Martin Bayer wins big at Bokor Cup 2009

One of the downsides of being so far out of a major city is that it makes you realize how much you depend on things you are used to having at your disposal. In my case this week, it was the internet. Unfortunately there was no hot spot I could drop by to send out my race reports this weekend, so I am sorry for the delay in the update. As we went to bed last night the forecast was for heavy storms and wind to rumble through the area, which had us all very worried, but as we awoke, we were very pleased to see that only a sprinkle hit us and soon the sun was bright as could be. We ran a total of 6 rounds of qualifying where a driver’s best 4 of the 6 rounds would be counted with points to determine which drivers would make the semi finals.

We ran the event similar to the worlds where no driver including the top qualifier would have a guaranteed spot in the finals. Everyone had to work for it and transfer out of the semi finals. The top drivers in attendance all qualified for the semis without having to do any bump ups. At the end of qualifying it was Jorn Neumann from Germany who claimed the TQ spot, but it was not easy, it came down to a tie with Bayer, but not the Bayer you are used to hearing about, it was Ales Bayer from the Czech Republic, the brother of Martin who tied with Neumann but the tie breaker gave it to the German.

Even though qualifying was complete for the day, the day was not over. An amazing after party was planned by the organizer and it did not disappoint. Even though we were on a mountain top that did not stop them from putting on a great party. It started out with a magic show to entertain us all which had the organizer Laszlo getting his head placed in a box and swords stuffed through it, Lucky for us all it was successful trick and Laszlo was fine. After the show, a full catered dinner was arranged with some great Hungarian food. And of course. Lots of drinks. Just when I thought the party was about over, Laszlo arranged for another tradition. The Hungarian drinking race game with the traditional Hungarian drink called Palengka. It is a clear fruity drink that boasts an amazing alcohol percentage. So everyone took turns to see how fast they could pick up the cup, drink it and set it back down on the timing sensor. It was a riot. Everyone had a great time and it gave everyone a chance to wind down and have a great time.

Sunday came and greeted us again with amazing weather. The lower finals started early in the morning. Out of the lower finals we transferred the top 4 drivers from each main to give us 12 in each final. As I mentioned earlier all the expected drivers were in the semi but there was one Hungarian driver who normally is in the top of regional events found him self in the lower mains. Aron Tozser began his day deep in the lower finals and was able to bump his way all the way up into the semis and transfer out of the semi and make the A final. Great job to Aron and his mechanic, they did a great job. I also would like to give credit to another racer, Young 11 years old Libor Lukasek from the Czech Republic. He qualified for the semi outright and did a great job in the semi to make the A final. It is great to see young kids doing so well.

In the semis it was clear that Martin Bayer was going to be the man to beat. He had an absolute flawless semi and earned the pole position for the finals. Jorn Neumann, Ales Bayer and Karsten Keller also all transferred to the finals. The rest of the field was filled with other top drivers from the region who all had to work very hard to make the final. In the semi’s Jorn Neumann had engine problems causing him to run at a much reduced speed down the straightaway, infield power was ok, but he was really at a disadvantage on the massive straight. After the semi, I asked him what the problem was and he seems to think it was a problem with his carburetor. He said he will be replacing the carb for the finals.

The final was a 45min event. Which is more than an endurance test for not only man but machine? Having all the components work together for that long of a race sometimes can be more of a challenge than the race itself. As the final began it was clear that Martin Bayer’s dominance in the semi was only a prelude to what he had planned for the final. Jorn Neumann tried to keep pace with him early in the event, but his engine problems were not solved and he was again underpowered on the long Bokor Straightaway. No other drivers could keep pace with the European Podium finished Bayer and he took his Novarossi Losi 8 2.0 to an impressive win. Jorn was able to drive a nearly flawless event despite his problems to bring his Losi 8 2.0 to a 2nd place earning him €1500. 3rd place and below had some great battle for the final podium position and that great 3rd place prize of €1000! Early contender for the 3rd place from Germany, Karsten Keller also running a Losi 8 2.0 was looking great but a surprise flameout at the absolute farthest place from the pit lane caused the German to fall well back in the ranks.

Another Germany looking to secure a podium spot going into the finals was Oliver Simon, driving an Xray XB808 had a mechanical problem early in the final that dropped him out for many laps, but was able to get it repaired and get back on the track. 2nd qualifier Ales Bayer who also had a great shot at a podium finish this weekend fell victim to a tie rod end problem on his Losi 8 2.0 that dropped him out of the final. Running with these drivers listed above and having no problems at all was Rene Kargl from Austria. Rene drove an impressive and wise final event ensuring that his Mugen did not encounter any problems at all during the finals and had a great battle with the Hungarians best hope Gergely Cseko, These drivers had an awesome race during the closing stages of the finals but it was a great drive from Kargl that secured him the 3rd payout position. Carsten Keller battled another flameout later in the event that again dropped him down in the standings but he was able to work his way back up the list and finished in a respectable 5th place. Oliver got his Xray back on the track and also worked his way up the board a bit to settle for a 7th place finish. Our big bump up driver Aron Tozser who bumped all the way up struggled a bit in the final and finished 10th over all, but considering where he started, that was a great finish. Our youngest racer in the A final Libor did a great job, for a young racer he showed a lot of composure and showed all racers on the track a great amount of respect. Watching him race, I think he knew he did not have a great chance to win, but he ran hard, gave everyone lots of room when he leaders came up to pass him and finished in the 6th place. The smile on his face when he saw where he finished was priceless. Great job Libor. All the other drivers in the finals had problems of some sort being mechanical or engine but 10 of the 12 racers finished the final running.

Thanks to Scotty Ernst for the report and photos.