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Down Under - Friday Day 9 (14/09/2006)

By:: Michael Salven

Lower finals…rain…

All racers in the lower finals unluckily got victim of the unpredictable weather conditions here in Brisbane at the moment. So the morning started with short showers and right now the rain got even heavier. This means that the first finals are being run in the rain. This is a very tough game as all racers of you know… you need a lot of luck and experience in just having the right tires at the right moment. Anyway let’s have a look on what to expect today and hope the weather will not lay us down later in the afternoon.

Today all finals will be run except the two quarter, semi and the main final. From team Serpent there will be Kyle Branson (64th Final), Alain Levy (32th Final), Lau Chi On (32th Final), Rody Roem (16th Final), Steward Grant (16th Final), Suruth Vataniyapramote (16th Final), Per Ola Hard (16th Final), Paolo Morganti (8th Final), Rene Cornella (8th Final), Darrin Campbell (8th Final) and Steve Brown (8th Final) on the run today.

The only lady participating in these Worlds, Bev Winter from New Zealand, unluckily already finished her race for today and was not able to get into the 128th final. Anyway always nice to see women participate in racing…

Interview with Lau Chi On

Yesterday evening I have spoken to Lau Chi On, our team Serpent racer from Hong Kong. Please see the interview below.

Interviewer: How are you doing today?
Chi On: Bad because I was very nervous today. It is my first time at a World Championship. The car was very good except problems with traction roll (just in one left corner of the track). The engine was very fast and the mechanic was good.

Interviewer: How is racing until now?
Chi On: Very good. Only the weather is not so good. I am very happy with the race until now.

Interviewer: How do you like the track?
Chi On: It is a nice track. The layout is good, the facilities are great and the surrounding is good.

Interviewer: Who is your biggest competitor?
Chi On: Myself!

Interviewer: Who is going to win these Worlds?
Chi On: I think Tosolini is very fast so I think he will win.

Interviewer: What are you going to eat tonight?
Chi On: Snacks, chips and some drinks at the meeting tonight!

Cool - Part 4

Definitely the second hottest sunglasses on the track...

Preparing for the big day - Part 1

While the lower finals are still on the run other racers are preparing their cars for the finals tomorrow. Nice to see the different work styles while doing this.. Well we won't tell names but check the difference in the pictures.

Preparing for the big day - Part 2

Kyle Branson has won 64th Final Even

Hot news from the 'Snake Pits'. Serpent Driver Development racer Kyle Branson has just won 64th Final Even. He has shown an impressive performance while winning his final (in wet conditions) 3 laps ahead of Jason Cook in the second position. Well done Kyle!

Update 16 o' clock

Just to give you a quick update at 16 o'clock local time. Some minutes ago 16th Final Odd has been started with three Serpent racers trying to bump up to the next final. Per Ola Hard, Suruth Vataniyapramote and Rody Roem are fighting to get one of the first three positions ensuring them another run today.

16th Final Even has just been finished with Lau Chi On, Steward Grant and Kyle Branson unluckily not bumping up into the 8th Final. Steward has lost his third position five minutes before the end because of problems with the engine. Kyle was defintitely one of the fastest guys in the final but after 5 minutes the track dried up and he got problems with traction roll. Really a shame because Kyle has done a great job today. He managed to climb up three Finals, a fantastic performance for this 12 year old boy from England. Racers, get prepared there is a big talent on the way!

Update 17 o 'clock

A short update at 17 o'clock local time.
At the moment 8th final Even is still on the run while 8th Final Odd has already been finished.

8th Final Odd has been a very exciting race with Rene Cornella and Paolo Morganti being potential Serpent racers being able to climb up to the 4th Final tomorrow. Unluckily only Paolo has made it to tomorrow while Rene had some problems in his final. Rene showed a strong performance with climbing back to the third position after a short stop and go penalty (his car crossed the start line before the start of the final) in the beginnig of the race. Unfortunately he made a mistake later which caused some damage on his car and made a sudden stop to his race.

So let's keep our fingers crossed for Paolo tomorrow....To be continued..

The other two racers climbing up into 4th Final Odd tomorrow are Jessie Davis and Davide Gallesi.

Update 18 o'clock

Also 8th Final Even has been finished by now with no 'Snake Pit' racers climbing up to a Final tomorrow. Unluckily neither Steve Brown, Darrin Campbell or Suruth Vataniyapramote were able to make it to one of the first three places.

The 3 racers who have made it to the 4th Final Even tomorrow are: Roland Strom, Teodorio Teddy and Alan Savage.