Video – 2wd A-main Leg 2

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mh6-isRu94Q[/youtube]

Video – 2wd A-main Leg 1

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=goc4JJ659K4[/youtube]

Orlowski wins A1 with flawless drive

A flawless drive from Schumacher’s Michal Orlowski netted the 13-year-old a convincing win in the opening A-Main at the Euro Offroad Series finale. Leading away the world class field, the Top Qualifier would get his break when champion Lee Martin made a mistake on lap 6 of 13 allowing him to take his first A-final win by over 6-seconds. Dropping to third behind Ryan Cavalieri, Martin would get back his starting position when the multiple World Champion would make a mistake on the penultimate lap leaving him to complete the Top 3. Having started third Marc Rheinard would finish 4th ahead of last year’s event winner Martin Bayer.

Chased initially by Martin’s Yokomo, Orlowski described his first TQ start as ‘stressful’.  Coming under ‘a lot of pressure from Lee’ he said after the British ace made a mistake he felt like he slowed down but looking at the lap times afterward he laughed that 2 laps later he set the fastest lap of the race.  Describing A1 as the ‘perfect race’ he said ‘hopefully I can repeat it in A2 and get another win’.

While Orlowski drove a flawless 5-minutes, the same couldn’t be said for his rivals.  Martin said his YZ-2 again suffered a bad landing and hitting the barriers and in terms of his chances of going for the win ‘that was it, gone’.

Describing Bayer’s start as ‘aggressive’, Cavalieri said he retook the Xray when the Czech driver made a mistake working his way up to second as others did the same.  Catching Orlowski ‘slightly’ he said their speed was very similar so the gap never got any smaller.  In the final minute the American said ‘all of a sudden the car started to feel a little weird’ leading to him crashing and dropping back behind Martin.

Battling with Martin for third, Carson Wernimont said his race was going pretty well but on the penultimate lap his B5M’s electrics shutdown at the end of the straight. Asked what caused the problem he was still trying to figure out what went wrong.

View the complete event results here.

View the event image gallery here.

Chassis Focus – Michal Orlowski

Chassis: Schumacher Cougar KF2
Motor: Speed Passion 6.5
ESC: LRP
Batteries: LRP 4700mah
Radio/Servo: Sanwa

Remarks: The 2WD buggy of Polish top qualifier Michal Orlowski features a number of important option parts. The rear end sports a rear shock mount kit which moves the shocks to the back of the shock tower, while for the front end alloy 5° caster blocks are Michal’s choice for the conditions. Everything is mounted on the low traction chassis which moves the motor backwards and allows for the use of short LiPos instead of saddle packs.

Image Gallery 

Orlowski claims first EOS TQ

Michal Orlowski has claimed his first overall TQ of the Euro Offroad Series with a superb drive in the final qualifier at the Season #4 finale at the Hudy Racing Arena.  Having topped the opening 2WD qualifier in Slovakia, the 13-year would secure pole position ahead of this year’s champion Lee Martin when he produced the fastest qualifying time of the four rounds in Q4, also setting the fastest lap of the weekend in the process.  Having each TQ’d a round of qualifying it is Martin and Yokomo team-mate Marc Rheinard who start directly behind the young Polish star.  Putting in his best round in the final qualifier taking a P2, Kody Numedahl will start fourth while last year’s winner Martin Bayer finds himself only 7th on the grid behind the factory Team Associated trio who have made the trip over from the US.

‘Big stress’ was Orlowski’s initial reaction to becoming on the 8th different driver to TQ an EOS race since the championship was established 4-years ago.  With two good rounds having taken a P2 in Q3 and 2 of 4 to count, he said he knew he could push his KF2 more in the final qualifier but laying down the TQ pace he admitted he was ‘shaking for the last minute’.  Running the same set of handout tyres and set-up from Q1, he said his buggy has been ‘super good’ and he plans to leave it as is for A1. Shocked himself by his fastest lap time, looking to the finals he said ‘its a very hard track so its very important to have no mistakes’.  In with a chance of a Top 3 finish in the overall championship standings he continued, ‘I will do my best and see what happens’.

‘The kid is fast’, that was 3-time 2WD race winner Martin’s reaction to Orlowski TQ.  The World Championship runner-up, who hada mistake in his final qualifier, said he and the Schumacher driver are very close on pace and echoed this rivals thoughts on the race saying the plans was ‘don’t crash and see what happens’.  Reunited this weekend with his old TRF team-mate Rheinard, who signed a surprise deal to race for Yokomo’s offroad team just last month, Martin said ‘Marc is starting behind me and the aim s for both of us to move forward in the finals’.

Ending qualifying with his best run, Numedahl said he found the 1-second that he believed was in him with another 2-seconds coming from the track being much faster in Q4.  Adding weight to his B5M for the last qualifier he said this made it a little more comfortable to drive.  Asked about his plan for the final, the AE designer replied, ‘2WD is not so crazy as 4WD which is nuts, but as we’re are going so fast its going to be hard not to hit people’.

One the series former race Top Qualifiers,  Wernimont said he hoped to turn things around in the final. Qualifying 5th, the 18-year-old said ‘I crash the whole time but the car has the speed and if I can just sort that out we might be able to pull something good out of the finals’.  His senior team-mate Cavalieri who starts 6th, referring to the triple finals said ‘It will be fun out there’ continuing ‘my plan is just to follow around and see what happens ahead’.

After a good Q3, Bayer was annoyed with his final run as he made ‘two stupid mistakes’.  The home event for his Xray team he said its going to be hard to do something from 7th but his XB2 prototype’s pace is good and who knows what will happen in the race.

View the complete event results here.

View the event image gallery here.

Martin tops third qualifier at Hudy Racing Arena

Lee Martin has posted his first 2WD TQ run of the Euro Offroad Series Season Finale at the Hudy Arena. The Yokomo driver, who wrapped up the Season #4 title at the previous race in Austria, became the third different driver to top qualifying in as many rounds as he set the fastest time over Q1 pace setter Michal Orlowski.  After a ‘horrible start’ to his day, Xray’s Martin Bayer claimed his first Top 3 run ahead of the trio American Team Associated trio of Kody Numedahl, Ryan Cavalieri and Carson Wernimont.

With his tyres going ‘over the hill’ in Q2, allowing team-mate Marc Rheinard to snatch a TQ run ahead of him as he struggled for grip, Martin started Q3 with brand new tyres on his YZ-2.  ‘Edgy starting out’, the Brit said as the run progressed it ‘felt pretty good’ and his plan for the final qualifier is to just run everything as is and just try to put in a clean run.  From his TQ run in the previous qualifier, an early wheelie on the main straight right in front of Martin, would be the start of a poor run for Rheinard.  Trying to make up the lost time, the German said he pushed too hard which is ‘not faster’ leaving him 11h for the round.

A non finisher in the second qualifier, a mistake at the double double while on a Top 3 pace leading to him popping a rear drive shaft, Orlowski was happy to back up his Q1 TQ with a 2nd.  The young Polish star said with two of four rounds to count he knew it was important to put in a solid run in Q3 and so he went for a safe run. Describing his pace for the first half of as ‘slow’ he said the second was faster and considering his early pace he is happy to end up second.

Losing a screw from a steering hub in Q1, and then suffering from his slipper nut coming loose in Q2, Bayer was relieved to have a run with no mechanical issues.  Last year’s winner of the Slovakian round, he said he made one ‘stupid mistake’ when he traction rolled his XB2 and without this he would have been very close to Martin.  Needing a good final qualifying if he is to start at the sharp end of the grid, the Czech ace said ‘the speed is there and I just need to drive clean’.

Getting ‘too confident in Q2’ leading to him overdriving his B5M and eventually deciding to pull off, Numedahl said reverting back to the smooth driving that netted him a P5 in Q1, the American was happy with fourth fastest.  Fitting a front wing to his buggy for the latest round the AE designer said the difference was ‘very noticeable’ with it less inclined to wheelie due to extra aero.  Feeling the car is pretty close on pace he said there is probably about a second more that could come from the driver.

Third in Q2, Cavalieri said while the he only managed a P5 in Q3 due to a mistake in lap 3 he was happy that he had picked up a few 1/10ths in his fastest lap time.  Running a front wing since Q1, which he said makes the car smoother to drive, he is confident the last round can be a good one for him.  Team-mate Wernimont described his latest run to P6 as ‘alright’.  The 18-year-old said he knows the car can do better and has the speed but he needs to get around for the 5-minutes without mistakes.

One of this season’s 3 overall race winners in 2WD, Naoto Matsukura is not happy with his pace.  Posting the 7th fastest time, having finished way down the order in Q2, the new Kyosho signing said understeer is a big issue on his RB6 and he doesn’t have a good feeling with the car.  Lacking confidence in it he said this means they ‘dont have pace’ to run at the front.  Behind Matsukura, 13-year-old EOS debutant Kaito Kodera enjoyed his best run with the Yokomo driver 8th fastest.

View the complete event results here.

View the event image gallery here.