink Motor Plate, #A467 Carbon Graphite Suspension Arms, and #B017 4 x 8 x 3mm bearings in the steering arm.

The car lineup after the A Final was as follows: 
HPI/Team Orion (Wittke)
TC4
Losi
Yokomo
HPI/LRP (Dirk Stammler)
TC4
Yokomo
Schumacher
TC4
HPI/LRP (Reto König)

Everyone at HPI Racing would like to congratulate Christian on his great win, he had a great weekend with the car and his equipment! Also, thanks to Oscar Jansen and Reto König for their race reports!

HPI also wins the Swiss National Touring Car Championship!

Just look at the final results! NINE HPI RS4 Pro 2 cars made the top ten! 

Like many other National Championships in Europe, the Swiss National TC Championship was decided by five race meetings during the year, with one race counting as a "dropout" race and not counting towards the point totals. 

HPI Racing wants to congratulate all the racers that made the top ten! Philippe Neidhart of Team Orion sent us the list above, as usual he is very quick to send us his race results!

HPI USA Challenge in Houston!

HPI Racing and Hobby Center of Houston, Texas will be hosting the second United States HPI Challenge for racers in the Gulf Coast area during the weekend of September 25-26! Click here for more details! The classes and general rules are carried over, almost all the rules are the same as our previous HPI USA Challenge race, except we will allow any HPI body. The first HPI Challenge race was held at a Dodge-sponsored racing event, so we had to require Dodge brand bodies.

This race promises to be very exciting, with a brand new huge track surface, covered pit area and a well-stocked hobby shop right next door! Check out the pictures of the track and details! We'll be updating this page frequently with hotel information and any rules updates, so check in often if you plan to attend!

The first HPI European Challenge is over! 

The HPI UK offices and HPI distributors around Europe have been holding HPI Challenge races since early this year, and the finals were held at a track near the HPI Europe headquarters. Click here for the race results! 

All the HPI European Challenge Championship winners are announced also, and they are eligible to compete in our next HPI USA Challenge race, to be held in Torrance, CA at the headquarters of Honda USA!

HPI takes the first-ever NORRCA Southern California Road Course Series in three separate categories!

HPI Racing drivers persisted throughout the summer to take home first and second place plaques in Expert Modified and first, second and third place plaques in Expert Stock! An independent HPI racer won the Nitro touring car class with a basically stock Nitro RS4. Congratulations to Tony Phalen (1st in Expert Stock and Expert Modified), Thad Garner (2nd in Expert Stock and Expert Modified), Frank McKinney (3rd in Expert Stock), and Tracy Greiger (1st in Expert Gas)!  

HPI USA Challenge

The 1999 HPI USA Challenge Race at the New Dodge presents the Motor Trend Thunder Historic Races is over, and we now have full results! Check out the page for pictures of our A Main winners, the Concours Cup champion and the winner of the Yokohama tires!

14 year-old driving sensation Scott Winters beats out famous European drivers for a podium finish at the EFRA Euro's!

Another week, another great finish! The 1999 EFRA Scale Saloon European Championship is all finished, and we're happy to announce HPI finished ahead of the biggest names in Europe! First, 14 year-old HPI Europe Team Driver Scott Winters took the TQ at the Euro's Warm-Up a couple of weeks ago, and this past weekend (June 18-20) Scott took third place, finishing ahead of drivers like David Spashett, Jukka Steenari and Teemu Leino! For overall results and great descriptions of the races, check out the RCCarsUK homepage. We'll have pictures and details of our own next week!

1999 NORRCA Southern California Touring Car Series:
HPI locks in the wins!

August 7th was the 4th race of the 1999 NORRCA SoCal Touring Car Series, and HPI Team Drivers lead both Expert Modified and Expert Stock classes! There are five races in the series, with one race allowed as a drop-out, and at least four races must be attended to be in contention for the championships at the end of the year.

The third race was held on July 10 in Bakersfield, California at Showtime R/C, a bowl-shaped oval track with a flat infield. While the turnout was very light for the touring car races (a NORRCA Oval series race was taking place the same day), it was beneficial for HPI Team Drivers Tony Phalen and Thad Garner, who racked up more points placing first and second, respectively, in both Touring Car Expert Modified and Expert Stock.

The fourth race was held in the new location for the Golden State Tire Shredders, an R/C club based in Encino, CA. Tony and Thad again got first and second in Touring Car Expert Stock, and Thad got first place in Expert Modified and Tony finished in second place. These positions basically locked in their wins for the first ever NORRCA SoCal Touring Car Series!

Although there is one race left in Camarillo, it will be a victory appearance and a chance for Tony to pick up his first-place trophies and Thad to get his second place trophies in Touring Car Expert Modified and Stock!

Meanwhile, in the Nitro Touring Car class, Tracy Grieger holds onto a solid lead with his essentially stock Nitro RS4 Racer

In this 5-race series (4 races of which count to the championship), HPI racers have a good lead! For a complete schedule of the races, visit the NORRCA website.

HPI Nitro Star Pro engines win at the ROAR Gas Off-Road Nationals!

HPI Racing Team Driver Richard Saxton does us proud! In Las Vegas over the weekend of June 12-13, Richard drove his HPI-powered 1/10 scale 2WD truck and 1/8 scale 4WD buggy both to consecutive wins!

Richard was the fastest truck driver all weekend, beating out drivers Brian Kinwald, Mark Pavidis and others with his TQ time that was one full lap faster than all the other drivers' best time! Even though the qualifying was done by a points system, Richard pulled off the only 14-lap qualifier of the whole weekend! Richard's HPI Nitro Star Pro 12R SC engine ran strong, and had tons of torque with plenty of top end for the huge track at Western R/C, which is located on the outskirts of Las Vegas. Even though the temperatures reached over 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 degrees Celsius), Richard's Nitro Star Pro engine ran cool, coming off the track at the end of the 45 minute main at less than 200 degrees Fahrenheit. Richard led the A Main race for the entire 45 minutes, and didn't crash once, which allowed him to be far ahead of the rest of the field!

In the 1/8 scale buggy class, Richard used a prototype of the upcoming HPI .21-size engine, which will be called the Nitro Star Pro 21R SC. This A Main event was one hour long, and Richard inherited the lead from Mark Pavidis when Mark's car flamed out when going over a double set of jumps. Richard then ran the fastest lap times of the race with no challengers around, and at the end of 60 minutes, took the win!

Congratulations, Richard, on winning the 1/10 Scale Truck and 1/8 Scale Buggy classes at the 1999 ROAR Gas Off-Road National Championship! Richard used O'Donnell fuel in both his truck and buggy, and Steve O'Donnell himself helped Richard tune the engines to run cool and fast for both classes.

HPI takes 3rd place at the 1999 Reedy Modifieds Touring Car Race of Champions!

Our coverage is now complete! Check out the details of the cars, the drivers and some of the races that went on during the weekend!

HPI Challenge - Germany!

HPI distributors in Germany, LRP Electronic, have been hosting their own series of races for HPI car owners. They have divided Germany into five zones to make it easier for racers to participate in the series, and each zone has 4 to 10 races throughout the year. Click here for the racing schedule, and results will be posted soon! The final race for all the best finishers will be in September near the offices of HPI Europe!

1999 NORRCA California State Road Course Championship

On May 2nd, the NORRCA folks held another race at the Ventura Road Runners track in Camarillo, CA. This track was the site of the 1999 NORRCA California State Road Course Championships, and there was lots of race action all day!

The Ventura Road Runners have three permanent tracks set up in Freedom Park, a sports facility in Camarillo, California. The tracks feature a permanent road course with white boards that lay out the track. They also have a large dirt oval track that goes around a big off-road track. The off-road track features every off-road racer's dream: an over-and-under jump for extreme dirt action!

The on-road track was a slightly dusty sealed asphalt surface, but its biggest feature were the track boards that claimed many cars as its victims during the day! This would figure into the finishes of many heats and main races. The track quickly proved to be unforgiving to many cars, and some drivers had to reach deep into their parts bins during the race day. Luckily there were three qualifiers, so racers had a chance to make up for any early breakages or mistakes with a good run in the second or third heats.

Sportsman Stock racing was a good contest between local drivers and visitors from farther south. Mike Plant and Michael Parker battled it out all day long in qualifying, going back and forth in the positions. In Novice class, Pete (one of Tony's pitmates) had one of the better races of the day, coming from behind to take the win in his A-Main. Congratulations, Pete!

Expert Stock racing was close also, with Tony taking the TQ spot and HPI local driver (and R/C Car contributing author) Frank Killam qualifying in third. In the Expert Stock A-main event, Tony pulled out to a comfortable lead while second through fourth battled it out in a close race. At the end of the race, Tony Phalen was in the lead, and Frank Killam ended up third. Congratulations, Tony, on being the 1999 NORRCA California Touring Car Champion!

Throughout the race day, local SoCal driver Tony Phalen literally amazed the fully sponsored factory drivers in Expert Modified class by beating their qualifying times by 3 seconds in the first round, and mere tenths in the second and third heats! Tony ended up having the Top Qualifier position over racers Barry Baker, David Jun, Dave Loftin and Robert Itoh.

In the Expert Modified A-main, Tony was bumped in the first corner, and was quickly passed by most of the field, but worked his way from almost last to fourth in the first couple of laps. On the third lap, the leader broke an a-arm on those notorious boards, which bumped Tony up to fourth, two cars behind David Jun. David and Tony were very close in lap times, so so Tony had his work cut out for him trying to pass second-place Don Vengemulder, but Tony got a clean pass on a tight chicane and set his mind to catching up to David, but he was a straightaway behind and didn't have enough time to challenge for the lead. Tony finished second, with Don in third, Thad Garner (of HPI Customer Service) in fourth, just out of contention for a plaque, but ahead of Robert Itoh.

With his TQ spot over the fully sponsored factory drivers, Tony should get a big pat on the back. His calm concentration in the A-main to get back up to second place also deserves a big round of applause! His second-place plaque is well-deserved, plus he gets yet another NORRCA "TQ" pin to put on his pit box. Good job, Tony! We look forward to more race finishes with Tony. An honerable mention needs to go to his car, also: it hit the same infamous corner that many drivers broke on during the day, and kept running with no problems whatsoever! Shouts from the onlookers amounted to, "It takes a licking and keeps on ticking!"

Tony, Frank and Thad all ran the RS4 Pro 2, and both Tony and Thad ran the new Dodge Stratus body in their races. You can see Tony's winning and TQ setups on the Pro 2 Setups Page!

1999 NORRCA Western Spring Road Course Championship

The most recent sedan race in Las Vegas took place on April 25, 1999. The 1999 NORRCA Western Spring Road Course Championships was dominated by HPI racers, for the second time this year! While the turnout was light, the competition was still very good, and many good races took place during the day. Tony Phalen won the TQ spot in both stock racing and Expert Modified, with HPI's Customer Service Tech Thad Garner in second starting position for both races.

In the stock race, Tony was inadvertently knocked over the pipe in the very first corner, but managed to come back from behind to lock into a fierce battle for third with local driver Steve Jackson. While the other local drivers were rooting for Steve to win, Tony was able to prevail, and eventually finished the race in fourth spot. Thad took the overall win in the stock race, using Team Orion batteries and the Edge Stock Motor!

In the Expert Modified race, there weren't too many drivers, yet Tony was able to almost lap the entire field from his TQ position. Thad started from second position and from the start was engaged in a long battle with another driver, which he was able to pull off in the end. Tony walked off the driver's stand with the win, taking home yet another plaque and NORRCA Top Qualifier pin! Call him butter, because he's on a roll! (a common saying in the pits)

Tony and Thad both used the RS4 Pro 2 to get their wins, and ran the Team Orion Edge Stock Motor.

Congratulations, Thad and Tony! We look forward to more updates later in the year!

1999 NORRCA Division Three Sedan Champs

Check out the results for this race, in which HPI TQ'd and won! A couple of HPI Factory Racers went, and a few other racers with HPI cars went, and dominated the races in Las Vegas, Nevada!