July 24, 2009

Balestri off to a good start in EC Qualifying

Balestri off to a good start in EC Qualifying

Dario Balestri has got his quest for a hat trick of European titles off to a good start by TQ’ing the opening round of qualifying for the 2009 EFRA 1:10 200mm Euros.  The defending Champion recorded a run of 26 laps in 07:12.928 to beat the Serpent 733 of Jilles Groskamp by 7/10th of a second but the Dutch ace, along with Robert Pietsch and Adrien Bertin, was later disqualified for his bodyshell being under the minimum permitted height. Balestri said his Team Magic G4RS 09 felt good but in the later part of his run the clutch loosened causing his car to be very slow out of the corners.

View our full event coverage here.

July 24, 2009

Groskamp tops timed practice in Italy

Groskamp tops timed practice in Italy

Drivers have just completed timed practice here in Gubbio and it is Serpent’s Jilles Groskamp (26/07:10.527) who set the pace over 7 minutes finishing 2.5 seconds ahead of impressive Euros debutant Alexander Hagberg (26/07:13.009). Groskamp, who also posted the fastest lap of the one and only timed practice with 16.044, said he was happy with his pace but felt the traction was much lower today most likely as a result of people walking on the track at last night opening ceremony.  The Dutch ace ran 37/40 Xceed tyres on his Max powered 733 but plans to run a harder rear in the qualifiers.

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July 23, 2009

Defending Champion goes fastest in Italy

Defending Champion goes fastest in Italy

After being somewhat off the pace, defending champion Dario Balestri (15.950) has got it together topping the last controlled practice here in Gubbio. The Italian had struggled in the opening four sessions but reverting back to his set-up from yesterday he was able to take his Novarossi powered Team Magic around the track in a sub lap record time. Running 37 shore tyres all round, Balestri said the car was now very good and he can look forward to tomorrow’s qualifiers.

View our full event coverage here.

July 23, 2009

Spataro tops 3rd practice in Italy

Spataro tops 3rd practice in Italy

He was tipped as one to watch when we arrived in Gubbio and so far Biagio Spataro is living up to the hype by setting some super fast times topping the third round of controlled practice with a 15.956.  The 15-year-old was helped by running very soft 35 shore tyres which he said made his Xray very fast but he admitted tyre wear was high.  Very happy with the consistency of the JP powered NT1 he plans to run the same set-up again in the fourth of today’s five controlled practice sessions.

View our full event coverage here.

July 22, 2009

Newcomers impress themselves in Gubbio

Newcomers impress themselves in Gubbio

Drivers are continuing to clock up the laps here in Gubbio and walking through the pits this evening one can see a lot more happy faces.  One guy with a big smile on his face is World Champion Daniele Ielasi who is carrying all the hopes of 1:10 newcomer Shepherd on his shoulders. Running the sole Velox V10, the Italian said coming to the event he had set himself the goal of making the main final which would be like a victory for the car but the performance of the chassis in free practice is giving him the feeling they can aim higher. Running the same pace as the race favourites, Ielasi said the base set-up of the car is very good and this has allowed them to concentrate on trying lots of different things to see how the car reacts including large tyres.

View our full event coverage here.

July 22, 2009

Drivers settle in at Gubbio

Drivers settle in at Gubbio

Its another extremely hot day here in Italy as free practice for the 2009 EFRA 1:10 200mm European Championships continues at the beautiful Gubbio track.  Drivers will get another six 10 minute sessions today but with no official timing we will have to wait till tomorrow’s controlled practice before we can get a clearer picture of who is doing what but many of the leading drivers say its going to be a very close competition.

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July 21, 2009

World’s best in Gubbio for Euros battle

World’s best in Gubbio for Euros battle

This week the beautifully presented Gubbio track in the centre of Italy plays host to the 2009 EFRA 1:10 200mm European Championships. After a one year break due to EFRA’s hosting of the World Championship in Portugal last year, the sixth European title will be awarded on Sunday evening to one of the 120 drivers, from 16 nations, up on the Formula one style podium. Amoung the quality entry are 8 of the 10 World Finalists including World Champion Daniele Ielasi and the Top Qualifier Jilles Groskamp. The defending European Champion Dario Balestri is aiming for a European Championship hat trick on home soil having held the title since 2006 when he won in the Netherlands.

View our full event coverage here.

July 21, 2009

Ryan Maifield defends ROAR Truggy title

Ryan Maifield defends ROAR Truggy title

Utilizing his Factory Team RC8T and recently released Reedy 121 VR engine, Ryan Maifield dominated the competition at Leisure Hours Raceway in Joliet, IL at the ROAR 1/8 Truggy Nationals. In qualifying, Maifield lead the field each round by beating the best in the country time after time. Even after securing the top qualifying spot by round three, Maifield chose to run round four to test a chassis adjustment. Starting from the pole position for the main event, Maifield got off to a good clean start and never looked back. By going over nine minutes between pit stops his RC8T/Reedy 121 VR combination never missed a beat and lapped the field up to second place and set the single fastest lap time. By the conclusion of the 45-minute main event, Maifield had built a 13+ second lead over second place Jared Tebo, with Josh Wheeler in 3rd, and was the only driver to make 83 laps.

Source: Associated [rc10.com]

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