Day 1 Update
Very much a day for drivers to get settled in and get used to the rather high temperatures, Day 1 of the 2010 EFRA 1:8 Off Road European Championship here in Guarda, Portugal has come to a close. The capacity entry had just 25 minutes of track time with a 10-minute run in the morning followed by a longer 15 minute practice in afternoon. No official timing meant it was hard to gauge who was doing what but speaking to those expected to feature on the time sheets the majority said the day was just a chance to get into their groove for what lies ahead.
Defending Champion Renaud Savoya said he just tried a few small things on his RB powered Mugen feeling there was not enough run time today but admitted it was the same for everyone. The French ace believes tomorrow will be better and a lot more interesting.
The only thing Yannick Aigoin tried today was different tyres preferring to leave set up changes until tomorrow. Commenting on the track the Losi/Novarossi team driver said he doesn’t like the extra jumps saying ‘when you cant jump jumps that’s wrong’. Instead he is having to roll his 8ight over the new additions. Asked about the track surface the Frenchman said it had a lot less pole holes than he expected at the end of the day. Fellow Losi driver and 2009 podium finisher Martin Bayer declared himself happy with his first day. The Czech driver said his car was working well but like a lot of the drivers said everything is going to depend how the track holds up in the coming days.
2007 Champion Robert Batlle played around with the shocks on his Associated RC8 between runs, which improved the car but the Spaniard is finding it hard to run consistent lap times saying the different track surfaces make the grip levels very inconsistent, ‘One corner you turn in and the car reacts immediately and then at the next corner you turn in and it feels like you are waiting 2 seconds for something to happen’.
The winner of the Junior European Championship title for the past fours years but now too old to be eligible, Elliott Boots said he tried different diff oils but for him the main purpose of the day was to re-learn the track. The 17-year-old, who has former multiple British Champion David Crompton working on his Mugen, said the new jumps section is hard to get right as your want to go at them faster.
For new Mugen signing Borja Hernadez, the day didn’t get off to a good start as he managed just 3-laps in the first practice due to engine problems. Fixed for the afternoon run he said the MBX-6 felt good but feels there is room for improvement from both him and the car. Team Durango’s star new signing Hupo Honigl had a ‘shit’ day, the Austrian’s brakes getting stuck on in the first practice and his engine giving trouble in the second. In the Kyosho camp, Simon Willets said his MP9 felt alright but free practice is very different to racing. Young charger David Ronnefalk just used the day to learn the track as today was his first time to sample the circuit.
Another driver who spent the day learning the track was Italy’s Riccardo Rabitti. Making the Main last year, the Losi/Picco driver said the second practice was very good and he was able to find a good rhythm. Tomorrow he is confident he can fine tune his car and find the 3/10th he feels he needs to be a the top end of the time sheets.
Unfortunately for the RC press in Guarda the opening day was in terms of racing like trying to test without tyres as the internet at the track was down all day. As we left the track to head back to the hotel to file this update, engineers were still trying to fix the problem so hopefully tomorrow when things should start to get interesting on the track we will have internet so we can bring you all the latest news. Day 2’s schedule is for two time practice runs that will be used to reseed, after which drivers will have one final short practice in their new group order.
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