33rd 1:8 Offroad Euros underway in Reims
The 33rd running of the 1:8 Offroad European Championships got underway this morning in France with Day 1 of the event, which will come to a conclusion on Saturday, set to be a rather uneventful affair with just 3 rounds of untimed practice making up today’s schedule. Having had the Warm-up race cancelled just as the Semi-finals got underway due to rain, the hot sunny weather that has greeted drivers on their arrival to the famous Champagne producing city has created a totally different set of track conditions with tyre choice set to be the key factor to the outcome of the race.
Having claimed TLR’s first European title last year, defending Champion Darren Bloomfield was pleased with his opening 5-minute practice. The British driver was forced to cancel his entry for the warm-up race after he had all his equipment stolen the night before the event joking that ‘some say it was Elliot Boots’ who did the big hoist. Putting his AKA shod 8ight 3.0 on track this morning he said he was surprised at how well the run went adding that he felt really good with the ‘fun’ track layout straight away. Describing his car as maybe a little too easy to drive he said he will try to improve his corner speed in the next two practices, the final one being a longer 9-minute run. Suffering with a wisdom tooth that is causing him some discomfort, Bloomfield is without the crack pit crew of Adam Drake and Kevin Gahan, many attributing his victory last year to the Americans, and asked if he felt any extra pressure being the defending champion he said he was just treating the race like any other and that is ‘just to go out and do the best he can’.
Coming so close to the title last year after a great closing battle with Bloomfield, Kyosho star David Ronnefalk is very confident about the week ahead saying he is out to get ‘revenge for last year’. The 17-year-old Swede likes the fast flowing track, which he described as ‘really fun’ to drive, and is using today to ‘get used to the track again’. Classified 6th at the rain effected Warm-up Race, Ronnefalk is pleased that the weather for the entire event will be good meaning he can focus on his driving once they find a good base set-up. Asked what he felt was the key part of the track he said that being smooth was essential as it was easy to lose time if you go offline.
The man who lost his European title to Bloomfield last year when he finished 3rd overall in Austria, Mugen’s current World Champion Robert Batlle has to be one of the favorites for the event. The winner of the Warm-up Race, the Spaniard really likes the ‘fast European style’ track but added that not much in terms of what they learned at the Warm-up is the same now. Running pin tyres for his first run, the Procircuit driver said he is not sure whether or not he will run the slicks which where seen at the Warm-up although unlike then his tyre sponsor have come prepared with tyres that already have the pins ground down. Batlle contested the 2005 Euros here at Reims when he drove for Hobao but went out in the Semi Final when he lost a screw out of the steering knuckle while running inside the Top 3.
Mugen team-mate Lee Martin, who many are tipping as a strong contender this year, said after his first run that he is still playing around with set-up on his Proline shod MBX-7. The British driver who would love to add a 1:8 European title to his tally of electric European Offroad titles said matching the right tyre with the right insert is going to be so important. Asked about running slicks, Martin said the big problem is keeping the tyre legal. With the pins ground down the tyre is just above the 109mm limit but after running, especially a final, the tyre would be below that so he feels its best thinking longer term to try get a pin tyre combination that works well rather than going for a qualifying slick. Asked about the track he said while he doesn’t particularly like the triple double section, the landing of of the triple making it hard to set-up the buggy for the double, the rest of the track is really good.
Sharing the honour of winning the greatest number of European Championship with Daniel Reckward, 3-time back to back former champion Renaud Savoya is one of a super strong line up of French drivers who are sure to be contenders come Saturday afternoon. Just missing out on the podium last year in his debut season with Xray, the French driver has built a really strong relationship with the Slovakian manufacturer. Knowing the track well from the French Nationals, Savoya said while the French drivers will have some advantage from his first run this morning the track is nothing like any other time he has raced on it, something he said is possible due to the recent run of good weather. He said the big difference is that the inside line is very rocky and the outside very dusty, something he has not experience before. Describing the track as not very interesting or technical he said keeping your speed through the corners is very important. Again like all the drivers we spoke to the Sweep sponsored driver said tyre choice is going to be key.
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