Coelho tops 2WD seeding at EOS

Having missed the previous round of the Euro Offroad Series due to touring car commitments, Bruno Coelho marked his return to the championship at Wels, Austria by topping seeding for 2WD qualifying.  The penultimate round of the championship, the Xray driver set the fastest 2-consecutive laps around the 20-second lap track ahead of Neil Cragg and Joern Neumann. Coming into the weekend at the top of the points table, defending Champion Michal Orlowski posted the 5th fastest time 2/10ths down on Coelho.

Summing up his morning at Modellbau Wels, drivers having had 3 rounds of free practice followed by two timed runs, Coelho said, ‘It was ok but it is not perfect yet, we are still working on the car’.  Sporting glasses this weekend, the Portuguese driver added, ‘it is a fast track and it has many sweepers and we need to work the car completely different.  Normal we turn into 180s (corners)’.  Winner of the season opener, on this weekend’s layout he said, ‘I think the track is very difficult.  Everyone is on the same pace but it’s not a track you can force on to try and make a difference to your pace’.  Asked about consistency going into the first of the four qualifiers, all of which will run today, he replied, ‘I think I am stronger on consistency than (outright) speed’.

Reacting to his P2 seeding, Cragg said, ‘My car has been pretty good all day.  I had a big ass crash in the first timed practice and so Craig (Drescher) was been wrenching his ass off to get it ready for the last’.  The Team Associated driver, who was quickest after the 3 rounds of free practice, continued, ‘the car is good and easy to drive. We’ll just check a few things for qualifying but it is pretty good so I think we’ll leave as is’.  Team-mate Joona Haatanen would take his example to the 6th fastest time.

Coming into the weekend off the back of making a return to the podium at the Hudy Arena last month, Neumann declared he was ‘doing pretty good’.  Third quickest, the Schumacher driver said, ‘we tried a couple of things but went back to what I used before.  The car is good everywhere except at the centre single where it is bouncing on the flat landing.  We will try to improve that by going a little lighter in the shocks for qualifying’.

Fourth fastest in seeding, Kája Novotný said, ‘After China this is much easier’, the Xray driver having raced at the Sunpadow International Offroad Grand Prix last weekend at the same location as last year’s EP Offroad Worlds.  The Czech driver added, ‘I did not have time to practice at the Hudy Arena before the race so it’s going pretty good so far’.  On his car he said, ‘It is the same set-up I used at the last EOS with just a just 1 or 2 changes I have made over the morning.  The car is good, I only need to improve my driving’.

Orlowski said practice he was ‘going alright’ adding the ‘didn’t change too much on the car’.  The Pole feels the track is changing every run saying, ‘we made a change to the car and it was like we did the opposite (change)’.  He continued, ‘my pace is pretty good and I was very consistent in the last one which is good for qualifying’.

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