August 1, 2008

Euros 1:10 – New in the pits V2

Xenon Max

More new items from Japanese company Xenon, who are present here in Vila Real to support their customers and first up is an exclusive look at their new touring car rubber tire. Called the Max, it is designed to be used as a control tire with the rubber having similar characteristics to the Sorex tire that is currently in use at this weeks Euros. Aiming to be considerably cheaper to purchase than other similar products, the tire has been finalised and is in production, however the insert together with the wheel are still in the final testing stages. Also new from Xenon are some new greases, the first of which is used together with silicone o-rings, such as those used in the cars shock absorbers, while the other grease we were shown is to be used together with driveshafts.

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August 1, 2008

Champion tops final practice

Ronald Volker

Practice for the 2008 EFRA European Championship for Electric Touring Cars is over and it is defending Champion Ronald Volker who is officially the fastest man around the Nitro 15 track as we get ready for the first of five qualifying heats.

The Hot Bodies/LRP team driver produced 17 laps in 05:06.832 in the last of the 6 practice runs the drivers have had to prepare for the event. The German was again at the controls of his newer Cyclone TC for the run switching only to a Jaad 3.5 degree rear mount and has now nominated this chassis for the big event. Although it doesn’t count for much Volker said it felt good to top the practice.

Failing to improve his time Teemu Leino, the fastest man after P5, described his last practice as a ‘bad run’ loosing some 5.5 seconds on his earlier pace. Fellow Xray driver Steven Weiss also lost time but in the German’s case it was just 7/10th of a second.

Andy Moore action

Andy Moore was a lot happier with his Hot Bodies having switched back to his older chassis and motor. Also trying the Madza Speed 6 over the regular Mazda 6, the British ace said the Speed 6 gave him a little more corner speed and as a result he will run this in qualifying.

Another to switch back to their old chassis was Marc Rheinard. The Tamiya Factory Racing team driver ran a faster 5 minutes with the old car which he described as looser but it was also faster than the more stable new chassis he tried in the earlier run today.

Fourth fastest in P6 and improving his overall time was Dutch ace Jilles Groskamp. The Tamiya/Speed Passion driver ran a lightweight bodyshell which gave him more steering but the ETS Champion still needs to find more. Groskamp is struggling to match the pace of his rivals over the opening few laps and is uncertain as to why this is.

Others to improve their times in the final practice include British Hot Bodies driver Olly Jefferies (13th fastest), Austrian Thomas Pumpler (15th), Swede Alexander Hagberg (16th), Flying Finns Sebastian Trazaska (17th) & Simo Ahoniemi (18th) and Slovak driver Martin Hudy (20th).

The first of today’s two qualifiers is due to get underway at 14:00 local time.

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August 1, 2008

Leino ups the pace

Leino ups the pace

Xray’s lead driver Teemu Leino took advantage of cooler track conditions in the first of today’s controlled practice runs to up the pace here in Spain. The Finn knocked 1.5 seconds of the previous fastest five minute run, set yesterday evening by Marc Rheinard, after reverting to the set-up he used in the second practice of the event.

Leino was pretty pleased with his run and the handling of his T2 008 which he plans to leave the same for the final practice. The TITC Champion said it is difficult to change set up due to the big temperature differences for each run with as much as a 20 degree increase between the coolest and hottest heats.

Making it two Xray’s at the top of the time sheets Germany’s Steven Weiss, who TQ’d last year’s event in France, was much happier with his car. Fitting a new Orion speedo and motor for the run, Weiss said the package was working much better now and he had a really good feeling with the car. Asked if he felt he could repeat his 2007 qualifier performance he replied, ‘I really hope so’.

Failing to improve his best run from yesterday Marc Rheinard drops to third while Steen Graversen jumps to fourth. Graversen, who says he hates the track because it doesn’t suit is driving style, was the third fastest in the morning run with his prototype Kyosho. The Danish ace felt the car was more difficult to drive but on the clocks it is proving faster and if they can make the A Final he will be super happy. With the car still in the development phase, Graversen & Kyosho have set themselves the target of making the A Final at each event they attend and on current form the look set to achieve that this weekend.

Setting the fourth fastest time for the run and his best so far was Andy Moore. The British driver, whose on/off switch stayed firmly in place this time, tried a new car and motor but found it to be slower although he did improve his 5 minute run time. Moore will revert to his previous combination for the last practice as it was quicker in terms of lap times. Another Hot Bodies driver to improve was Danish National Champion Jonas Kaerup who enjoyed a run that was just a tenth off his World Champion team mate.

Christer Andersson action

Moving into the Top 10 for the first time and heading up the Associated challenge is up and coming Finnish talent Christer Andersson. The 16-year-old has adpated his driving style so that he is easier on the car at the start of the run and this appears to help the TC5 over the final few laps. Andersson says he still wants to do better however.

His Associated team-mates Juho Levanen and Joel Myberg both had their fastest run this morning but are still somewhat off the pace. Finnish Champion Levanen says his driving style today is suiting the car better while Swedish National Champion is reporting his TC5 as being super steady and easy to drive but just lacking corner speed. The pair sit 17th and 31st respectively on the time sheets.

Unfortunately we have just received news that reigning British Champion and top Yokomo hope Chris Grainger will take no further part in the event. Yesterday we reported he was suffering from suspected food poisoning which sadly has not improved and the rather ill Grainger has opted to get the first available flight back home to England. We wish him a speedy recovery.

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