TRF415MSX Wins in Thailand!

Tamiya Racing Factory (TRF) driver and current World Champion Marc Rheinard took victory at the 4th Thailand International Touring Car Championship (TITC), held from February 17th to 19th at Radio Control Speedway (RCS) in Bangkok, Thailand. This event hosted 102 Super Stock 23T Class drivers and 86 Open Modified Class drivers for a grand total of 188 participants. The race truly lived up to its name of "International," with drivers from across Asia, Australia, Germany, Sweden, The Netherlands, Austria, The U.K. and The U.S.A. taking part. Marc won the TITC title in the face of stiff competition from former world champions Atsushi Hara and Surikarn Chaidajsuriya.

Qualifying saw Hara clock the fastest time during the last heat. Marc also made his best time during that heat, a mere 2 seconds off Hara, and went into the finals in 2nd place, waiting for his chance to turn the tables. 3rd place at the end of qualifying was held by Andy Moore of England (HPI), while local boy Surikarn Chaidajsuriya (HPI) took 4th. As the names of the four leading drivers testified, these were going to be some high-powered finals.

The pressure on Marc increased in the first heat of finals, as Hara again took 1st, leaving Marc in 2nd. Things started to change in heat 2, when Marc was able to put some distance between he and Hara right from the start, and maintain that lead until crossing the finish line. This tied things up, meaning that everything now depended on the 3rd, and final, heat. During the first lap, Hara made a tiny mistake that offered Marc the chance to jump into the lead. But Hara kept the pressure on Marc, pursuing him relentlessly from less than 1 second behind. By mid-race, however, Hara lost his concentration and made another mistake, allowing Marc to open up his lead and take 1st place.

This latest victory, coming on the heels of Marc's victory at the DHI Cup this January, is further evidence of the dominating power and amazing potential of the TRF415MSX Chassis. Based on the racing expertise of the two-time IFMAR World Champion TRF Team, Marc used a prototype version of this chassis, a modified TRF415MS, to win the Reedy Touring Race Europe in June of 2005. Nothing beats real race experience when it comes to refining and improving an R/C car chassis, and the fact that TRF gets winning results speaks volumes.

As if you needed any more convincing of this car's amazing potential, Tamiya's young driver Paphon Chanyasak used his TRF415MSX for a 7th place finish in Open Class and took 2nd place in the Super Stock Class.

FINAL RESULTS