French Champion Renaud Savoya has TQ’d the 2008 EFRA European 1:8 Off Road Championships in Crete after making the opening three heats his own, setting the fastest times in each of the runs. The Warm-up Race winner has his Mugen dialed in perfectly with many of his rivals commenting on how well it slides around the corners as most of them struggle with grip roll around the bumpy track.

‘I switched to Hole shot tyres for the last run which made the car quicker but I made two driver mistakes and that cost me’, said a very relaxed Savoya. Asked if having won the Warm up he expected to TQ the young star replied, ‘The objective is always to make better than before and last year I finished second in the Euros’. With the TQ secured, tomorrow’s two heats will be used to test for the Semi Final and Savoya plans to try Proline Knuckles in the morning run.

Second fastest in Heat 3 was another French driver Yannick Aigon. After a strong opening qualifier the Losi driver had a poor second outing due to a number of driver errors but he was back in business for Heat 3 just 2.5 seconds off his fellow countryman’s time. Having changed the kick up and put heavier oil in the rear shocks he found the car much easier to drive.

Borja Hernandez posted the third fastest run with his Hobao and is another who will use the Heat 4 and 5 to test for the Semi Final with some geometry changes planned. Fellow Spaniard and Hobao driver Robert Batlle was next up despite a costly double roll over the wooden ripples. The defending Champion plans to test a new engine tomorrow and lower the shock position on the rear shock tower.

Recent Ultimate Racing Rallygame World Cup winner Fabio Boero enjoyed a good clean third run setting the fifth fastest time after changing to a thicker front anti roll bar on his GRP powered Mugen. Neil Cragg completed the Top 6 after making big changes to his Associated. Having started the event on big bore shocks the UK driver has reverted to the standard versions saying they lack the knowledge to get the big bores working right. Seventh fastest was a relieved looking Daniel Vega. The Mugen driver was struggling and decided to revert to the set-up he used at the Warm-up race and was very happy with the result. Lacking confidence in the car after the first two heats, the Spaniard says he feels good with the car again and thinks tomorrow will be better.

Elliot Boots who had a strong Heat 2 had the top of his shock come out in the warm-up but continued, and despite only three working shocks still finished the run. Richard Saxton who is over supporting the Team Associated squad here says Boots could be the real surprise here in Crete as the 15-year-old has good speed.

For some big names the IMA track is proving a real headache. Former World and European Champion Daniel Reckward has had a terrible day, unable to get any stability in his Kyosho. Suffering from too much traction his mechanics will totally change the set-up of his MP777 overnight and Reckward hopes, together with a good nights sleep, they can be further up the timesheets.

Serpent’s Joern Neumann is another struggling. Running a new prototype chassis which features some interesting diff casings, he is another getting too much side traction. In the third heat the German took radical actions cutting a large amount of the pins from each side of his Proline tyres. The car was a little better, but Neumann hopes they can find more for tomorrow.

Electric Touring Car ace Teemu Leino summed up his day by saying, ‘Maybe this is the worst racing day ever’. The Xray driver had a messy first heat with bad traffic but the day would get worse. In Heat 2 his engine cut and then to cap off the bad day his receiver battery broke. Austrian Team LRP driver Hubert Honigl was another wishing the day had not happened, ‘It would have been good for me if they counted yesterday’s practice. I just cant find a set-up for this track.’

In the overall Qualification Ranking behind Savoya it is Batlle, Hernandez, Aigoin, Boero and Laffranchi. The drivers have two more heats in the morning after which we will have the first of the finals at what has been a very hot 2008 EFRA European Championship.

Top 20 after 3 rounds
1. SAVOYA Renaud (FR) - 8 Laps in 05:19.490 / 519pts
2. BATLLE Robert (ES) - 8 Laps in 05:20.606 / 509pts
3. HERNANDEZ Borja (ES) - 8 Laps in 05:23.597 / 504pts
4. AIGOIN Yannick (FR) - 8 Laps in 05:22.120 / 495pts
5. BOERO Fabio (IT) - 8 Laps in 05:25.290 / 492pts
6. LAFFRANCHI Alessandro (IT) - 8 Laps in 05:25.304 / 492pts
7. CRAGG Neil (UK) - 8 Laps in 05:26.443 / 486pts
8. BLOOMFIELD Darren (UK) - 8 Laps in 05:30.097 / 486pts
9. SARTEL Jerome (FR) - 8 Laps in 05:25.081 / 482pts
10. VEGA Daniel (ES) - 8 Laps in 05:26.756 / 474pts
11. PERIS Raul (ES) - 8 Laps in 05:31.679 / 473pts
12. BAYER Martin (CZ) - 8 Laps in 05:20.708 / 465pts
13. BOOTS Elliott (UK) - 8 Laps in 05:22.832 / 463pts
14. THERN Linus (SE) - 8 Laps in 05:29.702 / 458pts
15. PERIN Riccardo (IT) - 8 Laps in 05:33.280 / 457pts
16. TORTORICI Davide (IT) - 8 Laps in 05:29.835 / 455pts
17. HoNIGL Hubert (AT) - 8 Laps in 05:32.370 / 449pts
18. CROMPTON David (UK) - 8 Laps in 05:29.768 / 441pts
19. HAZLEWOOD Jon (UK) - 8 Laps in 05:33.367 / 440pts
20. EZAZIAN Jerome (FR) - 8 Laps in 05:31.586 / 437pts

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Renaud Savoya has repeated his Heat 1 performance in the second of today’s three scheduled qualifiers to again take maximum points here in Crete. Savoya ran a slightly slower time that this morning but was still the class of the field, however defending European Champion Robert Batlle sent out a warning shot that he is up for the job. Running a time just 3/10th off the Warm-up Race winner, the Spaniard was much more upbeat following the run. Big surprise in Heat 2 was the time set by young Czech driver Martin Bayer who was less than 5/10th off setting the TQ for the round.

Savoya was once again happy with his Ninja powered Mugen and other than running maybe different tyres the French Champion will use the same setting which so far he has used to great effect. Battle was pleased with the changes he made to his Hobao for Heat 2. Running a smaller piston hole in the rear shocks and larger holes in the front the car was working much better. The smaller rims also helped reduce side grip which caused him problems in Heat 1.

Former 1:5 World Championship Top Qualifier Martin Bayer was the real surprise on the Heat 2 time sheets. Running a GRP powered Losi, the 20 year old did not finish the first heat however going the distance in on this occasion he made his mark. Determined to repeat his pace, Bayer will change the rear shocks and anti roll bar to give him a little more rear but less side grip.

15 year old Elliot Boots, another member of the UK team who has relocated his pit area to the side of the pool at his hotel, was very happy with his Associated in Heat 2. Running a harder rear end on his RB powered RC8 the set up allowed his Hole Shot XTR tyres to work better and despite a mistake he set an impressive fourth fastest time. The young British driver says the track is very bumpy but the layout suits his driving style.

Former World Champion Alessandro Laffranchi and Portuguese driver Luis Rodrigo completed the Top 6 for Heat number 2. Yannick Aigoin and Jerome Sartel who where second and third fastest this morning managed only 20th and 11th times respectively in Heat 2 as they both made driver errors. Both French drivers say their cars are working really well and they will change little for the Heat No.3 but hopefully will have mistake free runs.

Top 10 after 2 rounds
1. SAVOYA Renaud (FR) - 8 Laps in 05:19.490 / 354pts
2. BATLLE Robert (ES) - 8 Laps in 05:20.606 / 348pts
3. HERNANDEZ Borja (ES) - 8 Laps in 05:28.880 / 343pts
4. SARTEL Jerome (FR) - 8 Laps in 05:25.081 / 341pts
5. LAFFRANCHI Alessandro (IT) - 8 Laps in 05:25.304 / 341pts
6. BOOTS Elliott (UK) - 8 Laps in 05:22.832 / 338pts
7. AIGOIN Yannick (FR) - 8 Laps in 05:23.696 / 336pts
8. BOERO Fabio (IT) - 8 Laps in 05:28.478 / 333pts
9. BLOOMFIELD Darren (UK) - 8 Laps in 05:30.097 / 333pts
10. LUIS Rodrigo (PT) - 8 Laps in 05:25.470 / 331pts

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Renaud Savoya has TQ’d the first heat at the 2008 EFRA European Championships here in Crete. The young Mugen driver heads a trio of French drivers with Yannick Aigon and Jerome Sartel producing the second and third fastest times. Fourth fastest at the moment is defending Champion Robert Batlle.

Reigning French Champion, and warm up winner on this track earlier in the year, Savoya was very happy with his car over the 5 minute run so much so he will leave his car the same for the second of today’s qualifiers. Running Proline XTR tyres he produced a time of 8 laps in 5:19.490 to go over four second clear at the top.

Second fastest man Yannick Aigon said his car was a little nervous and that he drove a safe run. Having switched from GRP Jolly to Atomic tyres for the 3 minute reseed practice yesterday evening Aigon ran the Atomic option this morning and was pleased with the choice. The Losi driver will change his front diff for Heat two in a bid to make the car easier to drive.

Jerome Sartel who produced the third quickest run joked when asked about how it was saying, ‘I am not happy with this there are two French drivers in front of me!’. A friend of both Savoya and Aigon, the Xray driver had had a little too much grip and plans to change his rear anti roll bar for Heat 2.

Defending champion Robert Batlle, who is thought to have suffered from sunstroke yesterday, was feeling better today and was the highest placed non French driver. The Hobao/Ultimate Racing team driver said he had too much grip and the car wanted to flip in all the corners. Running GRP Atomic B tyres the Spaniard will try a smaller wheel for his next outing.

Borja Hernandez, who was second quickest overall in timed practice yesterday, was fifth despite a driver error over the last jump which cost him some time. The Hobao driver will leave his car the same for Heat 2. Swede Linus Thern completes the Top 6 and is the leading Kyosho driver. Darren Bloomfield who was the the pace setter yesterday is 7th and the UK racer has relocated his pit area to the side of the pool at his hotel!

The overnight work carried out on the jumps here at the IMC track have been given a big thumbs up by the leading drivers who all described it as much better.

Top 10 after round 1
1. Savoya Renaud - 8 Laps in 05:19.490
2. Aigoin Yannick - 8 Laps in 05:23.696
3. Sartel Jerome - 8 Laps in 05:25.081
4. Batlle Robert - 8 Laps in 05:25.706
5. Hernandez Borja - 8 Laps in 05:28.880
6. Thern Linus - 8 Laps in 05:29.702
7. Bloomfield Darren - 8 Laps in 05:30.097
8. Ezazian Jerome - 8 Laps in 05:31.586
9. Laffranchi Alessandro - 8 Laps in 05:31.928
10. Vray Guillaume - 8 Laps in 05:32.613

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The 2008 EFRA European 1:8 Off Road Championship was officially opened this evening as all the teams were presented at the opening ceremony. A total of 18 countries are represented with the smallest being Estonia and Belgium who are represented by just single drivers. Pictures of each of the teams are now published in the gallery.

As we have reported since our arrival here in Crete the leading drivers have been critical of the track surface, and this evening following a track inspection it was decided that there will be overnight work carried out on the two concrete jumps which have caused much trouble to drivers today as the surface broke up. Given the very hot weather here the cement should dry fully in time for the first qualifying heat tomorrow morning. Unfortunately the ruts in the clay cannot be repaired.

Check out our event image gallery here.

British driver Darren Bloomfield has made his intentions known as the young Team Losi topped the overall practice times with a great second timed practice run. Switching to softer tyres inserts for the 2nd session he set a time of 8 laps in 05:23.854 to head the 167 car field who have travelled here for the 2008 Euros. ‘That was a really good run. The soft inserts made the car feel better, said Bloomfield afterwards.

Second fastest in the second session and third fastest overall was former World and European Champion Alessandro Laffranchi. The Xray driver had problems in the first run when his back pressure pipe came off. Running softer PMT tyres for the second run the 8 time Italian National Champion was right on it and with a CV like his will be one to watch as he knows a thing or two about winning.

Second fastest overall thanks to his practice topping run in opening practice was Borja Hernandez. The Spaniard failed to improve on his time and was quick to put up his hand up and say he made too many driver errors which resulted in a bent front shock rod.

Having not had a car inside the Top 10 this morning, Austrian driver Peter Pinisch put Team Associated’s challenge on track with the fourth fastest time. Commenting on his car he said, ‘The car is working really well since I switched to the Hole Shot tyres which have made it easier to drive and the softer clutch has helped too. I will make a few small adjustment now for the first heat but I am happy with the car’.

Completing the Top 6 is Raul Peris and Hupo Honigl both of whom failed to improve their morning time. News on defending champion Robert Batlle is that he is not well and was taken to hospital for checks after suffering with his balance. The young Spaniard is back at his hotel and hopefully should be able to take part in the first heat tomorrow.

The drivers will now be reseeded for the qualifying heats based on the times set in the timed practice sessions. The opening ceremony will now take place in the next hour.

Here is the complete ranking after Practice Round 2 (PDF). Thanks to Aebi RC progress for providing Red RC with the results.

Check out our event image gallery here.

Spanish star Borja Hernandez has topped the time sheets here in Crete as Day 2 of the 2008 EFRA European 1:8 Buggy Championships gets underway. The Hobao driver was fastest from young Team Losi hot shot Darren Bloomfield by just over one second at the end of the timed five minute run.

Hernandez was pleased with is run and only plans to try Proline XTR over the M2 he ran in the first practice. Bloomfield was also happy with his run and will too just try different tyres for Practice number 2. Running Losi Eclipse Red Compound tyres, the British racer will run a softer insert next time out.

With five different manufacturers in the Top 5 places it was the Bergonzi R1 Prototype of Raul Peris who recorded the third fastest run. The Spanish driver said the track is very difficult but his car is running well and he only plans a few suspension changes. Hupo Honigl was next up with his LRP S8. The Austrian said his run was not so good but he is happy with the overall time. Honigl is another who will try different tyres for the next outing with both XTR and Hole Shots ready so he can make the call just before his Group go on to the track, which again has come in for a lot of criticism from the top drivers.

Top Mugen is Daniel Vega with the fifth fastest time. The Spaniard will experiment with different tyres next time out but plans no changes to his car. Running the Ninja engines, Vega is running a GRP pipe here this weekend as the new EFRA spec Ninja pipes did not arrive on time.

Heading Xray’s challenge is France’s Jerome Sartel in eight while Swede Linus Thern is the fastest of the Kyosho drivers. Sartel will change the springs on his 808 as he tries to get the car to work better over the increasing bumps. Thern plans to run a front torsion diff on his MP777 having run the standard diff in the first run. He had used the torsion diff at the Warm up race  and he feels it should improve traction. Team mate Daniel Reckward, currently in 18th, ran as truggy clutch this morning and found a big improvement in traction. The man behind Reckard Tuning is using a Speed 2.5 Extended clutch and has switched from carbon to aluminium shoes. The German, together with Sartel and Thern will run a second RB engine in the second run to have it ready should he hit any problems later in the event. All three are also running RB’s 3003 pipe which is originally designed for On Road use. The power appears to be smoother with the pipe but at the expense of a slight fall in fuel economy.

Richi Gomez, who made a last minute switch from GS to Hong Nor in the lead up to the Euros, is very happy with his new car. This is the young Spanish drivers first race with the car and compared with his previous GS Buggy he is very happy with the X1CR which he says turns in better and also has more traction. Gomez will try a harder Panther tyre and stiffen the rear diff for his next practice.

Here is the complete ranking after Practice Round 1 (PDF). Thanks to Aebi RC progress for providing Red RC with the results.

Check out our event image gallery here.

The opening day of the 2008 EFRA European 1:8 off Road Buggy Championships has come to a close and as the dust settles here in Crete the drivers had little to report as they eased themselves in to the event over the single 15 minute practice session that made up today’s timetable.

The track was the biggest talking point today with many of the top drivers saying the surface was their main concern. It would appear from drivers who took part in the Warm up race earlier in the year that the track surface has remained largely untouched since that event.

One interesting story in the pits is Joesph Quagraine is back running a Habao 8.5 that has been given the JQ touch with a number of modifications, the biggest of which is the placing of the receiver over the steering servo. Quagraine is also running his own shock towers on the car along with JQ Products lower suspension brackets.

Two times European Champion Davide Tortorici said after his run that his car was OK.  The Crono team leader has reverted to standard kit shocks saying he prefers them to the prototype big bores and the Italian is also running a new front shock tower on his RS7. Top Kyosho driver Daniel Reckward said his first run went off OK but said while the track looked easy it was in fact quite challenging mainly due to the surface conditions. The German will make some changes to the diffs on his MP777 for tomorrow’s timed practice.

Top British driver Neil Cragg had a steady run but was another who reckoned the track is not as good as the Warm-up. The leading Team Associated runner now has Big Bore shocks on his RC8, which he didn’t have at the Warm-up, and is running new V2 Proline wheels which he says smooth the car out over the bumps. American star Richard Saxton has crossed the Atlantic to support the Associated team and was busy in the pits giving driver tuition to one of the team’s top drivers on the best lines to take.

Adrian Bertin is here supporting Team Orion drivers running the new CRF .21 engine and is also mechanic for electric touring car ace Teemu Leino. After the Finn’s run Bertin said the Xray/Orion combination was working really well and Leino was putting in really good lap times. Asked by Red RC about the dust levels, Bertin told us this is normal for off road saying ‘welcome to Buggy racing’.

Drivers will start Day 2 of the 2008 Euros with two timed runs tomorrow which will determine the reseed ahead of the first qualifying round in the evening.  We will bring you more coverage, which is sponsored by Kyosho and LRP, throughout the day.

Check out our event image gallery here.

The final countdown is under way here in Crete for the start of the 2008 EFRA European 1:8 Off Road Championship with the sunshine beating down on the IMC track.

The whos who of European off road are here and they are all looking to get their hands on the title currently held by Robert Battle. The young Spaniard is looking forward to the challenge of trying to retain his crown here on the Greek Island but is a little concerned over the small pebbles coming through the track surface. A concern raised by many of the drivers here. In terms of new parts on his GRP Hobao a slighted revised body shell is the only significant change.

The biggest news here is the all new Serpent prototype car that Joern Nuermann is running. The German who has tested the car already and says it a major step forward on the previous prototype and appears very confident that it will show well here. Unfortunately the car is being kept under wraps for the moment.

Other product news from around the pits includes new big bore shock from LRP which are being run on Hubert Honigl car and leading Mugen driver Daniel Vega is trying some lightweight parts on his Mugen. News from the Kyosho team is that they will stick with the tried and trusted MP777. No MP9 will run as the car that won the recent Kyosho Masters was the C prototype version of the new car with a few small changes planned for the production model.

The first free practice run is due to get underway in just under an hour after which we will bring you the drivers first impression of the track as they settle themselves into the event.

Check out our event image gallery here.

The best 1/8th scale buggy drivers in Europe are converging on the Greek island of Crete this week to battle it out on the fast and tricky IMC Club track in Iraklio and see who will become the 2008 European Champion. Robert Batlle will be of course be there to defend his crown, won last year in France, and he is up against some strong competition with the top factory teams pulling out all the stops to try and wrestle the title away from the Spanish Hobao driver. Red RC reporter Oisin O’Briain will be present all week reporting live trackside, bringing you our usual blend of quality reporting, photographs and interviews from this exciting event. Baring any last minute hiccups, the reporting will begin Tuesday afternoon and carry through to Saturday’s main final. We would like to take this opportunity to thank our sponsors for the event, Kyosho and LRP, without whose support this would not be possible.

Viktor Wilck has won the modified class here at the DHI Cup after a great run in the 3rd and last leg of the A-final. Quicker than Teemu Leino from the start, he began to hound the Xray racer until they actually hit before both continuing. Shortly after the Finnish racer made a mistake going onto the straight, rolling over the dots and causing his body to stick up over the wheel. Once this happened Wilck was able to pull out a commanding lead and this also allowed Hagberg, Volker and Graversen through. Early in the race it was Groskamp in 3rd, however a problem later on in the race meant he retired, as did Leino, before the end of the race. This 2nd final win gave Wilck the overall title and left Leino in 2nd, while Graversen capped off a great race with a 3rd spot. Viktor had the following to say about his performance, “I’m really pleased to take my first big international win at such a big. I think with the new car we have found a really good set-up and I think it has more to come for the future. It was very close between me a Teemu but in the end I had a slightly faster car.”

A Final Modified - Leg 3 Result
1. (2) Viktor Wilck - 19L 310.29
2. (8) Alexander Hagberg - 19L 313.01
3. (10)Ronald Volker - 19L 313.98
4. (3) Steen Graversen - 19L 314.83
5. (9) Marc Rheinard - 19L 315.92
6. (6) Juho Levanen - 18L 305.92
7. (1) Teemu Leino - 17L 289.25
8. (7) Martin Hudy - 17L 305.96
9. (4) Jilles Groskamp - 9L 227.55
10.(5) Andy Moore - 4L 90.95

A Main Final Standings
(best 2 of 3 Results to count)
1. Viktor Wilck - 20pts
2. Teemu Leino - 17pts
3. Steen Graversen - 16pts
4. Ronald Volker - 16pts
5. Alexander Hagberg - 15pts
6. Marc Rheinard - 14pts
7. Juho Levanen - 13pts
8. Jilles Groskamp - 7pts
9. Martin Hudy - 7pts
10.Andy Moore - 5pts

In the stock class it was Jimmy Maddison that won again in round 3 stamping his authority on the Stock class at this years event. Winning the final round by less than a second he had a bigger gap but a small mistake caused him to drop back but he was able to compose himself and take the win from Meik Niemann and Christoph Thiele. Jimmy was understanably delighted with his performance stating “The car was fanatastic. I really wanted to win this one and while it might have looked easy believe me it was hard work.”

A Final Stock - Leg 3 Result
1. (2) Jimmy Maddison - 17L 307.90
2. (6) Meik Niemann - 17L 308.52
3. (1) Christoph Thiele - 17L 309.58
4. (4) Florian Ring - 17L 310.38
5. (3) Bastian Hennig - 17L 312.16
6. (8) Tommy Bergfeldt - 16L 301.72
7. (5) Dennis Fadtke - 16L 302.12
8. (7) Marcus Horn - 16L 303.80
9. (10)Marc Assman - 16L 304.55
10.(7) Luke Hobson - 16L 305.01

A Main Standings after Leg 3
(best 2 of 3 Results to count)
1. Jimmy Maddison - 20pts (Champion)
2. Meik Niemann - 17pts
3. Christoph Thiele - 16pts
4. Tommy Bergfeldt - 14pts
5. Bastian Hennig - 14pts
6. Dennis Fadtke - 13pts
7. Florian Ring - 12pts
8. Marc Assman - 7pts
9. Marcus Horn - 6pts
10.Luke Hobson - 2pts

Download the full final results here (PDF) for all classes.