Video – 4wd Buggy Practice

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v34iM3NJYW8[/youtube]

Neumann from Matsukura in first timed practice

Defending Euro Offroad Series Champion Joern Neumann headed the first timed practice of the season finale in Austria topping both buggy classes from 2WD title protaganist Naoto Matsukura.  Over 3-fastest consecutive laps, the 2WD time sheets saw the three potential Season #3 champions at the top with Neumann fastest by 0.168 with Hupo Honigl just a further 0.060 off in third.  In 4WD Neumann was a more substantial 0.539 faster than Yokomo’s Japanese ace with title rival Martin Bayer third, his Round 3 winning Xray just a further 0.007 back in third.

Describing the performance of his DEX210 as ‘good’, Neumann added the buggy was ‘very easy to drive’.  Feeling he could do with more steering in the centre chicane, the German said for the second & final timed practice he will focus on his rear tyres.  Running the championship’s handout Pro-Line tyres, he will try removing the outside row of pins from the Pin Point tyre which he said should help the buggy turn in more for that section.  In terms of his 4WD, having struggled at Round 3 in qualifying with diff issues Neumann said this weekend it is ‘back to being good again’.  Running a rather large front wing on the Orion powered DEX410, which he said helps give more steering at the end of the straight, he plans no changes for his final run of the day – the fastest time of the two runs determining the seeding for qualifying.

Matsukura who is running new parts on both his Yokomo buggies this weekend, described his 2WD as ‘not so bad’.  The Round 2 race winner said his B-Max2 is ‘too easy to drive’ and for his next run will switch from Associated shock springs to Yokomo’s own springs.  Setting the 7th & 8th fastest time himself in 4WD & 2WD, Yokomo’s new head of offroad development Shin Adachi explained the parts they have brought along this weekend.  On the 2WD they are running a lighter top gear shaft and engine mount which results in a lower centre of gravity.  They are also running a light weight body shell and Adachi is happy with the results.  In 4WD they have adapted the buggy to run shorty battery packs which he said makes it feel easier to drive.  He said they still have a little too much steering but he thinks they can find a better set-up to cure this.  Matsukura said his 4WD ‘felt good’ but looking to make it a little easier to drive he will move in the position of his rear shocks on the tower.

Running a fresh set of Pro-Line tyres on his TM2 V2 for the first time today in the opening timed practice, Honigl said considerng this it felt ‘OK’.  The Austrian said he needs to find more forward traction out of the slow corners while also looking for more steering at the end of the straight.  Seeking such changes he said he wasnt really sure what set-up changes would be best.  Sixth fastest in 4WD, he said the buggy feels fast driving it around the track but on the timing sheets the speed is not there.  He said when a car feels good to drive its not so easy to single out what set-up changes are going to improve things.

Setting the fourth fastest 2WD time and backing that up with 5th in 4WD, Polish Team Durango talent Michal Orlowski was very happy with his runs after struggling a little with his 2WD in the morning free practice.  Running yesterday’s reverse direction open practice and being very happy with his DEX210 which is 300 grams lighter than that of Neumann’s, when the track was switched to the anti-clockwise direction he found himself struggling.  Changing to a softer shock oil for the first timed practice, the 12-year-old said this gave him back the feeling he enjoyed yesterday.  Running his 4WD the same he said the direction change had no effect and he will continue with it as is.

Top Qualifier of the season opener, Schumacher’s Tom Cockerill posted the 5th fastest time in 2WD while struggling a little in 4WD.  Changing his set-up for the first timed practice, he said it made his Cougar ‘push like crazy’ but overall the buggy was very consistent and easy to drive.  Having tried a lot of changes every run he said he is confident he knows what the best combination is now and he will switch to that set-up for the final timed practice.  For the Schumacher team, American team driver Carson Wernimont aquitted himself very well posting the 8th fastest time in 4WD while posting the 12th fastest time in 2WD.  The 17-year-old said having never really driven touring cars where running the same line every lap is key and with his ‘main thing being 1:8 Offroad’ where you run different line every lap it is at a bit of a disadvantage.  Happy with the consistency of his buggies on is 4WD he said he will change the profile of his Reedy motor to try and make it a little faster.

Completing the Top 6 in 2WD was Lee Martin. The Yokomo driver said his Viper powered B-Max 2 is not landing the jumps very well and he needs to make them gradually softer until they feel right.  Also running a used set of tyres in the first time practice on both his buggies they were too far gone contributing to him be a ‘little too slow’.  Fourth fastest in 4WD, suffering from a pin coming out of the rear centre drive shaft, the British ace said his buggy was a ‘little difficult’ and he will change roll bars for his next run.  Having tried Matsukura’s set-up but finding it not to his liking he said he is now ‘working on (his) own thing’.

Mananging only 3 laps in 2WD before breaking his prototype Xray buggy, in 4WD Bayer said while his 4WD was very consistent it was ‘too safe’.  Looking to make it more aggressive, the Round 3 Top Qualifier and winner, will make a diff change on the XB4 for the days closing run.

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Video – 2wd Buggy Practice

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_usYhSfL8Yo[/youtube]

Build up underway for Austrian EOS title showdown

The Euro Offroad Series season finale officially got underway in Wels, Austria, today where there is to be a showdown for the title of both 2WD & 4WD Buggy. The third season of the championship for 1:10 electric Offroad, to date it has only ever crowned one champion, that being Team Durango’s Joern Neumann. The back to back champion of both buggy classes, this weekend the German is in contention for a hat trick although in 2WD with no wins this season mean the European Champion is only in with an outside chance against Round 2 winner Naoto Matsukra and Round 1 winner Hupo Honigl. In 4WD Buggy Neumann’s only title challenger is European Champion Martin Bayer who at Round 3 of the championship in Slovakia last month ended his unbeaten 9 win run in the class.

Having struggled at the previous round not even making the podium, Neumann said here in Austria was going ‘much better’.  Putting part of his weak performance at Round 3 down to his own driving, he said he has done a lot of practice in preparation for this weekend adding he is feeling pretty confident.  With his main focus being on 4WD Buggy, he is very happy with the initial pace of his DEX410.  Running new front universal drive shafts this weekend he likes the ‘more free’ feeling they give the buggy.  While a 5-time race winner in 2WD Buggy, even if he can pull of his first win of the season this weekend along with the extra bonus point for the TQ, the odds are stacked against Neumann for the overall title.  He can only beat Matusuka on points if the Japanese driver, who missed the season opener, finishes 4th or lower.

Matsukura, who has a revised 2WD for the event, is confident he can get the job done.  Liking the track, although preferring it yesterday when it was available for open practice running in the opposite direction, the always spectacular driver said his focus is not on any points senarios but just going out and going for the win which in turn will give him the title.  In that points game his biggest rival is Team C’s Hupo Honigl although the Austrian needs to pull three points off the Yokomo ace meaning with a win & TQ he would still need Matsukura to finish third or lower.

Honigl knows getting his hands on the title is going to be ‘pretty difficult’ but said he will ‘as always’ just go out and give his best and see what outcome that brings.  Having been a leading 2WD race contender at all EOS races this year and having been rejuvenated since his switch to Team C, he said of all the track’s this season the layout here in Wels doesn’t help his ‘front motored’ TM2 V2  due to the many slow corners, his configuration better suiting high speed corners.   Although not in contention for the 4WD title, he said 4WD Buggy is the better than it has ever been and he hopes he can end the championship with his first podium in the class with Team C.

Having done the double at his Xray team’s home event, Bayer said he is ‘really confident’ about his chances of a repeat win this weekend in 4WD.  Describing the track as ‘small but fun’, he said he is happy with how his XB4 is working feeling the speed is good.   Without a team-mate this weekend, Renaud Savoya not making the season finale, in 2WD Buggy the Cezch ace said winning might be a little more difficult as they have a new prototype front end on the XB4-2 this weekend.   Having run in yesterday’s open practice he said the buggy felt pretty good but added they still have a bit of learning to do with it.

While all the attention will be on the title battles, a number of quick drivers will be looking to make their own marks on proceedings and grab their first wins of the season. While his team-mate goes for the 2WD title, Lee Martin is aiming to sign off his first full EOS campaign with a first win for his new employers Yokomo.  A previous 2WD race winner, taking a win in Belgium in Season #1 for Tamiya, Martin had his best result at the Hudy Arena when he took second behind Bayer in 4WD.

Fellow countryman Tom Cockerill started off the season with a TQ in 2WD Buggy and is hungry for a first win for both him and his Schumacher team.   Top Qualifier in Poland, this weekend is the first time Cockerill has had a team to work with on the EOS.  Schumacher has flown over young US talent Carson Wernimont for the event with fast 12-year-old German talent Micha Widmaier also providing the team with valuable input.  Cockerill said he quite likes the track’ and it should make for good racing but having some quick team-mates to work with was a real positive.  His first time to race in Europe, 17-year-old Wernimont is really enjoying the change of scenery.  Traveling to Austria, via the UK where he did some testing on Astro turf, the Pro-Line Cactus Classic finalist said he has had to adapt his driving more to that of a touring car with ‘keeping the momentum up’ very important.  A lot different to racing on dirt he said he prefers the carpet of the EOS to the Astro Turf he tried but which gave him a quick lesson in how not to drive in Europe.

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Track Focus – ‘Modelbau Wels’

Name – Modelbau Wels
Host Club – ERT-Steyregg
Country – Austria
Location – Wels (200km West of Vienna)
Direction – Anti-clockwise
Surface – Carpet

Season #3 of the Euro Offroad Series reaches its conclusion this weekend in the small northern Austrian city of Wels with the championship finale taking place as part of the country’s biggest Hobby Exhibition ‘Modelbau Wels’.  Run for the first time last year, attracting over 30,000 visitors, the show covers all aspects of modelling with EOS drivers representing the world of electric offroad RC racing, nitro offroad also being represented on a seperate outdoor track.  Situated in Hall 9, local club ERT-Steyregg have presented a technical track utilising carpet tiles from the exhibition centre, which are proving very durable together with a good level of grip.

In terms of the track layout some adjustments have had to be made to the second jump in front of the driver’s stand.  Originally a quad jump at a push, with the levels of all competing drivers taken onboard the spacing was extended to create a double double during untimed practice.  With numerous 180 corners, a good run through the fast mid section of the track is key to a fast lap.  Overall driver feedback on the layout is positive with most describing it as ‘fun to drive’.

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