January 6, 2017

Chassis Focus – Marc Rheinard

Chassis: Yokomo YZ-2 CA
Motor: Muchmore Fleta ZX 6.5T
ESC: Muchmore Fleta Pro V2
Batteries: Muchmore Impact 5000mAh
Radio/Servo: Sanwa/Xpert
Remarks – German Yokomo driver Marc Rheinard is running the CA version of the YZ-2 equipped with the new Yatabe springs, a Yokomo front wing and mount and is not using the front anti roll bar which is actually detached. He is also using titanium screws and a new, harder graphite compound for the rear wishbones.

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January 6, 2017

5 time 4WD champion Neumann tops DHI Cup seeding

Joern Neumann set the pace in 4WD seeding at the DHI Cup presented by LRP. The unbeaten 4WD Champion of the Danish event, who is going for a sixth consecutive title this weekend in Odense, topped the times with an improved run in the second of the two rounds of controlled practice. Behind the Serpent driver, 2WD top seed Michal Orlowski would post the second fastest time with his CP1 when he set the early pace and Neumann was P4. While Neumann’s advantage was 2/10th, the gap between Orlowski and third fastest David Ronnefalk was much closer with only 3/100ths separating the Schumacher and HB Racing stars. With Yokomo’s Marc Rheinard P4, Finnish driver Samppa Orhanen would make it five different manufacturers at the top of the seeding times taking his Associated to the fifth fastest time. One noticeable absence this year is that of factory Xray team, with 2016 podium finisher & World Champion Bruno Coelho and 2015 podium finish Martin Bayer both opting to not make the trip this year.

The ‘car works very good and is super easy to drive and fast’, was Neumann summary of practice. Running a preproduction example of Serpent’s new SDX4, having just received his first fully production version which is under his pit table and needs building, he added, ‘I moved the shocks in one hole for more steering and that is about it (in terms of changes made to the car for the DHI Cup track)’. The reigning European Champion said here the car has less grip than at the EOS where the car wants to traction roll from having too much grip’. Describing the tyre wear in 2WD as ‘crazy’ for 4WD he said, ‘it the same as 2WD, its pretty high’. Asked about qualifying, which for 4WD gets underway tomorrow after the conclusion of 2WD qualifying, he said the only thing he needs to do to the car is ‘fit new tyres’.

Orlowski said his ‘car feels good’ after some ‘small changes from the basic set-up’. The former European Champion added, ‘again the tyre wear is pretty high’. Setting his quickest 3-consecutive laps in CP1, the Pole said, ‘I ran the same set of tyres for a second time (in CP2) to check and it was pretty difficult so it is going to be a new set a run for qualifying’.

‘Really good’ was how Ronnefalk summed up controlled practice. With HB Racing designer Torrance Deguzman at his disposal at a European carpet offroad event for the first time, he said while the car is pretty much how he ran it at the World Championships at Yatabe, it now has a different lighter chassis. Offering more, the 1:8 Offroad World Champion said with this it is ‘super easy to drive and very consistent over the 5-minutes and it still has the outright speed’. Continuing ‘I think it will be good for qualifying’ he also added, ‘I think the chassis will also work good on dirt’ outlining he will remain on in the US after the 1:8 event the Dirt Nitro Challenge to test it as part of preparations for this year’s 1:10 World Championship in China in November.

With his carpet offroad experience limited almost entirely to the Euro Offroad Series, Rheinard said ‘It just feels like no grip so it is difficult, it is completely different to EOS’. The 4-time Onroad World Champion, who is having his first DHI Cup Offroad experience, continued, ‘It just low grip and I still have to get used to it’. In terms of his YZ-4 he plans to make a small diff oil change for qualifying but added, ‘every run new tyres, this is horrible’.

View the event image gallery here.

January 6, 2017

Volker from team-mate Akiyama in DHI Cup seeding

Ronald Volker has topped seeding practice at the DHI Cup presented by LRP in Denmark. The reigning champion was fastest from his Yokomo team-mate Naoki Akiyama being the only driver to run 3-laps in 38-seconds. Fastest by almost 3/10ths from Akiyama, Volker would set his quickest time in the final practice with Akiyama having topped the times in the first of the two runs. Also improving his time in the second run, Alexander Hagberg would complete the Top 3 followed by his Xray team-mate Jan Ratheisky. While 2016 podium finisher Viljami Kutvonen would struggle to only the 10th fastest time, Awesomatix team-mate Freddy Sudhoff would round out the Top 5 times ahead of the VBC of Yannic Prumper.

‘I’m satisfied with how the car went’ was Volker’s reaction after practice. Chasing an 8th DHI Cup title this weekend, which marks the 16th running of the event, he added ‘we kept changing the set-up each run and managed to improve, the grip went a lot higher than expected with the car lifting tyres on the long corners’. Overall happy with the car for the final practice he said ‘it is a little edgy at the beginning of the run so we’ll probably adapt the tyre prep for Q1’.

With the biggest change to be made to his BD8 over the practice rounds being a switch to a harder diff, up & coming Japanese star Akiyama said the car was ‘better’ after the change. Having made his DHI Cup debut last year, finishing 6th, the 17-year-old plans to leave the car unchanged for Q1 feeling his driving is where the greatest improvement will come from. Running a ‘very different set-up’, he said the track which was designed by Volker has a ‘good flow’ but for the 5-minute qualifiers he needs ‘to be more smooth’ and try to get through it with ‘no mistakes’.

‘A bit better, the car feels pretty balanced’ was how Hagberg summed up his ORCA powered T4. Racing in his 13th consecutive DHI Cup, all of which he has been accompanied by his father Bosse, he added, ‘we’ll see how pace is over minutes but it feels alright’. Describing the traction levels as ‘medium-high’ and describing the track as ‘fairly open compared to last year’, the Swede said for Q1 they will make some ‘minor tweaks’ to the set-up but overall the car ‘feels alright’.

With no Formula class at the DHI Cup to dominate, ETS Formula Champion Ratheisky said his P4 pace was ‘a lot better than expected’. Asked about his car the German said ‘I just drive it and have fun’. In terms of changes to the set-up he said the only thing he changed between the two rounds was to ‘just drink coffee with milk & sugar’. Describing the layout as ‘very good’ he is confident his 3-lap pace is a true reflection of his pace saying, the car can run that time consistently for all the run’.

‘So far so good’ was how Sudhoff summed up what is his first race outing since the ETS season opener in early December. Running Awesomatix’ A800, he explained the preproduction run of the first of their new A800X kits has just started and while they have an example of the car here they don’t have enough spare parts to race it. Running his car ‘nearly the same as at the ETS’, he said the big thing is that ‘the driving style is a little different due to the tyres’, the DHI Cup using a handout LRP tyre for touring car. Looking to qualifying he said, ‘I need to make it a little more stable in the long sweepers which is our weak point for now’ concluding ‘on this track consistency is important’.

Prumper described practice as having gone ‘so so’. The German added ‘the car is to edgy and is always on two wheels and I don’t know what to change anymore’. Running a different but unchanged VBC chassis to that which he used at the ETS season opener he said ‘there is a lot traction, its normally not that high here’. For the first of the qualifiers, which will bring Day 1 of the event to a close tonight, he said, “I will keep the same set-up and change tyre prep but don’t know what exactly’.

View the event image gallery here.

January 6, 2017

Chassis Focus – Max Machler

Chassis – Awesomatix A800 X
Motor – LRP X20 13.5 Stock Spec
ESC – LRP Flow
Batteries – LRP 7500mAh Stock Spec
Tires – LRP (handout)
Radio/Servo – Futaba
Bodyshell – Protoform Mazda Speed6
Remarks – Awesomatix team manager Max Machler is testing here at the DHI Cup their latest version of the A800 called “X”. The new car features a longer chassis for an increased wheelbase, with the servo position also brought forward compared to the previous version. The sway bar mounts now feature ball bearings, and the top deck has been revised in shape and its centre mount is also new. The bulkheads and the spur mount have also been slightly updated in order to offer a better belt tension adjustment, while the shape of the wishbones has been changed to obtain more clearance to the rims at full steering lock. The linear steering system is now standard in the kit, and the hubs have been updated in the search for better handling in high bite conditions.

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