YOKOMO BD wins the 2006 US ROAR On-Road Nationals!
TQ x2, WIN x1
Yokomo Team Driver Billy 'The Dominator' Easton, driving his Yokomo BD, put on a dominating performance at the 2006 ROAR On-Road Electric Nationals held June 7-11, at Speedworld Raceway in Roseville, California.
19T Touring Car
The former IFMAR World Champion and Multi-National Champion led the way in qualifying, convincingly claiming the Top Qualifier (TQ) spot for the finals.
In the first of the 19T Touring Car A-finals, Billy Easton took advantage of his TQ position and made an excellent start off the grid. Quickly pulling away from the field, Billy maintained a comfortable gap over his nearest rival, driving a perfect race for a flag to flag win.
The second A-final was mirror repeat of the previous final, as Billy’s Yokomo BD led from the tone and quickly established a commanding lead over second. Billy was able to maintain a comfortable gap over second until the latter portion of the race, where former World Champ Matt Francis (in his final ROAR Nationals appearance) made a heroic charge to close the gap in the closing minutes. But the race gods were not going to allow a third final to decide the winner this day, as Billy and his Yokomo BD cruised to the finish to secure the coveted 2006 ROAR National Championship title!
Perhaps just as impressive as his win, Billy Easton’s qualifying run of 21 laps/ 5:06.892 was the fastest 19T Touring Car run in qualifying, and his second A-final run of 21 laps/ 5:05.626 was the fastest 19T Touring Car run in the finals. Both runs were on par with the faster runs in the Modified Touring Car category!
19T Touring Car - Final Results
1. Billy Easton -- Yokomo BD + TQ
2. Matt Francis
3. Paul Lemieux
4. Chris Tosolini
5. Kyle Skidmore
6. Josh Numan
7. Todd Hodge
8. Keven Hebert
9. John Orr
10. Barry Baker
Modified Touring Car
Billy Easton continued his strong form in the Modified Touring Car category, leading the way in qualifying to earn his second TQ of the event.
The highly anticipated Modified Touring Car A-final was as exciting as ever, with a strong U.S. contingent looking to dethrone the 2-time defending champion from Japan. Billy Easton with his TQ performance in qualifying was the odds-on favorite. In the first A-final, a rough passing maneuver from the hard-charging defending champ caused Billy’s car to spin, relegating him to 2nd. But despite this setback Billy was able to finish in 2nd just 2 seconds behind the leader.
A win by the defending champ in the second A-final would eliminate any chance for the championship, so it was all or nothing going into the second A-final. As the tone sounded for the second A-final, Billy was able to get a great start, but while leading the top group of cars into the 180 corner off the main straight, his car was accidentally hit from behind, sending it over a board, landing a few corners ahead of the field. Unfortunately this was mistaken by the race referees as a self-induced error and was given a stop and go penalty. Despite the unlucky setback, Billy charged through the field, all the way into second. But just as gap to the leader had been closed to just 0.9 seconds, time had expired.
Although the title had already been decided going into the third A-final, the battle for 2nd was still on. From the sound of the tone, Billy Easton’s Yokomo BD was clearly in a class of its own, quickly opening up a gap to his rival in 2nd place. By the end of the race, Billy had opened a 6 second gap over the field, setting the fastest Modified Touring Car run in the finals of 22 laps/ 5:12.392, and securing 2nd place overall.
Modified Touring Car -- Final Results
1. Atsushi Hara
2. Billy Easton -- Yokomo BD + TQ
3. Rick Howart
4. Matt Francis
5. Josh Numan
6. Paul Lemieux
7. Ralph Burch
8. Chris Tosolini
9. Todd Hodge
10. Mike Truhe
Stock Touring Car
Maintaining a strong presence for Yokomo in the highly competitive Stock Touring Car category was none other than Team Driver Alex Siemantel. Setting TQ in the second round of qualifying, Alex qualified 4th on the grid, ahead of some of the nation’s top stock touring car drivers. Unfortunately, Alex was in for some bad luck in the mains, as a technical malfunction in the first A-final resulted in a DNS, and DNFs in the subsequent A-finals were caused by the dreaded first corner pile-ups. Nevertheless a great result for Alex at one of the nation’s most prestigious races.
Stock Touring Car -- Final Results
1. Travis Schreven
2. Craig Xavier
3. Jeff Brown
4. Juan Aveytia
5. Andrew Ellis
6. Peter Robinson
7. TJ Bradley
8. Michael Bruce
9. Brandon Melton
10. Alex Siemantel -- Yokomo BD
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Click pict for large pict.
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IFMAR World Champion and Multi-National Champion, Billy 'The Dominator' Easton lived up to his nickname, as he and his new Yokomo BD TQ'ed and won the Expert Division at the 1st annual Stock Rubber Tire Touring Car Nationals held at S&N's Trackside Hobbies & Raceway in Brookfield, Wisconsin on April 29 & 30. Billy's new Yokomo BD, set both the fastest single lap time and qualifying run, showcasing the BD's awesome handling and efficient drivetrain. The unique format of this race placed the top 32 drivers in heads-up style races similar to the Reedy race format. Billy won all 6 of his races, and was the only driver to put in 24-lap runs in all his races, delivering a truly 'dominating' performance! |
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Defending British National Champion, Chris Grainger started his title title defense in grand style at Round-2 of the BRCA Touring Car Nationals (April 29 & 30) held at Stafford R/C Model Car Club's outdoor facility located in Stafford, United Kingdom. Chris had his Yokomo BD dialed in for the last round of qualifying as he set a blistering TQ time, outqualifying the nearest competitor by almost 5 seconds. In the finals, Chris set the quickest lap time of the race, followed by a win in the second leg of the A-finals to secure the overall win. Chris's fellow Yokomo teammates Andy Robson and Lee Woodhams also made a fine showing, placing 3rd and 4th overall, making it three Yokomo BD's in the top 5! |
2006 U.S. ROAR On-Road Nationals Report
by Billy Easton
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The 2006 ROAR On-Road Asphalt Nationals held at Speedworld Hobbies and Raceway in sweltering Roseville California proved to be an interesting race this year. From racers punching the drivers stand to corrosion on timing wires, this race was an action packed event.
All teams were well represented including XRAY, Losi, Corrally, Associated, Hot Bodies and Tamiya. I was the lone ranger representing Team Yokomo with my MR-4 BD. Practice started Wednesday morning to perfect sunny weather. As racers filled the pits, there was definitely excitement in the air. Everyone was anxious to see how they would stack up against the star-studded cast they would soon be facing at the World Championships in July. The agenda for the racers was to have two controlled practices and open practice to end the day. The consensus among racers at the end of the day was that the track had pretty good traction. Thursday was the same line up as far as practices go and when the dust and smoke had cleared, racers were ready to throw their cars down and get this race started. Friday marked the beginning of two grueling rounds of qualifying. There were 2 qualifying rounds for 19T and 2 qualifying rounds for Modified. After the first round, the fastest players in the 19T Class were Matt Francis, Paul Lemieux and Billy Easton. After round 2, I was fastest man, followed by Matt, then Paul. The Modified class started off with a bang. I managed to ‘dominate’ round one and distance myself from the field. Hara ran into a little bad luck when his speed controller decided to shut off. If memory serves me correct, that round left Josh Numan in second followed by Rick Howart. The second round of Modified looked a whole lot like round one. I managed to put more distance between myself and the rest of the field taking TQ with Atsushi Hara at my heels and Rick Howart not far behind. You could say the Yokomo was just plain handling better. Hara’s car definitely looked fast but it struggled to find traction. Rick was smooth through both rounds of Qualifying and was definitely a strong contender.
Saturday was the second and final day of Qualifying. With the new re-sort it was bound to be an even more competitive day. After the buzzer had finished the 3rd 19T round, I was at the top taking my 2nd TQ, with Matt Francis close behind. It looked to be a battle between me and the WC Matt Francis. The fourth and final round of 19T went to Paul Lemieux, as he ran a new set of tires to try and move up the ladder in the qualification order. The 3rd round of Modified was a bar banger with Rick Howart taking top honors in the Modified class. I ran into a little bit of trouble in my qualifier and was forced to pull it off, just after taking the lead in the heat. Hara took second that round. Going into the fourth and final round of qualifying, the TQ was still up for grabs. In order to retain the top spot I had to either beat Howart or finish one spot behind him. This would insure the tie breaker. The only problem was I didn’t want to use a new set of tires on the last round. With other drivers wanting to make the main they were certain to use them. I had talked to Rick and we agreed we would both run used tires to save the new ones for the final. Atsushi Hara was also going out on used tires. After the horn had gone off, I was out in the lead and looked to set the fastest run of the event. I ran into some motor troubles in the last minute, and this enabled Rick to take the win. Lucky for me I finished just 3 tenths of a second ahead of Hara giving me the TQ spot for the main. I definitely wouldn’t want qualifying to be that close again. After a very late night building new fan systems to help my Modified motor, we managed to get up early and make it to the track for the Grand Finale. The first main up was 19T, where I was out like a bat out of hell and never looked back. Francis got into some trouble and let me get a large lead on the field. The horn went off and I had one win in the books.
The Modified race was a different story though. At the sound of the horn Rick shot wide enabling Hara to get inside of him. Like a hungry hyena Hara was all over me. He tapped me once and I managed to stay in front. Two turns later he bumped me again, however this time he had spun me. By the time I had corrected he had already put 15 or so feet between us. I fought hard for the next 4 minutes but could only get within 1 second of him at the finish. The win went to Hara.
We had little time to get ready for the next 19T main. We sat and waited for the horn everyone hungry for the win, I took off like sound of a canon, hoping not too look back. I put a bit of ground between me and MF and never looked back. When the horn sounded, I was a National Champion taking the 19T class. Modified was the next race up. Not sure how this one would work out. The temp had risen at least 15 deg. The horn sounded and we were off, car was stable and put a bit of ground between me and Rick. After the straight my lead was gone, next thing I know I had been hit. I was tapped from behind from Rick and sent across the pipe onto the next lane. I was given a stop and go, and was forced to allow 7 cars to go by. At the time of the incident Hara had gained the lead. After 4 minutes of come back and passing cars at will, I was able to run him down. Unfortunately, he still won the main beating me by less than a second. The National Champ is Atsushi Hara.
Now that 19T was out of the way I only had the third and final Modified A-main to run. The points were still a toss up. If Howart won he could still take me for second on the podium. It was important that I win the third and final leg. At the sound of the tone, I shot to an early lead and was putting distance between myself and Rick. At the 3 minute mark I had opened up a huge lead. It looked like second was in the bag. By the 5 minute mark I was gone, went the extra lap and set a new fast main time. It was a little too late though, as I would have to settle for second overall.
Looking back on the event, I was extremely happy with the way the race had gone. It was a far better finish than at the previous Reedy Race event. The practice and preparation had paid off. For the second race with the new Yokomo brand on asphalt I felt the results were extremely good. I would have to say that the Speedworld track and facility was one of the nicer ones to race at. My hat goes off to all the competitors that competed in this year’s event. I look forward to the Nationals again next year.
Signing off,
Billy ‘The Dominator’ Easton
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