July 1, 2008

Final countdown under way to ’08 Euros

IMC Track

The final countdown is under way here in Crete for the start of the 2008 EFRA European 1:8 Off Road Championship with the sunshine beating down on the IMC track.

European Champion Robert Battle

The whose who of European off road are here and they are all looking to get their hands on the title currently held by Robert Battle. The young Spaniard is looking forward to the challenge of trying to retain his crown here on the Greek Island but is a little concerned over the small pebbles coming through the track surface. A concern raised by many of the drivers here. In terms of new parts on his GRP Hobao a slighted revised body shell is the only significant change.

The biggest news here is the all new Serpent prototype car that Joern Nuermann is running. The German who has tested the car already and says it a major step forward on the previous prototype and appears very confident that it will show well here. Unfortunately the car is being kept under wraps for the moment.

LRP S8BX of Hupo Honigl

Other product news from around the pits includes new big bore shock from LRP which are being run on Hubert Honigl car and leading Mugen driver Daniel Vega is trying some lightweight parts on his Mugen. News from the Kyosho team is that they will stick with the tried and trusted MP777. No MP9 will run as the car that won the recent Kyosho Masters was the C prototype version of the new car with a few small changes planned for the production model.

The first free practice run is due to get underway in just under an hour after which we will bring you the drivers first impression of the track as they settle themselves into the event.

Check out our event image gallery here.

July 1, 2008

1/8th scale Buggy Europeans – Live

European 1/8th scale Buggy Champs - Live

The best 1/8th scale buggy drivers in Europe are converging on the Greek island of Crete this week to battle it out on the fast and tricky IMC Club track in Iraklio and see who will become the 2008 European Champion. Robert Batlle will be of course be there to defend his crown, won last year in France, and he is up against some strong competition with the top factory teams pulling out all the stops to try and wrestle the title away from the Spanish Hobao driver. Red RC reporter Oisin O’Briain will be present all week reporting live trackside, bringing you our usual blend of quality reporting, photographs and interviews from this exciting event. Baring any last minute hiccups, the reporting will begin Tuesday afternoon and carry through to Saturday’s main final. We would like to take this opportunity to thank our sponsors for the event, Kyosho and LRP, without whose support this would not be possible.