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Destiny RX-10SR electric touring car – Teaser Posted: 19 Nov 2017 06:53 AM PST Destiny have released a first teaser image of their forthcoming RX-10SR electric touring car kit. The vehicle builds on the Reedy-Race-winning RX-10S and looking at the image the kit will include several refined parts such as an updated motor mount and alloy suspension mounts with composite inserts. The kit will ship in December and all information and images should surface soon. Source: Destiny [destinyracing.jp] |
Team Associated & Reedy setup/countertop mats Posted: 19 Nov 2017 04:51 AM PST Coming from Team Associated and available exclusively through their web shop are new Team Associated and Reedy setup/countertop mats. They measure 40x50cm, sport new designs and provide a protective surface for countertops and RC pit tables alike. Preventing stains from nitro fuel, shock oil, dirt and grime, these mats are a great way to protect the work space while creating a factory look. They also work as RC pit table setup boards, providing a nice flat surface for pre-race checks of ride height, camber, and toe. Lightweight for easy travel to and from the racetrack. Source: Team Associated [teamassociated.com] |
Samix TRX-4 alloy portal knuckle covers Posted: 19 Nov 2017 03:25 AM PST Samix have introduced an aluminium portal knuckle cover set for the Traxxas TRX-4 trail truck. The metal covers will add about 17g of weight while increasing the overall rigidity and stability of the axles. In addition mounting holes allow to attach mock-up brake discs and rotors for a more scale appliance. The covers are available in black, grey or natural finish and they fit both the standard TRX-4 knuckles and also Samix’s own option parts. Source: Samix [rcsamix.com] |
Posted: 01 Nov 2017 08:22 AM PDT Having risen to become one of the toughest, most competitive & prestigious championship’s in the World over the last decade, the Yokomo Euro Touring Series entered into its 11th season last weekend in Austria. A brand new destination on the ETS calendar, Round 1 would take place in Messe Wien located in the historic Prater district of Vienna right next to the oldest amusement park in the world. Invited to be part of Austria’s biggest modelling show by the organisers of Modellbau Messe, the racing would prove a huge hit with the record 63,000 showgoers with the track surrounded by large crowds throughout the 3 days of competition. A great showcase for the sport, the season opener attracted just shy of 250 race entries from 27 nations and collecting data from each of the drivers at technical inspection here is a breakdown of driver’s preferences in chassis manufacturers. As the reigning champions in both Modified and Pro Stock, it was Xray who proved the most popular brand of choice. Overall the Slovakian manufacturer’s cars were raced by 1 out 3 of the total entry with its biggest share being in Formula with 36 percent of racers. Sharing the honour of being the second most popular car in the Scorpion Power Systems backed class, with 13 percentage each, was VBC Racing and reigning Formula champions Serpent. Introduced to the ETS program in Season #5, 10 different brands made up the Season #11 opening grid. The biggest class of the ETS with a grid of 115 cars in Vienna, compared to 72 in Modified and 60 in Formula, the Xray sponsored Pro Stock class saw Awesomatix as the second biggest manufacturer with 19 cars compared to Xray’s 33. Overall it is Awesomatix who is also the second biggest brand when all touring car class numbers are combined. Interestingly despite having announced the end of their famous TRF race team after the season opener last year, Tamiya is the 3rd most popular chassis in Pro Stock just ahead of Schumacher. Filling the void left by Tamiya in the premiere Modified class, Infinity have made solid gains as they undertake their first ETS campaign as a manufacturer with them the second most popular brand in Modified behind Xray. Taking their first win in Vienna, overall the Japanese newcomer shares 3rd position as the touring car of choice with Yokomo and Serpent – each having 17 users. Xray having a substantial market share of 84 drivers overall with Awesomatix having 26. The Modified class is the biggest in terms of the number of manufacturers represented in the ETS with new additions Mugen, Destiny and WRC bringing the number to 14 different brands. After a great start to ETS #11, drivers now have an extended break before another new venue awaits them when Sporthotel & Resort Daun in Germany plays host to Round 2 on February 02-04. FacebookTwitterGoogle+Pin It |
Coelho and Volker complete podium at ETS Austria Posted: 29 Oct 2017 10:00 AM PDT With Marc Rheinard putting in a dominant performance to wrap up his first ETS win in 2-years in the second A-Main, the closing race in Vienna, Austria, was a battle for other two podium places. In the end while the order was a welcomed change, it still had a familiar look as Bruno Coelho and Ronald Volker completed the line-up. With Rheinard sitting out the race, it was Viljami Kutvonen who started out front, and despite losing the speed that yesterday allowed him to qualify second, he was hopeful of a repeat of the podium finish he opened last season with. With Coelho getting by Marco Kaufmann quickly, Viljami put in a valiant effort to hold the reigning champion behind him but little over half way in Coelho put an impressive move on the Finn. While the Awesomatix driver tried to come back at him he would touch the boards allowing Alexander Hagberg and Volker through. With Coelho clear up front, Hagberg had to fend off the fastest man on the track Volker but after contact in A1 the German showed great patience with third enough to give secure the final podium placing. Hagberg’s P2 for the round would see him take 4th from Viljami on the tie breaker, the result a big disappointment for the latter following his pace in qualifying. A driver whose pace went the opposite direction to that of Viljami with him only qualifying sixth but ending up on the podium with the fastest lap of the finals, Volker said his set-up changes were tyre related. The World Champion said, ‘we ran front front tyres from both my sets and that was crucial to my improved pace from A1. I don’t want to blame the tyres but it is something we need to understand better and have a strategy for for Round 2, because of this P3 was the best I was able to do today’. View the complete event results here. View our event image gallery here. FacebookTwitterGoogle+Pin It |
Jan is back, Ratheisky does double at ETS Austria Posted: 29 Oct 2017 09:35 AM PDT Multiple former Pro Stock & Formula Champion Jan Ratheisky bounced back with a bang at the Euro Touring Series season opener in Austria today wrapping up a double victory in the second round of A-Main encounters. Securing his first pole position in over a season at the Vienna hosted race, the Xray driver ended a 9 race victory drought in Pro Stock thanks to a repeat of his dominant A1 performance. In Formula, the 4-time back to back champion’s last race win was more recent, the German had to work harder for the win in A2. The man who took the title off him last season, David Ehrbar pushed him hard with the duo swapping positions before Ratheisky found his way back passed the Serpent driver to win by half a second. With Ratheisky sitting out A3, Ehrbar would take the win to secure 2nd overall despite a strong challenge from Luke Lee, the British driver completing the Scorpion Power System Formula podium with his Xray. In the Xray Pro Stock class, A3 was also about deciding who would stand each side of Ratheisky on the podium. Having been one of the surprises of qualifying Simon Lauter could deliver on his impressive P2 qualifying position to take his Tamiya to victory ahead of Tim Benson and Max Mächler. This result would secure Lauter second overall with Max Mächler completing the Top 3. For reigning champion Alexandre Duchet, having qualified last on the grid the Frenchman would salvage 5th overall, a result he will be hoping becomes one of his two throw-outs. While Mod, Pro Stock and Formula where all decided in the second A-Main, the newly introduced Infinity Masters Touring class went down to the wire. With Christian Drießle winning A1 after a last minute mistake from Top Qualifier Thomas Oehler, it was Hungarian Miko Peter who took A2 ahead of Oehler and Drießle. This left it a three way battle for the win in the closing leg but 3rd place starter Peter found his way to the front to become the first Masters class winner. Joining him on the podium, the class open to drivers 40 years old or more, Drießle took second over Oehler thanks to his A1 win giving him the tie breaker. View the complete event results here. View our event image gallery here. FacebookTwitterGoogle+Pin It |
Posted: 29 Oct 2017 09:34 AM PDT FacebookTwitterGoogle+Pin It |
Video – Pro Stock A-main Leg 3 Posted: 29 Oct 2017 09:15 AM PDT FacebookTwitterGoogle+Pin It |
Posted: 29 Oct 2017 09:12 AM PDT FacebookTwitterGoogle+Pin It |
Rheinard opens ETS season with first Infinity win Posted: 29 Oct 2017 06:31 AM PDT Marc Rheinard got his first full season of ETS as an Infinity driver off to the best possible start by taking the overall win in Austria with another clear win in A2, again finishing ahead of reigning champion Bruno Coelho. Wrapping up his long run as a Tamiya driver at the season opener last year before moving to newcomers Infinity for Round 2, today marks the German’s first ETS success with the team and the first for the team as a manufacturer. Also claiming the TQ in Vienna taking all four qualifiers, Marc’s first win in almost two season’s sees the former champion go away with the maximum points available with him admitting himself he doesn’t know when he last had such a dominant weekend. ‘Couldn’t be better’, was Rheinard’s reaction after the race, his winning margin over Coelho in A2 1.7 seconds. With his last ETS win coming at the Season #9 opener in the Czech Republic, the battle for the win going to A3 on that occasion, the 4-time World Champion continued, ‘everything worked this weekend both from my side and from the car. I have to thank Kotonori (Fujiwara) from Infinity and Mr. Jang from Muchmore for a great car and motor. Everything was perfect and we had three cars in the final.’ On his A2 encounter, Rheinard said, ‘It was again like A1, I could make a gap on the first lap. Viljami has no speed today which is good for me’. He continued, ‘I knew Bruno was faster than me but I knew I had almost a 3-second which was too big a gap for even him to close so I could drive a safe race to the end’. Joking he doesn’t remember the last time he wrapped up an ETS win in A2, this his 15th victory of the championships, he said, ‘I could not have asked for a better way to start Infinity’s first full season of ETS and I hope we can continue in this way at Round 2’ – the second round taking place in home country at the start of February. ‘It was a little bit complicated’, was how Coelho summed up A2. Starting behind Xray team-mate Marco Kaufmann, the pair would clash twice in the space on two corners. He continued, ‘I made a good start and overtook Kaufmann at the end of the straight. I was already on his inside and he tried to close and I crashed him or should I say he crashed me. Then I turned around and he was there again and we crashed again. It was unfortunate because I felt very confident for this final and maybe I could have raced Marc because my car was really nice now’. Setting the fastest lap, he added, ‘we are running a strange set-up to have it that the car runs straight and there was a big chance to fight with Marc but I lost too much time at the start’. Aiming to salvage a second overall out of the weekend, he said, ‘It will be hard. Kutvanen already has a 3rd and he starts at the front but now I am very confident with the car so we will see’. Managing to hang onto a P3 in A2 ahead of World Champion Ronald Volker, Viljami was clearly lost for words on his performance drop off today. The Finn said, ‘I don’t now. I really don’t know where my speed is gone from yesterday’. The Awesomatix driver who qualified second continued, ‘it feels like I am just sliding everywhere and I don’t know what to do’. Set to start at the front of the grid in A3 with Rheinard able to sit out the closing race, he concluded the way his car is working today he is just going to have to dig deep in terms of his driving if he is to salvage a podium finish. View the complete event results here. View our event image gallery here. FacebookTwitterGoogle+Pin It |
Posted: 29 Oct 2017 06:22 AM PDT FacebookTwitterGoogle+Pin It |
Video – Pro Stock A-main Leg 2 Posted: 29 Oct 2017 06:05 AM PDT FacebookTwitterGoogle+Pin It |
Posted: 29 Oct 2017 05:48 AM PDT FacebookTwitterGoogle+Pin It |
Posted: 22 Oct 2017 08:04 AM PDT FacebookTwitterGoogle+Pin It |
Coelho does the double at EOS Poland Posted: 22 Oct 2017 08:01 AM PDT Bruno Coelho has opened the new season of the Euro Offroad Series in the best way possible with the Xray driver doing the double in Poland adding the 4WD win to yesterday’s 2WD victory with another faultless performance in A2. Also securing the bonus point on offer for the TQ, the reigning 4WD Champion finds himself already three points in the lead of both the 2WD & 4WD standings. Having secured his first ever EOS double at the penultimate round of last season’s championship, today’s 4WD victory marks the World Champion’s 7th win in the class setting him up perfectly to become the first driver to do equal Joern Neumann record of 3-consecutive EOS title wins. Behind Coelho the 4WD podium would be, as it was in 2WD, an all Xray affair with Bayer winning A3 to secure second overall with Daniel Kobbevik having a great weekend to claim his first EOS podium. Ty Tessmann would claim 4th on his EOS debut with David Ronnefalk best of the rest, the HB Racing driver being the top non Xray driver with 5th, having been in contention for a podium placing before a coming together with Tessmann in A3. Summing up his weekend in Warsaw, the opening round taking place as part of a Travel and Camping Show at Ptak Warsaw Expo, Coelho said, ‘I’m super happy for sure to start the season like this. I was not expecting this but we did come here 110% ready also having Ty here and that shows in the result of the whole team’. He continued, ‘Everything worked perfect and it was only my own mistakes that were a problem. Now we have to prepare for the next race when I hope things stay the same’. Asked about his A2 performance, he replied, ‘Again I just forced for the first 4 or 5 laps to get a gap and then after that I drove a controlled race to keep the lead in the hand’. ‘I’m super happy, 2nd time second is amazing for me’, was Bayer reaction to repeating his 2WD result. He continued, ‘I know I can’t beat Bruno but I have the feeling I can do better but I can’t take the pressure anymore from the young guys behind me, the competition is super high’. As head of Xray’s offroad programme, he said, ‘It been a super amazing result for the team. We made huge domination and to win all four classes was amazing but we need to keep working hard. We can’t sleep or we will not be there next race’. Marking his first EOS outing as an Xray team driver with his first podium of the championship, a very pleased Kobbevik said, ‘I am super happy. This is the best result I have had. Starting fifth and getting a podium is a great start and I hope I can continue in this way for the rest of the season’. Having taken a second in the opening A-Main, the 12-year-old showed no nerves mixing it with some of the World’s best drivers and backing up that result with third place in both A2 and 3. Just missing out on a podium double, having finished 3rd in 2WD yesterday, Tessmann summed up his first EOS weekend by saying, ‘It was cool to do but I don’t know I would want to do the whole season. I still prefer dirt’. He continued, ‘It was definitely a challenge to come from dirt to here. It’s completely different to what I am used too. It would be nice to come back and do it now and again’. On his A2 and A3 performances, the Canadian said, ‘I had second run tyres for both so the car was good but in the last one something was wrong with the power. It felt like it was cogging or slipping and I limped around the last lap and lost second’. ‘Unlucky I would say’ was how Ronnefalk described his fifth place finish. Returning to the EOS after more than a 2-year absence he said, ‘I was putting pressure on Ty but he didn’t have the power to get over the double so I went for it but his car came up and touched the underneath of my car and that cost me a podium. He continued, ‘I knew 2nd in the last one would get me 3rd overall. I just had to beat Kobbevik’s time. 5th overall doesn’t show the result of the car. I am happy where the car is at we just didn’t have some luck today plus we lacked a little experience with the new car but we will get that’. Behind Ronnefalk, Lee Martin would complete the Top 6. Running Yokomo’s new YZ4-SF, it was a disappointing debut for the car with Xray looking to have raised the bar they set last year even higher. View complete event results here. View the event image gallery here. FacebookTwitterGoogle+Pin It |
Posted: 22 Oct 2017 07:27 AM PDT FacebookTwitterGoogle+Pin It |
Posted: 22 Oct 2017 07:13 AM PDT FacebookTwitterGoogle+Pin It |
Posted: 22 Oct 2017 06:27 AM PDT Chassis: Xray XB4 ’18 Image Gallery FacebookTwitterGoogle+Pin It |
Chassis Focus – David Ronnefalk Posted: 22 Oct 2017 06:26 AM PDT Chassis: HB Racing Prototype Image Gallery FacebookTwitterGoogle+Pin It |
Posted: 22 Oct 2017 06:25 AM PDT Bruno Coelho has taken an easy win in the first A-Main of 4WD at the Euro Offroad Series in Poland. The Xray driver quickly pulled clear of the field from his TQ starting position to have an uneventful race. Behind the reigning champion however there was plenty of action with Daniel Kobbevik picking up the pieces after errors by his more senior rivals. David Ronnefalk would complete the Top 3, the 1:8 World Champion showing good pace against Ty Tessmann and Martin Bayer but coming together with the latter during the 5-minute encounter. ‘It was a very good final without mistakes’, was how Coelho summed up a rather lonely A1. Yesterday’s 2WD winner, he continued, ‘I forced at the beginning to try pull away from Bayer and then I saw behind me there was many making mistakes and this allowed me to pull clear after which I could just control my race’. On target for his second ever EOS weekend double, something he achieved at Arena 33 last season, the World Champion said his plan for A2 is to, ‘try to do the same in the next one’. Taking a very popular result with his P2 from 5th on the grid, 12-year-old Kobbevik described the result himself as ‘very good’. His best A-Main leg finish, the Xray driver who set the second fastest lap time to Coelho added, ‘I had good pace and the other drivers were fighting each other and I was able to pick up places when they crashed’. With this his first EOS race with Xray, having signed for the Slovakian manufacturer back in June, the Norwegian said he hopes for more of the same in A2. Ronnefalk was pleased with his performance as he continued to be the only challenger to the Xrays. ‘It was good, the car felt really good’ was how the Swede summed up his race. He continued, ‘I got by Ty when he made a mistake at the loop. My car was really easy to drive and was fast so I could close the gap to Bayer. Then he had a mistake but I could react fast enough to get by and we both ended up on our roofs. That let Ty and Kobbevik get by. I passed Ty when he rolled but the gap to second was too big so I just drove to keep third to the end. It was good point for the first one and I think if I can put pressure on them in the next one a podium is possible for sure’. ‘It was a little bit rough for me, I had a few mistakes on my own’, was Tessmann’s reaction to finishing 4th over a second back on Ronnefalk. The North American offroad star said, ‘I had new tyres on for that one and it was a little aggressive but I just didn’t drive good’. Looking to A2, the former 1:8 World Champion said, ‘I have second run tyres for the next two (finals) so the car should be good and hopefully I will drive better too’. View complete event results here. View the event image gallery here. FacebookTwitterGoogle+Pin It |
Coelho to start title defence from pole Posted: 22 Oct 2017 02:59 AM PDT Bruno Coelho is to start his 4WD title defence from pole with the Xray driving securing the overall 4WD TQ in Warsaw, Poland. The Portuguese driver went into the fourth & final qualifier with only team-mate Martin Bayer able to deny him from becoming Top Qualifier for a second time at the Euro Offroad Series season opener. Setting the TQ pace from team-mate Ty Tessmann he however suffered a CVD failure on his final lap allowing Tessmann post his first TQ run of his EOS debut weekend. Behind, David Ronnefalk would back up his P3 in Q3 with a second for the round. This result will see the HB Racing driver start as the best non Xray driver in 4th behind Bayer and youngster Daniel Kobbevik, Xray having a total of six cars in the A-Main. Putting his front CVD failure down to a broken bearing following contact with the boards, Coelho said up to that his ‘car was very good’ and he was just controlling his pace by watching where Tessmann was. On the finals, the back to back champion who is chasing his 7th 4WD EOS career win said, ‘I know the car is good so I will just try to drive clean runs and not make any mistakes’. Enjoying a very competitive weekend in Warsaw, Bayer said, ‘I tested a few things in Q3 & 4 but will go back to the Q1 & 2 set-up. It was much easier to drive’. Winner of the final round of last season’s championship, the former European Champion added, ‘Ty is very fast so we will see, but I feel ok for the finals’. Tweaking his car set-up and making further speedo adjustments, Tessmann said the changes where ‘all in the right direction’. Running new tyres he said as expected the car was a little bit aggressive but ‘it still felt good’. Asked of his expectations for the 4WD finals compared to 2WD in which he claimed a podium finish, the Canadian said, ‘I think it should be a little more interesting because everyone can push a little bit harder’. ‘All good’ was Ronnefalk summary of qualifying. After a slow start yesterday, the Swede said, ‘now today we worked on the shock package and for the last one it was better. We were only 3/10ths behind so its pretty close. With three good drivers with a good car ahead of us I think its been a good result’. Running a prototype of HB Racing’s upcoming new 4WD kit release, he added, ‘there are a few small details we need to work on and we need to gain more experience with the new chassis layout we have here but that will come as we get a few more races under our belt but I hope we can mix it with the Xray’s today’. View complete event results here. View the event image gallery here. FacebookTwitterGoogle+Pin It |
Coelho opens Day 3 of EOS Poland with TQ Posted: 22 Oct 2017 02:06 AM PDT It’s the 3rd and final day of racing at EOS Poland and Bruno Coelho has kicked things off by posting his second 4WD TQ run. The Xray driver again had a distinct advantage topping the times by almost 4 and a half seconds from team-mate Ty Tessmann. With Xray having filling the Top 3 in yesterday’s first two rounds of qualifying, that domination was finally broken as HB Racing’s David Ronnefalk took the third quickest time. Having been part of the Xray Top 3s yesterday, taking the opening qualifier, Martin Bayer would have a messy run ending up P11. Schumacher’s Michal Orlowski not impressed with the Czech’s driving, the Pole classified 32nd for the round after being hit in the rear by Bayer during the qualifier. Winner of 2WD yesterday, commenting on Q3 Coelho said, ‘It was a very good qualifier, I don’t have much more to say’. A slightly slower time than his Q2, the fastest of the three rounds with one remaining, he added, ‘the car is working really well as always’. Trying a different electrics set-up, Team Orion backed Tessmann said, ‘I made some changes to my speed controller. I copied David’s (Ronnefalk) motor/speed controller settings. I felt I had more power but I got used to it over the run and by the end I liked it’. The Canadian said he also opted to run his first set of tyres for a third time as a tactical decision for the finals. Describing the tyres as a ‘bit difficult’ to drive on, he said, ‘I am planning to run my second set in the last qualifier so they will be fresher for the main – A-Main drivers permitted an additional set of tyres for the finals. With EOS Poland marking his return to the championship after more than a 2-year absence, Ronnefalk described his Q3 run as ‘not perfect but decent’. The reigning 1:8 Offroad World Champion had a rear drive shaft snap in Q1. Forced to start last as a result of his DNF, he said he went for a safe run to get points but lost further time as he had to open for the leading group who where fighting for the TQ. Getting a P9 he was only 2/10ths off a Top 6 time. In terms of his car, the Swede said, ‘today we changed the set-up a little bit and it felt good. The car is stable but we still need to work on landings so we will change the shock package for the next one’. Behind Ronnefalk, Norwegian Daniel Kobbevik would back up two P7 runs yesterday with the 4th fastest time. Running in the second fastest heat, the 12-year-old Xray driver said his ‘car is good’ and he has been running the ‘same set-up all weekend’. Setting the fifth fastest time, Lee Martin said, ‘I just made too many small errors. It was the first run of the morning and I think I needed coffee’. Running Yokomo’s new YZ-4 SF, the former champion said, ‘the car is too soft for the landings and thats where the errors came so we’ll make it stiffer and I’ll go get a coffee’. Behind Martin, Yokomo team-mate Marc Rheinard completed the Top 6. View complete event results here. View the event image gallery here. FacebookTwitterGoogle+Pin It |
Coelho heads another Xray 1,2,3 in Q2 Posted: 21 Oct 2017 01:10 PM PDT Once again it was Xray that led the way at EOS Poland with Bruno Coelho making up for his Q1 errors to take the second 4WD qualifier. Having thrown away a TQ run in the opening qualifier with two mistakes, Coelho’s second attempt would be an error free run with him setting the fastest lap on his way to stopping the clock over 3-seconds quicker than Q1 pace setter Martin Bayer. Making it another Xray 1,2,3, Ty Tessmann would bring Day 2 of the Warsaw event to a close with the third fastest time. In a slight change of order of best of the rest, Lee Martin would take his Yokomo to the fourth fastest time albeit it almost 8 seconds off Coelho’s TQ time. Xray’s Kája Novotný was next up ahead of the Schumacher of Michal Orlowski who completed the Top 6. With two of the four qualifier to count, Yokomo, Schumacher and Team Associated will be hoping they can up with something overnight to at least present a bigger challenge to Xray. View complete event results here. View the event image gallery here. FacebookTwitterGoogle+Pin It |
2017 ENS 1/8th Series Winner – Focus Posted: 01 Oct 2017 10:55 AM PDT Simon Kurzbuch (Switzerland)Shepherd Velox V8 – Novarossi engines – Energy Fuel – Xtreme Aerodynamics bodyshell – Futaba transmitter – Futaba servos FacebookTwitterGoogle+Pin It |
2017 ENS 1/10th Series Winner – Focus Posted: 01 Oct 2017 10:48 AM PDT Bruno Coelho (Portugal)Xray NT1 – Max Power engines – Runner Time Fuel – SRC bodyshell – Sanwa transmitter – Savox servos FacebookTwitterGoogle+Pin It |
Posted: 01 Oct 2017 10:03 AM PDT FacebookTwitterGoogle+Pin It |
Kurzbuch retains title with Fiorano win Posted: 01 Oct 2017 10:00 AM PDT Simon Kurzbuch has retained his Euro Nitro Series title, the Shepherd driver becoming champion for a third time with his third win at the World famous Fiorano track in Italy. Coming into the final round of the season going up against Bruno Coelho for the title, the Swiss ace drew the first strike when he claimed the overall TQ moving him a step closer to the top prize. In the final despite a sterling effort from Coelho, who kept him honest throughout the 45-minutes decider, Kurzbuch continued his form claiming win number three of the season by half a lap to take the 2017 title. A surprise challenger to Kurzbuch, winning the season opener having not been a 1:8 contender previously, Coelho would have to settle for second in the standings on this occasion but finishing all four race in no lower than second place the Portuguese driver has already set out his stall for next season’s ENS. Making his first A-Main of the season, Jesse Davis would complete the podium at Round 4 with a hugely popular third place, which where it not for a crash with Lamberto Collari while closing down Kurzbuch, could have seen the Aussie end the season on an even higher note. One can only expect Davis will be another driver taking the challenge to Kurzbuch in Season #5 of the ENS. Unfortunately for newly crowned World Champion Dario Balestri his chances of a good result ended at the first corner after the start. With second place qualifier Andrea Pirani making a very slow start Balestri would run into the back of him, the impact lifting the body off his car and it needing to be returned by marshal to the pits for repairs. Rejoining the race to finish 10th of the 12 starters, Balestri joked afterwards, ‘your luck can change completely in a week’. ‘To TQ and win makes me very happy’, was Kurzbuch’s reaction after the race. With a 9th ENS race win from the championship’s 16 race history, he said, ‘It was a very good final. The tactic for the race was to win the championship and I knew fifth place was enough for this so we played safe with the fuel and tyre stops’. He continued, ‘Alex and my father did a perfect job as always in the pits but when you are leading you want to try to take home the championship with a win’. Making 2 stops for fresh tyres all round each time, he said today’s win, the race the official last major international race of the nitro season, has made him ‘confident for next year’, adding, ‘this is revenge for the Worlds’. While missing out on the 1:8 title Coelho still described his efforts as ‘impressive’. Having claimed the 1:10 ENS title an hour earlier, he continued, ‘I think the result in 1:8 is even more impressive than 1:10. Last season in 1:8 we could not arrive in all the finals and now this year we finished all races in 1st and 2nd place’. He added, ‘Everything worked perfect. It was our mistakes, not problems with the car that prevented us from winning other races’. On today’s final, the Portuguese driver, ‘I pushed Simon hard but Collari would not open and when I try to pass him I flip and lost 5 or 6 seconds. This cost me the chance to beat Simon’. Running the same 2 stop tyre strategy as Kurzbuch, he would later have an off of his own doing at the end of the straight saying, ‘I just was pushing hard and got it wrong but even without this I could not have caught him, the time was gone after my crash with Collari’. ‘Finally a good race, it was not perfect but my first A-Main this year and I got a podium so I’m more than happy’, was how Davis summed up the race. Making Super Pole at the World Championship two weeks ago but having problems in his Semi Final denying him from making the Main, the unquestionably talented Infinity driver today took advantage of a single tyre stop strategy. This put him right in the mix with him running behind and in close proximity to Kurzbuch but with around 7-minute to go he crashed into Collari, the 9-time World Champion coming across on him as he went to lap the Italian. Asked about the incident Davis said, ‘Our strategy was going really good but then I had a crash with Lamberto. After that the car was tweaked but it doesn’t matter because I’m really happy with third. It’s a perfect end to the season’. Coming from the B-main, which he finished second behind team-mate Andy Moore, Teemu Leino would finish 4th from 12th on the grid. Describing the result as ‘pretty good’, the outgoing 1:10 ENS Champion said, ‘It been a very long time since I have had no problems in a final. Today I had not one problem’. He continued, ‘before the final I discuss with Jesse that I think I will do just 1 tyre stop but after 18-minutes I need to change tyres so I ended up doing two stops. Maybe this was wrong and it cost me a podium but maybe it was right because I would have had no tyres but after qualifying in the B to finish 4th in a nice way to finish the season’. With team-mate Naoto Matsukura the final direct qualifier lining up 10th for the start, the Japanese driver would made a blistering start helped by the first corner incident to run in the Top 3. Unfortunately however the electric World Champion was again dealt cruel luck as during the 3rd fuel stop the INS box came off and released without it his car came to a halt 3/4 of a lap later forcing him to eventually retire with engine damage caused by the missing INS box. View the complete event results here. View our event image gallery here. FacebookTwitterGoogle+Pin It |
Posted: 01 Oct 2017 08:39 AM PDT FacebookTwitterGoogle+Pin It |
Greiner takes dominant Italian win, Coelho crowned Champion Posted: 01 Oct 2017 08:37 AM PDT Dominic Greiner has taken a dominant 1:10 win at the season finale of the Euro Nitro Series, the Serpent driver completing the perfect return to the class in Italy showing just why he is the reigning World Champion. Having secured the TQ for the 45-minute final, the German drove a near perfect race with his rivals lacking the pace to mount any kind of serious challenge. While Finals day in Fiorano would start out damp, organisers would delay the start of the A-Mains by an hour so drivers could battle it out for the final major nitro race of the season in dry conditions. While Geiner quickly established control of the race, behind him the battle for second was between Xray’s champion elect Bruno Coelho and Alessio Mazzeo. With that battle really hotting up over the final minutes of the race, it was Mazzeo who would take second with Coelho just 3/10ths behind. Finishing 2nd or 3rd mattered little to Coelho because either way he had secured his first ENS title a feat that would see the great all round driver do the triple crown – the Portuguese driver having already been crowned ETS and EOS champion earlier in the year. Off the podium David Loppini would finish 4th after a good battle with Jakub Rozycki while Thilo Tödtmann completed the Top 6 to finish the championship 3rd overall behind Coelho and Mazzeo. ‘Everything was perfect, this is a good start to our preparations next year’, was Greiner’s reaction to his 3rd ENS career win, next year being the 1:10 World Championship in Miami. He continued, ‘We changed the set-up to what we ran in Q2 and also used the engine we tested in the last qualifier. The longer warm-up allowed us to set the engine perfect and I drove the whole race at 95%. When you have the car and engine working this good you can do this. I also told Thomas (his pitman) to take his time’. With just one blotch on his copybook for the race when he went off at the second corner following the first fuel stop, he explained, ‘I think maybe the tyres got wet from the pitlane and it caught me out but apart from this small mistake it was a perfect race’. ‘I’m very happy with this year. We put more focus into working on our nitro cars and winning the championship is the reward for this’ was how Coelho summed up his title win. Also contributing Xray’s competitiveness this season down to working with Alessio Mazzeo on car development, he continued, ‘The most important thing going into the final was to be in front of Thilo because he was the biggest challenger for the championship. I didn’t need to fight anyone else and when Alessio was behind me I opened for him. I didn’t need to battle with him’. Becoming the ENS’ fourth different 1:10 champion, Coelho’s campaign has been the most successful of a champion with him winning from the TQ spot in both France and Austria and also TQ’ing in Germany only to suffer a mechanical retirement in the final, a result he could drop with his podium finish today. Finishing second as he once again came strong towards the end of the race, he previously won in 2015 in the dying moments from then champion Jilles Groskamp, Mazzeo was delighted with his race. Becoming the Vice-Champion with today’s result having missed Round 3 in Austria, he said it was, ‘One of the best race of my life racing with Bruno and Dominic, no mistake for the entire 45-minutes’. He continued, ‘Dominic deserves the win for sure but the result also is a message that we must work hard to improve for sure’. On his own race he said his only issue was that the idle on his engine was high and this caused the car to run on under braking. Asked about his battle at the end with Coelho he replied, ‘Always in the last minutes of this race I arrive in a battle. It was fun to race against Bruno.’ Having made the final on each of the ENS’ four visits to Fiorani, Loppini was ‘quite satisfied’ with his P4 result. His best ENS result, he was more pleased to achieve it given the fact that he hasn’t raced for 5-months. Commenting on his performance in the race and his battle with Rozycki, the 23-year-old Xray driver said, ‘Alessio and Bruno were too fast for me. I couldn’t match their pace. I had a good battle for the 4th place and I’m happy for my return to racing to get my best result’. In the end Rozycki’s Xray would finish 2-seconds back from the Italian. View the complete event results here. View our event image gallery here. FacebookTwitterGoogle+Pin It |
‘Bump up King’ Moore makes ENS final along with team-mate Leino Posted: 01 Oct 2017 03:54 AM PDT Andy Moore has won the B-Main in Fiorano from Infinity team-mate Teemu Leino to complete the line-up for the last ENS encounter of the season. Starting out the damp day in Italy in the D-Main, the British driver would finish second in both the D and then the C final behind fellow countryman Mark Green to progress to the well stacked B-Main. Initially pole sitter Carmine Raiola led the way but his race would end at the halfway point as he came upon traffic with contact sending up off the track resulting in a flame out. Having looked for a time like he was on for another bump up Green would crash out while vying for the lead. Behind Moore and Leino, Alessio Mazzeo would miss the cut finishing in the third, his cause not helped by the fact the Italian stopped twice over the 20-minute encounter for tyres. ‘I’m the Bump up King for today’ was Moore’s reaction after to securing his first A-Main appearance. The former electric Touring Car World champion said, ‘I had never driven a 8th scale in the wet before so the D-Main was a step into the unknown so I just cruised around. I did the same thing in the C and the last one’. On the B-Main, which he started last, he said, ‘I didn’t get a good start. A few cars had crashed in front of me and I couldn’t avoid them and this caused the front of the body to tuck at the bumper and I raced the entire final with it like that’. Running Kiss wet tyres on his Infinity he concluded, ‘I need to find another set of wets’ but with an improvement showing in weather apps, the ENS organisers have suspended racing for an hour in the hope drivers can fight out for the final ENS win of the season in completely dry conditions. View the complete event results here. View our event image gallery here. FacebookTwitterGoogle+Pin It |
Jacobs masters the damp to double bump up to A-Main Posted: 01 Oct 2017 03:14 AM PDT Daan Jacobs is on a roll this morning at the Euro Nitro Series season finale in Italy, the Dutch Serpent driver bumping twice in damp conditions to book his place in the 1:10 A-Main. Qualifying for the C final, Jacobs would make light work of that 20-minute encounter with many drivers opting not to run on the wet track. With the stakes a lot higher in the B-Main, only Dirk Wischnewski would opt not to start, the ENS race winner saying he didn’t have the right wet tyres to have any chance of being competitive. With the experience of having run a final already, Jacobs quickly moved to the front with pole sitter Toni Gruber unable to hold the lead for the first lap, being also passed by Marco Kaufmann. Kaufmann would drop back but his chances of becoming this year’s ENS Vice-Champion ended when the Xray driver suffered a flame out. While Melvin Diekmann would hold second for a lot of the race, having found is rhythm for the conditions, European Champion Gruber would find a way through to claim second and the final starting spot on the A-Main grid. Locking his Serpent into second gear, Jacobs said the key to his pace was running on the outside line and not the usual racing line as it was covered in oil from the engines. He said his tyres also helped, using a set of old Aqua tyres he was given by the late Jeff Catchpole, a well known figure on the 1:10 nitro circuit, with Jacobs saying his win was ‘something for him’. Looking to the A-Main, while he has the advantage of running 40-minutes in the damp conditions, he said the biggest problem would be tyres as the set he has been using is not going to go 45-minutes so he needs to arrange another set. ‘The best tyres won’ was Gruber’s reaction after the race. The WRC driver said, ‘We had just 4-minutes (race warm-up time) to decide between 5 or 6 sets of wet tyre and pick which one we thought would be the best choice for the race’. While he struggled at the start, he said in the end he made ‘the right choice’. For the A-Main, he said while he knows now what works, he has to make sure he can get them prepared in time for the race. View the complete event results here. View our event image gallery here. FacebookTwitterGoogle+Pin It |
Greiner claims early ENS TQ for 1:10 return Posted: 30 Sep 2017 10:26 AM PDT Having not raced 1:10 in this season’s Euro Nitro Series, Dominic Greiner has returned at the season finale to endorse with authority just why he is the World Champion of the nitro touring car class. The Serpent driver claimed his 6th ENS career TQ in Fiorano when he made it 3 from 3 in the penultimate round of qualifying. Becoming Top Qualifier he is the only driver who will have started an 1:10 A-Final from pole position every season since the championship was created in 2014. Providing the main challenge to Greiner has been the Xray pairing of Bruno Coelho and Alessio Mazzeo but both drivers have admitted they have struggled to match the German’s pace. Enjoying being back racing in 1:10 having taking time out to prepare for the recent 1:8 World Championships saying ‘I know this class better’, Greiner said, ‘I’m happy with the result but the car set-up is still not perfect’. With a difference in tyre batches throwing drivers a curveball in the opening round of qualifying the 2-time ENS race winner hasn’t been able to get his 748 Natrix back to the feeling it had when he topped the final seeding practice. He said, ‘the car is fast but I’m not super happy with the feeling yet so we will test some things in tomorrow’s final practice’. With the Novarossi backed driver able to use the final qualifier as a test session, he used the track time to run a different engine which he plans to use in tomorrow’s 45-minute main. On strategy, he said, ‘Without a tyre stop is not possible but I need to check with Thomas (Günsel) how the wear is and then we can decided what we will do’. Able to take the final qualifier from Xray team-mate David Loppini, Mazzeo having issues, Coelho said 1:10 is a similar situation to his form in 1:8. The Champion elect said, ‘Q3 was a super clean round but I had no chance against Dominic. The car feels OK but it is just slow compared to him’. With little more to say on the matter he concluded, ‘we have to find something for the final but I don’t know what it is’. Securing 3rd on the grid with the third qualifier his fastest run of the day, Mazzeo said, ‘that one was quite OK. The car was fast but it was very hard to drive consistent for 4-minutes. It was on the limit of a mistake all the time’. He added, ‘Dominic is very fast at this track as always and we have to find a set-up that gives me confidence to push in the final tomorrow’. Asked his thoughts on tyre wear, the former European Champion replied, ‘It is strange, I think the wear depends on the sets of tyres you will get because there are differences in the tyres we are using this weekend’. A driver who would like to see a move away from a single tyre supplier saying the different tyre manufacturers should be able to race one another to prove their products he said, ‘I think everyone will have do one stop in the final’. Claiming his best ENS starting position, fourth, Loppini said the tyre situation has him ‘going crazy’. Having improved his car for the second qualifier after everyone struggled with difficult cars for Q1, he said described the third run as ‘shit’. He said, ‘I had no grip in the rear for first 2-minutes and then for the last 2-minutes I had no grip in the front. The tyres are are a lottery’. Maintaining his record of having made the A-Main every year at Fiorano, he said while happy with the result of qualifying his concern is whether he will be lucky with his tyres for the final and he hopes for the final practice he can find two sets of tyres that are equal and work with his set-up. Behind Loppini, Shepherd’s Thilo Tödtmann will line up 5th helped by a P4 run in the final qualifier. Coming into the weekend holding second in the championship standings, the German is looking good to finish as Vice Champion with 3rd placed Marco Kaufmann qualifying for the B but still able to bump up and 4th place Leo Arnold opting to race 1:8 here in Italy. Tödtmann’s team-mate Eduardo Escandon completes the top half of the grid, the Spaniard ending off a disappointing qualifying with an encouraging Top 3 run in the final qualifier. Behind the ENS Germany podium finisher young Italian Manuel Strano lines up 7th. View the complete event results here. View our event image gallery here. FacebookTwitterGoogle+Pin It |
Kurzbuch claims first Italian ENS TQ Posted: 30 Sep 2017 07:42 AM PDT Simon Kurzbuch is Top Qualifier for the season finale of the Euro Nitro Series in Fiorano. Going into the fourth & final qualifier with only Andrea Pirani having a chance of denying him his fourth overall TQ of the season, the reigning champion topped the round in style having over a second in hand over title rival Bruno Coelho. While twice a winner of the Italian ENS round, today’s result is the first time the Shepherd driver will start from pole. Behind, Pirani will start second having enjoyed his best ever ENS qualifying with Coelho lining up for his shot at the title from 3rd on the grid. Playing a watching brief in the ENS title fight, World Champion Dario Balestri completed qualifying with his best run of the weekend with the P3 securing him 4th on the grid ahead of Lamberto Collari and Francesco Tironi. ‘It’s a great feeling. I’m super happy as this is my best ENS qualifying result in Italy. We had a lot of fun today’, said a very pleased looking Kurzbuch, this the Shepherd driver’s 8th time to be Top Qualifier at an ENS race. He continued, ‘We have really good pace and we showed that in the last qualifier. I didn’t feel anything but we still had the fastest lap. Everything is good for the final I would say and the TQ puts us one step closer to the goal’. Going one better than his previous best ENS qualifying, third in Bologna in 2015, Pirani said, ‘Everything has worked good. I’m happy because I arrived at my aim of making the A final. 2nd is super good for me’. The ARC driver added, ‘I had to use a new set of tyres in the last one and I could still manage fourth. The car was working really good on the bigger tyre so I am confident for the final tomorrow’. Asked about strategy for the race, the Italian said, ‘tyre wear is ok and I think it will be just one change for all drivers’. Not planning to take any risks with refuelling, again most drivers reporting normal consumption he concluded, ‘I want to make a safe final without mistake and don’t want to risk any flameouts’. Coelho, who must win tomorrow to have a chance at the title, said, ‘Now it was a clean round but we were not fast enough compared to Simon’. The Portuguese driver continued, ‘For me the car feels perfect but when I drive against Simon I can see he is faster so we need to work on that in our preparations for the final’. ‘They are more fast than me but all is OK and we will see what we can do tomorrow’, was Balestri’s summary after Q4. Claiming the 2015 ENS title in Fiorano when he took second in the final behind Kurzbuch, the Infinity driver said, ‘I have a lot of grip, maybe too much to be super quick but for the final I think it will be OK’. Team-mate Collari said, ‘we tried a different set-up for the final qualifier but it was not better’. Asked about the 45-minute Main he replied, ‘For the final I will try something else on the set-up and a different body in the practice to see if we can make the car for the final. On strategy he said with tyre and fuel consumption ‘normal’ the important thing was going to be to have a ‘clean race’. Completing the top half of the A-Main grid, two cars bumping up from the B-Main to make it a 12 car grid, Tironi said, ‘Everyone is really close. The level is really high and if you are not perfect in your driving you lose out.’ The Infinity driver added, ‘I have a good feeling with the car but maybe I will change the engine for tomorrow as this one has driven a lot of runs’. On a strategy for the final he said, ‘normally Fiorano is ok for tyre wear and it is easy to do race with just one change but I need to check (the wear) before we decide our plan’. View the complete event results here. View our event image gallery here. FacebookTwitterGoogle+Pin It |
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