| Race report by Dotan Halevy |
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| The third race of the Israel Super League took place at "Top Drive" race track. The track is relatively small but very challenging and requires skill to drive fast consistently. Another challenging issue was the inconsistency of the track itself. We had practiced on the track prior to the race but had to keep up with setup changes after every round. All in all it was very fun racing. |
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Qualifying
In buggy class Paul Price and his brother Dan already secured their place on top of the tables. For Ronen Alkalay it was first time on the track, but after the second round he was already in the pace and had decent result. As for my self I had radio problem on first round, it was almost impossible to control the car. I ended up replacing the transmitter and receiver. I was lucky to have a friend that borrowed me the equipment (thank you, Asi). In the second round I new I have only one chance so I played it safe, ended up in TQ position.
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In truggy class, we had slightly bigger team than last race, and they were all very good!
Adir Zvuluny and Meir Azulay, both racing for the first time in the truggy class, were super fast. Only three drivers succeeded to put a 10 lap run, two of them were Adir and Meir. Erez Even-hen was also very fast and consistent. Adir ended up Tq, and Meir in third place.
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Finals
In buggy class, the semi finals were very intense. In the odd semi, I had the lead from the start, but Paul was right behind me, not letting me even a slight moment to relax. Toward the end of the race I had a larger gap, giving me a comfort finish at first place. Paul finished second.
The even semi was also very close, while Dan had the lead followed by another driver, Yaniv. At the finish line Dan was first. |
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| At the A final, I was in the pole position, while Dan in second and paul fourth. I kept the lead from the start, while Dan chasing behind. Later on Dan made a mistake the gap grew a little, but we both pulled away hard from field. Twelve minutes into the race a minor mechanical issue forced me to end my run. With my race ended, Dan had the lead, but this lead was short-lived, as 2 laps later, Danâ™s glow-plug failed, causing his engine to stop. I was already at the pits so I helped him out so could get back in the race quickly. Dan ended up finishing in second and Paul fourth. |
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In truggy class, the semi final were also very interesting, as the battle for the lead in the odd semi was very close. Adir and Meir changed places all the time, while keeping it very clean. It ended up with Adir winning this semi final and Meir in second but not far behind. At the even semi Erez had some bad luck as his clutch bearing got stuck and made him flame out.
At the A final, Adir and Meir continued their endless battle from the start, while Erez started from last place, but with very calm and consistent driving, managed to make his way to sixth place.
Bad luck struck again and Adir was out, after the steering servo horn broke, leaving Meir comfortable lead. After replacing the servo horn, Adir was back in the race but it was too late and he finished in eighth position. Meir kept the lead to the finish, winning the race.
All in all, we had all it takes to dominate the podium on both classes, but luck wasn't on our side this time. Well, there is always next time, and well done Meir! |
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Buggy results:
1. Yaniv Levy
2. Dan Price XRAY XB808
3. Guy Rinkevich
4. Paul Price XRAY XB808
5. Alex Perpinal
6. Pavel Shloifman
7. Itzik Cohen
8. Dotan Halevy XRAY XB808
9. Menashe Michaeli
10. Avi Yadgar |
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Truggy results:
1. Meir Azulai XRAY XT8
2. Tomer Grinberg
3. David Shema
4. Ofer Rozen
5. Itzik Vanunu
6. Erez Even Chen XRAY XT8
7. Adir Zvuluni XRAY XT8
8. Asher Anchelovich
9. Tomer Ben Zaken
10. Yonatan Sivoni |
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