LRP-HPI-Challenge: The German finale 2016!
The 2016 LRP-HPI-Challenge finale was held at the RCCT-Münden track in Hannoversch-Münden. 145 participants had signed up for the four classes on offer 13.5T, GT 17.5T, Classic and Rookie. Leading up to the finale, a total of 1054 drivers did participate in 104 local races in the regions Middle, North, South, East, West and Austria, constituting an increase in drivers compared to last season. The team of the RCCT, headed by Holger Sparbier, had done a wonderful job and created great conditions. Track, pit area and the grounds were, just like the numerous participants, best prepared.
Unfortunately, the drivers had to struggle once again, like so many times this season, with changing weather conditions. Especially during the qualification rounds. The drying track was a great challenge and the ensuing drizzle made the choice of setup really challenging. In the touring car classes, rain tyres were the popular choice. A successful tyre gamble elevated some drivers to unexpected heights while other drivers found themselves in rather unfamiliar positions towards the end of the starting lineup.
The individual winners of the regional trials in all classes were honoured on Saturday evening which has already become a tradition. The winner of the Junior Challenge was also greatly celebrated. Great and thrilling products from the LRP product portfolio were raffled off amongst all winners.
For Sunday, one last round of qualification and the finals were scheduled. Many drivers took extreme risks in this last qualification round that turned the ranking upside down. The weather now was also playing along. After grey skies in the beginning, even the sun paid a visit to the track in Münden later on.
Julian Garbi secured the title in Rookie and consequently the German Championships in this class already after the first two finals. Julian also won the third finale and relegated Sascha Knodel and Daniel Hoelke to positions two and three in commanding fashion. The B-finale was won by Julia Dietrich.
The Classic competition was hotly contested. The fans of this class proved once again, that Mustang, Camaro and company aren’t only eye candy but can also offer first class racing. Tobias Dietrich won the first and second finals, but was disqualified in the second due to a technical deficiency and was relegated to the end of the starting lineup for disciplinary reasons.
His closest competitors were Ulf Bohlender and Dirk Flachmann. Due to Tobias’s disqualification in finale 2, Dirk was awarded the win with to his second place. The bang for the third finale hadn’t even fully died away, when Tobias Dietrich’s brilliant comeback trip commenced. He overtook his competitors one by one and ploughed through the lineup – until he was really able to take over the lead and defend it until the finish. The new German Champion Classic was therefore Tobias Dietrich followed by Dirk Flachmann and Ulf Bohlender. The winners of the successive finals were: Jens Ackermann (B-finale) and Dirk Lante (C-finale).
Of the more than 50 starters in the X20 17.5T powered GT-class, Jochen Janik put the best performance onto the track. He won all finals in commanding fashion. Behind him, the drivers struggled for the remaining positions.
The track of the RCCT-Münden is extremely challenging and requires absolute concentration as well as precision at any time. Every small mistake directly leads to changes in the ranking. The positions from runner up downwards were only decided in the third finale. Behind Jochen, Karsten Bartsch (Awesomatix) and Torsten Baggendorf (Yokomo) were the lucky ones that made it onto the podium. The successive finals were won by: Sören Sparbier (B-finale), Helge Behrens (C-finale), Stefan Köhler (D-finale), Andre Krumm (E-finale) und Axel Thoms (F-finale).
Also spectacular was the race in the Stock class that had experienced a significant increase in participant after the change to the X20 13.5T motors. There was only a thin line between success and failure. The drivers of the fastest Challenge class did chase their cars around the track under the admiring eyes of all drivers from the German finale and many more spectators.
The decision was very close. Each of the three finals had a different winner. Round one went to Patrick Gassauer (Team Magic), round two to Lars Hoppe (ARC) and Kevin Sparbier (Serpent) won the third finale. Patrick and Kevin also had the identical score in the end. This meant that the decider had to be the fastest time of the respective won final – and that faster final belonged to Patrick Gassauer who could celebrate the German Championship in this class. Runner up was Kevin Sparbier and the third place was taken by Lars Hoppe.
First place of the successive finals went to: Moritz Flügge (B-finale), Daniel Dünner (C-finale), Benjamin Eggerstedt (D-finale) und Michael Spiering (E-finale).
Congratulations to all champions and thank you to all participants for the fair and thrilling races. A special thank you to the team of the RCCT-Münden: Holger Sparbier and his team really did a wonderful job and put on a successful event.
The complete results of the LRP-HPI-Challenge German Championships 2016 can be found at www.myrcm.ch
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The current rules, upcoming racing schedule and further information about Germany’s largest RC Electric Onroad racing series can be found on the official Challenge website (German language): www.lrp-hpi-challenge.com!
Pictures courtesy of: www.mikanews.de