April 23, 2017

3rd TQ in a row for Coelho at EOS season finale

Bruno Coelho is on target to round out Season #6 of the Euro Offroad Series in Austria with the perfect result.  Having TQ’d and won 2WD, the Xray driver has secured the overall TQ for 4WD with few mad enough to bet against the World Champion not capping off his EOS title winning season with a 4th 4WD win.  After breaking his car in Q1 last night, today Coelho was unstoppable taking all three remaining qualifiers even recovering from an error in the final round to top the times.  Making it an Xray 1-2 on the grid, Q1 winner Martin Bayer will start second with Yokomo’s Lee Martin the best non Xray on the grid securing third ahead of Martin Wollanka and EOS 2WD Champion Michal Orlowski.

‘It’s the same car all season and its working amazing so there is not more I can say really’, was Coelho reaction to his third consecutive 4WD TQ. Commenting on his final qualifier he said, ‘it was not a perfect run because I flipped and then had to open for Lee (Martin).  I then just tried to recover the lost time and when Lee had a mistake I was able to get 1st’.  Asked about the finals he said, ‘I will try to finish the season with the perfect weekend’.

Commenting on equalling his best qualifying of the season, Bayer said, ‘the speed is ok but not like Bruno has’.  Securing second on the grid thanks to his P1 & 2 in the opening two qualifiers, the Czech driver said, ‘I started second once before this season at the Hudy Arena and it was a disaster.  I hope this time not to break so I will just try to drive clean races’.   Starting fourth with his second in Q1 and 4th in Q3, Wollanka made sure he wont be on either Neil Cragg and Marc Rheinard’s Christmas list after hitting both drivers in the final qualifier.

‘Not too bad’ was how Martin summed up his third spot on the grid.  A former double winner at the Modellbau Wels hosted event, he said, ‘my car is consistent. It lacks a bit of punch out of the corners compared to the shaft drive car but it is nice to drive’.  Leading the final qualifier, he said, ‘I had a couple of bobbles without which I could have pushed myself up to 2nd on the grid’.  Looking to the finals he said, ‘Bruno has a rear gunner in Martin but you never know what can happen. I’ve just got to wait for some stuff to happen’.

Orlowski said after a good start to qualifying with a P3 in Q1 last night, he struggled with a loose servo in today’s first qualifier.  In Q3 a mistake would end his run but making some small changes to his Schumacher to get more rear traction he was able to get another P3 in the final round admitting ‘others crashing into each other helped’.  On his 5th place starting position he said,  ‘it will be difficult as there is no places to plass but at the Hudy Arena I got a 2nd from 8th on the grid.  I will just drive my own race and maybe there will be a pile up at the front’.

Cragg was not pleased with his 6th place on the grid saying, ‘It’s very annoying racing with shit drivers’.  On the last qualifier, he continued, ‘I started really well and caught Wollanka quickly, he let me go but then drove into my side.  Its frustrating to start 6th cause I feel our car is better than that’.  He concludes, ‘the car is pretty dialled so lets hope there are a few crashes ahead of me’.

View complete event results here.

View the event image gallery here.



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