After a delay caused by weather, practice races finally started about 9am, with much comedy created by the wet conditions. Eventually, a squeegee was used to clean the track, but the cars were still covered in mud and water.

Wiping water off the track.

Satoshi Maezumi will need to clean his X-6!

Lee Martin slides in a puddle.

Eventually, racing was paused as the rain had started again. In the pits, drivers worked on cleaning their cars and getting them ready for the next session.

Have to clean the car somehow...

Racing resumed after the rain stopped, but the track was still very wet!

Masami tries to race in the mud!

Tebo takes some interesting lines around corners...

X Factory drivers showed off their cars! The two Hot Bodies drivers, Atsushi Hara and Travis Amezcua each planned to test three buggies and race the best. Travis brought X - 6, B4, and xxx-CR, while Atsushi had been working prior to the race mostly with the X - 6, but also brought a B4 and a Kyosho RB5.

A bright sunny day was finally starting to dry out the track. However, the drivers were still trying to learn the track. Masami Hirosaka and Neil Cragg were fast… when they weren’t finding every single bad spot on the track.

Ryan Maifield lands in third place!

Billy Easton and Neil Cragg.

Round one qualifying results:

Hayato Matsuzaki won round two with his Associated B4, with Masami in 2nd and Truhe in 3rd.

Mike Truhe takes the triple!

Hayato Matsuzaki

Round two qualifying results:

Masami put in the fastest time yet that day in round three with his Associated B4, with Hayato just fractions of a second behind him and Ryan Cavalieri in third.

Round three qualifying results:

The final round of qualifying for the day went to Ryan Maifield with Masatsugo Ido right behind him in second and Ryan Cavalieri in third.

Round four qualifying results:

Defending champion Neil Craig made some mistakes that cost him a top ranking today, but there is one more qualifying round tomorrow before the races...

The worlds are always a place to see new cars and ideas make their debut, and this one was no exception. British Company Atomic Carbon brought their new 2wd and 4wd cars, designed to keep the cars as narrow as possible. While the S2 is still in production, we do have a few pictures.

Highest placed Atomic Carbon cars at Worlds!
Driven by Dave Church of the UK

4-gear Gearbox for traction.

Pre-production Atomic Carbon S2 2wd.

More rain overnight had soaked an already damp track, and the cars were slower, with only 9 laps compared to yesterday’s 11. However, the hot sun was quickly drying the track, so drivers with later in the round had much faster times.

Masami struggles with the mud!

Round five qualifying results:

So the final qualifying results were:

Masami and Hayato at the practice race!

Hayato got an early lead from his pole position, but Ryan Maifield started to slowly catch up. Ryan was putting pressure on Hayato, right behind him in the straight. They came around the sweeper and Hayato turned too early in the off-camber corner, giving Maifield the lead. Shortly thereafter, Hayato repeated his mistake, allowing Jared Tebo and Ryan Cavalieri through. The race ended with Ryan Maifield leading Tebo by three seconds, with Cavalieri in third.

Maifield starts putting pressure on Hayato!

Maifield passes Hayato!

Hayato drops back!

Ryan Maifield wins!

Hayato got away cleanly from the post and kept his cool, not giving into pressure by Mike Truhe. From the back, Masami worked his way through the field and vaulted over the triple into second place. After several laps of catching up to Hayato, Masami tried to pass. Time after time, Hayato held Masami off and retained the lead. The last lap was full of tension. Over the moguls, Masami tried to pass but didn’t quite have the pace. On another attempt along the straight, he hit some loose gravel and lost his backend, allowing Hayato to take race 2.

Hayato leads the pack!

Hayato on the straight!

Masami tries to pass....

... and he succeeds! Masami is now in second place!

Hayato wins!

The third race was mostly about the battle for second. Hayato took the lead from the pole, closely followed by Truhe and Maifield. However, Maifield fumbled on the moguls, allowing Tebo through. Hayato maintained his lead while Tebo and Truhe switched back and forth several times. Truhe would pass Tebo on the inside, but then would swing wide and Tebo would reclaim second place. Back and forth, back and forth for the entire race. Hayoto maintained his lead and Tebo beat Truhe for second place by barely a tenth of a second. With his win on race 2 and race 3, Hayato took home the world championship!

Hayato leading Truhe and Maifield!

Truhe races Tebo for second place!

Tebo and Truhe, back and forth...

...again and again!

Tebo finally passes Truhe for good...

Hayato Wins!

Final Race Results:

Hayato Matsuzaki!

X Factory would like to sincerely thank Cedric Devillers for his excellent pictures, and www.oople.com for their comprehensive pictures and coverage of the Worlds! We wouldn't have been able to do this without you!