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Coming from TPro is a set of downstop screws for 1/8th off-road vehicles. Specially designed with a flat head that better protects the chassis area compared to a normal set screw, that can grub into the chassis plate over time, the construction also makes for more precise droop settings thanks to the increased contact patch. The set includes eight M4x10mm screws that are usable on many of today’s 1/8th buggies, trucks and GT kits.

Source: MW RC Cars [mwrccars.at]

Bruno Coelho has capped off his Euro Touring Series title weekend in Slovakia with a record equaling fourth win of the season.  The Xray driver joined Marc Rheinard as the only driver to win four races in a single season when he again cruised to A2 victory at the Hudy Arena to wrap up Round 5, the organisers to be complimented for completing the event after effectively losing two days of running due to rain.  Able to sit out A3, Coelho’s win means he maintains his unbeaten run of victories at his team’s home track since making his ETS debut three seasons ago. Behind, team-mate Alexander Hagberg continued the 1-2 enjoyed by Xray as he won A3 after seeing off a rejuvenated Naoto Matsukura, the former World Champion claiming his first ever ETS podium finish.

Reflecting on his 9th ETS career win, the season finale next month in Germany an opportunity for him to make it five wins in a season, Coelho said, ‘I don’t think about these things, I’m here to win every race and when I finish 2nd I lose. My job is to develop the car to help our customers. This year has been really good in terms of the car working pretty well, we didn’t change too much on it over the year’. He continued, ‘It is also rewarding to work with brands that were nothing 2-years ago like Hobbywing and MonTech but are now at the top’.  With Francesco Martini a key contributor to harnessing his natural abundance of driving talent, Coelho continued, ‘We reached our goal with the ETS title and next we will go to the European Championships.  Everything is looking good but these are not conditions & tyres we have practiced for so we will see how it goes’.

Clearly meaning a lot to him to win A3, Hagberg said, ‘An Xray 1-2 is what people expect here but the competition have caught up so it was tougher to get the 1-2 this year’.  Having struggled in A1 with Matsukura eventually passing him for second, he continued, ‘I got my car a lot better after we changed a few things on the set-up so I was not having to drive as defensively as before’.  Setting the fastest lap of the race weekend in A3 with a 17.345, he continued, ‘setting the fastest lap showed we got a good set-up at the end’.  Having endured a tough season, Round 4 in Italy a particular low point, he concluded, ‘for sure it is good to be back at the front and I’m really looking forward to the final round’.

‘First time on the podium, I’m so happy’, was the reaction of a very pleased looking Matsukura.  He added, ‘I had good places in A1, A2 and A3 so I think I can say I am back’.  Joining Infinity at the start of the year, the said, ‘everything is coming good again and part of this is that the team is good. My car worked good here because I had Fujiwara san for my mechanic this weekend.  Now I will go testing in Japan for next ETS because I want to win that one’.

Finish 4th having set the pace in Thursday practice before rain hampered the next two days of action, Marc Rheinard said, ‘I think we lost the race in qualifying’. The Infinity driver was referring to the 5/100ths by which Hagberg out qualified both himself and Matsukura, saying ‘Hagberg was really slow in A1 and if Naoto had of been second and Alex fourth it would have been a different story. The next time’.  The German concluded, ‘This is Xray’s home town so I think we were closer than it looked in the final so I think we can give them a run for their money in Ettlingen’.

In both the Pro Stock and Formula A Mains, the winners wouldn’t be decided until A3.  In Formula, having won A1, in A2 Top Qualifier Olivier Bultynck put his Shepherd on the grass while leading which let David Ehrbar through for the win ahead of Jan Ratheisky. In A3 however Bultynck would have no such problems and after an early mistake by Ratheisky and then Ehrbar he could cruise to the A3 win ahead of Toni Rheinard to claim his second Formula win of the season. Ratheisky and Ehrbar completed the Round 5 podium with the title set to be decided at the season final in Germany next month.

The Xray Pro Stock final was similar to Formula with a mistake on the opening lap of A2 by A1 winner Christian Donath giving Jan Ratheisky the win from Alexandre Duchet forcing the race to go to A3.  This time the pole sitter made sure to put in the perfect race taking his Tamiya to a 3.6 second winning margin over Duchet and Martin Hofer.  The German’s first ETS win he was joined on the podium by Ratheisky in second and Duchet in third with the champion going to be decided in Ettlingen.

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Chassis – Yokomo BD8 SV
Motor – Muchmore (handout)
ESC – Muchmore (handout)
Batteries – Muchmore Impact 6000mAh
Tires – Volante (handout)
Radio/Servo – Sanwa/Xpert
Bodyshell – Protoform Speed 6
Remarks – Former ETS Pro Stock Champion Martin Hofer is running the newly released BD8 Stock Version from Yokomo. Having been racing the new car in prototype form since the 3rd round of the series in Spain, the new car is specifically made for the ultra competitive stock class. Featuring a bigger pulley drivetrain, the new design helps free up the drivetrain while the higher mounted front and rear axles allow the car to roll more giving the car better cornering speed and more roll in the corners. Other new changes include new shock towers to accommodate the new drivetrain as well as a new stiffer top deck and a new PCS motor mount.

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Having wrapped up his second consecutive Euro Touring Series title by taking the TQ in Slovakia this morning, Bruno Coelho made light work of his opposition to cruise to the win in A1.  Almost immediately the Xray driver would establish a lead while the rest of the field backed up behind team-mate Alexander Hagberg. Spinning out on the curbing at the one & a half minute mark would end Marc Rheinard’s race as he got collected by Infinity team-mate Akio Sobue resulting in the front left corner being pulling off the German’s car.  This would take the pressure from behind off Matsukura allowing him to focus on finding his way passed Hagberg, the Japanese driver forcing a mistake from the Swede on the penultimate lap to get passed for second.  Despite setting the slowest fastest lap of the race, Ronald Volker would finish 4th behind Hagberg, the World Champion clearly having to dig deep to make up for his car’s lack of pace.

With his season’s goal achieved this morning and the race now an opportunity to add to his ETS career statistics, Coelho said after his easy A1 win, ‘it was pretty good’.  The Portuguese ace added, ‘I forced from the start but at 2-minutes lost the rear in the middle of the track.  Maybe I overheated the tyres but after this I took it easy and controlled the race to the end.  Alex & Naoto fighting gave me more space’.  On target for his fourth win of the season, a feat only Rheinard has achieved when he won his only ETS title in 2009/10, Coelho used A1 to ‘try different things’ on his Hobbywing powered T4 and happy with them he said he plans to use A2 for further testing.

A driver clearly enjoying being back at the front, Matsukura was delighted with his pass on Hagberg but also slightly frustrated at being held up by the former Nitro Touring Car World Champion.  He said, ‘I changed back to yesterday’s set-up and my car was pretty good now but Alex was a little slow so I had no chance to try race with Bruno’.  He added ‘I kept the pressure on Alex and he made a little mistake and I could go on his inside for the pass but for the next one I need to take him at the beginning, I really want to try to take the fight to Bruno’.  In terms of his also Hobbywing powered IF14, he said, ‘the car is good so I will keep it the same and just fit new tyres’.

‘Not good’ was Hagberg’s reaction after A1.  He continued, ‘I was struggling with the car. It was too difficult to drive and that’s why I couldn’t defend my position’.  Describing the car as ‘loose’, he said, ‘we need to change the set-up for the next one so I can actually race’.

In the opening Xray Pro Stock encounter, Top Qualifier Christian Donath managed with a minute to go to get back the lead he lost 5-laps early to Jan Ratheisky for a very popular win.  Very closely bunched at the front, Martin Hofer would also finish where he started after seeing off the attentions of fifth place starter Tom Krägefski.  In Formula it was also a win for the Top Qualifier with Olivier Bultynck keeping champion Ratheisky at bay with Helge Johannessen coming from 9th on the grid to complete the Top 3.

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Bruno Coelho (Portugal)

Xray XB4 14 – Hobbywing Xerun XR10 Pro – Hobbywing Xerun – EZ 3500mAh Graphene – Sanwa/Savox

Michal Orlowski (Poland)

Schumacher Cougar KC – LRP Flow-X– LRP X20 – LRP LCG P5 4000mAh – Sanwa

Martin Bayer has won the season finale of the Euro Offroad Series in Wels, Austria, it having been 2-years to the week since the Czech driver last stood on the top step of the EOS podium.  The Xray driver denied team-mate Bruno Coelho the perfect weekend thanks to his A2 win, the time of which was 3/10ths of a second quicker than Coelho’s A3 win giving him the overall victory at the Modellbau Wels on the tiebreaker.  His first win since back to back champion Coelho arrived into the championship, today’s win marks his 4th EOS Career win.  With Coelho having to settle for 2nd, it was 2WD Champion Michal Orlowski who would complete the podium as the curtains came down on the championship’s sixth season.

Joking with Coelho, ‘I was just the better driver’, a very happy Bayer said ‘For sure I’m super happy. It has been a long time’.  One of five drivers going into A3 with a chance of the win he said, ‘I knew that to win (A3) was going to be difficult because Bruno had fresher tyres but I also knew it would be very close with the times.  After the disaster of A1 the 2nd and 3rd finals were perfect’. His first win since his appointment as Xray’s Offroad Team Manager and only the third driver to win in 4WD this season he added, ‘the car is so perfect I really enjoy driving it.  It has been a great EOS season for us’.

‘I sucked in the finals’, was how Coelho summed up missing out on becoming only the third driver in the EOS’ 24 event history to do a clean sweep of a race weekend.  He continued, ‘I made a mistake in the first final and also the second but finally in the third I drive a clean race.  I tried to get the best 5-minute time but couldn’t do it but I am still happy for Martin to win because he deserves it’.

Having missed the first day’s action in Austria due to a school Exam and having to race the J-Main in 2WD because he didn’t run any qualifiers, Orlowski said, ‘It is good to be back on podium’.  The only non-Xray driver to win in 4WD this season when he won his home round in Poland, the 15-year-old said, ‘In the last one I was hoping I could get second because then I would have got second overall and second in the championship’.  He continued, ‘I got passed Wollanka and then was battling with Lee Martin but I think it was my error coming onto the straight and I rolled.  In the end third (overall) was still a pretty good result.  Overall I had one win and 3 podiums so hopefully next season will be even better’.

Backing up his P3 in A2 with another in A3, Lee Martin would miss out on the podium finishing the final round 4th overall ahead of compatriot Neil Cragg.  The first season of EOS Martin has failed to register a race win, for Cragg 5th place would mark his best 4WD finish of the EOS, the Associated driver contesting the class since the arrival of the B64 at the third round in Slovakia.

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Martin Bayer has won the second 4WD A-Main at EOS Austria, the Xray Offroad team manager capitalising on an early error from Top Qualifier Bruno Coelho. In the first run through the centre double double, Coelho took too much of an inside line forcing him to have to back out of the second double which was enough for Bayer to get to the front.  With Martin Wollanka taking out Lee Martin at the same section, delaying the field, the two Xray’s could run their own race up front with Bayer keeping tight lines to the finish to win ahead of Coelho.  Recovering from the incident with Wollanka, Martin would complete the Top 3 ahead of A1 winner Michal Orlowski, the stage now set for a showdown for the final win of Season #6.

With great banter between the Xray duo after the race, Coelho imitating his team boss and saying ‘It was easy for me’, Bayer said, ‘he made a mistake at the first double and I got by and then I just tried to keep a tight line’.  ‘In practice we didn’t get to run one lap together but somehow today its all happening. I just tried to stay safe and have no incidents so I’m very happy for this’.  Looking to the final race of the season, which could see the overall win go to one of 5 drivers, the former EOS race winner said, ‘I hope for the 3rd main nothing special happens and I can make the podium because we have no result from the first final’.

Explain his error at the double double, Coelho said, ‘I went too much to the inside and was going to hit the board so I had to back out after that I had to battle with Bayer to the end’.  Joking, ‘It was just because he is a friend I don’t take him out’, he added, ‘He didn’t open the door so I couldn’t get by, it was a good race’.

‘It was a good take out’ was Martin’s reaction to getting hit by Wollanka.  The Yokomo driver continued, ‘I don’t think it was massively intentional and he just got it wrong.  At least he waited which was some justification. Luckily I still ended up third otherwise it was Leg 1 times two’.  On A3 he said, ‘I would like to just run the first few laps clean and hang with the Xrays and hopefully force them to race each other’.

Orlowski said he was pretty happy to end up with fourth.  He said, ‘Wollanka crashed Lee in the second double and stopped in the racing line and I was unlucky to hit him and drop down to last.  After that I was just making laps and somehow got fourth at the end’.  One of the contenders for the win, the only driver other than Coelho to win in 4WD this season, the Polish driver said, ‘with 5-guys able to win its going to be exciting’.

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Michal Orlowski came out on top of the opening A-Main of 4WD at the Euro Offroad Series in Austria, the Schumacher driver capitalising on all three Xray drivers starting ahead of him rolling at the same corner. Off the start it was Top Qualifier Bruno Coelho who led away the field from team-mate Martin Bayer but as they came onto the straight for the first time the Xrays performing a synchronised roll which would end Lee Martin’s challenge as he collected Bayer’s car.   This would leave Martin Wollanka to lead but 3-laps later he would execute an almost carbon copy of his team-mate’s error allowing 5th place starter Orlowski to go to the front where, despite his slipper going, he would stay to the end.  Wollanka would finish second with Neil Cragg completing the Top 3.

Having highlighted after qualifying that anything could be possible in the finals here with the example of the P2 he got from 8th on the grid in the second of the A-Mains at Round 3 of the EOS at the Hudy Arena, Orlowski said with a smile, ‘I got a bit lucky at the start’.  He continued, ‘I don’t know what happen but I just tried to not hit anything and went from 5th to 2nd.   Then I followed Wollanka until he made a mistake’.  The EOS’ 2WD Champion said towards the end of the race he could feel a belt or his slipper was going so he ‘tried to be really smooth’ which was why Wollanka started to close. With enough of gap however he would roll the last few jumps adding ‘I was lucky to finish’.  Discovering afterwards the slipper was ‘worn out’, they will fit a new one for A2 and ‘hopefully something similar will happen up front’.

‘I was first and it was all looking good but then I hit the dot’, was Wollanka’s reaction after the first encounter of the triple A-Mains.  The Austrian continued, ‘I tried everything to close on Orlowski.  I closed a bit but it was not enough to try to overtake’.  Tangling with Lee Martin as they both tried to recover from the first lap chaos, Coelho would eventually pull up half way into the race explaining that his roll was a result of hitting the dot in the corner coming onto the main straight.

Cragg said, ‘I just waited for the chaos and got through to third’.  The Associated driver continued, ‘my car as a little twitchy but I that was down to new tyres and more me than the car’.   Catching and battling with Wollanka, with whom he had an altercation in the final qualifier, for a second time the Brit would throw away a possible 2nd with a mistake but concluded, ‘I can’t argue with getting a third’.  Behind Cragg AE team-mate Karri Salmela would have a good race finishing fourth from 9th on the grid.

View complete event results here.

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