July 22, 2008

Drivers still focussing on Run time

Valencia track Tuesday

With no official times to work off it’s hard to tell who is quickest, but looking on the track and talking to drivers its clear that the Shepherd team of Pietsch, Schaefer and Spanish racer Carlos Peracho are quick, while for Serpent its Salven who is still turning fast laps along with Mark Green and Oscar Cabezas. For Mugen, Rick V is doing some very fast laps as is Motonica team driver Dario Balestri. A lot of the top guys, such as the Italians, that you would normally expect to be quick are still working on choice of body and engine pipe combination before focusing on putting in really quick times.

Merlin fuel cans

It is precisely that search for time that has lead some racers to try fuel with a lower nitro content, with some drivers trying both 20% and even in some case 16%. With Spanish fuel firm Merlin present trackside to support their drivers, it seems that those racers using their fuel are the only ones able to try this. Merlin team driver Oscar Cabezas, who tried the 20% mixture, believes there is little or no noticable power difference and he did get longer run time, but for him personally there is still some run time needing to be found.

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July 22, 2008

Euros 08 – New in the Pits

Back pressure adjustment

While the action on the track is heating up as the drivers finalize their setups, we took a look through the pits to see what was new here at the event. Most interesting thing being tried is this back pressure adjustment needle on the car of Massimo Fantini. Mounted in the pressure line, it can be adjusted to best suit the present conditions and is currently being tested as a way to help conserve fuel. As always at gas races conserving fuel is super important and other racers are trying similar things, with many of the front runners adopting the CRF Constant pressure device in an attempt to make the 5 minutes.

Lightened Collari axles

Also new, and spotted on the Kyosho Evolva M3 of Alberto Picco, are these Collari made lightened spring steel axles that are designed to be used together with wheel nuts to keep the wheels perfectly true. Available for both the front and rear of the car, they have been lightened through the milling of small grooves around the outside of the outer edge.

Serpent fuel tank

Another interesting thing to note is that a lot of the Kyosho Evolva M3 racers are running with a different fuel tank to the standard version. It seems the Serpent tank is the most popular and helps cure the fuel pick up problems that the original tank apparantely suffers from.

Steel Battery plate

New on the bench of Adrien Bertin are some new optional parts for the Evolva M3, some like the aluminium front upper suspension arm brackets we have seen before, but others like this steel battery plate are new and similar to versions on other cars, adding weight to this optimal place on the car.

Matrix disk wheel

Finally, for now, the front disks that come with the Matrix tires are in use by factory Kyosho racers Ilia Van Gastel and Adrien Bertin. Said to make the turn into the corner smoother, they remain as a seperate disk over the spoked wheel to retain the flex benefits of such a wheel combined with the better aerodynamics of the disk.

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July 22, 2008

Europeans in Valencia gets underway

European 1/8th Valencia underway

The European 1/8th scale circuit Championships are in full swing as the competitors go into their 2nd day of practice here in Valencia. The weather is very hot and humid and is causing more problems for the drivers than for the machinery as everyone tries to stay in the shade, even at this early stage in the day. All the top names are here, including current World and defending European Champion Lamberto Collari as well as the other usual supects made up of many previous National and International Champions.

European 1/8th Valencia underway

So far the racers have been very happy with the track, a mix of high speed corners, flat out on and off the main straight, as well as slower 180 degree bends that test the car under braking and a tricky kink just left of the drivers stand where a lot of time can be won and lost. The traction is high and the kerbs are low, so the drivers have a wide sweet spot and they are presently trying the find the quickest way around. Racers that were fast yesterday were EFRA GP winner Robert Pietsch and his Shepherd team mate Patrick Schaefer, local ace Oscar Cabezas, Michael Salven who is on his first visit to the track and World Vice Champion Andrea Cristiani all racing Serpent. Practice is still underway so we will keep you posted throughout the day.

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January 13, 2008

Viktor Wilck takes the Mod title

Modified Class Podium

Viktor Wilck has won the modified class here at the DHI Cup after a great run in the 3rd and last leg of the A-final. Quicker than Teemu Leino from the start, he began to hound the Xray racer until they actually hit before both continuing. Shortly after the Finnish racer made a mistake going onto the straight, rolling over the dots and causing his body to stick up over the wheel. Once this happened Wilck was able to pull out a commanding lead and this also allowed Hagberg, Volker and Graversen through. Early in the race it was Groskamp in 3rd, however a problem later on in the race meant he retired, as did Leino, before the end of the race. This 2nd final win gave Wilck the overall title and left Leino in 2nd, while Graversen capped off a great race with a 3rd spot. Viktor had the following to say about his performance, “I’m really pleased to take my first big international win at such a big. I think with the new car we have found a really good set-up and I think it has more to come for the future. It was very close between me a Teemu but in the end I had a slightly faster car.”

A Final Modified – Leg 3 Result
1. (2) Viktor Wilck – 19L 310.29
2. (8) Alexander Hagberg – 19L 313.01
3. (10)Ronald Volker – 19L 313.98
4. (3) Steen Graversen – 19L 314.83
5. (9) Marc Rheinard – 19L 315.92
6. (6) Juho Levanen – 18L 305.92
7. (1) Teemu Leino – 17L 289.25
8. (7) Martin Hudy – 17L 305.96
9. (4) Jilles Groskamp – 9L 227.55
10.(5) Andy Moore – 4L 90.95

A Main Final Standings
(best 2 of 3 Results to count)
1. Viktor Wilck – 20pts
2. Teemu Leino – 17pts
3. Steen Graversen – 16pts
4. Ronald Volker – 16pts
5. Alexander Hagberg – 15pts
6. Marc Rheinard – 14pts
7. Juho Levanen – 13pts
8. Jilles Groskamp – 7pts
9. Martin Hudy – 7pts
10.Andy Moore – 5pts

Stock Podium

In the stock class it was Jimmy Maddison that won again in round 3 stamping his authority on the Stock class at this years event. Winning the final round by less than a second he had a bigger gap but a small mistake caused him to drop back but he was able to compose himself and take the win from Meik Niemann and Christoph Thiele. Jimmy was understandably delighted with his performance stating “The car was fantastic. I really wanted to win this one and while it might have looked easy believe me it was hard work.”

A Final Stock – Leg 3 Result
1. (2) Jimmy Maddison – 17L 307.90
2. (6) Meik Niemann – 17L 308.52
3. (1) Christoph Thiele – 17L 309.58
4. (4) Florian Ring – 17L 310.38
5. (3) Bastian Hennig – 17L 312.16
6. (8) Tommy Bergfeldt – 16L 301.72
7. (5) Dennis Fadtke – 16L 302.12
8. (7) Marcus Horn – 16L 303.80
9. (10)Marc Assman – 16L 304.55
10.(7) Luke Hobson – 16L 305.01

A Main Standings after Leg 3
(best 2 of 3 Results to count)
1. Jimmy Maddison – 20pts (Champion)
2. Meik Niemann – 17pts
3. Christoph Thiele – 16pts
4. Tommy Bergfeldt – 14pts
5. Bastian Hennig – 14pts
6. Dennis Fadtke – 13pts
7. Florian Ring – 12pts
8. Marc Assman – 7pts
9. Marcus Horn – 6pts
10.Luke Hobson – 2pts

Download the full final results here (PDF) for all classes.

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January 13, 2008

Round 3 Stock Sub finals report

Palle Hornum in round 3

The last sub finals of the stock class are now over and in the C-Final it was Carsten Madsen that took a late surprise win after long time leader Kenneth Malkussen was knocked off track when Matthias Lang tried to make a move on him that didnt work out. This left Carsten through into the lead with 30 seconds left to run and in the end he won by 2 seconds from Lang in 2nd and Malkussen in third. In the B-final it was a very straight forward race for Xray racer Palle Nornum who moved right into the lead at the start followed by Robitronic racer Ole Strandlyst. Despite being pressured by Ole the whole race, he could never get close enough to mount a challenge and so Hornum took the win from Strandlyst in 2nd and Nygaard up from 8th on the grid to 3rd.

B Final Stock – Leg 3 Result
1. (1) Palle Hornum – 17L 310.90
2. (2) Ole Strandlyst – 17L 311.53
3. (8) Johnny Nygaard – 17L 318.37

C Final Stock – Leg 3 Result
1. (1) Carsten Madsen – 17L 318.33
2. (3) Matthias Lang – 17L 320.20
3. (4) Kenneth Malkusson – 16L 322.05

Round 3 Stock B-Final

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January 13, 2008

Maddison Stock Champion – Wilck wins A Modified Leg 2

Modified Leg 2 final stand

Viktor Wilck has won the second leg of the Modified A-main after early leader Teemu Leino hit some dots on lap 7 while leading, dropping him down the order. While allowing Wilck through, it also allowed Steen Graversen through up into 2nd and a fast starting Marc Rheinard into 3rd spot. Despite this mistake Teemu could continue and in doing so he set the fastest lap of the final once more, a 15.83 second lap. The very start of the race saw Andy Moore roll coming out of the first corner and then on the following esses, which put him out of contention. The overall positions are now still wide open with Wilck now leading the standings by 2 points from Leino with 1 round left to be run.

A Final Modified – Leg 1 Result
1. (2) Vicktor Wilck – 19L 308.17
2. (3) Steen Graversen – 19L 311.13
3. (9) Marc Rheinard – 19L 312.38
4. (1) Teemu Leino – 19L 312.70
5. (8) Juho Levanen – 19L 316.33
6. (4) Jilles Groskamp – 18L 299.32
7. (7) Martin Hudy – 18L 300.85
8. (6) Alexander Hagberg – 18L 303.05
9. (5) Andy Moore – 18L 309.04
10.(10)Ronald Volker – 1L 31.22

A Main Standings after Leg 2
(best 2 of 3 Results to count)
1. Vicktor Wilck – 19pts
2. Teemu Leino – 17pts
3. Steen Graversen – 13pts
4. Marc Rheinard – 13pts
5. Juho Levanen – 13pts
6. Ronald Volker – 9pts
7. Alexander Hagberg – 9pts
8. Jilles Groskamp – 6pts
9. Martin Hudy – 6pts
10.Andy Moore – 5pts

Maddison takes Leg 2 & overall

Jimmy Maddison has secured the 2008 DHI Cup stock title by winning the second A-main in great style. Having found a motor problem just before the first A-main he was confident that the car would be quicker in the 2nd race and it was. After the start he managed to get by Thiele half way through the first lap and never looked back pulling out a large gap before slowing just before the finish line to take the win by 2 seconds from top Serpent racer Tommy Bergfeldt. Meik Niemann ended the race in 3rd.

A Final Stock – Leg 2 Result
1. (2) Jimmy Maddison – 17L 307.72
2. (6) Tommy Bergfeldt – 17L 309.23
3. (8) Meik Niemann – 17L 312.41
4. (3) Bastian Hennig – 17L 312.60
5. (1) Christoph Thiele – 17L 313.11
6. (4) Florian Ring – 17L 314.42
7. (5) Dennis Fadtke – 17L 314.63
8. (7) Marcus Horn – 16L 302.20
9. (10)Marc Assman – 16L 308.23
10.(7) Marcus Horn – 16L 311.03

A Main Standings after Leg 2
(best 2 of 3 Results to count)
1. Jimmy Maddison – 20pts (Champion)
2. Christoph Thiele – 14pts
3. Meik Niemann – 14pts
4. Bastian Hennig – 14pts
5. Dennis Fadtke – 13pts
6. Tommy Bergfeldt – 13pts
7. Florian Ring – 7pts
8. Marc Assman – 7pts
9. Marcus Horn – 6pts
10.Luke Hobson – 2pts

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