September 20, 2014

Chassis Focus – Robert Batlle

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Chassis – Mugen MBX7R
Engine – Novarossi Keep Off 21 4S
Tyres – Pro Circuit Hot Dices Medium
Fuel – Nitrolux
Radio/Servos – Futaba/Xpert
Body – Kit
Remarks – Reigning World Champion Robert Batlle is running the new MBX7R, which is the same as the car he ran at the recent Euros but with the latest chassis plate which has the bigger side plate angle. Like the other racers here he has changed his car to a stiffer setup in diffs and shocks to give the car less roll in the high grip conditions and is so far very happy with his pace.

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September 20, 2014

Tessmann sets mid way practice pace in Sicily

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Already into their third day of practice at this year’s extended 1:8 Offroad World Championships with still 2 more days of practice to go on the Italian island of Sicily, Ty Tessmann laid down today’s early marker running the fastest three consecutive laps from defending World Champion Robert Batlle. With David Ronnefalk setting the pace yesterday from Tessmann with a time of 1:53.211, in the first of today’s two 12-minute runs the Canadian lowered the benchmark to 1:52.143 with Batlle managing a 1:53.386 followed by a 1:53.842 from Martin Bayer.

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With drivers appearing to be more focused on pacing themselves for the extra long event, the race hosts adding extra practice days to the timetable in lue of the fact they hosted no Warm-up Race, the atmosphere in the pits is rather relaxed for a World Championships. Having went up in the diff oils in his HB, Tessmann said today was a lot better than yesterday the change making his D812 easier to drive in the high speed sections as well as helping the buggy to push through the corners better. Running the same set of Pro-Line X1 Suburb tyres he ran yesterday, Pro-Line appearing to have a slight edge in the wear department on the high abrassion surface, he said overall the car was easy to drive. HB designer Torrance Deguzman has been on a bit of parts reduction exercise for the event with two key new parts being debuted. Following a pin failure in the diff input shaft that cost him the 2013 US title HB now have a single piece unit which they have adapted from the 1:10 electric buggy. Reducing 5 piece to 1, they have also done a similar redesign with the rear wing stay. Now a single molded piece the weight saving is the big benefit of this change which has been further complimented with a new lexan wing. Although happy with where he is at with his set-up, Tessmann said with plenty of practices still to run he wants to try a number of things but added he is at the same time trying to make sure he doesn’t get lost in terms of what direction he goes with the set-up.

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‘Good’ was how Batlle summed up how the event was going so far. The Mugen driver ran a harder shock set-up today which he said made for a more stable car and for the second outing he plans to go even stiffer. Suffering a little with traffic today he said overall he was happy with his current pace echoing Tessmann by saying it was ‘important not to get carried away’ with set-ups changes. With Batlle like his rivals not yet busting out their game faces he said his game plan for the remaining practices was just to make small little changes every run.

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Bayer was not reading much into his early form, the factory Xray driver quick to highlight ‘Its practice’. The Czech driver said he has been changing many things and so far the pace has been good so he is ‘happy for now’. Complimentary of the track surface he said conditions are very stable with the track changing little between the morning and the afternoon which he said helps in terms of working on tuning the set-up.

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Despite being without his pitman and Kyosho Team-manager Joe Pillars, Jared Tebo posted the fourth fastest time this morning ahead of fellow American Carson Wernimont. Issues with the expiry date of Pillar’s passport meant while his team headed on out to Italy he got stuck in LA for two days as he arranged to have a new passport issued but we are glad to report he has made it in time to see his star driver run in the day’s second practice. Tebo said after he ‘struggled’ on the opening day, things have since got better with each run and as he ‘slowly’ gets used to the track declaring himself pretty happy with his opening run today. The reigning 1:10 2WD Buggy World Champion said he is not used to being on throttle in corners so much and he has had to work on getting confident with that but is getting there now.

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Renaud Savoya set the sixth fastest time, the French ace finding the speed he was lacking yesterday to go with the consistency of his Xray. The multiple European Champion said the speed came from switching from Sweep’s Revolt to Exagon tyre. Happy with his car from the very first time he laid it down on the track, this morning he used the 12-minute run to back to back test bodyshells. Running Xray’s stock kit bodyshell he said the buggy was a little faster but switching to Sweep’s Muzzle he said it felt more stable on the grippy conditions. ‘Happy so far’, he said with ‘lots of pratice runs’ they are able to take a ‘step by step’ approach to working on the car set-up.

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Dakotah Phend was fastest of the TLR drivers this morning the teenager posting the 7th fastest time. Having run Pro-Line’s Blockade tyres up to now he will test smaller pins tyres in his next outing with both a set of Suburbs and Fugatives ready to go in his 8ight. Although looking to improve his buggy in the fast sections while trying to keep it good in the tight corners he said he is more focused on trying to figure out the track for himself. Not used to such high bite conditions for 1:8 he feels he needs a bit more track time to master that. New team-mate Ryan Maifield said his buggy is really consistent but he needs to get more speed from it. Really comfortable with the track and getting good feedback from his team in relation to the lines he is running he said they now needs to work on making the car ‘a little more aggressive’.

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Ninth fastest this morning behind Team Durango’s Ryan Lutz, Ronnefalk said he was still asleep for his run. Happy with the car he ran the previous two days, the Swede used today to run his second car for the very first time and although built identically they end up feeling different with this one too soft making it hard to drive. Planning to fix the set-up he will run the second car again this evening adding that tyres have been his big focus. Running AKA’s Catapult tyre he said he has tried soft & medium compound, new versus used adding that while wear is high his MP9 works well on slicks ‘so its not too bad’.

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Elsewhere this Worlds marks the debut of 2008 Champion Atsushi Hara with S-Workz. An all round RC great, Hara said he is not fast but for him that is normal so early on in an event adding that his races starts in the Semi-Finals. After an ok start to yesterday he said a change by his long time mechanic Masayuki Miura for the final run made the buggy terrible. Although better this morning he said the car is stable adding he thinks it is overall too soft and they will now go for a harder set-up.

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September 20, 2014

Chassis Focus – Ty Tessmann

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Chassis –  HB D812
Engine – OS Speed 2101 B
Tyres – Pro-Line Suburb X1
Fuel – Nitrotane
Radio/Servos – Airtronics/Savox
Body – Pro-Line Type R
Remarks – Ty Tessmann is running the D812 with a number of new option parts on the car including a new rear diff case, new one piece input gear, new radio tray with a larger battery box and new rear hubs with updated geometry. The Canadian has been working on making the car easier to drive with his focus on thicker diff oils and thicker shock oils. He has also been trying different tires and looks to have settled on the super hard Pro-Line Suburb. Also new on the car is the Pro-Line lexan Trifecta wing which comes with 2 different plastic trim strips and new wheel nuts which work with the new magnetic wheel wrench from 110% Racing.

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September 20, 2014

Track Focus – Naxos World

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Track Name – Naxos World
Owner – Rosario Venuto
Country – Italy
Location – Giardini-Naxos, Sicily
Direction – Anti-Clockwise
Surface – Hard dirt with tile sections

The largest island in the Mediterranean, Sicily plays host to the 15th running of the IFMAR 1:8th Offroad World Championship with the small 10,000 population town of Giardini-Naxos home to the Naxos World track, a facility that covers 25,000 square metres. A track that consumed an inordinate amount of bandwidth with endless speculation about its surface, three days into the extended event both the surface and the track layout is generally getting a thumbs up all round from drivers. Covering an area of 25,000 square metres the track, which is overlooked by the active Mount Etna volcano, has only been in existence since 2012 but after hosting the opening round of this year’s Italian National Championships back in March has been closed for much of this year as track owner Rosario Venuto together with event organiser Salvatore Schepis and their team completely rebuilt the track for the World Championship, the event unlike previous Worlds not having a Warm-up race. An indication to how big of a rebuild the track has undergone, the press room is what used to be the old tracks pit area.

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A very hard packed track surface has been finished with specially mixed dirt that is dirt from the site which has been cleared of stones and finely sieved before water and 5% resin is added. In turn this has then been laid similar to that of concrete. Shown the process by Mr. Salvatore he said the reason was that should it rain during the event, as it did overnight before the opening day, using the natural dirt the track would be washed away. Having experimented with a higher percentage of resin this left the surface too brittle causing it to scatter and break up.

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Defending World Champion Robert Batlle said while tyre wear was ‘super high’ he said the surface has been very consistent making it much easier to work on car set-up. In terms of the layout the Mugen driver said it was typical Euro style and for him it was ‘super good’ to drive. In terms of challenges he said the double before the straight was one of the keys to a good lap. US National Champion and runner-up to Batlle 2-years ago in Argentina, Ty Tessmann said while the layout was different to what he would be used he was adapting well to what he described as was a ‘pretty fun layout’. In addition to the double before the straight he said the chicane on the back of the track was another tricky area. In terms of the surface the HB driver said it was ‘very consistent’ and provided a ‘ton of grip’.

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In addition to the Worlds track the large well spaced out facility also has a 1/18 Dirt track which is part of Mr. Schepis’ ongoing efforts to introduce young people to the sport. Owner of well known Italian model shop Schepis Model which is based 50km away in Messina city, in the pits is the shop’s rather impressive 40ft trailer which they bringing around to schools to introduce kids to r/c and for the opening ceremony one of the schools that it has visited will be involved in the official proceedings. Plans are already in place to add an asphalt onroad track to the facility so as to cater for the interests of all racers.

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August 9, 2014

Ronnefalk successfully defends title

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David Ronnefalk has successfully defended his 1:8 Offroad European Championship title with a convincing victory in Sand am Main. Having set the benchmark all week at the German event, the Kyosho star took an easy win over the Xray of Martin Wollanka but a mistake on the opening lap meant the Swede didn’t have it as easy as was expected. Making a mistake on the opening lap when on the run up the hill he landed his Orion powered MP9 on the track marker this allowed Darren Bloomfield to the front of the 1-hour main which also saw the Xray’s of Martin Bayer and Renaud Savoya lead for a time the 12-car field. After an entertaining opening 15-minutes Ronnefalk got back to the front and finding the composed form he has shown all week pulled clear to resume control. With first time finalist Wollanka securing a surprise second and his team-mate Renaud Savoya retiring from 3rd with a clutch bearing failure with 5-minutes to go the race for the final podium placing would be fought out by former Champions Darren Bloomfield and Robert Batlle. In the end it was Agama’s Bloomfield who came out on top with Batlle who found himself last at the end of the opening lap having to settle for fourth.

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Delighted at being able to defend his title, becoming only the sixth driver in the championship’s 34 year history to do so, Ronnefalk said he made things a little more difficult than planned but in the end it all worked out alright. Landing on the track marker the 18-year-old said he was lucky to keep his buggy inside the track and after the error, which allowed Bloomfield to the front, he ‘pushed too hard’ in an attempt to get into the lead. At his first fuel stop he would loose time as he came in ‘too hot’ causing his Orion powered MP9’s rear wheel to hit the wall and go sideways. The stop was further delayed as the pit crew of fellow countryman Christoffer Svensson, who pitting on the same lap, confused the similarly coloured Kyoshos and picked up Ronnefalk’s buggy. Knowing he had the pace to win he said after the stop he just told himself to settle down and cut out the mistakes. Taking it ‘a little easier’ he said once he got to the front he was able to control the race although he said he almost got caught out by Wollanka. Thinking Bloomfield & Savoya were battling for second he said was gauging the race off them and coming up to lap the pair said he was happy to sit behind them not finding out until the last 10 minute when his pitcrew informed him that they were in fact battling for third. Running on a medium compound of AKA’s Catapult tyre he said coming in after around 5-minutes they worked really well over the extended race adding looking to the World Championships in Italy later this year he is really confident in the overall package he has with today’s victory endorsing that.

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After a ‘really really bad start’ to the race having been pushed off the track by another buggy Wollanka was delighted to finish his firt Euros final second. The Austrian, who is World Champion in RC Racing sim VRC Pro, said after his opening lap dramas he just focused on driving his own smooth error free race adding he really enjoyed finding himself battling it out with the ‘absolute best divers’ half way into the race. Running an FX engine in his XB8, Juraj Hudy very happy with have both his car & engine creation on the podium, he said he started on a 9-minute fuel strategy but as his tyres got smaller his crew switched him to 7:30. Running Pro-Line’s Blockade tyre in X2 compound he said the tyre just go better as the race went on.

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‘Drove shit in the middle of the race’, that was Bloomfield’s summary of the final. The 2012 champion looked early on as if he might be in for a repeat of the battle he had with Ronnefalk when he won his title two years ago but changing to a harder set-up he said as the race went on this lost him too much traction. Going up in shock oils after the Semi-final he said the conditions got hotter making it the wrong call. Only seven months into his contract with Agama he said to get a podium was great and had someone offered him a 3rd in the final he would have taken their hand off.

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A slightly dejected Batlle said after his battery issue in the Semi final challenging for the win from 10th on the grid was always going to be a tall order on a track were overtaking is difficult. The Spaniard said he made a ‘perfect start’ but then got hit dropping him to the back of the field. Making his way up to fourth, which then became third with the demise of Savoya, Batlle would make a late mistake up the hill allowing Bloomfield to catch and pass him. With pair ‘latteraly touching’ on the main straight Batlle would get called for a Stop & Go penalty a call he felt was unwarranted. Setting the fastest lap of the final, he said his Novarossi powered MBX7 had the pace and had he started up front, P2 was on the cards until his ‘bad luck’ in the final 30-seconds of  the Semi, he said it would have been ‘another race’.

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Another making his first European Championship final, Kyosho Germany team driver Carsten Keller described his fifth place finish as ‘perfect’. The 25-year-old said the beginning of the race went ‘pretty well’ as he had the speed to run with the lead pack but ‘two stupid mistakes’ would drop him back. Landing off the track and rejoining at a different point but waiting to allow Christopher Svensson go by so as to not gain an advantage he said he still got a Stop & Go penalty for cutting the track. The only German in the race he said he got great support from onlookers saying the many waving German flags was pretty special. Apart from his mistakes he said he couldn’t have looked for a better race paying particular thanks to his pitmen Marcel Guske, who finished 4th here in 2011, and Cristian Hahlen for their ‘great work’. Behind Keller the Top 6 was completed by the Mugen of Lee Martin.

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While Wollanka ensured a repeat of Xray’s 2013 podium finish, at one point it looked like Xray was going to go one step further than they did in France. Starting from fifth on the grid Martin Bayer was a surprise early leader until he had a mistake that ended up putting team-mate Savoya on his roof. Unfortunately after 5-minutes Bayer said his LRP powered XB8 just lost everything in terms of traction getting worse and worse as the race went on leaving him struggling to keep it on four wheels as he struggled home to 11th.

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Recovering from his tangle with Bayer, Savoya also took a turn at leading the final. The 3-time champion said that ‘while not enough to beat David the rhythm was there’ and he was just going easy towards the end happy to take third. Having fitted new bearings to his clutch of his Orion engine for the 60-minute final he said they appear to have ‘exploded due to overheating’ and after his bad luck we should start calling him ‘Mr. Minus 5-minutes’.

Main-Final Result
1.(1) David Ronnefalk – Kyosho/Orion – 122/60:03.290
2.(9) Martin Wollanka – Xray/FX – 122/60:24.622
3.(2) Darren Bloomfield – Agama/Bullitt – 121/60:19.154
4.(10)Robert Batlle – Mugen/Novarossi – 121/60:25.018
5.(7) Carsten Keller – Kysoho/Bullitt – 120/60:01.150
6.(8) Lee Martin – Mugen/Beat – 120/60:08.771
7.(12)Teemu Leino – HB/Novarossi – 120/60:26.142
8.(4) Elliott Boots – Kyosho/Reds Racing – 119/60:13.945
9.(6) Christoffer Svensson – Kyosho/OS Speed – 118/60:07.740
10.(11)Joseph Quagraine – JQ/Reds Racing – 117/60:29.054
11.(5)Martin Bayer – Xray/LRP – 116/60:12.956
12.(3)Renaud Savoya – Xray/Orion – 110/54:42.455

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