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⢠125 drivers
⢠10 countries
⢠Sunny and 20°C
⢠350m track with hard-packed and dusty clay surface combined with carpet, a bridge and various kinds of jumps (table tops, wash board, etc.)
⢠Best laptime was 35:05sec set by Robert Gustafsson in lap 32 of the final. |
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The 2007 edition of the 1:8 off-road Nordic XRAY Challenge was hosted by Hilleroed RC Racing together with RC Model Center (the Danish XRAY distributor in Denmark).
The club had done a huge amount of work preparing for the event, giving all drivers and spectators a great experience. Previously the track was known as a high-speed track with only a few jumps and mostly large curved corners. Rebuilding the track during the last few months the organizers came up with a completely new layout making the track a lot more US-style with lots of 180? and 360? turns, elevated corners, and big jump sections. Lots of XRAY banners throughout the track, driver stand, and other locations gave the whole track and surroundings a very good atmosphere. The track was awesome and before the race the club had put 480 tons of clay which gave a very flat surface. |
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Overall, it was a very difficult and challenging track with the fastest laptimes being around 36 seconds. The âśJakarta 5-jump sectionâť (copied from the WC track in Jakarta) was the place where drivers could either gain precious seconds over competitors, or break the car. The really fast drivers would do a 4+1 combination, but the majority would do a 3+2 combination, which in fact was also very difficult!
The event was scheduled to be a 2-day race with 2 practice runs and 5 qualifying heats of which the best 3 runs would count. For those arriving at the track early, it was possible to get an 8-minute controlled practice the day before the official race start. Approximately half the field used this opportunity. |
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There were 3 female drivers, whose best results were from Swedish girl Keilia Ekenstierna, who won an XRAY Nitro Truck. It's great to see 3 female drivers and hopefully we can attract even more in the future.
Qualifying was very much dominated by UK Team XRAY driver Jon Hazlewood. He took two of the five rounds. Local Team XRAY driver Peter Harder took the 4th round and also Team XRAY driver Robert Gustafsson from Sweden did very well and managed to put another XRAY car in the Top 3 after qualifying. |
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A total of 5 XRAY cars made it to the final â“ Jon Hazlewood (UK), Brennan Ralls (UK), Robert Gustafsson (SE), Morten Thorkildsen (NO), and Peter Harder (DK). The start of the final was flawless and throughout the 45 minutes it was Jon Hazlewood and Robert Gustafsson who battled for victory. In the end it was the Robert who would claim the title with his XRAY XBEC. Congratulations to Robert for a very strong performance!
The entire Team XRAY did well. XRAY was the strongest brand in the lineup, XRAY won the TQ prize, XRAY was the majority of cars in the final, and XRAY took 1st and 2nd spots!
Final results:
1 Robert Gustafsson XRAY
2 John Hazelwood XRAY
3 Lars Alex Jensen
4 Rune Karlsen
5 Mikael Palsson
6 Frode Skauen
7 Brennan Ralls XRAY
8 Peter Harder XRAY
9 Morten Thorkildsen XRAY
10 Tim Culmsee
11 Steffen Culmsee
12 Christoffer Svensson
13 Jonas Kaerup
14 Henrik Nilsson |
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This was one of the biggest XRAY Challenge events and next year the organizers hope to make the event even bigger and better. More than 1000 pictures were taken during the weekend so please have a look at www.xraychallenge.com where you will be able to find the best of the pictures during the event.
Comment from Juraj Hudy:
I would like to thank to the organizers and the Harder family for their excellent work, dedication, and all the effort they have put into the preparation and organization of this event. The 2007 XRAY Nordic Challenge was definitely one of the best-organized races I have ever seen and together with the great sunny weather, friendly atmosphere and very good on-time race organization, this was a memorable event. See you again at the next races! |
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