|
(click to enlarge) |
|
| Modified Report by Martin Hudy |
|
The DHI Cup is the first big event this year for 1/10 electric touring car on carpet with rubber tires.. This race together with the LRP Masters is the biggest carpet race in Europe, and is attended by all of Europeâ™s best drivers including many top overseas racers. This year the race was held for the first time at the Odense Congress Center. The new location was much better since the hall was big enough to include a pit area and moreover there were lots of seats for spectators. The main advantage of this place was that the race could start on Friday morning with 4 rounds of practice which gave enough track time and practice before the race started
Team XRAY was not only participating in this event but was also a sponsor of the race. The team was represented by Teemu Leino, Alexander Hagberg, Steven Weiss, Dirk Wischnewski, Martin Lissau, Helge Johansen, and of course Juraj and Martin Hudy. It was pleasure for us to see that XRAY cars were the most popular car in both 19-Turn and Modified categories, making the new XRAY T2â™008 the most frequently used touring car. |
|
(click to enlarge) |
|
| Modified Practice |
|
| Practice started on Friday morning and I was surprised that the team was using almost exactly the same starting setup that is very close to the basic setup. I decided to start with the basic setup for the first round. The traction was very low because the carpet was new but with the number of participants it was more than certain that the traction would increase rapidly. The track layout was quite open and smooth in comparison to tracks that I usually drive on, and therefore I had to make some setup changes after the first round. I decided to move the Quick Roll Centers into more upward positions and I added 1mm shims under the ends of the linkages. This change helped a lot and the car started to roll much better. Because I wanted to have the car easier to drive in the long sweepers, I decided to increase rear toe-in to 3.5° for round 3 of practice. This change helped but I felt that the car was not reactive enough in the chicanes and because of that I decided to go for softer sway bars (1.4 front, 1.2 rear); this was a very good change for this kind of track and the car was performing exactly as I wanted. The team was doing very well in practice, only Steven was struggling a bit with his setup as his car was not reactive enough. All others were more than happy with their setups and whole team was looking forward to the qualifiers. The performance of the majority of the and cars was really good in practice, putting us at the top. I felt very comfortable for the first qualifier which was on schedule the same day. |
|
(click to enlarge) |
|
| Modifying Qualifying |
|
| The first round of qualifying was held on Friday evening and continued with four rounds on Saturday. So overall there were 5 rounds of qualifying from which the 3 best results were counted. In the first round of qualifying the fastest XRAY driver was Teemu, who finished 2nd. Alexander placed an A-main result as well and finished 10th. I had some bad luck with traffic and finished 18th. Teemu showed the carâ™s performance in the upcoming qualifiers and won the 3rd . In the 4th round Teemu was again unbeatable on a TQ pace when his car traction rolled; as such he adjusted the setup just very slightly to compensate for the constantly increasing traction. After the setup adjustment it was again Teemu who was unbeatable with his XRAY T2â™008 and in the final (5th) round of qualifying he was on a TQ pace ahead of 2nd-place Viktor Wilck. |
|
(click to enlarge) |
|
|
|
Alexander was really fast in all rounds of qualifiers and was able to get A-main results in all rounds. He got his best result in the last qualifier when he finished 3rd so he made 6th overall. After a disappointing first round, I improved in Saturday rounds and with results of 6, 6, 4⦠finishing 7th overall. My car was performing well and only change that I made on Saturday was changing the downstops to 6 front and 5 rear. After this change my car was perfect ┠easy to drive and fast ┠which I showed in the last qualifier when I finished 4th. I could have finished 2nd behind Teemu but I dumped in the last lap and lost 1 second. Dirk and Steven were unlucky and were not able to find the right setup in time. Steven was super fast in the last qualifier when he finished 5th but it was too late and he finished in the worst place ⓠ11th ⓠjust out of the A-main.
Modified Qualifying results:
1. Teemu Leino (FIN) - XRAY T2â™008
2. Viktor Wilck (SWE)
3. Steen Graversen (DK)
4. Jilles Groskamp (NL)
5. Andy Moore (GBR)
6. Alexander Hagberg (SWE) XRAY T2â™008
7. Martin Hudy (SLO) XRAY T2â™008
8. Juho Levanen (FIN)
9. Marc Rheinard (DE)
10. Ronald Völker (DE) |
|
(click to enlarge) |
|
| Modified Finals |
|
The finals started on Sunday with final practice and continued with 3 final rounds. Teemu had a good start by winning the first round ahead of Viktor. Both Teemu and Viktor were dominating the finals, breaking away from the rest of the crowd and battling each other. With Teemuâ™s win in the first final it was a solid start and we were looking forward to a good show in the next final.
In the second final it was again Teemu who kept his leading position after the start with Viktor and himself breaking away from the rest crowd behind them⦠and for several rounds they were almost glued together nose-to-tail. Teemu seemed very confident and was able to withstand the pressure by his competitor; all he had to do was hold him off for a few minutes and keep clean lines to take home the victory. Unfortunately, Teemu made a mistake in one of the corners and his car stopped against the track barrier, allowing Viktor to pass and not look back.
Going into the third final everything was still open, and and it could be either Viktor or Teemu who would take the overall win. After a clean start both Teemu and Viktor broke away once again and battled each other until Teemu drove through the corner dots, causing the body to stick behind the wheel. Having to stop for a marshall to fix the body, Teemu lost precious time and had no chance to recover. |
|
(click to enlarge) |
|
|
|
Alexander was very fast in the finals and mainly in the third round when he finished 2nd.
I was not that lucky. In the first final I had a good start and working through the traffic I was able to move to the 3rd place behind Teemu and Viktor. However, I could not keep this place after I was taken out by the car behind me; I lost 3sec and in this tight competition it put me in 9th place. In the second and third finals I had the same problems with traffic putting me off the track and having to recover positions from the back. This of course left me no chance to work my way through so I ended up in final 9th position. |
|
Photo source: www.e-image.dk
(click to enlarge) |
|
|
|
In the B main, Dirk and Steven finally found the right set up and dominated the last final.
In the C main final it was Martin Lissau with his XRAY T2â™008 who was having a great battle between him and Atsushi Hara. Martin showcased some nice racing alongside this World Champion, making it a great battle to watch and enjoy.
Modified Final results:
1. Viktor Wilck - 20pts
2. Teemu Leino XRAY T2'008 - 17pts
3. Steen Graversen - 16pts
4. Ronald Volker - 16pts
5. Alexander Hagberg XRAY T2'008 - 15pts
6. Marc Rheinard - 14pts
7. Juho Levanen - 13pts
8. Jilles Groskamp - 7pts
9. Martin Hudy XRAY T2'008 - 7pts
10.Andy Moore - 5pts |
|
(click to enlarge) |
|
| Stock Report by Martin Hudy |
|
With a lot of Stock drivers and a strong Modified group we had 210 starters. The strong SMI-Motorsport Team arrived from Germany and started in the Stock class. With Juraj and Martin Hudy and German team manager Bernd Haas, all XRAY drivers had perfect support and a helping hand for setup.
Stock Practice
Friday started with controlled practice. The preparation of the car and good teamwork between drivers made it possible to find a setup with good cornering speed. That was an important issue, because we have a 19-Turn motor with only 5cells in the Stock class. Every team driver was satisfied with the basic setup, so we looked forward to the five rounds of qualification. |
|
(click to enlarge) |
|
|
|
Stock Qualifying
The qualifying rounds saw a strong Team XRAY. Christoph Thiele dominated the qualifying with four wins. Other XRAY drivers showed strong performances with a lot of A-Main placements.
Stock Qualifying results:
1. Christoph Thiele XRAY T2â™008
2. Jimmy Maddison
3. Bastian Hennig XRAY T2â™008
4. Florian Ring XRAY T2â™008
5. Dennis Fadke
6. Tommy Bergfeldt
7. Marcus Horn XRAY T2â™008
8. Meik Niemann XRAY T2â™008
9. Luke Hobson XRAY T2â™008
10. Marc Assmann |
|
(click to enlarge) |
|
| Stock Finals |
|
The start of the first A-main began with much trouble in the first corners. Jimmy Maddison passed Christoph and took the lead. Christoph was very close to him and overtook him very impressively and cleanly. But another small mistake let Jimmy pass again. The first final was won by Jimmy Maddison ahead of Dennis Fadke and Christoph Thiele.
In the second final Jimmy touched Christophâ™s car lightly in the rear, so he could overtake him again. Another contact between the cars allowed Jimmy to win the second final again ahead of Tommy Bergfeldt and a strong-driving Meik Niemann. He drove his XRAY T2â™008 with Orcan-batteries and powered from 8th to 2nd place. |
|
(click to enlarge) |
|
|
|
The third final was run on carpet with very high grip. Several drivers were driving in the lead. Finally it was Jimmy again who took home the win, though Meik Niemann was very close again. He was one of the best drivers in the finals and finished 2nd overall. Third in the final and overall was Christoph Thiele. He didnâ™t have the best luck in the final, but he showed a great performance in qualifying and gave a great show when he caught up from lower positions.
To recapitulate, we saw great performances from the all-new XRAY T2â™008. With the great team it was possible to get six A-main places in a very strong and large Stock class.
Stock Final results:
1. Jimmy Maddison
2. Meik Niemann XRAY T2â™008
3. Christoph Thiele XRAY T2â™008
4. Tommy Bergfeldt
5. Bastian Hennig XRAY T2â™008
6. Dennis Fadke
7. Florian Ring XRAY T2â™008
8. Marc Assmann
9. Marcus Horn XRAY T2â™008
10. Luke Hobson XRAY T2â™008 |
|
(click to enlarge) |
|
|
|
| After the double TQ in both Modified and Stock classes, we hoped for a bit more luck as we knew that the performance of the T2â™008 is at the highest level and at races of this level â“ with all the top drivers battling for every square millimeter of track space â“ you need not only the best performing car and quick reactions but also a healthy share of of luck. We had great luck in the qualifiers, setting the double TQ, but lost a bit of that luck in the final⦠losing the coveted trophies by only a slim margin, putting us in 2nd place positions in both Modified and Stock classes, with the addition of one extra podium finish in Stock class with a 3rd place finish... |
|
(click to enlarge) |
|
|
|
Overall it was a great weekend with fantastically exciting racing where Team XRAY has once again showed its strength, professionalism, performance and the best teamwork and support. All the drivers worked together very actively and Juraj was constantly around the pits helping out any driver with an XRAY car to get maximum performance and best enjoyment of racing from their XRAY products.
I would like to thank the organizers for putting on a race of such high quality and thank all the teams for exciting racing. Thanks to all XRAY team drivers for their very kind, friendly, and professional teamwork and to everyone for their great ongoing support.
See you next time at the next races.
Download video from DHI Cup here:
Modified final #1.
Modified final #2.
Modified final #3.
Stock final #1.
Stock final #2.
Stock final #3. |
|
(click to enlarge) |
|
|
(click to enlarge) |
|
|
(click to enlarge) |
|
|
(click to enlarge) |
|
|
(click to enlarge) |
|
|
(click to enlarge) |
|
|
(click to enlarge) |
|
|
(click to enlarge) |
|
|
(click to enlarge) |
|
|
