Ronnefalk successfully defends title

David Ronnefalk has successfully defended his 1:8 Offroad European Championship title with a convincing victory in Sand am Main. Having set the benchmark all week at the German event, the Kyosho star took an easy win over the Xray of Martin Wollanka but a mistake on the opening lap meant the Swede didn’t have it as easy as was expected. Making a mistake on the opening lap when on the run up the hill he landed his Orion powered MP9 on the track marker this allowed Darren Bloomfield to the front of the 1-hour main which also saw the Xray’s of Martin Bayer and Renaud Savoya lead for a time the 12-car field. After an entertaining opening 15-minutes Ronnefalk got back to the front and finding the composed form he has shown all week pulled clear to resume control. With first time finalist Wollanka securing a surprise second and his team-mate Renaud Savoya retiring from 3rd with a clutch bearing failure with 5-minutes to go the race for the final podium placing would be fought out by former Champions Darren Bloomfield and Robert Batlle. In the end it was Agama’s Bloomfield who came out on top with Batlle who found himself last at the end of the opening lap having to settle for fourth.

Delighted at being able to defend his title, becoming only the sixth driver in the championship’s 34 year history to do so, Ronnefalk said he made things a little more difficult than planned but in the end it all worked out alright. Landing on the track marker the 18-year-old said he was lucky to keep his buggy inside the track and after the error, which allowed Bloomfield to the front, he ‘pushed too hard’ in an attempt to get into the lead. At his first fuel stop he would loose time as he came in ‘too hot’ causing his Orion powered MP9’s rear wheel to hit the wall and go sideways. The stop was further delayed as the pit crew of fellow countryman Christoffer Svensson, who pitting on the same lap, confused the similarly coloured Kyoshos and picked up Ronnefalk’s buggy. Knowing he had the pace to win he said after the stop he just told himself to settle down and cut out the mistakes. Taking it ‘a little easier’ he said once he got to the front he was able to control the race although he said he almost got caught out by Wollanka. Thinking Bloomfield & Savoya were battling for second he said was gauging the race off them and coming up to lap the pair said he was happy to sit behind them not finding out until the last 10 minute when his pitcrew informed him that they were in fact battling for third. Running on a medium compound of AKA’s Catapult tyre he said coming in after around 5-minutes they worked really well over the extended race adding looking to the World Championships in Italy later this year he is really confident in the overall package he has with today’s victory endorsing that.

After a ‘really really bad start’ to the race having been pushed off the track by another buggy Wollanka was delighted to finish his firt Euros final second. The Austrian, who is World Champion in RC Racing sim VRC Pro, said after his opening lap dramas he just focused on driving his own smooth error free race adding he really enjoyed finding himself battling it out with the ‘absolute best divers’ half way into the race. Running an FX engine in his XB8, Juraj Hudy very happy with have both his car & engine creation on the podium, he said he started on a 9-minute fuel strategy but as his tyres got smaller his crew switched him to 7:30. Running Pro-Line’s Blockade tyre in X2 compound he said the tyre just go better as the race went on.

‘Drove shit in the middle of the race’, that was Bloomfield’s summary of the final. The 2012 champion looked early on as if he might be in for a repeat of the battle he had with Ronnefalk when he won his title two years ago but changing to a harder set-up he said as the race went on this lost him too much traction. Going up in shock oils after the Semi-final he said the conditions got hotter making it the wrong call. Only seven months into his contract with Agama he said to get a podium was great and had someone offered him a 3rd in the final he would have taken their hand off.

A slightly dejected Batlle said after his battery issue in the Semi final challenging for the win from 10th on the grid was always going to be a tall order on a track were overtaking is difficult. The Spaniard said he made a ‘perfect start’ but then got hit dropping him to the back of the field. Making his way up to fourth, which then became third with the demise of Savoya, Batlle would make a late mistake up the hill allowing Bloomfield to catch and pass him. With pair ‘latteraly touching’ on the main straight Batlle would get called for a Stop & Go penalty a call he felt was unwarranted. Setting the fastest lap of the final, he said his Novarossi powered MBX7 had the pace and had he started up front, P2 was on the cards until his ‘bad luck’ in the final 30-seconds of  the Semi, he said it would have been ‘another race’.

Another making his first European Championship final, Kyosho Germany team driver Carsten Keller described his fifth place finish as ‘perfect’. The 25-year-old said the beginning of the race went ‘pretty well’ as he had the speed to run with the lead pack but ‘two stupid mistakes’ would drop him back. Landing off the track and rejoining at a different point but waiting to allow Christopher Svensson go by so as to not gain an advantage he said he still got a Stop & Go penalty for cutting the track. The only German in the race he said he got great support from onlookers saying the many waving German flags was pretty special. Apart from his mistakes he said he couldn’t have looked for a better race paying particular thanks to his pitmen Marcel Guske, who finished 4th here in 2011, and Cristian Hahlen for their ‘great work’. Behind Keller the Top 6 was completed by the Mugen of Lee Martin.

While Wollanka ensured a repeat of Xray’s 2013 podium finish, at one point it looked like Xray was going to go one step further than they did in France. Starting from fifth on the grid Martin Bayer was a surprise early leader until he had a mistake that ended up putting team-mate Savoya on his roof. Unfortunately after 5-minutes Bayer said his LRP powered XB8 just lost everything in terms of traction getting worse and worse as the race went on leaving him struggling to keep it on four wheels as he struggled home to 11th.

Recovering from his tangle with Bayer, Savoya also took a turn at leading the final. The 3-time champion said that ‘while not enough to beat David the rhythm was there’ and he was just going easy towards the end happy to take third. Having fitted new bearings to his clutch of his Orion engine for the 60-minute final he said they appear to have ‘exploded due to overheating’ and after his bad luck we should start calling him ‘Mr. Minus 5-minutes’.

Main-Final Result
1.(1) David Ronnefalk – Kyosho/Orion – 122/60:03.290
2.(9) Martin Wollanka – Xray/FX – 122/60:24.622
3.(2) Darren Bloomfield – Agama/Bullitt – 121/60:19.154
4.(10)Robert Batlle – Mugen/Novarossi – 121/60:25.018
5.(7) Carsten Keller – Kysoho/Bullitt – 120/60:01.150
6.(8) Lee Martin – Mugen/Beat – 120/60:08.771
7.(12)Teemu Leino – HB/Novarossi – 120/60:26.142
8.(4) Elliott Boots – Kyosho/Reds Racing – 119/60:13.945
9.(6) Christoffer Svensson – Kyosho/OS Speed – 118/60:07.740
10.(11)Joseph Quagraine – JQ/Reds Racing – 117/60:29.054
11.(5)Martin Bayer – Xray/LRP – 116/60:12.956
12.(3)Renaud Savoya – Xray/Orion – 110/54:42.455

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