February 23, 2018

Orlowski secures overall TQ at EOS Slovakia

Michal Orlowski has secured the overall TQ at the Euro Offroad Series in Slovakia, the Schumacher driver delivering a second TQ run in the all counting fourth & final qualifier at the Hudy Arena.  With four drivers in contention to become the 2WD Top Qualifier at the 3rd round of the championship, it was Orlowski who came out on top producing the fastest time of the day and bettering Martin Bayer’s previous quickest time from Q3 by 4-seconds to claim the first TQ championship point of his 2WD title defence.  Behind him, but unable to match Orlowski’s 13 lap pace, Neil Cragg would post the second fastest time of Q4 but with Bayer having a faster TQ time, it meant the Associated driver lost out on the tie breaker and will start tomorrow’s finals 3rd on the grid. Completing the Top 3 for the final qualifier ahead of Bayer, the Xray driver’s challenge ending with a mistake on his 3rd lap, Lee Martin makes it four different manufacturers represented at the front of the grid, a result not expected at the home of Xray.

Commenting on his third EOS career TQ, all of them in 2WD, Orlowski said, ‘I was on new tyres so the car felt really good and I started off really fast.  Bayer and Neil crashed on the same lap and I thought I had a big gap so I started to do some slow laps but I didn’t have as big a gap as I thought and had to do some fast laps again but I had control of the race’.  He added, ‘I feel I still have more pace up my sleeve and going into A1 the tyres are very good as they will be on their second run which is their best.  The car is very good and easy everywhere on the track so I feel good for tomorrow’.

Bayer said, ‘I knew when I saw Michal was on new tyres the pressure was on so I pushed hard and ended up making a stupid mistake.  I was maybe a little ahead at the start but after the mistake it was over’.  Having taken his Q3 TQ, being the first driver to break 13-laps, he added, ‘new tyres are just better and used are just too slow to compete with someone on new tyres’.  A former winner of his home race, he concluded, ‘maybe starting second is better as I will shake less’.

‘I’m pretty pleased with that. I came out as hard as I could as I knew Michal was on new tyres, Maybe I went a little too hard as I crashed in front of the drivers’ stand’, was Cragg’s reaction after the final qualifier.  The British driver continued, ‘Starting out 3rd I can’t argue with that’ and when asked his thoughts on tomorrow’s finals concluded, ‘It should be fast and furious as always’.

Another driver on new tyres for the final qualifier, Lee Martin said, ‘the car was good in the end but it took a while for the tyres to scrub in. Once I got some confidence it was pretty good’.  The Yokomo driver said, ‘I still need corner speed but we have a practice in the morning which is good so we can try some stupid shit and see if it works’.  Asked what racing he expected in the finals he replied, ‘the total opposite has happened to my predictions at all the previous races but the track is big and open which doesn’t normal highlight good racing’.

View complete event results here.

View the event image gallery here.



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