Joern Neumann has secured the perfect EOS season by maintaining his 100% winning record in 4WD buggy resulting in his 7th victory after winning Leg 2 of the A-main ahead of Xray’s Martin Bayer and reigning World Champion Ryan Cavalieri. The second round of 4WD Mains at the Dortmund event also saw the German ace successfully defend his 4WD Short Course Truck title as he took his third win of the season in the class. Neumann said he was delighted with how the season had gone adding he is already looking forward to next season’s EOS which as one of the first international drivers to sign up for the inaugural series he has seen it gain huge popularity.
Reigning 2WD & 4WD Electric Offroad World Champion Ryan Cavalieri will compete in the season finale of the ‘TLR/Spektrum Euro Offroad Series presented by Horizon Hobby’ in Dortmund, Germany, this weekend (12-14 April) with the American super star set for his first experience of European style indoor offroad racing. Cavalieri is part of a strong line-up of Team Associated drivers travelling to the fourth & final round of the 2012/13 EOS which again runs as part of of Europe’s largest consumer hobby show ‘Intermodellbau Dortmund’ and is expected to attract over 85,000 visitors.
Joern Neumann has kept his reign as the only driver to win 4WD Buggy in the TLR/Spektrum Euro Offroad Series after another dominant performance in the second A-Main at Round 3 of the series secured the Team Durango driver the overall win in Leoben, Austria. The champion of last season’s inaugural EOS and the winner of all six events that have been run since the creation of the series, today’s victory also means that the German ace has successfully defended his title with the season finale still left to run.
Starting Leg 2 from pole position, having been the 4WD Top Qualifier at every EOS, Neumann saw off a challenge from Team Xray’s Renaud Savoya on the opening lap after which he pulled clear of the field to win by almost half a lap ahead of team-mate Hupo Honigl who managed to keep Peter Pinisch at bay.
Martin Bayer and David Ronnefalk claimed the remaining two spots on the 4WD Buggy podium at the TLR/Spektrum Euro Touring Series either side of newly crowned Champion Joern Neumann after the 1:8 Offroad regulars finished 1st & 2nd respectively in the closing race of what was a successful first visit to Leoben in Austria.
Hupo Honigl and Martin Bayer completed the 2WD Buggy Podium at EOS Round 3 in Austria after the pair had very contrasting races in the 3rd A-main. Having been the only driver to challenge overall winner Joern Neumann for the win in the opening two mains, Bayer would start at the front of the grid as the German sat out the closing race but the Team Xray driver race would have a fraught affair. Dropping back down the pack following an error at the dBoots double on the opening lap, as hard as the Czech driver tried to make his way back through it wasn’t to be and after coming together with fellow 1:8 Offroad racer Robert Batlle a number of times he would retire his TLR22 with 1-minute to go due to a broken diff.
Moving to the front after Bayer’s mistake, Honigl controlled the race from start to finish but didn’t have it all his own way with German National Champion Oliver Scholz pushing the Durango driver hard. Running right with Honigl, on the last lap the Team C driver looked like he might try a pass but got it wrong at the first jump allowing the Austrian to complete the final lap unchallenged to win by 2.5 seconds from Scholz and Team Associated’s Peter Pinisch. The result would give Durango a 1-2 on the podium with Bayer demoted to the final step on the podium.
Overall Result 2WD Buggy
1. Joern Neumann (DE) – Durango – 2 pts
2. Hupo Honigl (AT) – Durango – 4
3. Martin Bayer (CZ) – Team Xray – 4
4. Oliver Scholz (DE) – Team C – 7 | 5. Peter Pinisch (AT) – Associated – 7 | 6. Robert Batlle (ES) – Yokomo – 10 | 7. David Ronnefalk (SE) – Kyosho – 10 | 8. Oskar Levin (SE) – TLR – 13 | 9. Jiri Mara (CZ) – Team Xray – 14 | 10.Dominic Bauer (AT) – TLR – 15
Having surprised his rivals by topping the opening round of qualifying, Team Xray’s Renaud Savoya proved it was not by chance as he again put his XB4 top of the time sheets in Q4. Ending qualifying equal on points with defending Champion Joern Neumann, the French ace was denied the overall TQ on his debut in the TLR/Spektrum Euro Offroad Series due to the German having a faster combined time from his TQ runs in Q2 & 3. For Neumann securing the Top Qualifier honours maintains his record as being the only driver to start on pole position in 4WD Buggy in the EOS since its creation.
Having struggled with a very nervous buggy in Q3 after he set his ride height incorrectly when copying that of his team-mate Martin Bayer, Savoya said with it set correctly his Orion powered XB4 was ‘way more easy to drive’. Conscious of the fastest time deciding the tie break he said he pushed as hard as he could but his tyres went off hence the slower time which was 1.4 second off his own opening TQ time. Not expecting to be as competitive on his debut, the 3-time 1:8 Offroad European Champion said he is really looking forward to racing Neumann, who is recognised as one of best 4WD Buggy drivers in the World, in tomorrow’s triple Mains.
Starting from pole position Joern Neumann took a tone to tone win in the opening 2WD Buggy A-Main at EOS Round 3 in Austria ahead of Martin Bayer, the Czech driver mounting an early challenge on the German who at the end of 5-minutes would win by 1.7 seconds. The only two drivers to run 21-second laps in the race, Neumann and Bayer were the class of the field leaving the No.3 starting Durango of Hupo Honigl behind, the Austrian finishing in the order he started ahead of fellow countryman Peter Pinisch.
Neumann, who was happier with his DEX210 than he was in the final qualifier with worn tyres better suiting his buggy, said it was very even between him and Bayer and it was just small mistakes by the Team Xray driver that separated them. Running the fastest lap of the race with a 21.964, Bayer’s fastest lap time of 21.978 shows just how closely matched the two drivers where.
2WD Buggy A-Main Leg 1 Result
1.(1) Joern Neumann (DE) – Durango – 15/5:16.304
2.(2) Martin Bayer (CZ) – Team Xray – 15/5:18.012
3.(3) Hupo Honigl (AT) – Durango – 14/5:03.827
4.(5) Peter Pinisch (AT) – Associated – 14/5:06.724 | 5.(4) Oliver Scholz (DE) – Team C – 14/5:07.700 | 6.(10)David Ronnefalk (SE) – Kyosho – 14/5:08.990 | 7.(7) Robert Batlle (ES) – Yokomo – 14/5:12.119 | 8.(8) Oskar Levin (SE) – TLR – 14/5:13.721 | 9.(6) Dominic Bauer (AT) – TLR – 13/4:46.119 | 10.(9)Jiri Mara (CZ) – Team Xray – 13/5:01.530
Having set the pace in 2WD Buggy practice Joern Neumann opened the first 4WD controlled practice by setting the pace, the Durango driver 9/10ths of a second faster than his closest rival over 3-consecutive laps. Chasing his 6th consecutive win in the class this weekend in Austria, the defending champion said while he was able to top the time sheets he was not entirely happy with his Speed Passion powered DEX410. Developing understeer over the duration of the run he said this was not good because qualifying was all about the full 5-minutes rather than just 3-laps and he would need to try something different for the final practice.
1 Neumann Jörn DE – 3/1:04.567
2 Bayer Martin CZ – 3/1:05.701
3 Hönigl Hupo CH – 3/1:05.750
4 Savoya Reno FR – 3/1:05.801 | 5 Scholz Oliver DE – 3/1:06.091 | 6 Mára Jiri CZ – 3/1:06.560 | 7 Pinisch Peter AT – 3/1:06.846 | 8 Orlowski Michal PL – 3/1:06.976 | 9 Batlle Robert ES – 3/1:07.221 | 10 Hansen Martin DK – 3/1:07.241 | 11 Ronnefalk David SE – 3/1:07.323 | 12 Hofer Patrick CH – 3/1:07.464
This weekend (8-10 March) the third round of the ‘TLR/Spektrum Euro Offroad Series presented by Horizon Hobby’ travels to Leoben in Austria where some of 1:8 Nitro Offroad’s biggest names are set to try their hand at 1:10 Electric Offroad including newly crowned World Champion Robert Batlle and multiple European Champion Renaud Savoya. Arch rivals in 1:8, both drivers are newcomers to 1:10 and will be looking to impress in particular against 1:8 racing peers Darren Bloomfield and David Ronnefalk who are experienced electric offroad competitors.
The whizzes at oOple have posted up a sweet video from the 2nd round of the EOS series from Germany showing some of the atmosphere and vibe of the event.
Team Durango’s Joern Neumann maintained his winning streak in the TLR/Spektrum Euro Offroad Series as he held off an impressive challenge from series debutant Naoto Matsukura in Langenfeld, Germany, the defending champion securing his fifth straight victory at the event which was hosted just 10-minutes from his house. Going down to the third & final leg, after each driver notched up a win & a second each in the opening two finals, there was drama on the first laps as the pair tangled with Matsukura having to wait on Neumann who was swallowed up by the pursuing pack. While Neumann was able to recover to take the win ahead Team Xray’s Martin Bayer who led for 4-laps, the reigning Japanese National Champion could only recover to 4th eventually finishing 6th. Repeating his Leg 2 third place finish in the closing race, TLR’s Darren Bloomfield completed the overall Top 3 to claim his first EOS podium.
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