July 7, 2009

New in the pits – Part 1

Wandering around the pit area we came across a number of new items on show starting with this modified LRP S8 BX. Spotted immediately is the new shape bodyshell that mounts the cockpit further forward for better airflow around the engine and rear wing and gives more space around the airfilter. This body will be released soon, but the car also features a number of new prototype parts that the LRP team are testing.

The biggest change being the new rear lower wishbones that, combined with the new lower bracket, gives the car less active caster than the standard kit version. The car also sports a new braking system that they are trying out, which has a larger brake piston for better braking. Finally they have mounted the RX battery to the outside front of the car for a change to the overall chassis balance. Track time will show whether these changes will have a positive effect on the car’s handling around this track.

Other new items include the previously mentioned Tourex X500 tires, which have been specially designed for this track and will take to the track for the first time later today. For team drivers only, RB Products have their new 45% nitro mix here and will be running it with a view to releasing the blend in the near future. More new products later.

View our event image gallery here.

July 7, 2009

Sun shines on off road stars in Austria – for now!

The top off road drivers from across Europe are arriving to a sunny track here in Austria for the opening day of action at the 2009 EFRA 1:8 Off Road European Championships, but predictions are that things are going to get muddy for the rest of the week. Race organisers had a busy morning pumping the heavy overnight rain off the huge covers that have been in place for the last few days to protect the dirt track from what is turning out to be one of the Austria’s wettest Summers. Unfortunately the rain is set to return tonight and continue for much of the week.

Heading the entry here in Wolbling is defending champion Renaud Savoya. Having improved his result in this event by one position each year since taking fourth in 2005, the French ace can’t continue that trend this year but his current form gives him a real chance of becoming the first driver since David Tortorici in 2005 to successfully defend his Euro title. Currently leading his home National Championship, one of the toughest in Europe, Savoya says his Mugen/RB package works well here but the forecast wet conditions could make it a real lottery as the water can cause so much to go wrong with the cars. Asked who he felt would be his closest rival, the Worlds podium finisher said it would be all the usual candidates but singled out fellow Mugen/RB driver Elliot Boots as one to watch.

16 year old Boots, the defending European Junior Champion, has set himself the goal of making the Main final come Saturday but the English driver’s name is coming up in the predictions being made by many of the industries best known figures. The teenager was very fast here during the warm-up race and as he put it himself, ‘coming from England we are well used to racing in the rain’.

Drivers are still arriving at the track and once they have got their pit areas set up we will start to bring your their thoughts on the week ahead including that of the 2006 Champion and the Warm-up race winner here in Austria Yannick Aigoin.  Our coverage of the 1:8 Off Road Euros is brought to you with the support from Team Orion, Mugen Seiki, LRP and Kyosho and will continue with regular daily updates right through till Saturday evening when one of the 180 entrants will be crowned 2009 Champion.

View our event image gallery here.

July 24, 2008

Fantini just misses out on 18 lapper

Fantini just misses out on 18 lapper

Massimo Fantini just missed out on the first 18 lap run as he took advantage of cooling temperatures in the final run of Day 4 of the 2008 EFRA European Championships. The Italian Serpent driver who has been quick from the start of the event completed 17 laps in 5:00.948 to top the time sheets from Robert Pietsch. Fantini was shown on the timing screens to be on target to do 18 laps but over the final lap his pace dropped and he just missed out.

Pietsch who ran out of fuel in his first run was very pleased to be second fastest and even happier with the amount of fuel left in the tank of his Novarossi powered Shepherd Velox. Michael Salven, who topped the time sheets first time round, improved his time but dropped to third. The German factory Serpent driver said his car felt much faster but he was dissappointed with the time as he thought it would be much better than the 9/10th of a second improvement he actually made.

Mark Green had the opposite to say when informed he was fourth replying with a rather shocked ‘Really’. The British Champion said the car felt slow but was easy to drive and he was surprised but really happy to set such a time.

Dario Balestri

Alberto Picco claimed the fifth fastest time but was critical of the heat structure which is resulting in much unnecessary car damage. Pointing to a very dejected Adrien Bertin, who collected another car in his run, the Italian said, ‘He is a World Champion and his car is broken not because he is a bad driver but because of the difference in speed between the drivers is too big. The practice runs should have been sorted based on EFRA’s Ranking for A drivers, that way we can concentrate on driving at 100% instead of having to avoid slower drivers. Its not fair on any of the drivers’. Dario Balestri also fell victim to the big differences between driver speeds and was quick to let race officials know his thoughts as his Motonica was lifted off the track less a front corner. Asked about his car former World Champion Picco said he was quite happy and while the lower temperatures had improved run time it was still very close.

Completing the Top 6 was Italy’s Nicola Marrone ahead of fellow countrymen Andrea Pirani, who failed to improve on his earlier time, while current World & European Champion Lamberto Collari apppears to have gotten his Kyosho working much better now.

Another racer failing to improve his time was Daniele Ielasi, saying his clutch was not set correctly but he was not worried as tomorrow is the race, referring to the first qualifying heat tomorrow evening.

Tomorrow will start off with two more timed practice runs, which are being seeded based on the two timed runs from today, before we get down to the serious business of qualifying with one round scheduled to start at 15:30 local time.

View our image gallery here.

July 7, 2008

1/8th Buggy Euros – Full gallery online

1/8th Buggy Euros - Complete gallery online

As a wrap up to our coverage from the European 1/8th scale buggy Championships, which was brought to you thanks to Kyosho and LRP, we have now added 70 new images to our events gallery. Newly added are photos from all the finalists, action from the main final and the prize ceremony celebrations as well as close ups of the winning Mugen MBX5R of newly crowned European Champion Renaud Savoya.

Check out our event image gallery here.

July 5, 2008

Savoya is 2008 European Champion

Savoya is 2008 European Champion

French Mugen racer Renaud Savoya capped off a dominant performance at the European Championships in Crete by taking the European title ahead of former Champion Robert Batlle. The Spanish driver had taken the lead early in the race and pulled out a considerable lead, but a broken rear arm with 15 minutes to go meant that Savoya could come back in the late part of the race, and take the lead from the crippled Hobao driver with just over 10 minutes to go, and never looked back. Batlle ended the race in 2nd, only a few seconds behind, while new HongNor signing Richi Gomez from Spain rounded out the top 3.

The new European Champion commented following the race that ‘It was a very difficult race. At the start I saw Batlle pulling away and I made some mistakes. I think my tyres were better than his GRPs and I was faster, but his car broke and I was able to pass him for the win. I think if Batlle’s car did not break he would have won’. Savoya, who was on a different fuel strategy, had to make less stops than the defending Champion. Savoya believes the win will be good for his confidence ahead of the Worlds Warm Up race in two weeks time.

A clearly gutted Batlle, who had victory snatched away from him in the dying moments of the race, said ‘The car was really good and I had the pace to win but the rear arm broke. The car was then a struggle and I couldn’t hold onto the lead’. Batlle’s rear arm broke with 15 minutes to go but the Spaniard was not sure where or how it happened.

Third placed Richi Gomez was delighted with his Hong Nor debut ‘We only got the car last week and this was our first race so I am very very happy to finish on the podium. The car and engine worked really well.’ Fellow Spaniard Borja Hernandez was on for a podium placing but his receiver battery broke, losing him a lot of time, but the Spaniard admitted he did not have the pace to stick with Savoya or Batlle.

Jon Hazlewood, driving the only Xray in the final was pleased with fourth but said the heat was a struggle and his only drama in the race was an engine cut. Another Spaniard Miguel Almagro, driving a Mugen, had come up from the 1/8 final and was obviously delighted with 5th. He had a good race, and except for one engine cut in the pitlane as he came in for fuel, the rest of the race was pretty uneventful.

Finishing in 6th spot was LRP S8-BX racer Hupo Honigl, who lost a front shock absorber during the race, which his mechanics changed, only to then lose one on the rear. The Austrian racer said his car was the best it was all week and that fourth would have been a good finish, but it wasn’t to be. Former World and European Champion Daniel Reckward suffered a broken rear arm while running third.  His Kyosho team managed to fix the MP777, which the German said was working really good but the time lost meant he only finished 10th.

Another racer to run into problems, while in a good position, was Associated racer Neil Cragg, who saw his back pressure pipe split that caused his engine to run lean and with that fixed he then had to retire when his receiver battery broke.

Although just missing out on making the final, young British racer Elliot Boots claimed the Junior European title, the 15 year old Team Associated racer finishing in 20th overall.

European Championship podium

Final standings (unofficial)
1. SAVOYA Renaud – 88 Laps in 01:00:01.434 (Mugen MBX5)
2. BATLLE Robert – 87 Laps in 59:25.638 (Hobao Hyper 8.5)
3. GOMEZ MALAGON Richi – 86 Laps in 01:00:34.825 (HongNor)
4. HAZLEWOOD Jon – 85 Laps in 01:00:24.298 (Xray XB808)
5. ALMAGRO Miguel Angel – 84 01:00:31.698 (Mugen MBX5)
6. HoNIGL Hubert – 83 Laps in 01:00:29.816 (LRP S8-BX)
7. HERNANDEZ Borja – 81 Laps in 01:00:15.163 (Hobao Hyper 8.5)
8. LUIS Rodrigo – 80 Laps in 01:00:21.792 (HongNor)
9. BAYER Martin – 77 Laps in 01:00:02.935 (Losi 8ight)
10. RECKWARD Daniel – 73 Laps in 01:00:33.522 (Kyosho MP777)
11. CRAGG Neil – 68 Laps in 49:05.507 (Associated RC8)
12. PERIN Riccardo – 59 Laps in 51:15.366 (Mugen MBX5)

Complete final results can be found here.

A big thank you to our Sponsors Kyosho and LRP, without whom our coverage would not be possible.

More photos to follow in our image gallery tomorrow, our reporter needs to get out of the sun and cool off first.

July 5, 2008

Final is GO in Crete – Live Coverage

Top 12 finalists

Start – The Main Final is under way with Savoya the early leader from Batlle.
7 minutes – Batlle currently fastest driver on the track.
10 minutes – Batlle leads from Savoya by 6 seconds – Reckward third. Perin has hit trouble.
14 minutes – Savoya makes mistake on back straight allowing Reckward into 2nd. Batlle extends lead to 10 secs.
19 minutes – Battle just broke lap record now leading by 15 sec from Savoya who is back up to 2nd – Reckward third, Hernandez 4th, Gomez 5th, Halzewood 6th.
25 minutes – Batlle from Savoya by 13 seconds. Reckward is 3rd, now a lap down.
26 minutes – Batlle, Savoya, Reckward, Hernandez, Gomez, Hazlewood, Hupo, Bayer, Alamagro, Cragg, Luis, Perin. – All cars still running.
30 minutes – Still Batlle from Savoya by 15 secs. Hernandez now 3rd and Gomez 4th. Reckward in trouble.
33 minutes – Places still remain the same at the front.
45 minutes – Batlle leading by just 2 seconds form Savoya who appears to be on a different fuel strategy.
49 minutes – Savoya takes the lead. Hernandez has hit trouble.
50 minutes – Gomez moves up to 3rd following the problems of Hernandez.
51 minutes – Savoya extends lead to 5 seconds from Batlle.
52 minutes – Running order – Savoya, Batlle, Gomez, Hazlewood, Hupo, Alamagro, Hernandez, Bayer, Luis, Cragg, Reckward, Perin (out).
56 minutes – Savoya looks set to take win from Batlle, Gomez safe in third from Halzewood.
59 minutes – Savoya 5 seconds clear.
Finish – Savoya is the 2008 European 1/8th scale buggy Champion from Batlle in 2nd. Richi Gomez 3rd.

 Renaud Savoya is 2008 European Champion

Final standings (unofficial)
1. SAVOYA Renaud – 88 Laps in 01:00:01.434 (Mugen MBX5)
2. BATLLE Robert – 87 Laps in 59:25.638 (Hobao Hyper 8.5)
3. GOMEZ MALAGON Richi – 86 Laps in 01:00:34.825 (HongNor)
4. HAZLEWOOD Jon – 85 Laps in 01:00:24.298 (Xray XB808)
5. ALMAGRO Miguel Angel – 84 01:00:31.698 (Mugen MBX5)
6. HoNIGL Hubert – 83 Laps in 01:00:29.816 (LRP S8-BX)
7. HERNANDEZ Borja – 81 Laps in 01:00:15.163 (Hobao Hyper 8.5)
8. LUIS Rodrigo – 80 Laps in 01:00:21.792 (HongNor)
9. BAYER Martin – 77 Laps in 01:00:02.935 (Losi 8ight)
10. RECKWARD Daniel – 73 Laps in 01:00:33.522 (Kyosho MP777)
11. CRAGG Neil – 68 Laps in 49:05.507 (Associated RC8)
12. PERIN Riccardo – 59 Laps in 51:15.366 (Mugen MBX5)