First race 1985 | ||
Duration 3 rounds of 5 minute heats (A-main)
1 round of 5 minute heat (others) Most wins (driver) 2WD = Masami Hirosaka (3)
4WD = Masami Hirosaka (4) Most wins (manufacturer) 2WD = Associated Electrics (12)
4WD = Yokomo (6) Surface Dirt (1985–1991, 1995, 2002, 2005)
Clay (1993, 1997–1999, 2007–2011)
Blue groove (2003, 2013)
Artificial turf (2015) | ||
The IFMAR World Championship for 1:10th Electric Off-Road Cars (officially "IFMAR 1:10 Electric Off-Road World Championship"), is a world championship radio controlled car race hosted by the International Federation of Model Auto Racing (IFMAR). It takes place biennially on odd years since 1987 in its current format but inaugurated in 1985 as a championship for Stock (stock handout motor) and Modified class (modified motors and seven cells)
Contents
The event is open exclusively to 1:10 scale electric off-road buggies with those of 2WD and 4WD drivetrain, competing separately. These are characterized by its large wheels designed for off-road driving and enclosed single-seater bodyshell with large rear spoiler.
Despite taking place under the same host and venue, the two championships are regarded as separate events, therefore in between them, the circuit is required to be rebuilt and reconfigured differently.
All the world championships took place on dirt or clay tracks until 2015 when the decision was made to run controversially on artificial turf.
In the 2WD class Associated Electrics, holds distinction for the most wins for manufacturers with a total of 11; Masami Hirosaka of Japan, hold the record with three wins. In the 4WD class Yokomo holds distinction for the most wins for manufacturers; Hirosaka, holding the record with three wins.
Schedule
A maximum of 150 drivers take part, each continental blocs allocated 32 entries each, the host bloc an extra 10 and the final 10 allocated by IFMAR themselves; should any allocation be left unused, it would be reallocated to the remaining blocs. The event take place over eight days in total with the first reserved for competitor's registration followed by its opening ceremony in the afternoon then the two sets of three days for competitions.
The competitions begin with a minimum of six practice rounds over groups of fifteen consisting of ten drivers each, starting with the less experienced, this determine the number of heats required and the minimum time needed between rounds. Each heats consists of drivers who are ranked in order of priority; final ranking in the previous Worlds, then those of each countries and the domestic entrants and additional entries. In this case, in the 2015 Worlds, debutants Spencer Rivkin and Bruno Coehlo started at the lower-to-mid practice group 6 and 11 respectively, whereas Steven Hartson, Jared Tebo, Naoto Matsukura and Lee Martin start together in group 15 as the former two are defending champions and the latter given their performance or seeding in their home blocs whereas Travis Amezcua and David Ronnefalk, despite appearing at the A-main once previously, starts in practice group 14. Usually the final rounds are used as controlled practice. At the 2015 Worlds, practice rounds consisted of four rounds of open practice and two rounds of seeding practice to group the drivers together by skill levels. The second day of competition, following the second controlled practice, consists of four rounds of qualifying heats and for day three; the final qualifying session and race day. For each qualifying session, a group of up to ten cars start under the "staggered start" system (a driver each starting separately within of one second of being called).
After each 5 minute qualifying session, the best qualifier of the round is awarded zero points, 2 and 3 points for the 2nd and 3rd fastest qualifier and so on with the most points given to the slowest qualifier. Of five rounds in total, the best three overall performances (as opposed to lap times in full-sized motorsport) counts toward the driver's overall performance, two best rounds counts toward three or four rounds completed and one round count toward two or one rounds. After all the points is totaled up, the driver with the least points is the best qualifier, thus is awarded a TQ (Top Qualifier) spot, enabling them to start in front of each rounds. Should they tie in points with another driver, the one with the lowest points score of the three is used to break the tie, if this fails, then the next set of points will be used until the tie is broken. If the points fail to break the tie, then the driver's laps and time from the lowest score will be used.
The groups are then split into ten groups of ten drivers in alphabets, pending on their performance in qualifying with A being the fastest of the groups Race day starts with the slowest groups first, working its way to the next faster groups up to the fastest, the A-main, then progresses to the 2nd heat. Each race run for a total of five minutes with an extra time to allow the driver to complete their laps. Only the A-main, the group that carries the only hope of taking the world championship title, have three heats with only two best performances that counts and a final practice in the afternoon during race day and the rest run under a single 5 minute heat.
Following the conclusion of the first championship, the event will have an off day as the circuit would have to be rebuilt and reconfigured to a different layout required by IFMAR regulations as accordingly the two Worlds are considered to be a separate events. The practice would instead start with drivers who are ranked according to their performance in 2WD the day before.
Most represented in final
Note: Italics on year represents in which a driver of the country or car manufacturer who failed to score a championship title, italics on nationalities indicate host nation.