TeamSR have introduced the only complete Quasi-Isotropic carbon fiber rear shock tower assembly on the market for the TLR22T platform. Emphasis has not only been placed on a clean aesthetic and durability in mind, but also with the TeamSR signature ‘sealed wet look’ edges. Aircraft grade 7075 T6 aluminium is used to provide a solid, black anodized precision machined piece and this unique piece is then engraved with the TSR logo on top. The tower assembly is a true ‘bolt on’ part and comes pre-assembled to provide a more rigid and light weight tower thus increasing durability over the existing factory plastic molded tower.

Source: TeamSR [teamsr.co]

Click here to view the embedded video.

Team Orion have released this interesting, but brief, insight into the production of their line of CRF engines all taking place under the watchful eye of Team Orion’s chief designer and multiple World Champion Adrien Bertin.

Source: Team Orion [teamorion.com]

3Racing’s new High Downforce lexan front wing for direct drive F1 chassis, fits the Tamiya F103, F104, their own F109 and soon to be released F113. The front wing has been designed and tested for the purpose of performance under racing conditions. The replaceable airfoil part of the wing is made of clear polycarbonate while the main nose part is made of impact resistant composite plastic providing the necessary structural integrity.

This race spec rear wing for F1 chassis’ was designed to provide just enough downforce and stability under racing conditions. Due to the realistic design and looks of direct drive F1 chassis, comes an inherent tendency for on and off power understeer especially running foam tyres on high traction surfaces. This wing will give your F1 chassis more responsive handling especially at high speeds. Fitting the Tamiya F103, F104, their own F109 and soon to be released F113, the rear wing is made of an impact resistant composite plastic and has proven exceptionally durable under heavy impact.

Finally 3Racing’s new F1 body, the JLB03 Type A, is made for popular direct drive F1 chassis and is their first pure bred F1 race body. Incorporating crucial aerodynamic properties, the JLB03 body features fins on the nose part of the body, providing essential front down force. The narrow and angled raised side pods have proven to provide better stability during high speed cornering and the upper air inlet has been lowered giving a lower overall height of the body. Fits the Tamiya F104 and 3Racing’s soon to be released F113 F1 chassis and other narrow F1 chassis with a longitudinally mounted battery pack. An ABS plastic driver also included to maintain its realistic F1 body look.

Source: 3Racing [3racing.hk]

JConcepts will keep the racing going this summer in Florida with the announcement of the Summer Tour. These 3 standalone events will kick off on June 2nd at FZRC in Sarasota, Florida before a July 7th stop at eXtreme Hobby Zone in Winter Haven, FL and ending on July 28th at Shiverville in High Springs, FL. Come out and race these laid back events to help keep the Summer time blues away. More information can be found on the official event site here.

T-Work’s have produced this aluminium pinion gear holder for M1 pinion gears. Most 1/8th and Short Course electric motors are designed to use M1 pinion gears which fits onto a 5mm armature shaft. This convenient holder will take up to 10 M1 pinion gears and comes in black, red, orange and Tamiya blue. T-Work’s also makes the same pinion gear holder for 1/10th pinion gears.

Source: T-Work’s [rc-tworks.com]

New for the Durango DEX210, Tresrey have released these aluminium front top deck mount buttons. Made from red anodised aluminium, with laser etched logo, they are a direct replacement for the standard plastic versions and bring an extra bit of bling to your chassis.

Source: Tresrey [tresrey.com]

Alpha Plus and Ryan Lutz have teamed together to produce ‘The Lutz Edition’ Alpha Plus Engine. Based off the popular A852 model from Alpha Plus, the Lutz Edition has a few performance and cosmetic tweaks that give it a one of a kind look and feel. It starts at the top with the in-your-face hot pink signature cooling head sure to make you and your race vehicle stand out at the track. Drivers know that to race pink you have to be fast and that’s what this engine will ensure. The engine head itself is 2 fins lower than current Alpha Plus Models, providing 2 fins that wrap around the top of the crankcase to provide better cooling, while also boasting a lower Center of Gravity.

As you work your way down the crankcase you’ll notice some attention to detail as cutouts and weight savings were considered. This engine is very light (under 350g) and goes very well with today’s drivers who are really geared towards weight savings on their race cars! Also not to be missed on the crankcase is another signature from Ryan Lutz showing his representation and support for this exciting product.

Moving your gaze up and forward now towards the carburetor you’ll find a super smooth throttle slide equipped with a new low speed needle providing a smooth linear feel and increased fuel economy. Also as standard on Alpha Engines the 12-hour dial around the low speed needle so you can easily remember where you have your needle set at and your mechanic can always know how much 2 hours or 3 hours signifies! Looking now just below the high speed needle you find more cutouts for decreased weight and better cooling of the carb.

All in all this engine is sure to grab attention at the track where it’s looking good sitting in your vehicle in the pits, or screaming down the straight at nearly 40,000 RPM. The proven 5+2 Ports design provides plenty of power on both top and bottom end. Perfect for those looking for a smooth Truggy engine or those that like a strong bottom end in their 1/8th Buggy all the while smoking other racers down the straightaway! So be sure to pick up your own “Lutz Edition” Alpha plus engine and be the talk of the race track.

Source: Alpha [alpha-rc.com]

For the RX8 Xray have introduced this aluminium servo saver with adjustable rod mount to allow quick and easy adjustment of steering ackermann with 4 settings available. Ultra-strong construction for increased lifespan and durability it has been CNC-machined from premium Swiss 7075 T6 aluminium.

Source: Xray [teamxray.com]

The 2012 JBRL Nitro Series is in full swing and the second stop on the series took place last weekend at Revelation Raceway with over 200 entries.  Many of the world’s best were on hand including the current World Champion Cody King, Ryan Cavalieri, Adam Drake, Mike Truhe, Ryan Maifield, Travis Amezcua, Dylan Rodriguez, Richard Saxton and Steve Hartson. The layout started out smooth and high speed, but by the end of the weekend is was very technical and rough. It was Adam Drake who dominated the event by winning three classes.

In the 1/8th nitro buggy class the competition was intense.  TLR / Novarossi / Pro-Line’s Adam Drake took the TQ honors followed by Maifield, Cavalieri, Truhe and King rounding out the top five.  Drake had a clean start to the final, but made a small mistake on the second lap that caused him to go off the track and into a mud hole.  Drake regrouped in fourth and quickly moved past Cavalieri and King.  Drake then set his eyes on the leader Maifield.  Maifield and Drake started pulling away from the field and Drake made his way around Maifield and started slowly pulling away each lap.  With 5 minutes to go in the final Drake started taking it easy on a few sections of the track and this caused him to make a couple of mistake and for Maifield to close the gap, but Drake held on for the win followed by Maifield with Travis Amezcua finishing third after bumping from the B main.

Expert Nitro Buggy
1. Adam Drake (TQ) – TLR 8ight 2.0/Novarossi/Nitrotane/Pro-Line Holeshot 1.0 (M4)
2. Ryan Maifield – AE/LRP/Sidewinder/JC
3. Travis Amezcua – Xray/Novarossi/Sidewinder/AKA
4. Cody King – Kyosho/Orion/Byron’s/Pro-Line
5. Ryan Cavalieri – AE/Orion/Sidewinder/Pro-Line
6. Dylan Rodriguez – Kyosho/OS/Sidewinder/Pro-Line
7. Mike Truhe – TLR 8ight 2.0/Orion/Nitrotane/AKA
8. Richard Saxton – AE/Reedy/Sidewinder/Pro-Line
9. Steven Hartson – AE/Reedy/Sidewinder/JC
10.Chad Nevin – AE/Reedy/Sidewinder/Pro-Line

In the 1/8th nitro truck class Dylan Rodriguez TQ’ed. In the final, Maifield, Rodriguez and Drake pulled away from the pack and had a great battle.  In the end Drake’s Novarossi powered TLR 8ight T 2.0 with Pro-Line M3 Holeshots held on for the victory over Ryan Maifield and Dylan Rodriguez.

Expert Nitro Truggy
1. Adam Drake – TLR 8ight T 2.0/Novarossi/Nitrotane/Pro-Line Holeshot (M3)
2. Ryan Maifield – AE/LRP/Sidewinder/JC
3. Dylan Rodriguez (TQ) – Kyosho/OS/Sidewinder/Pro-Line

In the 1/8th electric class Drake had problems in both rounds of qualifying stripping two plastic spur gears and ended up in the B Main. Drake won the B Main by a large margin and started 13th on the grid in the A Main. In the 10 minute A Main Drake worked his way through the pack, but the leader Hartson was gone until he made a few mistakes which allowed Drake to close, then take the lead and pull a way to more than a 10 second lead. Drake’s TLR 8ight E 2.0 powered by Tekin electronics and Pro-Line M4 Holeshot 2.0′s was on rails in the final.

E Buggy
1. Adam Drake – TLR 8ight 2.0/Tekin / Tekin/Losi/Pro-Line Holeshot 2.0 (M4)
2. Steven Hartson (TQ) – AE/JC
3. Ryan Hughes – Tekno

Source: TLR [tlracing.com]

Better known as a gas onroad racer new Thunder Power RC signing JJ Wang is making a name for himself throughout China as one of the rising stars of modified touring car and EP offroad. The 14 year old has launched his EP career with a 4th place finish in the FWD class at this year’s TITC race. Stepping up his game, powered by Thunder Power RC, JJ recently won the EP 4WD Short Course Truck and 2WD Buggy classes at the Horizon Hobby Cup. JJ will run Thunder Power RC Z3R motors and batteries to power his 2012-2013 racing season in China and at various International and US electric/LiPo events. JJ had this to say:

I’m very motivated and excited to join the Thunder Power RC team. I think their products have very high quality and I’m looking forward to using them in the upcoming season.

Source: Thunder Power [thunderpowerrc.com]

JConcepts Team Driver Max Flurer made the trip to the vacation destination of Myrtle Beach South Carolina this past weekend to the Badlands RC raceway for their annual Spring Sting. The Spring Sting is always the first big race of the season in the region, one of the best tracks and facilities await the drivers as one of the can’t miss races. With a full arsenal of JConcepts equipped Associated cars, Max made a statement that if you want to stand on the top step, you are going to have to climb past him.

With TQ’s in 2WD SCT, 4WD SCT, and eBuggy, Max had open track when the buzzer went off in 2WD SCT, running Orange Pressure Points in front, with Green rears mounted on Hazard wheels. His SC10 with JConcepts Hi-Flow body was never challenged, as he took the win. Max picked up where he left off, this time in 4WD SCT with another Hi-Flow covered truck, and Pressure Points in Orange front and rear. Flurer claimed his second win of the day. To round out his weekend, Max ran his Punisher equipped RC8.2E with 3D’s in blue, to claim his third victory of the day.

Source: JConcepts [jconcepts.net]

On back to back weekends JConcepts keeps its winning streak alive by TQ’ing and winning all 3 expert classes at round 3 of the Short Course Showdown. The Trackside Hobbies crew did an amazing job with this year’s track layout and surface prep. With plenty of elevation changes, off-camber turns, rhythm sections, and high-bite conditions, the racing was tight and super exciting.

JConcepts driver Daimon Borkowicz got the weekend started off with a bang by taking the TQ in all 4 rounds of qualifying of the 17.5 expert stock class. This was followed up by JConcepts driver Dustin Evans setting the untouchable TQ run of the weekend in the very first round of 2wd expert Mod class. JConcepts driver Chad Due finished off the perfect qualifying weekend with a dominating performance in the 4×4 expert Mod class by taking the overall TQ position.

A-main shake-up! The A-mains got underway and Daimon’s perfect weekend came to an end in the expert stock class when 2nd place qualifier got into the back of him on the first lap, shuffling them back into mid pack. Jason Hills and Alec Walters took full advantage of the first lap mishap with Jason leading the first 9 laps, but on lap 10 Jason made a mistake allowing Alec to sneak by into the lead. Alec went on to drive a perfect race for the overall win, Jason Hills second, and Daimon working his way back into third for the final podium spot. Privateer Alec Walters chose Bar Codes & Rulux wheels for his winning combination.

The 2wd modified class got off to a much better start for the top 3 trucks as Dustin Evans took full advantage of his TQ position and lead wire to wire. Chad Due and Brian Kinwald traded positions on lap 3 when Chad made a small mistake; they both maintained those positions throughout the main event to round out the podium spots. Dustin locked in on green Bar Codes from the 2nd practice run and ran the same set the entire weekend.

The 4wd expert mod class was an amazing display of patience driving by Brian Kinwald. TQ holder Chad Due took the early lead and looked very solid, but Brian continually put amazing pressure on Chad until one small mistake opened the door for Brian to sneak by for the lead and the overall win. Chad held on for 2nd and Dustin Evans in 3rd. Brian Kinwald also picked green Bar Codes and Hazard +3 wheels early on in practice and continued with the same set for the entire event.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Source: JConcepts [jconcepts.net]

Desert-racing legend and Off-Road Motorsports Hall of Fame member Rob MacCachren has one of the longest and most storied careers in motorsports—he won his first off-road championship at just 8 years old. In his nearly 40 years of racing, Rob’s long tally of wins includes three Borg Warner Cup wins, three Governor’s Cup wins, three consecutive Pro 2WD championships (2008-2010), and ten SCORE Baja victories (five each in the Baja 500 and Baja 1000). And now, Rob’s signature Mopar/RAM Pro 2WD is the latest Traxxas Slash Race Replica model.

Fully assembled and Ready-to-Race, the Rob MacCachren Edition Slash includes the NEW TQi 2.4GHz radio system for precision control and clarity, officially licensed BFGoodrich Mud-Terrain T/A tires mounted on race-replica SCT wheels, waterproof electronics, and legendary Traxxas Tough durability. The Mud-Terrain T/A tread design and carefully selected rubber compound provide off-road grip with the versatility to also perform well on concrete and asphalt. The fenders cover the tires for wheel-to-wheel racing without getting tangled up. Exclusive waterproof electronics provide the freedom to drive where you want to drive; through water, mud, snow, and other wet-running conditions never possible before. Slash is truly brushless ready with a waterproof digital steering servo, full ball bearings, metal gear transmission, Torque-Control slipper clutch, planetary gear differential, and heavy-duty metal turnbuckles.

Rob MacCachren Edition Slash Features:
Includes: NEW TQi 2.4GHz radio system, Power Cell 3000mAh NiMH 8.4V battery pack, and charger
- Rob MacCachren Edition custom graphics
- Licensed BFGoodrich Mud-Terrain T/A tires mounted on realistic Race Replica SCT wheels
- Powerful Titan 12T 550 modified motor w/ internal cooling fan
- XL-5 Watertight Electronic Speed Control
- Traxxas High-Current Connector
- Digital high-torque waterproof steering servo
- 13.2 inch wheelbase, over 3.5 inches of ground clearance
- Accepts 6-and 7-cell flat packs and 7-cell hump packs
- Brushless Ready Magnum 272 metal-gear transmission
- Revo-spec Torque-Control slipper clutch system
- Superior durability with captured rod ends that won’t pop off
- Precision hex hardware throughout
- Efficient rubber-sealed ball bearings
- 30+mph using included optional 23-tooth pinion gear
- TQi radio system compatible with accessory Docking Base (#6510 sold separately) and Traxxas Link App

Source: Traxxas [traxxas.com]

Panther factory drivers Doug Nielsen and Justin Lew would be two men on a mission at Round 3 of the JBRL Electric series. Round 3 was held at Rainman’s Hobby & Raceway and Justin would TQ the heavily contested Pro 4 SC Class with teammate Doug Nielsen right behind him on the grid with both drivers having super consistent runs. In the A-main Justin got out of the gate fast, but a few mistakes was all it took for teammate Doug ‘Casper’ Nielsen to get around and take the win. Justin would finish right on his heels in 2nd place for a Panther Tires TQ 1-2 domination.

Source: Panther [panthertires.com]

The 4th round of the JConcepts Super Cup was set to take place at the Coral Spring RC Car Club but heavy rain forced the organisers to move the meeting to the indoor Basher RC Raceway. The sudden changes of plan caused this race to lose some racers but at the end around 170 pilots made it to the new location. In Pro2 Short Course, The battle was between Hobbycrap driver Felix Law, Associated’s Daimon Borkowicz and JConcepts’ chief designer Paul Wynn. The 1st round of qualifiers went to Daimon Borkowicz with only .04 seconds ahead of Paul and two seconds clear of Felix. In the 2nd round, Felix Law stepped up his game with his all new Team Power Traxxas Anza Slash as he took the TQ by 3 seconds ahead of Daimon.

The battle of Traxxas vs. Associated continued in the final. Felix Law had the early lead while Paul Wynn quickly took over 2nd in front of Daimon Borkowicz. Paul Wynn’s intense pace took over the lead by the 3rd lap, while Daimon took the advantage of Felix’s mistake and took over 2nd. In the middle of the race, Daimon Borkowicz pick up his speed to try making a pass on Paul in the S turn, with the small pillar up, Felix took over 2nd. The three driver’s intense battle continued, but in the end, Daimon Borkowicz never made a mistake in this race and took the win with Felix Law finished 2nd without any room to pass Daimon. Paul Wynn finished 3rd with only 4sec behind 2nd.

In Pro4 Short Course, Cory Schoppmeyer with his Radio Post SC10 4×4 took the 1st round TQ with a comfortable lead over 2nd place Christopher Viesins. In the 2nd round, Felix Law fixed his brand new RCE mod Traxxas Slash 4×4 and took the TQ with an impressive 25 laps run. Christopher Viesins also stepped up his pace and finished with a 25 laps run with his Losi SCT-E, but in the end, he is still a few seconds short to take over TQ. In the final, Felix‘s Tenshock powered Traxxas Slash never looked back. With a comfortable 5 seconds lead ahead of Christopher Viesins who stayed in 2nd with a comfortable gap the only intense battle was for 3rd. Cory Schoppmeyer and Chris Meloche switched positions a few times, but due to lap traffic, Chris Meloche lost his 3rd to Cory. In the end, Felix Law finished 1st, Christopher Viesins came in 2nd and Cory Schoppmeyer finished 3rd.

Source: Hobbycrap [hobbycrap.com]

Xray have confirmed that American Touring Car ace Paul Lemieux will contest the penultimate round of the Yokomo Euro Touring Series over the weekend of June 1-3 at Apeldoorn in the Netherlands. Having made annual appearances in three of the four previous seasons of the world famous electric touring car series, this will be the US National Champion’s fourth time to race in the ETS but will be the Wisconsin driver’s first experience of the Apeldoorn venue which is rated by many top drivers as one of Europe’s greatest race tracks. The RC America/Thunder Power backed driver will join factory Xray drivers Alexander Hagberg and Martin Hudy at the fifth round as the Slovakian manufacturer looks to build on their maiden victory in the Ride Modified class at Round 4 in Poland that has moved Hagberg into contention for the overall 2011/12 ETS Championship title.

The ETS’s third visit to Apeldoorn since its inspection in 2008, the Dutch venue is the second of three asphalt events on this season’s calendar and is expected to see the regular World class field bolstered by a number of additional factory entries. Having claimed his first ETS victory at the first outdoor race in Gran Canaria, factory Kyosho driver Christopher Krapp is one of the pre-event favourites for Round 5 but can expect tough competition in particular from World Champion Marc Rheinard who took his first of two wins there last year. The Tamiya Racing Factory driver needs to take his first win of the current season if he is to have any chance of denying Team Yokomo’s Ronald Volker back to back Euro Touring Series titles.

Tekno RC have released new option parts for the Losi Ten-SCTE short course truck. The M6 driveshafts and lightened outdrives feature the ‘big ball’ design with a larger diameter outdrive ball whose design provides smoother suspension action and prevents the axle from hitting the outdrives on full compression. Included in the set are new outdrives to accept the redesigned driveshafts and also new stub axles to allow for more steering angle. All parts are super lightweight yet rigid thanks to their hardened surface.

The other new parts are the HD centre driveshafts, again for the Ten-SCTE truck. They are designed to overcome one of the main weaknesses of the Losi SCTE (Ten-T, 810); the center front driveshaft and its tendency to wear out quickly. The Tekno RC pars makes use of the design of the company’s M6 line of driveshafts and makes for twice the lifespan of the original part. The shaft also features a cross pin retaining ring, is made from high quality steel and is hardened to maximise durability.

Source: Tekno RC [teknorc.com]

Yeah Racing introduce the aluminium rear arm mount D for the Team Associated SC10 4×4 short course truck. The part is CNC-machined and comes blue anodised and is a direct replacement for the stock plastic part. Available are two variants, with 3-3 and 3-2 toe-in/anti-squat setting. Included are also three bushings one of which us a spare part in case you loose one of the others.

Source: Yeah Racing [yeahracing.com]

Pro-Line is proud to introduce an all-new Short Course wheel design: the Formula 11 spoke short course wheel. It brings the tough and rugged look of full-size Short Course trucks straight to your truck and features a moulded-in bead-loc ring, 11 triangulated spokes and a scale P-L logo. Available in black and white colour the wheel is available as +3mm off-set and ProTrac variant.

Source: Pro-Line [prolineracing.com]

Pro-Line is proud to introduce the new Toyota Tundra short course body shell. It sports a huge front grille, pronounced fenders and PL’s Flo-Tek technology to keep the truck flying low and stuck to the track. The officially licensed body fits many of today’s trucks such as the Slash, SC10, XXX-SCT, Ten-SCTE, Ultima SC and Blitz comes with outer overspray film, window masks, and decal sheet.

Source: Pro-Line [prolineracing.com]

TLR introduce new option parts for the Ten-SCTE truck in the form of titanium-nitride front and rear inner and outer hinge pins, shock shafts and bleeder shock caps. The hinge pins and the front and rear shock shafts are titanium-nitride coated for added durability and less friction meaning a better performing suspension. Also new are the aluminium bleeder shock caps. They make building and rebuilding of the shocks easier and come with O-rings and screws.

Source: TLR [tlracing.com]

Click here to view the embedded video.

Lee Martin and Hupo Honigl completed the podium in 4WD Buggy at the finale of the Euro Offroad Series in Germany, the same order the drivers would finish in the overall standings of the TLR/Spektrum sponsored championship.  With Neumann sitting out the third & final leg of the A-Main having completed a clean sweep of overall wins in the class by dominating the earlier legs, it was Martin who took the early lead of the closing 5-minute encounter ahead of Honigl but swapping the lead twice in the end it was the latter who took the win.

Afterward Honigl said the win was a nice way to end what had been a tough event.  After messing up his final qualifier yesterday that cost him a potential 2nd on the grid behind his Durango team-mate, the multiple former European champion said he got hit so many times in the opening two legs he couldn’t keep count.  Admitting he would never have been able to challenge Neumann for the win, had he started second he believes he would have been better poised to hold on to his second spot in the championship standings.

Summing up the weekend as frustrating in which he failed to deliver the challenge expected for the 2WD Buggy title, Tamiya Racing Factory’s star offroad driver Martin said his TRF511X ran out of tyres in the closing race.  Holding on to finish second ahead of Schumacher’s Tom Cockerill, who posted the fastest lap of the leg, the British driver said on carpet it was always going to be a tall order to beat Neumann’s 4WD Durango and so to finish second was the best he could have expected.  With two dirt events planned for the extended four round second season of the EOS, the British Champion said next year will be a more level playing field.

The inaugural TLR/Spektrum Euro Offroad Series presented by Horizon Hobby has enjoyed a very successfully first season and with the final race attracting over 180 entries who got to race in front of tens of thousands of visitors to Europe’s largest hobby show.  Created by Scotty Ernst & Uwe Rheinard with the enthusiastic backing of Team Losi Racing, Spektrum, Horizon Hobby, dBoots and associated sponsors Pro-Line and Vampire Racing, the future of the burgeoning race series looks very bright.  Already the date for the start of the second season of EOS has been set with the Polish Hobby Exhibition in Poznan the venue for Round 1 over the weekend of October 26-28.

4WD Buggy Overall Result
1. Joern Neumann (DE) – Durango – 2pts
2. Lee Martin (GB) – Tamiya – 5
3. Hupo Honigl (AT) – Durango – 7
4. Mike Truhe (US) – TLR – 7
5. Marc Rheinard (DE) – Tamiya – 7
6. Yannic Prumper (DE) – Yokomo – 8
7. Tom Cockerill (GB) – Schumacher – 10
8. Darren Bloomfield (GB) – TLR – 10
9. Christopher Krapp (DE) – Kyosho – 10
10.Brent Thielke (US) – Associated – 16

4WD Buggy Leg 3 Result
1.(4) Hupo Honigl (AT) – Durango – 16/5:18.645
2.(3) Lee Martin (GB) – Tamiya – 16/5:20.407
3.(8) Tom Cockerill (GB) – Schumacher – 15/5:01.277
4.(7) Marc Rheinard (DE) – Tamiya – 15/5:02.383
5.(10)Christopher Krapp (DE) – Kyosho – 15/5:07.828
6.(5) Darren Bloomfield (GB) – TLR – 15/5:12.505
7.(2) Yannic Prumper (DE) – Yokomo – 15/5:14.684
8.(6) Mike Truhe (US) – TLR – 16/5:17.445
9.(9) Brent Thielke (US) – Associated – 14/5:02.824
10.(1)Joern Neumann (DE) – Durango – DNS

View complete event results here.

View our complete event gallery here.

Click here to view the embedded video.

As predicted following the trouncing of his rivals in yesterday’s 4WD Buggy qualifying, Joern Neumann has won 4WD buggy at the finale of the inaugural Euro Offroad Series completing a clean sweep of the championship with three TQ starts and three wins from the three races.  Starting the German event from pole, Neumann was in a completely different league winning the first A-Main from Team Losi Racing’s Mike Truhe by a massive 16-seconds and Leg 2 by 11-seconds from Team Yokomo’s Yannic Prumper.

Such has been Neumann’s dominance this weekend in Dortmund, the European Champion has been given the nickname ‘Yawn’ Neumann in reference to his domination that has made proceedings rather boring in the 4WD Buggy class.

Having won the morning’s 2WD Buggy action to claim the overall EOS title from Team Losi Racing’s Dustin Evans and Tamiya’s Lee Martin, Neumann next went on to wrap up the 4WD Short Course title from his Durango team-mate Hupo Honigl for a hat trick of championship titles in the first running of the all new electric offroad championship which is set to expand to four events for its second season.

With Neumann sitting out the third A-Main, the race should provide some exciting racing with Prumper, who is essentially the pole sitter, Team Losi Racing team-mates Truhe & Bloomfield along with Tamiya pairing Lee Martin & Marc Rheinard all in with a shout at taking the second step on the podium.

4WD Buggy Leg 1 Result
1.(1) Joern Neumann (DE) – Durango – 16/5:04.255
2.(6) Mike Truhe (US) – TLR – 16/5:20.150
3.(7) Marc Rheinard (DE) – Tamiya – 15/5:01.813
4.(5) Darren Bloomfield (GB) – TLR – 15/5:01.873
5.(10)Christopher Krapp (DE) – Kyosho – 15/5:03.957
6.(2) Yannic Prumper (DE) – Yokomo – 15/5:05.150
7.(8) Tom Cockerill (GB) – Schumacher – 15/5:09.335
8.(4) Hupo Honigl (AT) – Durango – 15/5:10.937
9.(9) Brent Thielke (US) – Associated – 15/5:22.296
10.(3)Lee Martin (GB) – Tamiya – 6/2:03.228

4WD Buggy Leg 2 Result
1.(1) Joern Neumann (DE) – Durango – 16/5:05.760
2.(2) Yannic Prumper (DE) – Yokomo – 16/5:16.619
3.(3)Lee Martin (GB) – Tamiya – 16/5:19.478
4.(7) Marc Rheinard (DE) – Tamiya – 15/5:01.373
5.(6) Mike Truhe (US) – TLR – 15/5:06.996
6.(4) Hupo Honigl (AT) – Durango – 15/5:07.100
7.(9) Brent Thielke (US) – Associated – 15/5:08.439
8.(5) Darren Bloomfield (GB) – TLR – 15/5:11.628
9.(8) Tom Cockerill (GB) – Schumacher – 6/2:04.479
10.(10)Christopher Krapp (DE) – Kyosho – 2/0:47.946

View complete event results here.

View our complete event gallery here.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Joern Neumann is the 2WD Buggy Champion of the TLR/Spektrum Euro Offroad Series presented by Horizon Hobby after a faultless drive in the third A-Main secured the Team Durango driver the overall win in Germany and with it a second buggy title for the German ace ahead of US Champion Dustin Evans and European Champion Lee Martin.

Having made hard work of the opening two A-Mains, Top Qualifier Neumann, who at the preceding round in Belgium became the first ever EOS Champion when he claimed the 4WD Buggy title early, made up for his earlier errors with a clean tone to tone victory ahead of Team Losi Racing’s Darren Bloomfield and Durango team-mate Hupo Hönigl.  Commenting on his win Neumann said he aired on the side of caution for leg 3 opting to ‘drive safe’ rather than fast and with no mistakes the win ‘was easy in the end’.  The fastest man all weekend in Dortmund in terms of outright pace that safe driving was reflected on the time sheets as for the first time his Speed Passion powered DEX210 didn’t record the fastest lap, that honour instead going to Evans. Delighted to do the championship double, the World Championship runner-up said he is already looking forward to next year’s EOS and to defending his titles.  With the buggy classes sewn up he is now focused on doing the hat trick this afternoon as he chases the 4WD Short Course championship crown.

Evans, who only managed 5th in what was a chaotic race behind Neumann, said that having missed the opening round of the series in the Czech Republic it was always going to be an uphill battle to try and win the title so he had to be happy with taking the runners-up spot.  Making the podium in both races he contested, he was very happy to have been as competitive as he was considering that the astro turf and carpet surfaces were alien to him.  Planning to test on a local carpet touring car track back in the US, he said he will be better prepared for next year’s series which will expand to four rounds, two of which the organisers are striving to run on dirt.

Making his EOS debut, and his first buggy outing in seven months, Rheinard was very happy to take the second step on the podium at the Intermodellbau Hobby Show event which has given great exposure to the sport with very large crowds of visitors enjoying the action. Feeling a pass by Bloomfield in the third A-Main, which destroyed his race, was a little rough, the 3-time reigning Touring Car World Champion said he never expected to end up on the podium in 2WD so overall he was very happy with the result.  Asked if he would like to return next year he said it was dependent on Tamiya but he would himself like to have a go at the full series.

2WD Buggy Overall Result
1. Jörn Neumann (DE) – Durango – 2 pts
2. Marc Rheinard (DE) – Tamiya – 4
3. Dustin Evans (US) – TLR – 4
4. Darren Bloomfield (GB) – TLR – 5
5. Hupo Hönigl (AT) – Durango – 7
6. Oliver Speith (DE) – Kyosho – 11
7. Lee Martin (GB) – Tamiya – 11
8. Mike Truhe (US) – TLR – 14
9. Paul Bradby (GB) – Associated – 14
10.Oskar Levin (SE) – TLR – 18

2WD Buggy Leg 3 Result
1.(1) Jörn Neumann (DE) – Durango – 16/5:17.415
2.(3) Darren Bloomfield (GB) – TLR – 15/5:03.051
3.(6) Hupo Hönigl (AT) – Durango – 15/5:05.572
4.(10)Oliver Speith (DE) – Kyosho – 15/5:09.154
5.(4) Dustin Evans (US) – TLR – 15/5:09.576
6.(8) Paul Bradby (GB) – Associated – 15/5:12.368
7.(5) Lee Martin (GB) – Tamiya – 15/5:16.935
8.(2) Marc Rheinard (DE) – Tamiya – 15/5:17.860
9.(7) Mike Truhe (US) – TLR – 15/5:19.593
10.(9)Oskar Levin (SE) – TLR – 14/5:06.764

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After a messy performance in the opening 2WD A-Main at the EOS finale, Joern Neumann got the job done in Leg 2 but it was another far from perfect run by the German who again allowed Leg 1 winner Marc Rheinard by after a mistake of his own doing on lap 4.  The champion elect managed to retake his fellow countryman 7 laps later when the lead Tamiya got out of shape coming onto to main straight and the pair touched.  Unfortunately for Rheinard his buggy got beached on the track barrier losing him 2 seconds and allowing Team Losi Racing’s Dustin Evans through to finish second with Neumann taking the win by just over a second.

Neumann, who is running a 5.5T Speed Passion motor in his DEX210, said he just gave too much throttle coming into the double single and over jumped the double hitting the single causing his buggy to land on its roof.  Regarding his pass on Rheinard the 21-year-old said he didn’t believed he touched the Tamiya and that the coming together was a result of Rheinard having already lost the TRF201.  The Reedy Race Champion said if thought he had hit Rheinard, with whom he is good friends off the track, and caused him to get out shape he would have waited and let him back through.

Having tried a new set of front tyres on his warm-up laps Rheinard switched back to a mixed set of used tyres having picked the best two tyres from his qualifying sets.  The Touring Car ace, who is enjoying better success here on his first offroad outing since last year’s European Championship in France than he has of late in touring cars, said after the incident on the straight he expected Neumann to wait but added it wasn’t a big issue as he had not made the best entry onto the straight and the current European 4WD Buggy Champion was by far the quickest man on track.

Finishing 2nd Evans said he messed up his race with a mistake of his own on lap 4 that resulted in everyone bar Schumacher’s Tom Cockerill, who was marshalling at the double single, to miss Neumann’s mistake that allowed Rheinard into the lead.  Evans said a change of oil and piston in the rear shocks after Leg 1 had made the 22 safer to drive without losing him any speed and added the plan for the 3rd leg, which will decide who between Rheinard, Neumann and himself takes the overall win for Round 3, is to go all or nothing.

2WD Buggy Leg 2 Result
1.(1) Jörn Neumann (DE) – Durango – 16/5:18.538
2.(4) Dustin Evans (US) – TLR – 16/5:19.570
3.(2) Marc Rheinard (DE) – Tamiya – 16/5:20.278
4.(6) Hupo Hönigl (AT) – Durango – 15/5:04.772
5.(7) Mike Truhe (US) – TLR – 15/5:06.070
6.(5) Lee Martin (GB) – Tamiya – 15/5:07.160
7.(3) Darren Bloomfield (GB) – TLR – 15/5:09.757
8.(9) Oskar Levin (SE) – TLR – 15/5:14.795
9.(8) Paul Bradby (GB) – Associated – 15/5:16.813
10.(10)Oliver Speith (DE) – Kyosho – 14/5:03.962

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Alexander Hagberg pulled off a stunning drive in the third & deciding leg of the Ride Modified A-main at the Yokomo Euro Touring Series fourth round in Poland this evening to claim both his and Xray’s first win in the championship’s premiere class.  The day was to be very much an Xray affair at the podium presentations as team driver Zdenko Kunák took victory in the third Pro Stock A-Main to make it a double success for the Slovak company.

Having won the second A-Main after a rare mistake by Top Qualifier Ronald Volker, Hagberg had pretty much conceded the win to the reigning champion going into the final race of the day in Poznan based on the German’s domination of practice, qualifying and the opening A-Main but the Yokomo driver had a surprise lack of pace in the deciding race.  Securing his best ETS finish in the preceding race in Gran Canaria where he finished second, Hagberg could smell his first win but showed great patience waiting for the right opportunity to make his move on the man who has pretty much dominated the indoor carpet scene.  Making a pass in which the pair made contact to go to the front, the 22-year-old pulled clear and kept his nerve to take the leg ahead of the Tamiya’s of Marc Rheinard and Viktor Wilck to claim a popular overall victory which keeps the title race alive as the series now moves outdoors and on to asphalt.

Delighted with his win, but not half as much as his father Bosse, Hagberg said his car felt really good and was by far the best car out there.  Having finally added his name to the exclusive list of ETS race winners in a year in which he also took one of America’s biggest races, the Snowbirds, he said he is really looking forward to Round 5 at the start of June as he feels his Xray team have a better car this season for asphalt as he proved in Gran Canaria.  A long time driver with Xray, Hagberg thanked the team for their support along with his new electrics sponsor ORCA for whom this is also their first win in the world renowned touring car series.

Finish up fourth in the third leg, overall Volker ended up on the second step of the podium and after having had such an advantage over his rivals all weekend was clearly disappointed at losing out on his third victory of the season but added that Hagberg was a deserving winner.  Struggling with the handling of his car Volker said for no apparent reason the car had gone from being super easy to drive to being edgy and having a lot of understeer despite making no set-up changes and he couldn’t respond to Hagberg’s pace.  Regarded as best driver in the World on carpet, he said he wanted to thank his engineer Umino, a man who has been key to his success, for all his help over the indoor part part of the season.  Having come so close to successfully defending his ETS title today, Volker said he must now switch his attentions to racing outdoors and he is looking forward to the extra challenge.

Continuing his 100% record of podium finishes in this season’s series, the only driver with such a record, Rheinard said he was glad to see the end of the indoor season and added Apeldoorn cannot come quick enough.  Having by his own standards struggled this weekend, he said their car has always been better on asphalt so he will be looking to end the season like last year when he won the final two races.

Just off the podium, Freddy Südhoff ended his Awesomatix debut in the ETS in fourth position after struggling in the third main with traction roll.  Having finally got a good start from his second spot starting position, the German said his A700 started to struggle, in particular through left corners and eventually he traction rolled out of second to end up 5th.  Having experienced the high of claiming his first ETS victory at Round 3, Kyosho’s Christopher Krapp could only manage 8th position but the 19-year-old German is sure to be a force again when the series move to the Netherlands and back on to asphalt.

In the Xray Pro Stock deciding third A-Main, a close fought race between Top Qualifier Oliver Franke and Zdenko Kunák was to go the way of the Slovakian who becomes the first double race winner in the category this season.  Battling hard for the lead Franke ran a little wide and the Xray and HB made contact. Kunák waited but Franke ran over the dots allowing No.2 car to take the lead which he wouldn’t surrender.  Italian ETS round winner Steffen Leinburger, who was a surprise winner of Leg 1 from 5th on the grid, completed the podium on tie break from reigning champion Martin Hofer.  In the Formula class third place qualifier Roman Pichler took the win ahead of Dai Sakaguchi and pole sitter Herbert Weber.

With the biggest crowd we have ever witnessed at a race, being part of MotorShow Poznan has been a great experience for both the Yokomo Euro Touring Series and the sport in general as it is sure to have sparked an interest with the many youngsters who came along and witnessed the best touring car drivers provide some thrilling racing.  We look forward to returning again next year.

Ride Modified A-main leg 3 results
1. (3) Alexander Hagberg (SE) – 24/5:01.783
2. (4) Marc Rheinard (DE) – 24/5:02.885
3. (6) Viktor Wilck (SE) – 24/5:03.620
4. (1) Ronald Völker (DE) – 24/5:04.541
5. (2) Freddy Südhoff (DE) – 24/5:07.366
6. (9) Zdenko Kunák (SK) – 24/5:07.592
7. (7) Andy Moore (GB) – 24/5:07.995
8. (5) Magnus Vässmar (SE) – 24/5:08.596
9. (10) Marco Kaufmann (DE) – 24/5:12.403
10.(8) Christopher Krapp (DE) – 24/5:12.706

Ride Modified A-main Overall results
1. Alexander Hagberg (SE) – Xray/ORCA – 2pts
2. Ronald Völker (DE) – Yokomo/LRP – 4
3. Marc Rheinard (DE) – Tamiya/SP – 4
4. Freddy Südhoff (DE) – Awesomatix/LRP – 7
5. Viktor Wilck (SE) – Tamiya/Thunder Power – 10
6. Zdenko Kunák (SK) – Xray/LRP – 10
7. Magnus Vässmar (SE) – Xray/Thunder Power – 11
8. Christopher Krapp (DE) – Kyosho/Orion – 11
9. Andy Moore (GB) – HB/Hobbywing – 15
10.Marco Kaufmann (DE) – Xray/ORCA – 18

Xray Pro Stock A-main leg 3 results
1. (2) Zdenko Kunák (SK) – 23/5:06.105
2. (3) Martin Hofer (DE) – 23/5:07.244
3. (1) Oliver Franke (DE) – 23/5:08.504
4. (5) Steffen Leinburger (DE) – 23/5:09.547
5. (4) Ivan Laptev (RU) – 23/5:09.958
6. (7) Tony Streit (DE) – 23/5:10.554
7. (9) Marek Cerny (CZ) – 23/5:11.986
8. (6) Michal Orlowski (PL) – 22/5:01.333
9. (8) Denis Zuykov (RU) – 22/5:01.807
10.(10) Rob Janssen (NL) – 22/5:02.980

Xray Pro Stock A-main Overall results
1. Zdenko Kunák (SK) – Xray – 3pts
2. Oliver Franke (DE) – HB – 3
3. Steffen Leinburger (DE) – HB – 5
4. Martin Hofer (DE) – Schumacher – 5
5. Tony Streit (DE) – Xray – 7
6. Ivan Laptev (RU) – Awesomatix – 11
7. Michal Orlowski (PL) – Tamiya – 13
8. Marek Cerny (CZ) – Yokomo – 13
9. Denis Zuykov (RU) – Awesomatix – 15
10.Rob Janssen (NL) – Tamiya – 19

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Alexander Hagberg has won a thrilling second A-Main at the Yokomo Euro Touring Series in Poznan, Poland, after Top Qualifier & Leg 1 victor Ronald Volker made a rare mistake setting the stage for a grandstand finish in front the huge crowd in attendance at the MotorShow of which the fourth round of the series is taking place.

Unfortunately the size of the crowd attending MotorShow Poznan, which last year attracted almost 50,000 visitors, appears to have influenced the race as afterwards both Hagberg and Volker said they had been distracted by a member of the public who managed to get inbetween them on the drivers stand. Volker said the mistake was his own fault and couldn’t say it was the fault of the intruder but added he was a major distraction to his driving. Hagberg, who was standing next to Volker said he too was distracted by the stranger who seemed keen on being close to the race leader moving from Volker to Hagberg once the Swede was at the front.

Dropping back to seventh after the off, which cost him 4.5 seconds, Volker said he had no choice but to drive at ‘Maximum attack’ and the approach almost paid off as he worked his way to the front pulling off a great move on Freddy Südhoff to move into second on the penultimate lap.  With Hagberg now in his sight the German said he knew it was going to be a do or die lap but in the end he pushed too hard causing his Yokomo BD5 WXi to grip roll allowing Südhoff back to second.  The defending champion lost a further 4 seconds but managed to just hold off Xray’s Zdenko Kunák, who started 9th, to claim 3rd.  Volker said he needs to just focus now on a clean run for the deciding leg but he knows in terms of the car he has the package to get the job done.

Delighted with his win, Hagberg was realistic about the chances of bagging his first overall ETS victory saying if Volker drives clean he wont be beaten however he added that Leg 2 showed even the best can make mistakes.  Happy with his ORCA powered T3 2012 at the start of the race the Xray team leader said it got edgy in the latter part of the race.

Südhoff, who was muscled out off second by Hagberg at the second corner after the start, said his Awesomatix was a lot better this time round after he tried a different tyre prep.  The German said he still needs to make a better start through the first section of corners but is confident that he has the pace to claim an overall podium finish.

Unfortunately for Tamiya Racing Factory’s Viktor Wilck a potential Top 2 finish for the round ended when his Thunder Powered equipped TRF417 got hit by Südhoff’s A700.  Qualifying 6th, the Swede made a strong start and found himself in the middle of three way battle for the lead once Volker came undone.  Unfortunately after the contact from Südhoff, his car was collected by the following cars ending any chances of a recovery and he pulled up after 18 laps.

After a chaotic opening A-Main in the Xray Pro-Stock class, the second leg was a much cleaner affair with 18-year-old Top Qualifier Oliver Franke seeing off a strong challenge from Zdenko Kunák to take the win.  Defending Champion Martin Hofer completed the Top 3 while leg 1 winner Steffen Leinburger decided to pull up after two mistakes ended any chance of good finish.

Ride Modified A-main leg 2 results
1. (3) Alexander Hagberg (SE) – 24/5:04.284
2. (2) Freddy Südhoff (DE) – 24/5:05.713
3. (1) Ronald Völker (DE) – 24/5:08.483
4. (9) Zdenko Kunák (SK) – 24/5:08.676
5. (8) Christopher Krapp (DE) – 24/5:09.272
6. (4) Marc Rheinard (DE) – 24/5:09.476
7. (5) Magnus Vässmar (SE) – 24/5:13.157
8. (7) Andy Moore (GB) – 23/5:06.249
9. (10) Marco Kaufmann (DE) – 23/5:06.539
10.(6) Viktor Wilck (SE) – 18/3:58.212

Xray Pro Stock A-main leg 2 results
1. (1) Oliver Franke (DE) – 23/5:06.998
2. (2) Zdenko Kunák (SK) – 23/5:07.882
3. (3) Martin Hofer (DE) – 23/5:09.602
4. (7) Tony Streit (DE) – 23/5:10.298
5. (6) Michal Orlowski (PL) – 23/5:13.678
6. (4) Ivan Laptev (RU) – 23/5:15.030
7. (8) Denis Zuykov (RU) – 22/5:02.373
8. (9) Marek Cerny (CZ) – 22/5:06.554
9. (10) Rob Janssen (NL) – 18/4:14.404
10.(5) Steffen Leinburger (DE) – 12/2:45.517

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Widely regarded as the best carpet touring car racer in world, Ronald Volker showed why he has earned this accolade as he absolute dominated the opening Leg  of the A-Main at the fourth round of the Yokomo Euro Touring Series in Poznan, Poland this morning.  Describing the race as ‘the perfect run’, the defending champion had checked out after the first lap leaving his rivals to fight over second spot, a battle which was won by Marc Rheinard from Alexander Hagberg after the Swede’s Xray traction rolled on lap 14.

Starting from his 3rd pole position of the season, Volker said his Yokomo BD5 was ’so easy to drive’ but added his early break from the field was helped by the slow No.2 starting Awesomatix of Freddy Südhoff.  Setting the fastest lap of the race on lap 4 of 25, the German said with the car so good he will not be touching a thing for Leg 2 when is it almost a foregone conclusion that he will wrap up his 6th ETS race victory.

Finishing second Marc Rheinard said starting from 4th on the grid and considering how his Tamiya is handling the result wasn’t too bad.  The World Champion added that such is Volker’s pace and advantage over everyone else the battle is now all about second and third spot at this evening’s podium presentation. Only managing the 7th fastest lap of the race, the German inherited the position rather then earning them as Südhoff ran wide on the first run down the straight and Hagberg flipped his Xray.

Hagberg who made a late charge to try and retake second from Rheinard over the closing laps of the 5-minute race said his ORCA powered T3 was fast but difficult to drive particularly in the middle of the run.  The Swede who took his first ETS podium finish at the previous Round in Gran Canaria said he has no choice but to change his set-up for Leg 2.  Behind Hagberg Xray team-mate and fellow countryman Magnus Vässmar took fourth from fifth on the grid,a result which the 25-year-old was pretty pleased with.

For ‘Fast Freddy’ the race didn’t go to plan at all.  The factory Awesomatix driver said his LRP powered A700 had no traction for the first three laps and when he turned in on the first run down the straight the car just went straight on. Although the car felt good by the end of the race as he took fifth, Südhoff said he has no idea what he needs to change for the second A-Main.

A race which saw a lot of contract between drivers Hot Bodies’ Andy Moore pulled off after he had enough of being bounced around.  Championship standings leader Christopher Krapp had a crash at the start but the Kyosho driver was able to recover to finish 6th.

In the A-Main of the Xray Pro-Stock class the race was a chaotic affair with almost every driver coming into contact with one another.  At the end it was Italian ETS round winner Steffen Leinburger who came out best.  Starting from 5th on the grid after motor problems in qualifying yesterday, the German HB driver took the win ahead of fellow TCX driver and Top Qualifier Oliver Franke who saw his chances of the win ultimately ended when he suffered a body tuck.  Tony Streit completed the Top 3 just ahead of fastest man in the race Zdenko Kunák who had a failed attempt at taking the lead which led to a chain reaction of crashes.

Ride Modified A-main leg 1 results
1. Ronald Völker (DE) – 25/5:11.361
2. Marc Rheinard (DE) – 24/5:02.863
3. Alexander Hagberg (SE) – 24/5:02.993
4. Magnus Vässmar (SE) – 24/5:03.448
5. Freddy Südhoff (DE) – 24/5:04.901
6. Christopher Krapp (DE) – 24/5:08.278
7. Viktor Wilck (SE) – 24/5:09.161
8. Zdenko Kunák (SK) – 24/5:09.736
9. Marco Kaufmann (DE) – 24/5:10.760
10.Andy Moore (GB) – 8/1:38.640

Xray Pro Stock A-main leg 1 results
1. Steffen Leinburger (DE) – 23/5:12.561
2. Oliver Franke (DE) – 22/5:00.010
3. Tony Streit (DE) – 22/5:01.490
4. Zdenko Kunák (SK) – 22/5:01.507
5. Martin Hofer (DE) – 22/5:01.875
6. Marek Cerny (CZ) – 22/5:02.684
7. Ivan Laptev (RU) – 22/5:05.969
8. Denis Zuykov (RU) – 22/5:09.889
9. Michal Orlowski (PL) – 15/3:27.232
10.Rob Janssen (NL) – 10/2:11.069

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Reigning Euro Touring Series Champion Ronald Volker is Top Qualifier for tomorrow’s fourth round in Poznan, Poland, the Yokomo driver securing his third pole position of the 2011/12 season to line up ahead of Awesomatix’s Freddy Südhoff and Xray’s Alexander Hagberg in the Ride Modified A-Main.

Running the fastest heat of the weekend in the fifth & final qualifier, Volker was pushed hard over the 5-minutes by an ever improving Hagberg who set a new fastest lap of 12.672 on his way to second for the round.  Aware that his LRP powered BD5 is still not the quickest in terms of outright pace Volker said changes made for Q5 gave him a better feeling with the car and he was able to drive it with a lot more confidence as a result.  Commenting on Hagberg’s speed over a single lap he said he thinks over a full race distance he has the upper hand.  Happy to take the overall TQ, the German said he is actually more happy about bagging the championship point that comes with it.

Hagberg said his ORCA powered T3 had a little understeer and considering this the Snowbirds Champion said he didn’t feel he could have driven much better so he was very happy with how he ended his day.  Admitting to being a little frustrated at missing out on taking the penultimate round of qualifying due to a poor last lap which would cost him second on the grid, the Swede added he believes he has a good chance a going for the win tomorrow.

Struggling with traction roll in the final qualifier leading him to pull up after 3-minutes, Tamiya’s Marc Rheinard will line up fourth on the grid following what he described as a ‘frustating’ day. With his chances of challenging Volker for the ETS title rapidly fading the World Champion had little to say about what he felt he could do starting from fourth.  Team-mate Viktor Wilck was in contrast very happy with the final outcome of his day.  Changing to a softer front shock oil and widening the front track of his Thunder Power equipped TRF417, the Swede said it felt good and was easy to drive until he made a mistake a hit a curb ending any chance of a strong final qualifier. The Swede said considering the circumstances he was happy to line up 6th.

Seperating the two Tamiya Racing Factory drivers was man of the weekend Magnus Vässmar.  The 25-year-old who was in the B-Main on his last ETS appearance in Italy, was delighted with 5th on a grid that features four Xrays with Zdenko Kunák and 18-year-old German driver Marco Kaufmann also making the show.  Although he made the A-Main previously, this is Vässmar’s best result but he said he is not setting himself any targets prefering to just wait to see how it goes.

Lining up 7th and 8th on the grid Andy Moore and Christopher Krapp both enjoyed a strong final qualifier but said maybe they found their pace a little bit too late in the day.  Krapp said his first aim of the weekend was to get into the final and now that he’s achieved that he could now focus on the race.  Finding a good set-up for Q5 he can now push his Kyosho a lot harder so his plan is to enjoy the finals and see how it turns out.  Qualifying sixth for the season opener in Germany he ended up achieving his first ever ETS podium finish in the race, a performance he will be hoping he can repeat tomorrow.

In Pro Stock, HB driver Oliver Franke drove the perfect final qualifier to snatch the overall TQ honour from Xray’s Zdenko Kunák.  The German needed not just to take Q5 but set a new fastest time and that just what he did denying the Slovak from taking a third pole position of the season. The first time the former race winner has TQ’d an ETS race he said he is very confident about his chances of taking the win tomorrow. Having taken three of the five qualifiers Kunák was very dissappointed to miss out and admitted he is going to have his work cut out tomorrow.  Defending Champion Martin Hofer lines up third just ahead of the man he shares the current lead in the points standings with, Ivan Laptev.

In the Speed Passion Formula class Herbert Weber took the final qualifier with a new fastest time to ensure he became Top Qualifier on the tie break after he finished on the same quali points as Dai Sakaguchi.

Ride Modified Qualifying Round 5
1. Ronald Volker (DE) – Yokomo – 24/5:10.214
2. Alexander Hagberg (SE) – Xray – 24/5:11.306
3. Magnus Vässmar (SE) – Xray – 24/5:12.323
4. Andy Moore (GB) – HB – 24/5:12.629
5. Christopher Krapp (DE) – Kyosho – 23/5:00.615
6. Zdenko Kunak (SK) – Xray – 23/5:01.565
7. Tim Wahl (DE) – Xray – 23/5:02.167
8. Niclas Nilsson (SE) – Xray – 23/5:03.492
9. Marco Kaufmann (DE) – Xray – 23/5:03.502
10.Eric Dankel (DE) – Yokomo – 23/5:05.912

Ride Modified A-Main Grid
1. Ronald Völker (DE) – 310pts – Yokomo
2. Freddy Südhoff (DE) – 307 – Awesomatix
3. Alexander Hagberg (SE) – 306 – Xray
4. Marc Rheinard (DE) – 305 – Tamiya
5. Magnus Vässmar (SE) – 305 – Xray
6. Viktor Wilck (SE) – 302  – Tamiya
7. Andy Moore (GB) – 301 – HB
8. Christopher Krapp (DE) – 300 – Kyosho
9. Zdenko Kunák (SK) – 298 – Xray
10.Marco Kaufmann (DE) – 296 – Xray

Xray Pro-Stock Qualifying Round 5
1. Oliver Franke (DE) – HB – 22/5:03.736
2. Zdenko Kunák (SK) – Xray – 22/5:03.971
3. Martin Hofer (DE) – Schumacher – 22/5:04.281
4. Ivan Laptev (RU) – Awesomatix – 22/5:06.895
5. Marek Cerny (CZ) – Yokomo – 22/5:07.820
6. Michal Orlowski (PL) – Tamiya – 22/5:07.888
7. Carsten Madsen (DK) – Awesomatix – 22/5:08.285
8. Denis Zuykov (RU) – Awesomatix – 22/5:08.723
9. Rob Janssen (NL) – Tamiya – 22/5:08.872
10.Fabian Bucher (DE) – Xray – 22/5:09.176

Xray Pro-Stock A-Main Grid
1. Oliver Franke (DE) – 310pts – HB
2. Zdenko Kunák (SK) – 310 – Xray
3. Martin Hofer (DE) – 306 – Schumacher
4. Ivan Laptev (RU) – 304 – Awesomatix
5. Steffen Leinburger (DE) – 304 – HB
6. Michal Orlowski (PL) – 303 – Tamiya
7. Tony Streit (DE) – 303 – Xray
8. Denis Zuykov (RU) – 300 – Awesomatix
9. Marek Cerny (CZ) – 298 – Yokomo
10.Rob Janssen (NL) – 297 – Tamiya

View the complete results here.

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In the penultimate qualifier for the fourth round of the Euro Touring Series in Poland, Ronald Volker and Zdenko Kunák returned to the top of the time sheets putting them both on target to secure their third overall TQ honours of the 2011/12 season in their respective classes.

Volker produced his second 24-lap run of the event in Q4 ahead of the Xray of Alexander Hagberg who becomes the only other driver to match the Yokomo driver in terms of laps completed over 5-minutes. In what is turning out to be a Germany versus Sweden battle this weekend, Magnus Vässmar was third fastest ahead of fellow Swede Viktor Wilck with championship standings leader Christopher Krapp fifth.

Having set the pace in Q3 Freddy Südhoff suffered a spur gear failure in the fourth heat but goes into the final qualifier as the only driver who can deny Volker from starting tomorrow’s final on pole position. Setting the fastest lap for the round with a 12.743, Marc Rheinard was on a potential TQ run until a mistake on lap 8 cost him over 2 seconds, a further two mistakes meant the World Champion ended up with 19th for the round.

Behind Kunák in the Xray Pro-Stock class Martin Hofer took second for the round with Q3 pace setter Oliver Franke third, the trio separated by just 7/10th. Like Volker, Kunák only has one challenger to him carrying No.1 on his Xray in the A-Main and that is Franke. In the Formula class Austrian driver Herbert Weber backed up his Q3 TQ run leaving him equal with Germany’s Dai Sakaguchi, who TQ’d the opening two qualifiers, meaning its going to be decided on who ends up with the fastest 5-minute time.

Ride Modified Qualifying Round 4
1. Ronald Volker (DE) – Yokomo – 24/5:11.316
2. Alexander Hagberg (SE) – Xray – 24/5:12.611
3. Magnus Vässmar (SE) – Xray – 23/5:00.913
4. Viktor Wilck (SE) – Tamiya – 23/5:01.794
5. Christopher Krapp (DE) – Kyosho – 23/5:02.530
6. Zdenko Kunak (SK) – Xray – 23/5:02.857
7. Andy Moore (GB) – HB – 23/5:03.539
8. Tim Wahl (DE) – Xray – 23/5:04.098
9. Steen Graversen (DK) – Awesomatix – 23/5:04.175
10.Niclas Nilsson (SE) – Xray – 23/5:04.693

Xray Pro-Stock Qualifying Round 4
1. Zdenko Kunak (SK) – Xray – 22/5:04.731
2. Martin Hofer (DE) – Schumacher – 22/5:05.456
3. Oliver Franke (DE) – HB – 22/5:05.531
4. Michal Orlowski (PL) – Tamiya – 22/5:07.524
5. Steffen Leinburger (DE) – HB – 22/5:07.613
6. Ivan Laptev (RU) – Awesomatix – 22/5:07.964
7. Marek Cerny (CZ) – Yokomo – 22/5:08.589
8. Rob Janssen (NL) – Tamiya – 22/5:09.056
9. Carsten Madsen (DK) – Awesomatix – 22/5:09.416
10.Daniel Wohlgemuth (DE) – HB – 22/5:09.516

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Awesomatix team driver Freddy Südhoff has taken the third round of qualifying at the Yokomo Euro Touring in Poznan, Poland. The 22-year-old, who is being tipped to be a strong title contender at this year’s upcoming World Championships, is the first driver to top the time sheets as early event dominator Ronald Volker rolled his Yokomo out of a TQ run before pulling up after a second mistake in Q3.

Having described his A700 as feeling like a drift car in Q2, ‘Fast Freddy’ said a change to his tyre prep gave him the start pace he had been looking for but added that by the end of the 5-minutes it was starting to get a little loose. Having tried different tyre preparations for each of his runs so far this weekend the German, who just set the fastest lap of the weekend with 12.708, said he thinks now its time to focus on the set-up of the unique dampers on the Russian designed car.

Losing out on a TQ run to Südhoff by 15/100ths following a messy final lap, Alexander Hagberg was still very upbeat about his latest run. The Swede has been fighting with his own driving since arriving in Poland but believes he has now got that under control. Admitting he lost out on taking the round due to some small mistakes in the final few laps, the Round 3 podium finisher said his Xray is working well and with his confidence coming back up he is determined to redeem himself in the final two qualifiers.

Another driver to throw away a TQ run was Marc Rheinard. The World Champion caught a dot coming onto the straight on his penultimate lap losing 1-second to finish third fastest 4/10th off the TQ pace. The Tamiya driver switched his front tyres from left to right for Q3 and said it reversed the problem he had in the opening two qualifiers of the car being ok through left corners and a handful when turning right. The German, who said the mistake was his own doing, also tried a front geardiff for the round but said he thinks he will revert to a spool for his next run.

With his Xray a bit of a handful in Q2, Magnus Vässmar said he changed his tyre prep and rebuilt his shocks for the third round which slightly improved it but it was still too hard to drive and once again lead him to make a mistake. Taking fourth for the round which currently puts him fifth in the qualification ranking he plans to try a number of changes to the set-up for his penultimate heat. Making it three Xray’s in the Top 5 young German driver Marco Kaufmann drove a strong round to set the fifth fastest time ahead of championship leader Christopher Krapp, the pair running in the second fastest of the heat groupings.

19-year-old Krapp said his Kyosho was the same as in Q2, in which he was 16th, only this time round he made no mistakes. Admitting his is still someway off the pace of front runners the German plans to try make the TF6 easier to drive for Q4 in the hope that he will be able to push a little harder without taking too much risk. He added that he is also starting to get more confident with the carpet track so all in all things are starting to look a lot more positive about making the A-Main.

Still the only driver to record 24-laps around the huge track here at the Poznan MotorShow, Volker ran the same set up for the third heat and said he wasn’t sure if his traction roll was due to him driving a little to aggressive or due to a change in track conditions. After his roll the ETS Champion said he tried to make back the time but pushed too hard resulting in a second mistake after which he decided to pull up.

In the Xray Pro-Stock class we also saw a change at the top after the top qualifier from Q1 & 2 Zdenko Kunák also rolled his Xray. This left the door open for HB driver Oliver Franke to post fastest time. The German driver who rolled in the opening two qualifiers leaving him well down the order glued up his front tyre walls and opted to go for a clean rather than fast run and said the end result was ‘near perfect’. Defending Champion Martin Hofer took second for the round with Polish Tamiya driver Michal Orlowski completing the Top 3.

Ride Modified Qualifying Round 3
1. Freddy Südhoff (DE) – Awesomatix – 23/5:00.562
2. Alexander Hagberg (SE) – Xray – 23/5:00.714
3. Marc Rheinard (DE) – Tamiya – 23/5:00.964
4. Magnus Vässmar (SE) – Xray – 23/5:02.668
5. Marco Kaufmann (DE) – Xray – 23/5:03.095
6. Christopher Krapp (DE) – Kyosho – 23/5:03.432
7. Eric Dankel (DE) – Yokomo – 23/5:03.615
8. Martin Hudy (SK) – Xray – 23/5:05.092
9. Tim Wahl (DE) – Xray – 23/5:06.250
10.Elliot Harper (GB) – Tamiya – 23/5:06.271

Xray Pro-Stock Qualifying Round 3
1. Oliver Franke (DE) – HB – 22/5:06.563
2. Martin Hofer (DE) – Schumacher – 22/5:06.736
3. Michal Orlowski (PL) – Tamiya – 22/5:08.648
4. Steffen Leinburger (DE) – HB – 22/5:09.009
5. Denis Zuykov (RU) – Awesomatix – 22/5:09.541
6. Jens Kroger (DE) – Kyosho – 22/5:09.616
7. Rob Janssen (NL) – Tamiya – 22/5:09.958
8. Tony Streit (DE) – Xray – 22/5:10.497
9. Marek Cerny (CZ) – Yokomo – 22/5:10.583
10.Fabian Boucher (DE) – Xray – 22/5:10.595

View the complete results here.

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