New pipe ruling keeps Sirio away

The Sirio factory team are noticeable absentees from this year’s 1:8 On Road Euros as the Italian manufacturer struggles to get its engines to work under the new 2008 EFRA pipe rulings. In an attempt to reduce noise levels, the sports European governing body introduced new specs for .21 exhausts for the 2008 season. The new pipes have reduced the noise but the design criteria has made it more difficult to tune engines as they now have a more critical sweet spot. Following the Warm-up race here in Valencia a number of manufacturer wrote to EFRA asking for the postponement of the new regs so as to give them more time to develop the new pipes but the ruling remains in place.

At the recent 1:8 Off Road Euros in Crete Sirio chief Andrea Rossi told Red RC they were experiencing problems with the new pipes and hinted that his line up of star drivers may have no choice but to sit out the Spanish event unless EFRA, to whom they had written, reconsidered its position. The team did not attend the Warm-up back in April for the same reason. In 1:8 Off Road the new pipe ruling has had a much lesser impact on engine tuning.

With the official Sirio team absent we will be without the talents of Francesco Tironi, winner of last month’s EFRA 1:10 Italian GP, and Dutch EP star Jilles Groskamp. It is unclear as to whether young Portuguese hot shot Bruno Coelho will race but so far the Mugen driver has not been seen at the track. Coelho’s father Cesar is one of the key organisers of the 1:10 200mm Worlds which take place in Portugal next month and it is understood important works to the Lisbon track have delayed their arrival here in Spain.

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