Spencer Rivkin Wins Team Associated's 30th I.F.M.A.R. World Championship

Wednesday, Sep 25, 2019 at 12:00am UTC

(Pictured: Spencer Rivkin, winner.)

The I.F.M.A.R. 1:10 Electric Off-Road World Championships take place every two years and rotates among the four blocs that make up the I.F.M.A.R. organization. This year's event was hosted by the E.F.R.A. bloc, which consists of the major European countries, and which selected the Hudy Arena in TrencĂ­n, Slovakia, as the host location for the 18th running of the prestigious event.

Team Associated entered the event with the B6.1DL, the latest generation of the iconic RC10 buggy. Competition would be fierce with a wide variety of manufacturers, racers and countries all ready to vie for the title of World Champion on the challenging Hudy Arena layout. In qualifying it became clear that the reigning R.O.A.R. and E.F.R.A. champions, Team Associated's Spencer Rivkin and Davide Ongaro, were both poised to fight for their second world championship as they qualified first and second respectfully. Also joining Spencer and Davide in the main event were 2005 I.F.M.A.R. 2WD World Champion Neil Cragg from England and first-time A-Main finalist Joona Haatanen from Finland.

In the first leg of the triple A-Main format, Rivkin made an early mistake and that was all Ongaro needed to hold on to the victory, setting the stage for a quick win if Rivkin faltered in A main number two. In A2, Rivkin and Ongaro didn't get nearly the lead from the field as they did in A1, so as the minutes ticked off, the top four drivers were separated by only a few seconds. With ice in his veins, Rivkin held on to get the win while Ongaro finished a very close second. These results assured Team Associated of their 30th I.F.M.A.R. World Championship; now it was just a matter of which driver it would be.

The drivers knew what was on the line in A3 and they didn't disappoint. Matching each other section for section, lap for lap, Rivkin and Ongaro showed why they are the top two 2WD buggy drivers in the world, putting on a master class of pace, aggression and patience. With only two laps to go, the duo was less than a second apart and a mistake by either would all but seal the deal for the other. With just a few corners to go, Ongaro just broke traction long enough to give Rivkin a "comfortable" one-second advantage and cross the line as I.F.M.A.R. 2WD World Champion.

A big "thank you" to the staff of The Hudy Arena for hosting a fair, professionally run world championship that will go down in history as one of the top events ever. Congratulations to all the competitors for their well-earned results, and a big "thank you" to the everyone that contributed to earning Team Associated's 30th I.F.M.A.R. World Championship. With this win, Team Associated is the first company in history to hold both the 2WD and 1:8 Off-Road World Championship titles at the same time; arguably the two most competitive classes in RC racing today.

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Vehicle used
#90021L RC10B6.1DL Team Kit

Team Associated products used
#91802 B6.1 Vented Slipper Hub, inner
#91803 B6.1 Slipper Hub, inner
#91810 B6.1 Spur Gear, 75T 48P
#91769 B6.1 Rear Shock Tower, graphite
#27128 Servo Washers, black aluminum
#91197 LCF Slipper Pads
#91674 B6 Gull Wing Front Arms, hard

Factory Team products used
#1105 FT Green Slime Shock Lube
#1340 FT Aluminum Pinion Gear, 22T 48P, 1/8 shaft
#1370 FT Aluminum Clamping Servo Horn 25T, 15.5 mm
#1596 FT Thread Locking Adhesive, blue
#91328 FT 12 mm Front Springs, white, 3.30 lb/in
#91336 FT 12 mm Rear Springs, green, 2.00 lb/in
#91576 FT 12x23 mm FOX(R) Shock Bodies with Genuine Kashima Coat, V2, threaded
#91577 FT 12x27.5 mm FOX(R) Shock Bodies with Genuine Kashima Coat, V2, threaded
#91616 FT 3x21 mm Shock Shafts V2, chrome
#91620 FT 3x27.5 mm Shock Shafts (V2), chrome
#91658 B6 FT Aluminum Bulkhead, 10g
#91683 B6 FT Titanium Front Axles
#91668 B6 FT Aluminum Steering Bellcranks
#91746 B6 FT Aluminum Chassis Weight, 13g
#91750 FT Heavy Duty Ti Ballstuds, 4 mm
#91751 FT Heavy-duty Ti Ballstuds, 6 mm
#91752 FT Heavy-duty Ti Ballstuds, 8 mm
#91753 FT Heavy-duty Ti Ballstuds, 10 mm
#91797 Titanium Top Shaft Screw
#92100 FT Aluminum Wing Buttons
#SP425 FT Fluid Carrier

Team Associated - World Champion RC Cars

Associated Electrics - Champions By Design

View the making of Team Associated's 30th I.F.M.A.R. World Championship here:


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