Jerome Sartel Tops the Nationals Charts in Buggy and Truggy Jerome Sartel could not have asked for a better debut into the world of buggy and truggy racing with the Team XRAY. He took TQ in the Truggy Class and won BOTH the Buggy and Truggy classes at the Euro Indoor Nationals in Laon. The event was organized by automodelisme.com in France.
Photo copyright by automodelisme.com (click to enlarge)
Here is a short report from Jerome:
As you know, the weekend for me was perfect because I took the win in both Buggy and Truggy classes at the last Euro indoor in Laon. The track was relatively small and slippery. Jumps were easy in practice but during the race they began to get harder to cross for the finals on Sunday. The Buggy class began very well because I had fantastic practice runs. Fast laps, and no mistakes or problems with any of the other cars. On Saturday I made a few test runs on the car but they weren't always good. By of this way I made a few mistakes and lost TQ to come in second.
Photo copyright by rcmag.com (click to enlarge)
On Sunday I straightened the shock absorbers to be easier on the jumps and put softer oil in the center diff to stop the car's "nervousness." In the semi, I ran easily during the 20min race. The other drivers made lot of mistakes which effectively left me running alone. In the main I started in the #2 position behind Yannick. On the first lap, he made a mistake and I overtook the lead. It was really hot racing between us for a few minutes before he made another mistake, permitting me to gain a few more precious seconds on him. At around the 10min mark his engine stopped and he lost some time. I had only to run easily to keep the lead.
Photo copyright by automodelisme.com (click to enlarge)
In Truggy class, it was quite different. It was my first race and I had lot to learn. During qualifying, I made TQ by winning the first two rounds. In the main, it was very close racing between Deroch, Aigoin, and me. I was third when Deroch's and Aigoin's engines stopped. I took the lead at the 20min mark. I kept the lead for the next 10 minutes and won the race. I'm now really excited to go to the next race this week in Monpellier. I hope it will turn out perfectly for me again. On third place was German XRAY driver Florian Laux. With his very calm driving style, and fast pit stops from his crew, Florian managed to move from the last starting place to third in the end.
