Practice time is up
Practice for the 2010 EFRA 1:8 Off Road European Championship is complete and the more serious business of qualifying gets under way tomorrow here in Portugal. After two rounds of timed practice, drivers had one final, untimed run on the track, bringing Day 2 of the 30th running of the championships to a close.
The man who set the pace in the timed practice, Miguel Matias used the final bit of track time to try a complete change of set-up on his RB powered Losi. The Portuguese driver opted for an American style set-up running 10 degree hubs on the front, which he said made the car feel more aggressive. Happy that the car felt quicker than in the first timed practice, the former Champion plans to stick with the set-up for the first of the 5 qualifiers.
Yannick Aigoin, who set the pace in the second timed practice, said he used the run to confirm his tyre choice for the morning and says he can now just focus on driving. Fellow Frenchman and defending Champion Renaud Savoya said they found a better overall package and his Mugen is working well over the bumps but lacks forward bite and plans some shock adjustments. The ‘Shark’ said he knows he is not the fastest at the moment but he is very happy at how consistent he can lap the Guarda track.
The man with the fastest lap for the day with a 37.111, set in the first timed practice, Darren Bloomfield had some problems adjusting to his new position on the drivers rostrum. Originally running No. 11 in practice he has been reseed No.1 for his heat, the British driver switching from one end of the rostrum to the other made the track look very different.
Robert Batlle’s final practice did not go well as he hit problems and had to pull up early. Having changed to a harder spring the clutch failed to work properly but the Spaniard is confident that his Associated has a better balance now after they made adjustments to the shocks.
Dani Vega, who posted the 9th fastest time in second timed practice, tried a Losi Active diff in the front of his Orion powered Agama but it did not work, robbing the car of corner speed. Planning to switch back to the standard Agama kit diff for tomorrow, the former Champion said he is pleased with the progress he has been able to made with the car.
At Kyosho, Jerome Aigoin is confident for tomorrow having changed very little on his Novarossi powered MP9 all day. His young Swedish team-mate David Ronnefalk, who runs Orion engines, said the last practice was a chance for them to get the car right after it was undriveable in the second timed practice. Switching from AKA Crossbrace to a mixture of Cityblock on the front and iBeam on the rear and running less droop the talented 14-year-old was much happier now about his chances having been 11th fastest in the first run of Day 2.
Although he didn’t feature strongly on the time sheets, outgoing European Junior Champion Elliott Boots has been mentioned by a number of key industry figures as one to watch here. The 17-year-old Mugen driver said the last run of the day was the best the car has been so far. Removing the rear overdrive from his MBX-6 it improved things giving the car more drive out of the corners. The British driver said that with the track conditions deteriorating he had to pick his lines a lot more carefully and keeping it smooth was key to get a good run.
Elsewhere Riccardo Rabitti was very much happier with his Picco powered Losi and expects to be competitive in qualifying. Having pushed too hard in the second timed practice the Italian Champion said he made too many mistakes but he has got it together now. Being supporting here by Alberto Picco, the man behind the Italian engine company, Rabitti is very happy with his fuel economy saying he spoke with a number of his rivals and they are not able to match his run time.
Tomorrow schedule, which kicks off at 09:00, is made up of 3 of the 5 qualifiers, the best three of which will determine the starting order for the semi finals.
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