Racers love to compete and it’s usually just for bowling trophies or bragging rights among pears, but the Tamiya Championship Series Finals takes things up a big notch by awarding winners in specified classes a trip to Japan for the Tamiya World Championships in November. Held at the Tamiya America racing facility in Aliso Viejo, California, the event was held over the weekend of August 22-23 and included eight new class champions with four of them going on to represent the USA at the Tamiya World Championships at the Tamiya Fair in Shizuoka-City, Japan. Rod Canare (GT-1), Tyree Phillips (Formula One), Roel Espina (GT-2) and Orlando Sherman (M-Chassis) were the four class champions who earned a trip to compete in the Tamiya World Championships.. The champions in the additional classes were: Chris Widado (GT-3), Tyler Limsnukan (Novice Spec), Julian Wong (FWD) and Lee Passehl (Pro Spec/BMW M3 Cup). This year’s final celebrates 21 years of Tamiya specific on-road racing and continues a long tradition of spec racing with Tamiya cars.
Tamiya Championship Series Trip Winners (left to right): Rod Canare/ GT-1, Orlando Sherman/ M-Chassis, Tyree Phillips/ F1, Roel Espina/ GT-2
Tamiya Championship Series GT1 Podium: Timmy Valles 2nd, Rod Canare 1st, Mike Molina 3rd.
Tamiya Championship Series GT2 winners: Toby Zhang 2nd, Roel Espina 1st, Kevin Smith 3rd.
Tamiya Championship Series F1 winners: Jason Huang 2nd, Tyree Phillips 1st, Bill Jeric 3rd.
Tamiya Championship Series M-Chassis winners: Jason Smith 2nd, Orlando Sherman 1st, Mark Brown 3rd.
| Race Class | Racer Name | Finishing Position |
|---|---|---|
| F-1 | Tyree Phillips Jason Huang Bill Jeric Tyree Phillips Kevin Cole |
First Place Second Place Third Place Top Qualifier Best of Show |
| GT-1 | Rod Canare Timmy Valles Mike Molina Rod Canare Jason Laurel Sean Park |
First Place Second Place Third Place Top Qualifier Best of Show B-Main First Place |
| GT-2 | Roel Espina Toby Zhang Kevin Smith Roel Espina Steve Tolmasoff |
First Place Second Place Third Place Top Qualifier B-Main First Place |
| GT-3 | Chris Widado Alex Tolmasoff Jeffery Fink Chris Widado Ed Barr Sr. |
First Place Second Place Third Place Top Qualifier B-Main First Place |
| Novice Spec | Tyler Limsnukan Heidi Fink Patti Bishop Tyler Limsnukan |
First Place Second Place Third Place Top Qualifier |
| MINI | Orlando Sherman Jason Smith Mark Brown Orlando Sherman David Bird John Balatico |
First Place Second Place Third Place Top Qualifier Best of Show B-Main First Place |
| FWD | Julian Wong Solomon Figues Jr. Chris Widado Solomon Figues Jr. Torgeir Hagland |
First Place Second Place Third Place Top Qualifier B-Main First Place |
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