Tortorici takes Q3

Davide Tortorici has TQ’d the penultimate round of qualifying here at the Arena Offroad Meeting with a 7 lap run in 5:21.145. Having sent out a warning shot in Q2 when he took his Crono RS7 to the third fastest, the Italian improved on that time by almost three seconds to top Q3 from Austrian Kyosho driver Martin Karner and the Mugen of former World Championship finalist Matteo Dapporto. Tortorici was helped somewhat by a poor round for the all conquering Losi team with Yannick Aigoin managing only 7th, after a bad choice of set-up & tyres with Martin Bayer one place behind him. Bayer, who again set the fastest lap for the round with a 43.361, said his run was simply down to bad driving on his behalf.

Enjoying his best run of the day Borja Hernandez broke into the Top 10 for the first time taking his GS Racing CLX to the fourth fastest time with fellow countryman Richi Gomez next up. Gomez is struggling with his car weight which is way over the minimum and this is making it very difficult over jumps, a big hurdle on the US style track that the MRC Crew have prepared for the event.

Elliot Boots said his car was the best its been following a switch to the new Barcodes tyres from his new sponsor JConcepts and ended the round with the sixth fastest time. Having also lowered the angle of the shocks on his Mugen he believes standing them back up will further improve the feeling of the MBX-6. Behind Aigoin and Bayer it was Riccardo Rabitti and Fabio Boero that completed the Top 10.

In the third of the Truggy qualifiers Bayer broke his team-mate Aigoin’s run of TQs taking the round by just over a second from the Frenchman. The result means we will have to wait till the final qualifier in the morning to find out who will be this year’s Arena Offroad Meeting Top Qualifier in both the Truggies and Buggies. Kyosho UK team driver Simon Willetts was third fastest for the round.

In the Brushless class pre-event favourite Riccardo Rabitti will line up on pole position with his LRP powered Losi for the A final which will be run here at the ‘Arena of Cowboys’ tonight over three 10 minute legs.

Buggy Top 16 after 3 of 4 rounds
1. Yannick Aigoin (FR) – Losi/Novarossi – 398 pts
2. Martin Bayer (CZ) – Losi/Novarossi – 398
3. Davide Tortorici (IT) – Crono/OS – 397
4. Martin Karner (A) – Kyosho/Team Orion – 394
5. Riccardo Rabitti (IT) – Losi/Sirio – 392
6. Richi Gomez (ES) – Hong Nor/Reds – 391
7. Elliot Boots (UK) – Mugen/RB – 389
8. Borja Hernandez (ES) – GS Racing/RB – 388
9. Matteo Dapporto (IT) – Mugen/Reds – 387
10.Simon Willetts (UK) – Kyosho/Team Orion – 380
11.Alex Bayer (CZ) – Losi/Novarossi – 379
12.Alessandro Magi (IT) – Mugen/SM – 379
13.Fabio Boero (IT) – Mugen/SM – 379
14.Riccardo Perin (IT) – Xray/Novarossi – 374
15.Iuri Grassi (IT) – Mugen/SM – 371
16.Eghlis Gallo – Crono/OS – 371

Truggy Top 16 after 3 of 4 rounds
1. Yannick Aigoin (FR) – Losi/Novarossi – 400 pts
2. Martin Bayer (CZ) – Losi/Novarossi – 398
3. Alessandro Magi (IT) – Mugen/SM – 395
4. Simon Willets (UK) – Kyosho/Team Orion – 394
5. Fabio Boero (IT) – Mugen/SM – 391
6. Sebastien Mutel (FR) – Kyosho/Novarossi – 390
7. Frank Lemke (D) – Kyosho/Team Orion – 388
8. Francesco Liggieri (IT) – Xray/OS – 384
9. Remi Riel (FR) – Mugen/GRP – 383
10.Marco Di Sacco (IT) – Mugen/Picco – 381
11.Michel Pedri (IT) – Losi/OS – 380
12.Federico De Marco (IT) – Mugen/Sirio – 378
13.Gerd Pfeifer (A) – Associated/Reedy – 378
14.Rudi Traxler (A) – Associated/Novarossi – 374
15.Salvatore Caserta (IT) – Mugen/OS – 374
16.Richy Ferraro (IT) – Mugen/AXE – 373

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Aigoin ups Arena pace

The second round of qualifying for the Arena Offroad Meeting has been completed with Yannick Aigoin laying down a super fast buggy run of 7-laps in 5:07.797 to finish 10 seconds clear of his nearest rival Losi team-mate Martin Bayer. The French ace said a change of shock pistons and oil resulted in an almost perfect car for the run and he was happy to be able to knock 13 seconds off his Heat 1 time. Despite the huge margin Aigoin plans to try a few small set-up changes for the third and final heat of the day. In Truggy Aigoin once again set the pace bettering his round 1 time by just over a second, again ahead of Bayer.

For his buggy run Bayer switched to Losi Kingpin Red tyres which he found to work much better than expected given their harder compound compared with the Crimefigher M3 he used to top the opening qualifier. Once again Bayer set the fastest lap for the round with a 43.086 which was a second quicker than that set in Q1. In Truggy, like his team-mate Aigoin, he ran the same set-up as the morning but once again he found the ‘crazy’ traffic to be his biggest problem.

A change of tyres transformed the pace of former 2 time European Champion Davide Tortorici in the second qualifier. The former factory Crono team driver ran the same set-up on his OS powered RS7 but switched from AKA’s Gridiron tyre to iBeam and this allowed the Italian to post the third fastest time of 7 laps in 5:24.044. Kyosho’s Martin Karner was fourth fastest having made some changes to the suspension on his Orion powered MP9. Adrien Bertin is assisting Karner with his set-up and feels the very consistent Austrian can make further improvements with more suspension tweaks. Karner is also racing a Castle Creations powered MP9 in the brushless class setting the 2nd fastest time for their third qualifier.

Fifth fastest for the round was Sirio team driver Ricardo Rabitti but he could have claimed a the top 2 time but for a costly driver error. The Italian, who is running in the top heat, had been heading Martin Bayer but lost around 6 seconds with a mistake that was his own doing. Rabitti’s Brushless run was a troubled one as his LRP powered 8ight failed to go at the start. A quick check of the wiring saw the car come to life again and he was able to record the fastest lap enroute to fourth behind the Kyosho’s of Fabrizio Taghesi & Karner and the Mugen of Fabio Boero.  A faulty sensor wire is suspected to have been the problem and a new one has been fitted for the next heat.

Completing the Top 6 for the buggy class was Elliot Boots who continues to be top Mugen driver. The young Englishman suffered from a lack of grip on his second run and now plans to try for the penultimate qualifier JConcepts new Barcodes tyre, a pattern he has never used before. Top Xray with the seventh fastest time was Riccardo Perin followed by the Hong Nor of Richi Gomez with Alex Bayer, younger brother of Martin, and Simon Willets completing the Top 10.

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Losi rule the Ranch in opening qualifier

Team Losi have got off to a near perfect start in qualifying here at the Arena Offroad Meeting in Italy as their team drivers set the pace in all categories. In Buggy it is Martin Bayer who set was fastest in the first qualifier recording 7 laps in 5:19.794 to head a Losi 1-2-3 from team-mates Yannick Aigoin, who is setting the pace in Truggy, and Brushless pacesetter Ricardo Rabitti.

Running Proline Crimefighter M3 tyres on his Novarossi powered 8ight, Bayer was much happier with his car today and happy to open qualifying with a TQ run. Also running in Truggy where he set the fourth fastest time this morning, the Czech ace said his 8ight T felt really good but with 16 cars in a heat the big problem was traffic.

Aigoin found his buggy too aggressive in the opening heat and will make a number of changes for the second heat to try and make it easier to drive. Setting the pace in Truggy with a 7 lap run in 5:13.907, the French driver was much happier today with his 8ight T after a difficult time yesterday. Having not raced the car for 6 months he was much happier with his driving today and this combined with some overnight set-up changes had produced a better all round package this morning.

Local hero Rabitti was pleased with the start to his morning. The Italian National Champion is benefiting from running in both Buggy categories as he can get a better feel for the changing track conditions. With three qualifiers today for 1:8 nitro, Rabitti has already enjoyed 2 of his 4 qualifiers with his Brushless car and he reports that traction was much higher for the second. Running Crimefighters in the first two Brushless heats to set a best time of 10 laps in 7:32.562, he will try either Holeshot or Bowtie for the third heat and based on this will then decide on which tyres to use for his nitro run.

Closest challenger to the Losi team this morning was Hong Nor’s Richi Gomez who set the fourth fastest time. Making his final appearance for the manufacturer, the quick Spaniard was pleased with the run but feels he can find a lot more time over the jumps. Top Mugen was young British talent Elliot Boots. Despite a costly off which cost him around 6 seconds when his RB powered MBX-6 spun out on the main straight he took fifth for the round. Running JConcepts Crossbow Blue tyres, the current European Junior Champion is happy with his set-up and feels more time will come as he continues to get used to the track. Kyosho’s Martin Karner completed the Top 6 for the Buggy class and was Rabitti’s closed challenger in Brushless with the second fastest time there.

Behind Aigoin in the Truggies after the opening qualifier it is Mugen driver Alessandro Magi and Kyosho’s Simon Willets that complete the Top 3. Willets was pleased with opening run but said he is still having to get used to the grip levels which are a lot lower than what he used to back home in the UK. Making his debut with Team Orion engines he’s very happy with the new power plant and in particular the fuel economy. Talking with Kyosho representatives after his run the British driver has been advised to run heavier diff oils for his next outing.

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Rabitti top seed for qualifiers

Day 1 of the 2009 Arena Offroad Meeting has been completed here in Italy with drivers each getting two practice sessions in which to learn the track and set a time for a reseed of the heats for qualifying.  Based on a driver’s three best consecutive laps it was Italy’s own National Champion Ricardo Rabitti that will carry the No.1 in the top heat tomorrow for both the nitro and brushless buggy categories.  Driving Losi 8ight chassis’ the European finalist managed a best time of 2.16.966 in the nitro class.  Behind him it was former Austrian Champion Martin Karner on 2.18.358 with Italian Matteo Dapporto third for Mugen. Former back to back European Champion Davide Tortorici was fourth ahead of Carlo Jacopini with Spain’s Borja Hernandez completing the top 6.  Managing only the 13th fastest time Yannick Aigoin with line up in the second fastest heat.

Favourite for the 1:8 Brushless Buggy win, Rabitti did his fastest three laps in 2:24.011 to top fellow countryman Fabrizio Teghesi who managed 2:27.363 with his Kyosho.  Karner completed the Top 3 with Mugen’s Fabio Boero fourth.  Tomorrow is a busy day for the Brushless drivers as they have four rounds of qualifying, a Semi and triple A-Main finals to complete.

In the Truggy class Martin Bayer topped the reseed from Losi/Novarossi team-mate Yannick Aigoin.  Setting a time of 2:15.763, the Czech ace was some 4.5 seconds faster than Aigoin but the French ace has a good excuse in that he hasn’t driven his 8ight T for almost six months.  Completing the Top 3 was Kyosho UK driver Simon Willets who is making his debut with Team Orion engines here.

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Offroaders go to the Rodeo Italian style

Normally a Rodeo Ring is where a cowboy puts on an exhibition of his skills at rounding up cattle but this weekend the ‘Arena of Cowboys’ will play host to a very different form of taming the wild as some of Europe’s best r/c drivers exhibit their skills at controlling 1:8 Offroad cars. Situated on the outskirts of Voghera, which is around one hours drive south of Milan, the organisers of the Arena Offroad Meeting have created a fantastic US style dirt track and after the opening practice drivers are full of praise for the large indoor track.

The biggest off road meeting on the Italian race calendar, this year is only the second running of the event indoors which was won last year by Austrian off road star Hupo Honigl.  Unfortunately the LRP team driver isn’t here to defend his title but the success of the inaugural indoor ‘Offroad Meeting’ has meant a number of the sports big names have made the trip to Italy to experience the much talked about track for themselves.

While the big focus is on winning Sunday’s Main final and lifting the 2009 Arena Offroad Meeting title there is a lot of excitement among the top drivers about the ‘Race of Champions’.  Based on qualifying for the main event, the Top 16 drivers will line up for this special event on Saturday night.  With a reversed starting grid, the race will see the last placed driver eliminated after 5-minutes and every 2-minutes there after until just three remain when they will have a further five minutes to try stake their claim on the ROC trophy.

Fresh from his Pierrefeu GP win Yannick Aigoin is making his first appearance at the indoor event along with his Losi/Novarossi team mate Martin Bayer.  Competing in both buggy and truggy, the pair described the track as very technical but former European Champion Aigoin said the American style of the track should really suit the 8ight and if they dont get a good result it wont be the fault of the car.  Afterwards he said he hoped he would not regret that statement come Sunday evening.

Current European Junior Champion Elliot Boots is another on his first visit to the Arena and after just one practice run he feels this event could very well become a regular fixture on his annual schedule. The young British driver said the size of the track is very impressive and he is confident of putting in a good performance with his RB powered Mugen.

Having made the trip from Spain, Borja Hernandez is here representing GS Racing.  Running the CLX fitted with BBF diffs all round, the Spanish Championship Runner-Up believes his package will be strong this weekend.  Another leading Spaniard here is Richi Gomez who has informed us that this will be his final outing for Hong Nor.  Gomez, who is running Reds Racing engines, has a yet to be announced chassis deal in place for 2010 but this weekend is focused on ending his relationship with Hong Nor, with whom he claimed a podium finish at the 2008 Euros, on a high.

Italian National Champion Riccardo Rabitti has to be one of the best home hopes.  The race is very much a family affair as both his brothers Stefano and Davide, the guys behind bodyshell design/painting company Bitty Designs, are also racing in the event.  Riccardo is also competing in the new 1:8 Brushless class and is one of the favourites having finished runner up at the similar Neo race earlier this year.

‘I wish I could drive myself’, was Adrien Bertin’s reply when asked about the track.  The man responsible for the Team Orion engine program is here to support new Kyosho/Team Orion signings Simon Willets from the UK and up & coming Italian Stefano Cantoni. The accomplished all round racer was full of praise for the track and thinks its US style would really have suited him but he will have to be content with being an onlooker, for this year anyway.

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