Neumann tops 2WD practice at EOS opener
Joern Neumann got his title defense of the TLR/Spektrum Euro Offroad Series presented by Horizon Hobby off to a positive start as he put his Durango top of the time sheets in practice for the opening round of season No.2 of the series which got underway today in Poznan, Poland. Setting the fastest three consecutive laps, making him top seed for tomorrow’s four rounds of qualifying, the German outpaced the Team Losi Racing pairing of Dustin Evans and Darren Bloomfield who set the 2nd and 3rd fastest times respectively.
Running as part of a hobby exhibition which is expected to attract in the region of 30,000 visitors over the weekend, Neumann was pleased with his Speed Passion powered DEX210 but said he is having a little trouble with judging the jumps due to the height of the drivers stand which is positioned up on the balcony that runs around the outer wall of the large hall in which the event is taking place. Making only a shock oil change to his buggy, going to a lighter oil in the rear, Neumann said he used practice to evaluate tyres. While drivers must run a Nanobyte tyre from official tyre supplier dBoots on the rear, this year they can choose between two control front tyres for 2WD Buggy. Testing the pin type Nanobyte and staggered Blockpass, Neumann said the Blockpass was much easier to drive event though it gave his buggy a little less steering. Team-mate Hupo Honigl, who set the 4th fastest time, also tried both but said he preferred the aggressiveness of the Nanobyte which he described as a ‘man tyre’. The Austrian is running his buggy pretty much the same as at the inaugural EOS season finale in Dortmund, Germany, and he is happy with his pace so far. Both drivers are running alloy chassis plates that are 8mm longer than of the standard kit buggy.
Despite breaking a front shock tower in the first timed practice when he jumped his Orion powered TLR22 up on to the corner table top leading on to the main straight a little too hot, Evans said his buggy was really good and he believes over 5-minutes he has a really competitive package. Describing Neumann’s 17.660 fastest lap as ‘one hero lap’, the 2011 US National Champion said the addition of the dBoots Blockpass this season is a big positive for him and he is much more comfortable with his buggy on that tyre pattern. Only his third time to ever race on a carpet track, Evans said he is able to drive with good consistency and he is looking forward to the opening qualifier in the morning.
Running a ball diff as opposed to the gear diff that Evans is running, Bloomfield said he preferred the feeling of the Nanobyte but found they wear too quick and so for Q1 he will run the Blockpass. Just back from a tour of the United States, the 1:8 Offroad European Champion is struggling a little with jet lag but said he has found a good starting base for qualifying. Only competing in 2WD Buggy this weekend, he will spend the evening helping Evans and Matt Castellano with their 4WD cars with both running 4WD Buggy and Short Course. Experiencing his first ever offroad race on carpet Castellano described it as ‘way different’ adding that the corner speeds were so much faster than on dirt. Setting the sixth fastest time in practice he said he is ‘having fun’ and just needs more time to learn the uniquely European style track along with working on his consistency.
In between all the factory drivers setting the 5th fastest time was one of Poland’s emerging young international talents Michal Orlowski. Just 11-years old and better known for his efforts in the Euro Touring Series, it turns out he is also a dab hand at offroad holding the reign of Polish Indoor National Champion. Running a Vega converted Tamiya similar to that used by factory TRF driver Lee Martin to win round 2 of last season’s EOS, Orlowski is very happy with how the mid mount motor buggy is working around what is a very fast track.
Factory Schumacher driver Tom Cockerill, who took a front corner off his Cougar SV2 in his first timed practice run, set the 7th fastest time. The British driver, who likes the flow of the track, said his buggy was consistent but was lacking a little in power and for qualifying has decided to change speedo. Looking to shave a few tenths off his lap times he said he hoped most of that would come from the new speedo.
With 2WD practice complete, the drivers will now turn their attentions to five rounds of 4WD practice with the final two runs set to determine the heat order for qualifying.
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