Neumann wins first 2WD A-Main

Starting from pole position Joern Neumann took a tone to tone win in the opening 2WD Buggy A-Main at EOS Round 3 in Austria ahead of Martin Bayer, the Czech driver mounting an early challenge on the German who at the end of 5-minutes would win by 1.7 seconds. The only two drivers to run 21-second laps in the race, Neumann and Bayer were the class of the field leaving the No.3 starting Durango of Hupo Honigl behind, the Austrian finishing in the order he started ahead of fellow countryman Peter Pinisch.

Neumann, who was happier with his DEX210 than he was in the final qualifier with worn tyres better suiting his buggy, said it was very even between him and Bayer and it was just small mistakes by the Team Xray driver that separated them.  Running the fastest lap of the race with a 21.964, Bayer’s fastest lap time of 21.978 shows just how closely matched the two drivers where.

The biggest mover of the race was Kyosho’s David Ronnefalk who starting from the back of the grid took his Ultima RB6 through to sixth ahead of fellow 1:8 Offroad racer Robert Batlle who set the third fastest lap of the race with a 22.180.

Drivers will now switch their attentions back to 4WD Buggy with four rounds of qualifying which will bring Day 2 of the EOS in Leoben to a close with the remaining two 2WD Mains and all the 4WD Mains making up tomorrow’s schedule.

2WD Buggy A-Main Leg 1 Result
1.(1) Joern Neumann (DE) – Durango – 15/5:16.304
2.(2) Martin Bayer (CZ) – Team Xray – 15/5:18.012
3.(3) Hupo Honigl (AT) – Durango – 14/5:03.827
4.(5) Peter Pinisch (AT) – Associated – 14/5:06.724
5.(4) Oliver Scholz (DE) – Team C – 14/5:07.700
6.(10)David Ronnefalk (SE) – Kyosho – 14/5:08.990
7.(7) Robert Batlle (ES) – Yokomo – 14/5:12.119
8.(8) Oskar Levin (SE) – TLR – 14/5:13.721
9.(6) Dominic Bauer (AT) – TLR – 13/4:46.119
10.(9)Jiri Mara (CZ) – Team Xray – 13/5:01.530

Complete event results can be found here.

View our event image gallery here.

Batlle takes Q4, Neumann Top Qualifier

Contesting only his second ever 1:10 2WD electric buggy race, the other race having being held on Dirt, 1:8 Offroad Champion Robert Batlle pulled off a great final qualifier at the Euro Offroad Series in Leoben, Austria when he TQ’d Q4 ahead of Joern Neumann to book himself a place on the grid in the A-Main final.  Having topped the opening two qualifier, defending champion Joern Neumann secured the overall TQ honours after a round that saw the German, his big rival this weekend Martin Bayer and Durango team-mate Hupo Honigl all setting the TQ pace before mistakes.

Batlle said coming into the event he had set himself the target of making the B-Main so to TQ the last qualifier to put him 7th on the grid in the main event was already a huge result for him and he now just plans to enjoy the finals. The Spaniard, who prior to Q4 had a best run of 11th fastest, said having thought his Yokomo BMax 2MR chassis was set to its maximum length they discover after Q3 it was in fact at the shortest setting.  Lengthening it for his final heat, he said it make the buggy so much more stable allowing him to run a 14 lap qualifier, only 5 other drivers having achieved that over the four qualifiers.

Having changing his front tyre for Q3 resulting in him ending up only 8th fastest, Neumann said despite changing back to the dBoot Nanobyte tyre his DEX210 did not feel as good as it did in Q1 & 2.  Running fresher rear tyres in Q4 he said this was the only reason he could think of for the difference, with more worn rear Nanobytes giving a better feeling.  Happy to secure the overall TQ honours, Neumann, who after winning the season opener was beaten by series debutant Naoto Matsukura at Round 2, said he expects another close race this weekend this time from 2WD debutant Bayer.

Bayer, who said of his mistake during Q4 that he sometimes needs to slow down, is confident he has the speed to be able to challenge Neumann for the win.  Running new tyres on his TLR22 chassis in the final qualifier in which he would end up 9th fastest he said the buggy was a little nervous but the tyres would be perfect for the opening A-Main which takes place tonight.

Having posted the third fastest time in all four qualifiers, Honigl said his roll was a stupid mistake as he knew if he hit the double off line it would launch his Dual Sky powered DEX210 into a mid air roll.  Feeling a lot better than he did earlier in the day the Austrian is confident that he can stick with Neumann & Bayer and have a go at claiming his first EOS Buggy Main.

For Kyosho’s David Ronnefalk there was a tentative wait as the Top 10 qualifiers were announced by Race Director Scotty Ernst, a very relieved Swede just scraping onto the back of the A-Main grid. Despite a positive showing in practice, 3-time European 1:8 Offroad Road Champion Renaud Savoya missed the cut and will make his 2WD electric race debut from 6th on the grid in the B-Main.

2WD Buggy Round 4 Qualifying Top 10
1. Robert Batlle (ES) – Yokomo – 14/5:19.262
2. Joern Neumann (DE) – Durango – 14/5:19.892
3. Hupo Honigl (AT) – Durango – 14/5:20.294
4. Peter Pinisch (AT) – Associated – 14/5:21.116
5. Michal Orlowski (PL) – Durango – 13/5:00.157
6. Oskar Levin (SE) – TLR – 13/5:00.599
7. Tom Maquel (LU) – Team C – 13/5:01.474
8. Jiri Mara (CZ) – Team Xray – 13/5:01.574
9. Martin Bayer (CZ) – Team Xray – 13/5:01.655
10.Oliver Scholz (DE) – Team C – 13/5:01.792

2WD Buggy A-Main Grid
1. Joern Neumann (DE) – Durango – 310 pts
2. Martin Bayer (CZ) – Team Xray – 308
3. Hupo Honigl (AT) – Durango – 304
4. Oliver Scholz (DE) – Team C – 303
5. Peter Pinisch (AT) – Associated – 302
6. Dominic Bauer (AT) – TLR – 301
7. Robert Batlle (ES) – Yokomo – 299
8. Oskar Levin (SE) – TLR – 299
9. Jiri Mara (CZ) – Team Xray – 298
10.David Ronnefalk (SE) – Kyosho – 295

Complete event results can be found here.

View our event image gallery here.

Bayer tops Q3 in Austria

Having come close in the opening two rounds of qualifying, Team Xray’s Martin Bayer finally posted a TQ run taking his TLR22 to the fastest time in Q3 of 2WD Buggy at the TLR/Spektrum Euro Offroad Series in Austria.  Only his third ever 2WD Buggy race, the Czech driver was delighted to set the fastest time putting him in contention for the overall TQ honours with just one qualifier remaining.  Behind Bayer, Team C’s Oliver Scholz set the second fastest time becoming only the fifth driver in the 91 buggy field to do 14 laps of the indoor track. Once again Mister Consistent Hupo Honigl set the third fastest time in a round that would prove difficult for his Team Durango team-mate Joern Neumann.

Having topped the first two qualifiers, Neumann opted to switch from the handout dBoots front Nanobytes to the Blockpass tyre for Q3 having seen Bayer use them to good effect but the German said they were terrible.  Mounting them on a narrow rim, he said they made his DEX210 very aggressive leading him to rolling a number of times.   In the end the defending champion could only manage the 8th fastest time and so for the 4th & final qualifier he will revert back to the Nanobyte.

Peter Pinisch enjoyed his best qualifier taking his Associated Centro C4.1 to the 4th fastest time ahead of teenagers Dominic Bauer and Oskar Levin.  While Bayer set the pace his 1:8 Offroad rivals had another disappointing round.  Adding to his retirement from Q2, Kyosho’s David Ronnefalk said starting from the back he had some traffic issues but ultimately it was just a ‘bad round’ as he made too many mistakes himself.  The Swede would set the 26th fastest time, three places behind Renaud Savoya, and now with only one good result from Q1 he needs to get a clean Q4 if he is to book a place in the A-Main.  Robert Batlle again just missed out on a Top 10 run setting the 12th fastest time.

2WD Buggy Round 3 Qualifying Top 10
1. Martin Bayer (CZ) – Team Xray – 14/5:17.219
2. Oliver Scholz (DE) – Team C – 14/5:18.628
3. Hupo Honigl (AT) – Durango – 14/5:19.414
4. Peter Pinisch (AT) – Associated – 13/5:01.222
5. Dominic Bauer (AT) – TLR – 13/5:01.439
6. Oskar Levin (SE) – TLR – 13/5:02.160
7. Marcus Lubke (DE) – Team C – 13/5:02.723
8. Joern Neumann (DE) – Durango – 13/5:02.801
9. Rene Trauner (AT) – Yokomo – 13/5:03.862
10.Tom Maquel (LU) – Team C – 13/5:03.953

Complete event results can be found here.

View our event image gallery here.

Q2 Update – Neumann again

Joern Neumann completed another TQ run in the second round of 2WD Buggy Qualifying at the EOS in Austria but again the Team Durango driver was forced to work hard for it with Team Xray’s Martin Bayer swapping the top spot on the timing screen throughout the 5-minute qualifying.  Both drivers improved on their Q1 pace, Neumann taking almost 5 seconds off his previous time.  Hupo Honigl again set the 3rd fastest time posting his first 14 lap run with fellow Austrian Dominic Bauer also making 14 laps, the young TLR driver posting the fourth fastest time.

Fourth fastest in Q1, Kyosho’s David Ronnefalk looked set for another strong run until his buggy stopped on the mesh of the crossover with just over 1-minute to go.  Looking like his RB6 had got caught in the mesh it was in fact a broken idler gear that had brought it to the sudden stop. Setting the 2nd fastest lap of the round with only Neumann faster, the Swede said his RB6 felt really good and that the run was going perfectly until the failure.

For fellow 1:8 rivals Robert Batlle and Renaud Savoya Q2 would see the pair post the 11th and 12th fastest times respectively.  Improving his time by 7-seconds Batlle was on target for a Top 10 finish but a late mistake required his Yokomo to be marshaled, the marshal putting the buggy back on the wrong section of track.  11th fastest in Q1 Savoya’s second qualifier would be half a second slower.  Able to run a faster lap time, the French ace said overall the buggy was too aggressive and he needs to find a set-up somewhere in between what he raced in Q1 & Q2.

2WD Buggy Round 2 Qualifying Top 10
1. Joern Neumann (DE) – Durango – 14/5:14.769
2. Martin Bayer (CZ) – Team Xray – 14/5:16.488
3. Hupo Honigl (AT) – Durango – 14/5:21.101
4. Dominic Bauer (AT) – TLR – 14/5:26.908
5. Oliver Scholz (DE) – Team C – 13/5:00.307
6. Jiri Mara (CZ) – Team Xray – 13/5:00.783
7. Patrick Hofer (CH) – Associated – 13/5:00.941
8. Oskar Levin (SE) – TLR – 13/5:01.370
9. Tom Maquel (LU) – Team C – 13/5:03.424
10.Marcel Guske (DE) – TLR – 13/5:03.981

Complete event results can be found here.

View our event image gallery here.

Neumann takes first qualifier at EOS Austria

Having topped yesterday’s practice, this morning Joern Neumann picked up where he left off setting the fastest time in the opening round of 2WD Buggy qualifying at the TLR/Spektrum Euro Offroad Series in Leoben, Austria. Describing the run as ‘close’ referring to the impressive pace of Team Xray’s Martin Bayer, the German outpaced the Czech driver by just under 1-second with Team Durango team-mate Hupo Honigl completing the Top 3.

The defending champion, Neumann said he was able to push his Speed Passion powered DEX210 really hard but on two occasions he pushed it too hard, flipping the buggy with it needing to be marshaled once.  Planning to give himself a little more steering for Q2, he said also hoped to tidy up his driving as Bayer, who also made a mistake while swapping the TQ pace, was looking like a serious threat on this his 2WD debut in the EOS.

Bayer said his mistake cost him a TQ run but he was very happy with his opening performance.  Running a TLR22, as Xray only have a 4WD Buggy, he said by the end of the run his diff didn’t feel to good so he will rebuild it for Q2 but in terms of the buggy set-up he will leave it as is.  Team-mate Renaud Savoya, who has opted to run a Kyosho RB6 in 2WD, said he thought his run was OK as he was sixth fastest in the Top heat but he would only end up 11th overall.  Describing his run as very consistent he said the buggy was easy to drive but lazy and he will make changes to make it more aggressive for Q2.

Feeling very much under the weather, so much so that last night he went to the local hospital, Honigl described his run to the 3rd fastest time as ‘maximum steady’ adding that he is so full of drugs he didn’t push and just tried to stay on the racing line for 5-minutes.  For Q2 the Austrian said he hopes to drive with a bit more aggression.

Setting the fourth fastest time, factory Kyosho driver David Ronnefalk said his Orion powered Ultima RB6 has been good since he put it on the track here at the impressive MRC Bruck/Mur facility but one mistake cost him a chance at a 14 lap run, only the Top 2 managing this.  Happy that the speed is in his buggy to run at the front he said his aim for Q2 is a safe run which would allow him to push and take more risks in Q3 & 4.

Fellow Swede Oskar Levin set the 5th fastest time.  Running in the second highest heat, the Team Losi Racing driver said while the 3-consecutive laps used to seed the heats wasn’t good for him he always knew that over 5-minutes he had a good buggy.  Putting in a clean run, the 18-year-old said the only change he will make for Q2 is a small bump steer adjustment as he wants to get another strong points haul on the board which if he can do will allow him to ‘go big’ in the final two qualifiers.

Driving a Durango, Team Xray’s Jiri Mara completed the Top 6 ahead of German National Champion & Team C driver Oliver Scholz.  For 1:8 Offroad World Champion Robert Batlle the first qualifier didn’t start well.  In the warm-up a 30g gram weight at the front of his Yokomo came off and got jammed in the steering.  Late to the start, the Spaniard then rolled at the second corner requiring to be marshaled.  This left him right on the tail of Round 1 podium finisher Michal Orlowski costing both drivers some time and then passed by Neumann he lost further time when he got caught up in the two mistakes the Durango driver was to make during his TQ run.

2WD Buggy Round 1 Qualifying Top 10
1. Joern Neumann (DE) – Durango – 14/5:19.619
2. Martin Bayer (CZ) – Team Xray – 14/5:20.613
3. Hupo Honigl (AT) – Durango – 13/5:01.503
4. David Ronnefalk (SE) – Kyosho – 13/5:01.796
5. Oskar Levin (SE) – TLR – 13/5:03.449
6. Jiri Mara (CZ) – Team Xray – 13/5:04.137
7. Oliver Scholz (DE) – Team C – 13/5:04.362
8. Bjorn Prumper (DE) – TLR – 13/5:04.411
9. Peter Pinisch (AT) – Associated – 13/5:05.250
10.Patrick Hofer (CH) – Associated – 13/5:05.464

Complete event results can be found here.

View our event image gallery here.

Neumann tops 4WD at EOS Austria

Despite not being able to improve his time in the second timed 4WD Practice, Joern Neumann ended Day 1 of the TLR/Spektrum Euro Offroad Series at the top of the time sheets.  The German was a considerable 1.2 seconds faster than his closest rival Martin Bayer who also failed to better his opening time.  Neumann’s Durango team-mate Hupo Honigl was the highest placed improvement to come in closing practice as he moved up to 3rd just ahead of Xray’s Renaud Savoya who knocked 1.3 seconds off his time. Switching to a heavier oil in the front shocks of his XB4, Savoya said his buggy was much better allowing him to go from 8th to 4th fastest.

Having struggled in the first time practice, Robert Batlle was also able to find a large amount of time.  Having struggled with his BMax-4, which he said just felt like the chassis was too soft, he gambled on running the shocks softer along with stiffening the roll bars and lowering the ride height and to his surprise he said it worked pretty well.  The newly signed Yokomo driver, who despite his impressive 1:8 Offroad CV is a newcomer to 1:10, would set the 9th fastest time again booking himself a spot in the top qualifying heat as he did earlier in 2WD.

Having set the 10th fastest time in the first timed 4WD practice despite not being too happy with the set-up he ran on his Kyosho, David Ronnefalk said the changes he made for the second run made the buggy worse leaving him to drop to 11th fastest in the final practice ranking.

Overall 4WD Buggy Practice Top 10
1. Joern Neumann (DE) – Durango – 3/1:04.567
2. Martin Bayer (CZ) – Xray – 3/1:05.701
3. Hupo Honigl (AT) – Durango – 3/1:05.750
4. Renaud Savoya (FR) – Xray – 3/1:05.801
5. Oliver Scholz (DE) – Team C – 3/1:06.091
6. Jiri Mara (CZ) – Xray – 3/1:06.560
7. Peter Pinisch (AT) – Associated – 3/1:06.846
8. Michal Orlowski (PL) – Durango – 3/1:06.976
9. Robert Batlle (ES) – Yokomo – 3/1:07.221
10.Martin Hansen (DK) – Kyosho – 3/1:07.241

Complete event results can be found here.

View our event image gallery here.