Race Report
2005 Reedy International Touring Car Race of Champions
Craig Drescher
Event: Reedy International Touring Car Race Of Champions
Location: Aliso Viejo, CA – Tamiya USA
Dates: May 28 – 29, 2005
Vehicle Class: Electric Touring
Motor: Reedy Ti 7 Turn
Surface: Asphalt
Highlights: Craig Drescher wins the Invitational Class with a prototype
Factory Team TC4
Craig Drescher's car
Synopsis:
Held in honor of Mike Reedy, the Reedy International Touring Car Race of
Champions brings together the best touring car racers from around the world to
compete in an eight round face-off of driver, equipment and team. In the end,
only one combination could be crowned champion and by Mr. Reedy’s own
admittance, “This is the best group of drivers ever assembled for an event like
this”.
Like the three previous years, the event was held at the Tamiya test facility in
beautiful Aliso Viejo, CA. Known as one of the best tracks in the World, the
Tamiya track combines raw horsepower with patient technique to bring together
one of the most balanced permanent layouts in R/C today. Backed by an
outstanding event organizer and crew, world famous announcer Scotty Ernst was
brought in as race director to keep the event on schedule and bring the
excitement as only Scotty can do.
Report:
Going in to round one there were a group of drivers that showed they might
have what it takes to contend for the overall title, so naturally most eyes were
on their heats. As the races progressed through the second round, each of the
completed eight heat races produced a different winner. Some of the favorites
had already had mechanical troubles or poor results and with six of the eight
runs counting for the overall, having a throw-out in the first few races spells
almost certain doom. As the day progressed through the four rounds, a glimpse at
the final overall standings started to immerge that included Craig Drescher,
Atsushi Hara, Marc Rheinard, Rick Hohwart, David Spashett, David Jun, and Jilles
Groskamp.
As day two rolled around everyone began looking at the heats to see when these
drivers would face off head to head. Many times one round can take a competitor
out of contention for the title. As rounds five and six were run, a few of the
front-runners had poor results and the field for the overall was narrowed to
Drescher, Groskamp, Hara, and Rheinard. In the eighth and final round, Drescher
and Hara faced off head in the third heat of the invitational class. Both
drivers got away clean off the line and were separated by only a few seconds the
entire race. Drescher was working his way to the front of the pack, but had an
unfortunate incident that lost him some positions. Now Hara was
just ahead and if Drescher had any hopes of the overall he had to get around
Hara. In a side-by-side pass through the carousel corner Drescher got by Hara
and secured second for the heat. Now all the Brit could do was turn marshal the
fourth heat and see how the event played out. In the final heat of the final
round, Groskamp needed a first place to win the event outright and found himself
racing with some of the toughest competition in the world. As the laps fell off
the board, Groskamp worked his way in to fourth place and a position that tied
him for the overall title.
At this event, ties are resolved by taking the six best finishes and seeing who
has the most firsts, if there is still a tie, how many seconds and so on. Using
this system, both Craig and Jilles had three firsts and three seconds. The final
tiebreaker in this scenario is determined by the single fastest laps and time
from the six best finishes. In the end, Craig Drescher and his Reedy-powered
Factory Team TC4 were crowned champion over Jilles Groskamp by 0.393 seconds.
Congratulations to the 2005 Reedy Race Champion Craig Drescher on a
long-time-overdue win!
Craig Drescher, winner (center), Atsushi Hara, 3rd (left), and Jilles Groskamp, 2nd
Overall Results:
| Position | Name | Vehicle | Motor | ESC |
| 1 | Craig Drescher | FT TC4 | Reedy | Novak |
| 2 | Jilles Groskamp | T1FK’5 | Peak | Twister |
| 3 | Atsushi Hara | Cyclone | Orion | Twister |
| 4 | Marc Rheinard | 415MSX | Orion | Twister |
| 5 | Masami Hirosaka | MR4TC BD | Reedy | VFS |
| 6 | David Jun | 415MSX | Reedy | LRP |
| 7 | David Spashett | 415MSX | Peak | LRP |
| 8 | Ralph Burch | T1FK’5 | Epic | Novak |
| 9 | Satoshi Maezumi | 415MSX | Transpeed | KO |
| 10 | Andrew Moore | Cyclone | Orion | KO |
