November 18, 2016

Orlowski tops 2WD seeding at EOS

fri_orlowski3

Having kicked off his home event with the fastest time in free practice, Michal Orlowski went on to top 2WD seeding for Round 2 of the Euro Offroad Series in Warsaw, Poland.  Fastest in the first of the two controlled practices from Bruno Coelho, the Schumacher driver went quicker in CP2 with a ‘lucky’ last lap that denied Marc Rheinard from topping times.  Running two cars in the second practice but losing the front wheel off his better car after just a lap, Coelho would end up third having to count his CP1 time. Behind, Lee Martin would be one of only 4 drivers in the Top 10 to improve in CP2 with that time leaving the reigning champion 4th for the seeding ahead of fellow countryman Neil Cragg, with Martin Bayer completing the Top 6.

fri_orloback

‘Finally we found a better set-up for the car’ was Orlowski’s reaction to topping the final practice.  With his KF2 SE running with a more forward motor position he added, ‘it still has the speed but it’s now less edgy’.  Making a change to the car after free practice for CP1, he said laying down the rear shocks more that was what gave him the car set-up he was after.  Calling his final lap ‘lucky’, when asked why he said’ ‘I didn’t see I did anything better but it was much faster’.  An 18.443 lap time it would be almost 4/10th quicker than his rivals best lap of the tight technical track.  Having felt he didn’t have enough brakes in free practice, he said while it was better it was probably more down to the fact he was getting used to them adding they’re still off what he would like.  With attention now turning to 4WD practice and two 4WD qualifiers tonight, a change to the normal EOS schedule, he said, ‘hopefully we can carry this on into qualifying tomorrow’ adding ‘we will think about a set-up change but I’ll probably stay the same’.

fri_rheinard

‘It was OK’ was Rheinard’s reaction to finishing 3/10ths off Orlowski.  The Nurburgring winner ran a different battery position in the final practice but said he is not sure he will stay with it for qualifying.  Asked why, the Yokomo driver replied, ‘It pushes a little in the fast corners’ exit but overall we have a good car for qualifying’.

fri_bruno

Starting out he had ‘bad luck’, Coelho corrected himself saying, ‘It was not bad luck, it was my mistake. I forgot to tighten the wheel’.  Starting out the practice with his ‘old car’, when he made the switch over to his second car with which he set his CP1 time, the front right wheel departed the buggy on the second run down the straight forcing him to revert back to the old car with which he could only post the 7th fastest time of the round.  Describing the car from which he lost the wheel as ‘much faster’, when asked about if his lack of brakes in free practice had been cured he said ‘It was now ok’ adding ‘I think it was a change to the diff that fixed it’.

fri_shellmartin

Reigning champion Martin described his P4 in seeding as ‘not too bad’.  The Yokomo driver continued, ‘I can run a pretty good time and just need to find a few tenths here and there’.  Elaborating he said, ‘I don’t think it’s hugely me and I can find some (time) by turning up the power a little’.  With his electrics ‘already getting a bit warm’ he said I’m going to need more air holes in the body’.  In terms of his RC Concept powered YZ2 set-up he concluded, ‘I think we’ll leave it for tomorrow’.

fri_cragg2-copy

Summing up his controlled practice, Cragg said, ‘the first one was really good for the 5-minutes and the car felt dialled.  In the second one, the first 2-lap felt pretty dialled but then I drove too hard and hit every pipe around the track. I’m really disappointed with myself’.   He added, ‘the car is really good but I need to not crash’.  Looking to qualifying, his day already done as he is not racing 4WD this weekend, the reigning European Champion said, ‘we need to find 1/10th a lap and I think that’s going to come from a combination of both the car and driver’.  Cragg’s  young team-mate Joona Haatanen would finish the seeding 9th fastest ahead of the Serpent of former champion Joern Neumann.

fri_marbay

Setting the 6th fastest time ahead of his team driver Hupo Honigl, Bayer summed up his practice performance as ‘pretty good’.  Trying a different, stiffer shock set-up than free practice, the Czech driver said this ‘was better’ making his XB2 pretty easy to drive.  Feeling he could do with ‘a little more rotation for the 180 corners’ adding the amount he feels he is lacking is ‘tiny’ he said they will try something ahead of Q1 to try find this.

View complete event results here.

View the event image gallery here.



Usage

If you republish any elements from this page on another website, including text, original pictures or results please be sure to add a link back to this page as the source: