I'm surprised no one who was there has mentioned the tires (if they have I've missed it on the last couple of pages) - apparently the best tires to have were from a batch made in 2001, only certain drivers (the top 3) had a really good supply of these and were able to push hard every time they were on the track.
So:
over a month straight of testing
perfectly molded, impossible to find tires (used for one run)
one-run batteries (well at least they weren't one-run motors)
track layout hasn't changed in 10 years
You could guess that world champs from previous visits to Yatabe would be in the top 3, eh?
I don't see why non-Japanese drivers even go to the Nats, it's just a waste of money. The JMRCA AGM is supposed to be coming up, hopefuly they change things to spec tires and figure out what they're doing for batteries. I don't see how the Japanese RC market can welcome new drivers to the hobby when these types of stories dominate the biggest races in the country. It's only supposed to be LIKE Formula 1, not ACTUALLY Formula 1.
