Story by Darth Vader. Pics by Ron Diao and Darth Vader. Videos by Zac Wheatcroft
ROAR is the main radio controlled car organization in North America. The organization provides guidelines for all radio control racing classes. In addition, national races are held each year in various categories. These races typically rotate locations each year. This year, the 2010 ROAR 1/10 Electric On-Road Nationals were held at Nor Cal Hobbies of Union City, California. R/C Evil Empire was on hand for all of the action.
Nor Cal Hobbies is already a well know facility. It is the home of the 2010 and 2011 Reedy Touring Car Race of Champions. It will also host the 2010 ROAR Off-Road 1/8 Nationals on its adjacent 1/8 Off-Road course.
Coming off a successful Reedy Race of Champions just a couple months ago, it would be tough to top. Taking a cue from some of the comments regarding the Reedy Race layout, a much slower/technical layout was put in for this years event. Let’s take a look at the 2010 Roar track.
For starters, you have a straight line high speed “S” at the end of the straight. This leads to a 90 degree right.
From there, a pair of slow 180’s provide a technical aspect. 
After you tackle the technical turns, time to turn it up again with a long straight section into a gradual 180 right. 
From there, it gets technical again. You get a sharp left 180….
The technical turns don’t stop….you get a sharp “S” turn. This one found many victims. Alot of the racers were taking this one too fast….thus clipping a board and having a good run turn bad…
From there, you have a couple of easy turns onto the long straight-a-way.
Time to push the easy button? Not really. It’s not as easy as it looks. You have plenty of high speed and technical sections. Just when you get into high speed mode, you have to slow down…..only to go back into high speed mode again. Some serious mettle was tested…
There are several classes being ran at this year’s ROAR Nats. The most contended classes are the Expert 17.5 and Open Mod Touring car classes. This is where the big boys play for the most part. In addition to these two classes several other classes were offered. This included Sportsman Touring, Expert 1/12 Scale 17.5 Turn, Open Mod 1/12 Scale, and Expert World GT 13.5 Turn.
QUALIFYING:
During qualifying, there were two guys that stood above the rest. Each from different countries. First up, Kevin Herbet (pronounced Hey-Bear) of Canada (Team Associated).
The Team Associated driver would lay the serious smash down in 1/12 modified qualifying. In Touring car qualifying, he was just a hair behind this guy….Paul Lemieux (U.S.A) (Team X-Ray)
With a strong win the the Reedy Race of Champions and Top 10 in the IFMAR worlds, Paul is THE man to beat at the ROAR Nats.His familiarity with the Nor Cal track would provide an advantage for sure. Of course, when you are as good as Paul….who needs any advantages?
Qualifying in the Open Touring car class would play out over two days. After 4 rounds, no surprises here. Here’s what it looked like:
Paul Lemieux TQed TC Open. The Team Xray driver layed the smack down for 3 of 4 round TQ’s.He would run a god like 26 lapper in all 4 qualifying runs. He was one of just two drivers to do so. The 2nd guy? Keven Herbert of Team Associated. Keven would chase Paul the entire qualifying. Both of these guys were on another level of fast. Keven’s best run was just 2 seconds off Paul’s. In round 4, a small bobble combined with a near flawless run catepulted Keven into a 4th round TQ spot. This would be his only TQ in TC Open this weekend. With the round 4 momentum, would it lead to any advantages going into the Sunday mains?
Other drivers also looks strong in TC Open. Most notably, R/C legend Rick Hohwart of Team Associated, Lex Tyler of Team Associated, Tyler Vik of A Main Hobbies, and another guy….Ty Tessman. Yes, Ty Tessman was racing Electric Touring cars. I was pretty surprised to see a guy most noted for his 1/8 Off-Road Fuel skill venture into the precise style of Electric Touring Car. I asked him how many time he had raced this class. His answer? Just twice. Wow. Tessman would throw down a 26 lapper in round two. He was one of only a few to do so. Not bad for a TC rookie. I got this shot of the young contender Tessman.
Speaking of young contenders, another was Tyler Vik of team A Main Hobbies. Tyler was one of the favorites going into this years Nats. He had to have mixed feelings after day two of qualifying. A 6th place qualifying finish had to sit below his level of expectation. But you never know what will happen in the main! I snapped this shot of Vik getting some sweet advise from another sweet guy Martin Mejia.
Many of the other members of the 2010 top ten field deserve their accolades. However, most of their positions were pretty much what I expected. There was one guy who beat the odds to make the A Main….that is Nor Cal local Leo Zhao. He has been getting faster for sure. Nice job….
What about the other highly contested class of the weekend? Touring Car 17.5 Turn qualifying looked like this:
Mark Burt of Team X-Ray would take the TQ honors with 3 out of 4 round TQ’s. Mark is from the Florida area. Let me tell you….this guy is nuts. He would drive 2 1/2 days BY HIMSELF in a car from Florida to Northern California. Did I mention that he slept in his car? Serious hardcore stuff right there. Well, I hope it was motivating…or worth it to say the least. Here’s a pic of Mark Burt….just look at this guy 
Burt would TQ over Martin Crisp (formerly of Tamiya…and now Team T.O.P.). Korey Harbke (Team Hot Bodies), EJ Evans (T.O.P.) and James Arluck (Privateer) would round out the top 5. Local racer George Lin would find a way into the main after a slow day 1. Nice job! The top 4 cars were pretty stacked in round 4 of qualifying. Burt would barely TQ that round by less than 1 second over EJ Evans. Had the rest of the field caught up? You will have to read on to find out….
In 1/12 Scale Stock, Dave Ehrich of the Oregon area TQ’d all 4 rounds. Here’s the results of all 4 rounds.
Frankly, it was pretty boring. I’m going to spare the details. He laid down times that sent a huge smoke signal in the air….time to move it up to mod 1/12 buddy….Dave is a huge R/C Evil Empire admirer. I even granted him full Stormtrooper status while in Northern California. He has much respect for Vader and the Empire….
In Expert World GT 13.5 Turn, a mind boggling 9 entries would compete for TQ honors. Our good buddy Dave Ehrich would lay the smack down in this class as well for TQ. Dave would TQ 3 out of 4 rounds. Here’s the lineup….
In the 1/12 Open Class, Keven Herbet murdered destroyed the rest of the field. Hate to be blunt, but it was true. The Canadian even bested his Team Associated teammate Rick Hohwart. His run of 37 laps was 2 better than 2nd place Hohwart. Would Rick find his race speed in the main? Read on….
Sportsman 17.5 Touring is the training grounds for the future in Touring Car racing.Brian Shook would take the TQ honors.
Mains:
As with all ROAR National events, triple A Mains were ran. In normal format, a point total based on finish in each of the three mains would decide the winner.
So what happened in the mains? Would someone come from the back of the pack to take 17.5 Touring? Would Hebert’s 1/12 dominance continue? Would someone….anyone touch Paul Lemiuex in TC Modified? Here’s a rundown of what happened along with the accompanying videos and pics. Straight from the Evil Lord….
In the 17.5 Turn Touring car A1, a nice clean battle developed between Mark Burt, Kory Karbke, Martin Crisp, and James Arluck. Eventually, a crash by Crisp and Harbke would leave it a two way battle between Burt and Arluck. This would carry on for the final three minutes. Eventually, Burt’s consistency made it impossible for Arluck to make up any ground. The finish would go Burt (1st), Arluck (2nd), Harbke (3rd).
Video of A-1 17.5
TQ ride of XRay/Team Epic's Mark Burt
A-1 Lineup for 17.5 Touring
James Arluck (red car) chases Mark Burt in A-1
A2 of 17.5 featured the TQ Burt of XRay/Team Epic out to the lead. He would be followed by Martin Crisp of Team T.O.P. Soon, a minor error by Burt would allow Crisp to the lead. The entire time, Harbke (Hot Bodies) and Eric Albano (Team T.O.P.) would follow in tow. Eventually, a nice race developed between Burt and Crisp. The two would race down to the wire with Crisp taking the win. This would set up Crisp and Burt with one win each. Since Mark Burt had a 1st and a 2nd, it would be his race to lose in A3
Video of A-2 17.5
Full pack in hot pursuit of Mark Burt
17.5 TC A3 started much of the same same was as A1 and A2. It would be Mark Burt out to the lead. He would see a strong test from Martin Crisp as well. Eventually, Mark Burt would shake the rest of the field for a fairly easy win. His 2 wins along with a second was more than enough for the ROAR National title. Frankly, Burt deserved this one. He qualified first in nearly every round, started each A Main solidly, had a solid car, and made hardly any driving errors. It was a overall clinic on how to win a spec event. Much props to the Floridian. He took really good shots from Martin Crisp and James Arluck in the triple A’s for a solid run in all three. A solid 2nd place finish in A-3 would move Martin Crisp (Team T.O.P.) into 2nd with Cory Harbke (Hot Bodies) into 3rd.
Video of A-3 17.5
Top 5 in 17.5 Touring Pic…
Mod Touring mains were what we all came to see. Some of the world’s best race in the ROAR region of the world. These would include such notables as Paul Lemieux (X-Ray) (World’s finalist in 2010), Keven Hebert, Rick Hohwart, Tyler Vik, and more. Would anyone make a run at Lemieux in 2010? Here’s how the triple A’s went down in Mod Touring.
In Mod Touring A1, Paul Lemiuex and Keven Herbert would get out to the predictable start. The two would battle and swap leads a couple times. Eventually, the two leaders would come together entering the straight-a-way. This would allows the 3rd and 4th place cars of Rick Hohwart and Ty Tessman to catch up for a AWESOME four-way battle!. The lead would swap a couple more times between Lemieux and Herbert. Eventually, Lemieux would take command and cruise to the easy A-1. A bad crash by Hebert would unfortunately knocked him back to mid pack. Hohwart and Tessman would finish 2 and 3 in A-1. What a race!
Lemieux and Hebert come together in A-1
The field in hot persuit of Lemieux
Video on A-1 TC Open:
A-2 of TC Mod would start off the same way as A-1. Lemieux would lead with Hebert in tow for the entire race. The lead only stretched slightly at the end to around 1 second. Eventually, Hebert would fall back a bit. This would allow Lemieux to cruise to the 2010 TC Mod ROAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP.
Paul Lemieux
Video of A-2 TC Open:
A-3 would decide the rest of the podium. With Lemieux already the champ, he would sit this one out. Keven Hebert would cruise to the easy win. The best battle of this main was between Lex Tyler and Rick Hohwart. Tyler Vik would also sneak into this mix as well. In the end, the local boy Lex Tyler would take a 2nd place finish with the new Team Associated TC-6 Prototype. The solid finishes of Hebert and Hohwart would allow them onto the podium in that same order. The final results were as follows:
A-1 and A-2 proved Paul Lemieux’s dominance in 2010. A solid weekend at the Reedy Race of Champion and ROAR Nationals make him the man to beat for 2011. Keven Hebert also put on a nice show. Much props to Ty Tessman for his solid run as well.
Top 5 in TC Mod:
In 1/12 17.5, Dave Elrich would cruise in A-1 and A-2 for a easy win and a National Championship. Here are the final results and Top 5 pic.
In the 1/12 Modified class, Keven Hebert would get a small test for Rick Hohwart in A-1 and A-2. Eventually, the Canadian would regain his composure and take the lead for good in both races. It was pretty much an easy win. His dominance in this class was evident all weekend long. Rick Hohwart woud finish in 2nd with Bob Stellfue in 3rd. All three drivers were running for Team Associated. Nice job! Here are the results, pics, and a A-1 video.
Keven Hebert
Top 5 - 1/12 Open
A-1 1/12 Open:
In the Sportsman Touring class, Brian Shook would take the win. Here are the final results and top 5 pic.
In the expert World GT 13.5 Turn class, TQ Dave Elrich would suffer some serious handling problems. The TQ’s car just didn’t work the same as it did in qualifying. This allowed several other drivers including Mark Burt (17.5 winner) and Brian shook to battle it out for the title. In the end, Brian Shook would take A-1 and A-3 for his 2nd ROAR National title of the weekend….nice!
Final results and Top 5 pics below:
The 2010 ROAR On-Road Nationals was a nice success. The event attracted 120 entries. This was up from the last two years. Nor Cal Hobbies did a nice job of hosting the event for the 1st time ever! Congrats to all the winners! You all deserve a break after a long 5 day race.
Pics of the 2010 ROAR ON-ROAD NATIONALS can be found here. A full results total can be downloaded here.
