Rd 3 of EOS saw my first race with 10th scale electric! Also first time race on carpet! It was so different than what I know from 1/8 nitro! We did some testing with team mate Martin Bayer on Thursday before the race to adjust the setup for high traction, and I already felt the huge potential of the XB4!
After controlled practices, we had an excellent team work and the setup was really good. We could get fast laptimes, very close to the usual 10th scale drivers with huge experience in this class! It was really promising! With 3 consecutive fast laps, Martin was 2nd and I was 4th!
When came the qualifications, it was another new experience! I'm not used to start qualifications so close to the other cars! It needs precision and self control, as many drivers try to take you out in some corners! I finally managed to get my pace and TQ first round, Martin 2nd, we couldn't be happier!
In round 2, I didn't change anything on the car, and try to drive safe without crashing. It resulting in qualifying 4th, with 2nd overall! Martin was 3rd, proving again the reliability and performances of Xray cars! All had to be decided in round 3 and 4 for TQ and the remaining Amain spots. Team mates Jiri Mara from Czech was also super fast and hoping for getting a 3rd XB4 into the A main final!
As A main was already secured, we worked with Martin and Juraj Hudy in order to give more traction to the car, but at the same time to make it easier to drive. We tried to go higher with the differentials. The car was indeed faster, but the track was loosing traction during the event and we crashed.
I finally went back to 10 000 in front and rear diffs and TQ round 4! I was tied on point with Jorn Neumann, but he got a faster time in 5 minutes so he got TQ! Not too bad for the beginner that I am in this class! ;-)
A main was another story! I couldn't round the first lap without crashing! The cars were so fast and so close, I was not used to it! Then in the pack, you can't do anything, as many drivers drove really aggressive and took me out in the barriers out of the track, crazy! I finally ended up 7th, which is a pretty good result for my first experience, it's promising for the next events!
Martin drove fast and consistent all the finals and could fight with the top guys in order to get 2nd spot overall!
Jiri Mara was also super fast in the A main, but suffered from traffic problems and could only secure 9th spot.
Overall Result 4WD Buggy
1. Joern Neumann (DE)
2. Martin Bayer (CZ) – XRAY XB4
3. David Ronnefalk (SE)
4. Hupo Honigl (AT)
5. Peter Pinisch (AT)
6. Michal Orlowski (PL)
7. Renaud Savoya (FR) – XRAY XB4
8. Martin Kreil (AT)
9. Jiri Mara (CZ) – XRAY XB4
10.Oliver Scholz (DE)
