Top Qualifier Aigoin on pole for final

Jérôme Aigoin is safely through to the final after controlling the first of the Semi Finals from start to finish at the 1:8 Offroad European Champions. The Top Qualifier headed a Kyosho 1-2 in the 20-minute encounter taking the win by 5.4 seconds over Swedish teenager David Ronnefalk and will start on pole for the main event in Sand-am-Main, Germany.  The winner of the second Semi over Daniel Reckward, TLR’s Martin Bayer will start from second on the grid.

There was drama at the start of both Semis as former Champion Miguel Matias flamed out just as the car when to grid in the first race and pole sitter from the second Marcel Guske suffered a similar faith.  The mechanics of both drivers made a dash back to the pits to get their drivers running again incurring penalties.  In the case of JQ driver Matias, who was starting from last on the grid, his pitman ran down the main straight earning the Portuguese driver a 10 second penalty that would be added to his final race time. This was to cause some controversy as Matias who recovererd to sixth made it to the line just before the 20-minutes expired.  Unfortunately for Team Xray’s Teemu Leino, who was within 10 seconds of Matias, he did get to the line before the 20 minutes making the penalty ineffective. In the case of the find of these championships, Guske was called in to serve a Stop & Go penalty. A lap down due to the flame out, the 22-year-old Euros debutant made it back up to fifth after passing Elliot Boots on the final run to the finish and will start the 45-minute final from 10th.

There was cruel luck for the British Champion Darren Bloomfield who suffered two engine flame outs while holding a bump up position in the opening Semi just after the halfway point.  Setting the fastest lap of the two Semis, the British Champion who qualified 3rd finished 10th two and a half laps down. Pre-event favourite Robert Batlle lines up 6th on the grid after a messy race to fourth in his Semi.

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