The 1st Annual Cow Patty Classic took place this weekend at Nugget’s Raceway Ranch in Arcadia, Florida USA. Racers from as far as California and New York made the trip and were rewarded with excellent track conditions and great competition. It was a very hot weekend with ambient temperatures of 95+ degrees and track temps as high as 140. Despite the heat, the track was in great shape with very good traction and tire wear with near record breaking lap times. Running 5 minute qualifiers was welcomed by most as they prepared for the ROAR Nationals later in the year at this track. Some chose to pit during their runs but most of the fast runs were done without a stop with all the TQ runs happening without a stop. The mains were intense with tight competition and different fuel and tire strategies taking place and it was Joaquin DeSoto Jr and DJ Apolaro taking the wins in 1/8th scale and sedan respectively.

1/8th scale results
1. Joaquin DeSoto Jr – 109L 30:01.80
2. Gianni Giorgio – 108L 30:14.09
3. Tony Rice – 106L 30:00.49
4. Mark Harrison – 103L 30:06.46
5. Chuck Moon – 102L 30:09.55
6. Michael Palazzola – 94L 26:23.81
7. DJ Apolaro – 84L 23:47.62
8. Paulie Beccantti – 82L 30:16.15
9. Kenny Ives – 58L 17:23.11
10.Rafael Angulo – 29L 11:07.18

Touring results
1. DJ Apolaro – 98L 30:08.70
2. Joaquin DeSoto Jr – 98L 30:20.30
3. Junior Castellanos – 95L 30:18.42
4. David Larry – 91L 30:07.81
5. Anthony Schimizzi – 89L 30:19.65
6. Peter Breton – 73L 28:05.38
7. Michael Palazzola – 68L 26:02.75
8. Rino Lino – 32L 9:40.63

Thanks to Joaquin de Soto for the report.

T.O.P. Racing have shown off photos of the production Rebel R-F01 Formula One chassis which is due for release early next month. It features full adjustable front suspension geometry, link type rear suspension, super lightweight chassis and is 7.4V 2S LiPo and shorty LiPo compatible. Compatible with Tamiya F1 front suspension and the kit will require a Tamiya compatible F1 front spoiler and rear wing.

Source: T.O.P. [top-racing.jp]

More new options for the H-K1 from KM Racing with the release of this carbon rear gearbox upper plate. Made from 2.5mm thick carbon fibre the new design helps give the car more flex in the rear.

Source: KM [km-rc.com]

The Spec R Cup was run recently but due to a sudden rain storm, the race had to be relocated to RCI, an asphalt indoor track, at the last minute. It was both a surprise and a challenge to all drivers as they had to set up their cars to avoid traction rolling. Because of this T.O.P. driver Wang Hai Feng gave up his target of getting TQ and instead moved onto a different strategy. He used the qualifying runs to try to setup his car to avoid traction rolling. In his final round of qualifying he almost got his car as fast as the TQ driver Ding Fang Jie.

In the first final, Wang succeeded to pass Ding and got the first place. In the second final, the traction of the track increased a lot making it difficult to drive, but Wang managed to get to the first place quickly however he later got into an accident and was bumped by a slower car, causing the body shell to tuck so he ended up in fourth place at the end.

In the third final, traction became even higher.  Wang tried to pass the first car, but unfortunately the two cars bumped against each other.  Wang then temporarily gave up the first position.  At the same time the third car was following very closely, so Wang played safe by also giving up the second position.  After few laps, he managed to get back to the second position. Into the last minute of the race, Wang tried to pass the first car, but unfortunately he was bumped by a car that came from a different section of the track by accident.  He fell back to the second position and finished the race.

At the end, Zhu and Wang were tied for the first position but Wang won the race after taking lap time into account, followed by Zhu then Zhang.

A1. Wang Hai Feng (T.O.P. Photon EX)
A2. Zhu Xiao Feng (Hot Bodies TCX)
A3. Zhang Fang Zhou (Hot Bodies TCX)
TQ. Ding Fang Jie (Hot Bodies TCX)

Source: T.O.P. [top-racing.jp]

New for the Xray T3 is this set of identical left & right aluminium arms for the dual servo saver. The ultra-strong construction provides long life and durability in even the most extreme racing conditions. CNC-machined from premium Swiss 7075 T6 aluminium for superior strength and reliability, this is a direct replacement for the composite servo saver arms. Orange anodized, the set includes ball-bearings.

Source: Xray [teamxray.com]

The 2012 Reedy Touring car race of champions was held last weekend at Norcal Hobbies in Union City, California. This year’s race attracted a large number of international racers from Europe with a lot of the pro drivers taking the opportunity to test at the track in the week ahead of the event. As per usual the event is heads up racing with the 6 best results from 8 counting towards the final points. On Saturday, which would see 4 of the invitational races run, it was new Yokomo driver Hayato Matsuzaki who would dominate proceedings taking 4 wins from 4 to lead overnight ahead of Jilles Groskamp driving his Tamiya. On Sunday however Hayato’s challenge fell apart with some poor results leaving him in 4th overall. Day 2 belonged to Tamiya racer Viktor Wilck who started the day with a second to add to his tally of 2 wins the day before. It kept getting better with Viktor taking 3 more wins which would give him the same points as Ronald Volker, but the title would be decided on number of wins with Viktor taking it with 5 wins to give the Swedish driver his first major title since the DHI Cup in 2008. Ronald Volker would take 2nd place with Jilles Groskamp in 3rd.

Thanks to Rick Wang for the photos.

Last week saw the 1/8th ‘B’ European championship held in Thionville in the North of France. With nice hot weather during the week and new asphalt on the track as well as a new layout and sugared water sprayed for a better grip the conditions were perfect for all drivers. From the start of practice, local driver, and reigning French Champion, Arnaud Mathieu (Motonica P81 RS2) set the pace. After the opening round of qualifying, it’s a fast Sabrina Lechner who took the the pole on Thursday with a 27 lap run in 7’01. On Friday, with 4 rounds of qualifying many drivers would have the opportunity to improve, but the morning heat should be the fastest because of the fresh air.

On round 2, it was another French driver, Jérome Papaconstantinos, driver who claimed 28 laps to take the pole. In round 3, Romain Picard is the second driver to make a 28 laps qualifying round, taking second place. In the last round of qualifying, Arnaud Mathieu finally got a clear run to take the pole, by just a second.

After the semi finals its the experienced driver, John Ermen who would start from P1 followed by TQ driver Arnaud Mathieu. The two other drivers who made 28 laps in qualifying, Jerome Papaconstantinos and Romain Picard were both out after the semis.

It was a thrilling final, because many things happened to TQ driver, Arnaud Mathieu. First he stalled during the warm up lap, therefore he had to start from the pit lane. Ermen took the lead and opened a gap to the rest of the field. Sabrina, after a good start, had to retire because of radio problem after 15 min of racing and after 20 min, Arnaud Mathieu was now in 2nd place. Ermen changed tires quite early and then had technical problems, he managed to get back on track but could only finish in sixth position. At the 30 min mark Arnaud Mathieu was leading by 3 laps but hadn’t change tires yet and unfortunately he would stall again.

Christophe Louis was now in the lead but in the same lap as Arnaud Mathieu who finally changed tires. And he can now pick up the pace with his fresh tires. The lead changes 4 or 5 times between the two Frenchmen because of refueling. But Arnaud could pull a half a lap lead, and then finishes a lap ahead of Christophe Louis. In third place its Stephane Riccobono with a clean race.

Source: Andelle Competition [andelle-competition.com]

Thirteen years ago, Uwe Rheinard co creator of the Euro Touring Series, started his annual 24 hour endurance-race with 23 teams of Tamiya´s FWD VW Beetle and last weekend this year’s event took place, again with 23 team taking part. For many years Dickie-Tamiya Germany have supported this event with a special deal for Tamiya TT01 kits and everybody is certain that this is the only chassis to use for such a long distance. On Saturday morning every team got the Tamiya kit which had to built and after a short roll out the cars were placed in a parc ferme for technical inspection. All cars ran with Porsche Bodies and all had to be painted like a real race car so the on track action looks the same as the legendary event at the neighboring Nurburgring which runs on the same weekend. Every Porsche also has to switch on the lights when it gets dark.

This year, Conrad Electronic supported the event with their 4000mAh LiPo batteries, which worked absolutely perfect. Every team had a maximum of 5 battery packs and for drivers, who felt the strain of 24 hours of racing, Conrad supplied a lot of their own brand Energy drink.

With 3482 laps, or 630km, team ‘Wilde 13′ won for fourth time in row with their Falken-Porsche. Only 2 sets of Ride 36 wheels and zero spare parts were enough for that awesome victory.

In the future, Uwe Rheinard is planing a European endurance Championship with a great final somewhere in europe. If you are interested in these 24 hour rules and in a European championship, please contact Uwe.

Full results can be found here.

Image Gallery

Action Photos by Jörg Wiessmann, other images by Dirk Träger.

Exotek Racing have produced this ‘must have’ tuning option for your SC10 4X4. 6 months of track testing has shown enhanced acceleration and braking thanks to locking the left slipper pad only. With this installed you will experience the ability to power out of corners sooner and allow you to brake later and still remain stable. The slipper engages for the rear wheels only and is still fully adjustable. The remaining right side slipper will run much cooler and more consistently though because it is no longer driving the front wheels. Excellent for high power motors.

Source: Exotek [exotekracing.com]

Bittydesign, famous for their quality painted bodies, have released their own Liquid Mask. Developed over the past year by the Italian company on thousands of their own bodies, it was until now a really hard type of product to find in Europe. This Liquid Mask is water based, non toxic and can be easily used by anyone. Bittydesign have produced a video explaining the product and how best to use it, which can be seen below.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Source: Bittydesign [bittydesign.net]

The Team Grid drop-in camber tuning kit enables vertical camber link tuning on the Associated TC6 and TC6.1 touring cars. This kit utilizes the existing holes on the front and rear shock towers for infinite vertical camber link ball tuning. Since most racers are using the #1, #3 and #7 camber locations on the stock towers, the Team Grid camber kit allows for the exact use of these camber holes along with the flexibility of the inverted ball link system, which provides added positive and negative vertical adjustments from these locations. The camber kit also includes an extra tuning hole between #1 and #7 for even more tuning capabilities. Any 3mm spacer from 0.1 up to 6mm can be used for all the tuning.

Source: Team Grid [gridrc.com]

Pro-Line have released the Flo-Tek designed specifically for your Traxxas Slayer Pro. The Flo-Tek was the first SC body specifically designed to minimize the short-course body parachute effect. Featuring futuristic styling coupled with large vent holes that allow air to flow through eliminating aerodynamic drag. The locations and size of the vents were designed to maximize air flow through the body while keeping the aggressive and high-tech look. The all new and improved Square Fuzzie is now available for your SC Truck and features countless square micro-pins laid out in a traction inducing grid pattern that will stick to the track like Velcro. The long center bars provide tons of forward bite and improved wear over the Original and are ideal for any indoor/outdoor hard-packed dirt track where bar-type tires are not getting the job done.

Finally for your Losi 5ive-T or HPI 5SC (rear) is a pair of 1:5 scale Blockade XTR No Foam Tires. The Blockade features large, perfectly spaced lugs that rip into the dirt for incredible traction and has plenty of meat to last through super long race sessions. For super loose conditions, the Blockade tire can be tuned for more aggressive traction by trimming out alternating knobs. The inside of the Blockade contains unbelievably detailed webbing that strengthens the tire carcass and prevents excessive tire expansion.

Source: Pro-Line [prolineracing.com]

Team C have created this Team Edition of their TS2TE 2wd short course truck. The team version comes with new 16mm big bore shocks as well as a newly design SC body shell. To increase durability over the standard version it will come with a range of aluminium parts as standard including hinge blocks, motor mount for better cooling and a new 28T gear.

Source: Team C [teamcracing.net]

The Savage drivetrain is super flexible, allowing HPI monster trucks to reach legendary levels of durability and performance! Because of this extreme toughness, HPI designers have Super-sized the Savage to 1/5th scale, taking the Savage to a new dimension. The Super 5SC Flux takes the powerful Flux Tork 2200KV motor and Blur speedo from the amazing Savage Flux HP for truly impressive top speeds and plenty of wheel-spinning fun. The Super 5SC Flux is lighter than the Baja 5SC, so the power of the Flux Tork is a perfect match. With specialized parts to fit the Baja 5SC body, bumpers and wheels, from the outside the Super 5SC Flux looks just like its fuel-breathing stablemate. It’s only when you switch it on and drive away that its secret is revealed!

Features:
- TF-40 2.4GHz
- SB-5
- Flux Blur ESC
- Flux Tork 2200Kv Motor
- Runs on 6s
- Bottom chassis skid plates
- Silicone oil filled shocks
- 5SC body
- All metal drivetrain
- AA’s
- Sway bars F&R
- Front and rear bumpers
- Largest Brushless RTR available
- Shares Parts with Savage Flux family
- Center diff

Source: HPI [hpiracing.com]

The Short Course Kings Series rolled into Ocala, FL for its 4th and final round of the 2012 season.  NewRed Hobbies was the host track for this event with 104 entries geared up to do battle and crown the Kings of Short Course. Pro 2 stock qualifying was dominated by Shea Peterson setting the TQ in the first round and backing it up by winning the second round to secure the overall TQ. Pro 2 expert stock was the Billy Bruce show as he went on to TQ both rounds by a large margin with his JConcepts equipped Kyosho truck. JConcepts driver Zack Genova showed the way in the Pro 2 expert mod class by setting a first rd TQ that held up for the overall #1 starting position. Pro 4 expert mod had a great battle for the TQ spot between local racer Bobby Reeves and JConcepts driver Chris Viesins. Bobby set the early TQ in round 1, but Chris came storming back in round 2 to claim the overall TQ going into the main event.

Pro 2 stock got things started with a nice battle between TQ Shea Peterson and 4th qualifier Jovan Cruz. Shea took the early lead from his TQ position, but a crash on lap 5 allowed Jovan to take over the lead. Jovan and Shea stayed nose to tail for much of the race, but Jovan finally put some distance between them for his first A-main win. Jovan’s SC10 was equipped with all JConcepts; Raptor body, Hazard wheels, and Bar Code tires. Tracy Carver and his JConcepts equipped SC10 finished in the 7th position and locked up the SCK overall points championship.

Pro 2 expert stock was once again the Billy Bruce show as he took full advantage of his TQ position. Billy took his JConcepts equipped Kyosho to a wire to wire victory by leading every lap in dominating fashion as he locked up the overall SCK points championship. Billy’s truck was rockin’ a JConcepts Raptor X-flow body, Hazard wheels, and blue Bar Codes.

Pro 2 expert mod belonged to JConcepts driver Zack Genova. Zack also took full advantage of the TQ spot and jumped out to the early lead, but 4th qualifier Daimon Borkowicz quickly made his way to the front and started to apply pressure to the leader. Zack stayed in the zone as Daimon made a mistake and popped off a ball-cup allowing Chris Viesins and Paul Wynn back into the top 3. Zack went on to lead every lap to take the overall win with Paul and Chris finishing 2nd and 3rd. Zack topped of his winning SC10 with a JConcepts Hi-Flow body, Hazard wheels, and blue Pressure Points. JConcepts driver Paul Wynn also wrapped up the overall SCK Championship in this class.

Pro 4 expert mod was dominated by JConcepts driver Chris Viesins. From the tone, Chris put the throttle down and never looked back as he lead wire to wire to secure his overall SCK points championship. However, there was an amazing battle for the 2nd position between 10 year old Cody Wiles and local racer Bobby Reeves. They battled lap after lap until the very end with Cody holding on for 2nd and Bobby 3rd. Chris had his Losi SCT-E fully equipped with a JConcepts Hi-Flow body, brand new SCT-E Hazard wheels, and Bar Code tires.

Source: JConcepts [jconcepts.net]

The Tekno RC Big Bone driveshaft and outdrives for the Slash 4×4 and Stampede 4×4 solves the many issues associated with the stock center driveline.  First off it’s fat yet it’s still extremely lightweight. It’s a dog bone rather than a simple splined shaft and as such will not bind, split, or bend the way the stock shaft does. The laser etched shaft is machined from high quality aluminium and anodized for incredible wear. Newly designed hardened steel outdrives on either end replace the weaker stock parts for the ultimate center driveline available for the Slash 4×4 and Stampede 4×4 vehicles.

Source: Tekno RC [teknorc.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]

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.

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

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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

View the complete results here.

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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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