Aigoin winner of Astra Nitro Cross as finals get rained off

Team Losi Racing’s Yannick Aigoin is the 2011 Astra Nitro Cross Champion after heavy rain forced the cancellation of the Semi finals at the annual Czech Republic event and the outcome of yesterday’s dry qualifications was used to determine the result of the fifth running of the 3-day international race.  The former European Champion dominated all six rounds of qualifying to claim TQ honours ahead of Losi/nVision team-mate, and last year’s champion, Martin Bayer and this is how they line up on the podium where they were joined by new Xray signing Ales Bayer who qualified third.

Having dodged the bad weather in practice on Friday and worked around two short rain showers in qualifying on Saturday, the rain finally arrived with force over Slavkov u Brna as the Top 16 drivers got ready for their Semi practice sessions.  Managing to get the Quarter finals completed between showers the race organisers called a 1-hour delay to the start of the first Semi but after further inspection of the track and checking of the forecast for the area the decision was taken, with the full support of all the drivers, to cancel the remaining finals.

A top class event, both in terms of the facilities and the organisation, it is a real shame that the weather, one of the few things outside of the control of the Bayer family, forced a premature end to proceedings.  Red RC would like acknowledge the efforts of Martin Bayer and everyone involved in putting on the 2011 Astra Nitro Cross and thank both Horizon Hobby and Team Losi Racing for making our coverage possible.  If you’re looking to compete in an international 1:8 Offroad event next season we would highly recommend booking an entry to Astra Nitro Cross number 6.

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Rain delays proceedings

The arrival of heavy rain over the town of Slavkov u Brna in the Czech Republic has forced Astra Nitro Cross race officials to delay the start of the Semi finals by at least an hour.  Having ran most of the lower finals in slightly damp conditions the weather took a major turn just ahead of the scheduled Semi practice sessions resulting in none of the Top 16 qualifiers taking to the drenched clay track.  A slight break in the weather and the spreading of saw dust allowed for the Quarter finals to be run with the 1/4 A drivers having to endure a very wet final few laps of racing after which the call was made to delay proceedings in the hope of a further clearing of the rain.

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Clean sweep for Aigoin & TLR

Yannick Aigoin pulled off a clean sweep of Day 2 of the 2011 Astra Nitro Cross as he put his Losi 8ight at the top of the time sheets in all six rounds of qualifying. Having wrapped up the overall TQ honours for the Czech event in the fourth round of heats, watched on by Losi president Bill Jeric, the French star did not let off and completed the perfect day for TLR with Martin Bayer completing a 1-2 for the team.

Taking the risk of trying Bayer’s set-up for the final run of the day, Aigoin said once he had adapted his driving it was not bad other than he felt the centre diff was a little heavy.  Planning to work a little with the set-up for tomorrow’s Semi practice the 2006 European Champion will try a lighter diff oil.

Although he managed to snatch second in the overall qualification from his younger brother Ales, Bayer said he went for too soft a compound of Losi Blockhead in the final qualifier which resulted in his 8ight feeling ‘terrible’ to drive.  Still managing third just behind his brother’s Xray the points were enough to lift him from 24th to 2nd.

Switching to shorter shock bodies on his XB808, Ales said they changed the buggy completely with it going from being ‘very nervous’ to being really easy to drive.  Helping the buggy to absorb the bumps better the extent of the improvement was very clear to see on the 18-year-old’s face after the run and he is now very positive about his chances going into tomorrow’s finals.

Qualifying fourth overall Finnish racer Petri Myllari was very happy with his day. The Losi driver said he hopes he can have as good a day tomorrow and progress to the Main.

Using the last qualifier to test a possible set-up for the finals Dominic Bauer said his Mugen was very comfortable to drive but lacked a little steering. Also changing engine he was delighted with the power of the new Novarossi unit.  Only 15-years-old, the Austrian said he struggled to get the car to his liking this morning but with his father able to join him today they soon had things back under control and he is looking forward to tomorrow’s racing.

Top 16 Qualifiers
1. Yannick Aigoin (FR) – Losi – 400pts
2. Martin Bayer (CZ) – Losi – 391pts
3. Ales Bayer (CZ) – Xray – 391pts
4. Petri Myllari (FI) – Losi – 383pts
5. Dominic Bauer (A) – Mugen – 382pts
6. Jiri Mara (CZ) – Xray – 379pts
7. Martin Wollanka (A) – Mugen – 373pts
8. Tomas Marek (CZ) – Xray – 369pts
9. Rene Konig (DE) – Mugen – 367pts
10.Martin Hudy (SK) – Xray – 367pts
11.Maxance Bon (FR) – Losi – 367pts
12.Petr Klatovsky (CZ) – Serpent – 364pts
13.Tomas Kapicka (CZ) – Kyosho – 360pts
14.Lukas Zeman (CZ) – Losi – 358pts
15.Andreas Scharinger (A) – Losi – 347pts
16.Igor Krivek (SK) – Mugen – 345pts

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French ace Aigoin is ‘Astra Nitro Cross’ Top Qualifier

French offroad ace Yannick Aigoin is the Top Qualifier for the 2011 Astra Nitro Cross and could very well pull off a clean sweep of qualifying at the Czech Republic event.  Having claimed the overall TQ honours when he topped the fourth round of qualifying from Team Losi Racing team-mate Martin Bayer by just 4/10ths of a second, the former European Champion went on to set a new outright fastest run in Q5 when he once again narrowly pipped defending champion Bayer.

Aigoin said his nVision powered 8ight was really dialled in for Q4 & 5 but always keen to explore possible set-up options will try the set-up of Bayer for the final qualifier.  Although Bayer has produced the fastest lap around the Auto Bayer track, Aigoin described the switch as very high risk as he has in the past tried the Czech Champions set-up and it hasn’t suited his driving.

Responsible for putting on the Astra Nitro Cross, this being the fifth running of the 3-day international event, Bayer has turned around a tough morning but with two non-finishes he still requires a strong run in the final qualifier.  Currently only 24th in the qualification ranking, a Quarter final starting position, he will be looking to end Day 2 on a high and give himself one less obstacle to putting himself in the 45-minute Main final.

Bayer’s younger brother Ales currently holds second in the points for qualifying but is still not happy with his set-up despite posting the third fastest time in Q5.  The new Xray signing said his XB808 is ‘very nervous’ and will try a completely new shock set-up in an attempt to give him more confidence with it.  Xray currently have two cars in the Top 3 with fellow Czech Jiri Mara third in the points despite having problems on his last outing.

Fourth overall which assures him a place in the Semis, Dominic Bauer will use the last qualifier to test a set-up for the finals.  Fitting a fresh Novarossi engine into his Mugen MBX6, the Austrian teenager will also try out a set of Procircuit tyres having run Proline in qualifying.

Tying on points with the star of the Euro B Championships is Finland’s Petri Myllari, the Losi driver putting in a great fourth round when he posted the third fastest time. French Losi driver Maxance Bon completes the Top 6 having just produced his best run in Q5.

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Aigoin on target for TQ in Czech Republic

With half of the 6 rounds of qualifying for the 2011 Astra Nitro Cross complete French ace Yannick Aigoin continues to dominate in the Czech Republic.  The TLR driver set a new fastest time in Q3, topping the round from the Xray of Ales Bayer who was just 3 second adrift, the closest anyone has so far come to matching the pace of the former European champion. Taking his Mugen to the third fastest time up and coming Austrian talent Dominic Bauer who looks to have found his practice form having struggled this morning in the opening two qualifiers.

Second fastest in Q2 behind his Losi team-mate Aigoin, defending champion Martin Bayer hit problems for a second time today.  Having failed to start the opening qualifier due to his steering servo horn coming off the Czech ace was to suffer another problem, this time throttle issues forcing him out with just over a minute left to run.  Having set a new fastest lap of the weekend, Bayer said he hopes he has now got all of his bad luck out of the way as the handling of his Losi felt really good.

Serpent driver Petr Klatovsky backed up his solid Q1 performance with another fourth fastest time in Q3 just 6/1000ths ahead of the Losi of Austrian Andreas Scharinger.  Xray’s Jiri Mara completed the Top 6.

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