Tamiya end Day 1 on top

Day 1 of the 2009 EFRA Electric Touring European Championships has been completed and it is the Tamiya team who top the time sheets.  The final practice of the day saw defending Champion Marc Rheinard set a new fastest run as both he and Jilles Groskamp broke into the 17 laps. Having had a run time issue in the third practice, Rheinard switched to SpeedPassion’s new Competition 3.0 motor for the final outing of the day and now plans to stick with the motor after posting the 17/5:17.356 run with plenty of power left afterwards.  The German will make a small change to the gearing but said overall he was confident that his run time shortfall was a one off. In terms of the car, the World Champion said it was a little loose but feels that is down to track conditions rather than set-up.

Not happy his TRF416 in the opening three practice runs, Groskamp was clearly delighted to break into the 17 laps for the first time.  The Dutch ace had made a number of small changes to his car since winning the Warm Up race, including the fitting of some prototype parts, but reverted to a more standard set-up and was much happier with the feeling.  The Speedpassion team driver, who is running the Competition 2.0 motor, said he went a little too advanced with the motor’s timing and the car started to dump just before the finish. Third fastest for the round despite spinning out twice was Viktor Wilck who managed the fastest lap of the day with an 18.049. Unlike his Tamiya teammates the Swede has opted for the more on the edge LTC-R bodyshell over the more consistent Speed 6.

Early practice pace setter Ronald Volker ended the day fourth after having trouble with getting the steering on his Yokomo to trim straight in the day’s final practice.  With the car creeping to the right, the German wasn’t able to fully push his LRP powered BD5 but said afterwards he felt the overall set-up was better than in the earlier runs.

Kyosho/Team Orion driver Christoffer Krapp was very happy with his run after a change to the rear toe on his Stallion had given him more steering.  The German teenager said the car is very near how he would like it and plans in the morning to try a different tyre additive to give him more options ahead of the first qualifier.

Driving a Losi JRXS-R, Lucas Urbain is making good use of his local track knowledge to post the sixth fastest time. Winning the most recent round of the French National Championships, Urbain lives just 40Km from the Mini-Circuit “Ville de Luxembourg” and admitted that he has done extensive testing here in preparation for this event. The Frenchman said his GM powered Losi is very easy to drive and he will focus on keeping his driving tidier over the latter half of the run. Seventh fastest was 2006 Champion Andy Moore but the Englishman is finding his Hot Bodies very loose and this is leading to a lack of confidence in his driving.  The Team Orion driver improved the Cyclone a little for the last run but is still finding it hard to drive. Next up was Schumacher’s Chris Grainger who said he could do with a little more steering on his Mi4. Another British driver inside the Top 10 was Team Associated’s Olly Jefferies who had been suffering with oversteer on his TC5 earlier in the day.  Tenth fastest was French Tamiya driver Loic Jasmin.

Elsewhere Elliot Harper was on for a good time until the steering on his Xray started intermittently locking fully to the right through the right hand corners.  The UK racer thinks the problem is down to a faulty servo which he has now replaced but as an extra safety measure he has also fitted a new set of crystals for tomorrow.

Drivers have two final practice rounds in the morning in which to get themselves sorted for the opening two qualification rounds that make up tomorrow’s timetable.  With 5 rounds of qualifying drivers with have their best two rounds determine the grids for Sunday’s finals.

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Volker setting pace in Practice

With three rounds of free practice completed here in Luxembourg it is last year’s Top Qualifier Ronald Volker who is setting the pace from reigning champion Marc Rheinard. The Yokomo driver recorded the fastest run time (16/5:00.987) in the second outing, and has also laid down the fastest lap (18.364) around the large circuit. Topping the timesheets again in the third session, with a slower run of 16/5:03.894, the German ran different shocks on his BD5 but found they made the car feel unstable and he will revert to the shocks used earlier for today’s fourth & final practice. Asked about run time the LRP driver, who is running a 3.5 motor, said it was close. For Rheinard run time was an unexpected problem in the third round with his car dumping on the final lap. The World Champion said in pre event testing his SpeedPassion powered Tamiya could easily make the full 5 minutes and is a little lost as to what could have brought on the problem.

Third fastest for the latest practice was young German star Yannic Pruemper. The Tamiya Junior team driver, who is relishing the Mini-Circuit “Ville de Luxembourg” layout, ran new tyres for the first time in the session and was very happy with the feeling of his car. Elliot Harper had the fourth fastest run after making changes to the rear end of his Xray T2 009 which made the rear a little looser. The British driver said he is playing around with the balance of the car as he searches for a good compromise between steering and traction. Having switched from a Nosram 3.5 motor to a 4.0, the World’s Finalist said the motor change gave the car a better feeling and he is now much happier with the car.

‘The best touring car I have ever driven’ was how Hupo Honigl described his Tamiya TRF416 after setting the fifth fastest time for third round. The multiple European electric off road champion said his car was perfect and he is very happy, and a little surprised, with his pace. The Austrian said he wont be touching a thing on his car ahead of the next run.  Leading French driver Lucas Urbain completed the Top 6 for the round.

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Electric Touring Euros underway in Luxembourg

It may be one of the smallest countries in Europe but Luxembourg is this week playing host to the biggest 1:10 Electric Touring Car event of the year, the EFRA European Championships, at the massive Mini-Circuit “Ville de Luxembourg”.  Overcast weather conditions have greeted the 140 plus competitors on today’s opening day which will see the drivers, who represent 22 nations, each get four 5-minute practice runs to learn one of the world most unique tracks with it Laguna Seca style corners and elevations.

Heading the entry is defending champion Marc Rheinard.  The factory Tamiya driver, who since winning the crown last year in Spain has added the World and Indoor European titles to his CV, is pretty confident going into the event having conducted a number of successful test days around the quick but technical track. Tamiya are the team to beat right now in touring cars and won the Warm Up race with Jilles Groskamp but they are not resting on their laurels with the TRF416 designer Kiyo Suzuki making the trip from Japan to support their four factory drivers here. Groskamp, who two weeks ago tied up his second Euro Touring Series title, is very hungry for his first EFRA European title having been a runner-up in the past. The Dutch ace is suffering from a cold but says once he starts driving its not a problem. Fresh from competing last week at the 1:10 nitro Euros in Gubbio, Italy, where he was racing for Serpent, Groskamp has been using his early runs to readjust his driving back to the style required for electric.

With little or no presence in Spain last year Yokomo are serious contenders now in Luxembourg. The Japanese company has aquired the services of 2007 Champion and last year’s Top Qualifier Ronald Volker. The German has already notched up a big win for his new team with victory at the Reedy Race in the US and is feeling pretty confident here with his BD5 and LRP combination and is being backed up by Robert Itoh and Umino from Yokomo have travelled to Luxembourg to support him. Also on the Yokomo team is Martin Hofer who showed at the ETS race in Apeldoorn the potential of the new car on asphalt.

2006 Champion Andy Moore described the track as ‘very cool’ but said it’s a lot harder to drive than it looks. Having built two fresh Hot Bodies Cyclones for the event, the former World Champion thinks it is going to be a very close race and making 5-minutes will be down to getting the car to get the most from the LRP controlled tyres. Finland’s Teemu Leino heads a very strong Xray team. The 2005 Champion, who has been a Euros finalist 10 times, likes the track and enjoyed a good pre event test here. Also strong for Xray will be European Junior Champion Elliot Harper and Sweden’s Alexander Hagberg who on Sunday finished second at the 1:10 nitro Euros.

Heading the Team Associated challenge is Juho Levanen. Runner-up to Volker at the Reedy Race, this is only the Finn’s second asphalt race of the year and having sampled the ‘cool’ track for the very first time this morning he feels maybe now he should have come here for pre event testing. Team-mate Christer Andersson did come for testing two weeks ago which he said went well. The 17-year-old, who has been enjoying a strong run recently claiming both the Finnish Touring Car and 4WD Off Road National titles, is aiming to make his first Euros A-Main this week but is concerned about run time, something he has not had to worry about back home where LiPo is permitted. The switch to LiPo has been a common talking point here this morning with many drivers hoping EFRA with adapt them for 2010.

Carrying the hopes of UK manufacturer Schumacher is Chris Grainger who currently leads the British championship with the Mi4. In Spain Grainger had to withdraw from the event due to illness but is today feeling fine and looking forward to driving on this ‘great track’. The multiple British Champion, who took part in the Warm Up race, said the circuit is a real challenge and very tough as there is no point in a lap where you can rest. 2008 Finalist Marc Fisher heads the Corally challenge along with Finland’s Simo Ahoniemi. Fisher’s GM electrics are known for their high end power and the German should be strong here but he aired caution about making run time, however the current cool condition should be a help.

Another former Champion competing here is Jonas Kaerup who is this year driving a Tamiya. His first asphalt race of the year the Danish driver had four days testing here which he said was made easy by the fact that Rheinard was in attendance and he just ran his set-up.

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