2011 International Indoor Championships (IIC)

The International Indoor Championships, or IIC, is an indoor carpet event that is held once a year under the glimmering lights of Las Vegas. Headed by master-announcer Scotty Ernst, he and his crew lay down a fantastic carpet track in one of the grand ballrooms in the Riviera Hotel and Casino. This gives all the drivers a chance to not only run on a premium carpet track, but also enjoy the LATE-night afterlife that Vegas has to offer.

THE TRACK
The track layout is usually the same every year with the exception of a few minor tweaks. The starting grid is on the back straight, across from the drivers’ stand. Blast down the straight and into a full speed (for some), double corner sweeper. That cuts back a bit and heads into the Casino Table corner (noted for its shape). Around that and you head through the Tekin-chicane, right in front of the drivers’ stand. A hard right puts you up and around the Jaco-J, a popular passing spot. That sends you back towards the drivers’ stand and through the final right-left- right before heading back onto the straight. This final section replaced the not-so-popular, high-speed chicane that, in previous years, claimed quite a few victims.

RACING
If you have the need for speed then the IIC has the class for you! As in previous years, the class selection included Amateur 17.5 Rubber Tire, Stock 17.5 Rubber Tire, Super Stock 17.5 Rubber Tire, Modified Rubber Tire, 17.5 1/12 Scale, 13.5 1/12 Scale, Modified 1/12 Scale, World GT 13.5 and Expert World GT 10.5. This year a new class was added by popular demand, the F1 class. This class featured production Formula 1 cars, and all cars were required to run a 21.5 motor.

As you can imagine, the racing action was fast and furious and there were some spectacular battles in both the stock and modified classes. The F1 class included some heavy hitters like Marc Rheinard, Viktor Wilck and Hayato Matsuzaki! You could tell these guys weren’t super-serious as they tapped each other and laughed the whole time on the drivers’ stand. It was great to see that these heroes liked to have a little fun, too.

NEW GEAR SPOTTED
When at these events I’m always on the lookout for new product. Most of the new items are out and about for people to see while there are some that are hidden and take a little snooping about. Companies like MurfDogg, Reedy and Team CRC all had new shorty LiPo packs on display. These packs not only fit most Touring Cars and 1/12 -scalers, they also allow you to shift the weight around for better handling characteristics. Team CRC was showing off their new 1/12 -scaler as was Team Associated and their new 1/12 -Scale LiPo Conversion Chassis. Team Corally had their new HMX Touring Car on display. This TC had quite a few interesting features on it that set it apart from the normal, everyday TC. For you F1 guys, Speed Merchant and Exotek had a couple guys running their new prototype chassis conversions. There was even a brand new F1 out of Italy there that was by far the coolest looking ride at the event! There was certainly enough new product at this event to squash any rumors about on road being a dead class!

BIG THANKS
A huge shout-out goes to Scotty and his crew for putting on a spectacular event. The IIC runs like clockwork, with a smooth and professional attitude to back it up. You should definitely think about planning a trip to this event next year. And remember, it’s in VEGAS! After a full day of tearing it up at the track you have all night to tear it up at the slots!

SPONSORS
• Jaco Racing
• Tekin
• Thunder Power RC
• MuchMore
• Hot Bodies
• T.O.P.
• ORCA
• Corally
• CRC
• Parma PSE
• Speed Passion
• Ride
• Team Associated
• Yokomo
• Protoform
• Speed Merchant
• Xenon
• MurfDogg
• Viper RC
• Battery Giant
• Pro Spec
• A Main Hobbies
• RC America
• Cline Hobbies
• Spec R
• P1 Brand
• Racers Edge
• Amp Draw Hobbies
• Live RC
• RC Scoring Pro
• RC Racing TV

RESULTS
After almost an entire week in a stuffy ballroom, the carpet dust died down and the winners were crowned. Here’s the top three in all the classes:

Amateur 17.5 Rubber Tire
1. Chris Henson
2. Roel Espina
3 .Josh Carter

Stock 17.5 Rubber Tire
1. Andrew Hardman
2. Brad Johnson
3. Keith Yu

Super Stock 17.5 Rubber Tire
1. Atsushi Hara
2. Steen Graversen
3. Martin Crisp

Modified Rubber Tire
1. Naoto Matsuskura
2. Ronald Volker
3. Viktor Wilck

17.5 1/12 Scale
1. Kenny Lambert
2. Peter Robinson
3. TJ Bradley

13.5 1/12 Scale
1. Mike Blackstock
2. Hupo Honigl
3. Pete D’Agnolo

Modified 1/12 Scale
1. Naoto Matsuskura
2. Keven Hebert
3. Mike Blackstock

World GT 13.5
1. Fred Kellner
2. Monte Hess
3. Steve Ashby

Expert World GT 10.5
1. Josh Cyrul
2. Hupo Honigl
3. Mike Blackstock

Formula 1
1. Hayato Matsuzaki
2. Viktor Wilck
3. Hiroyuki Kasuya