| Race Report by Danni Eyde-Nielsen |
|
The indoor season was now started. For the first race the LRP Cup (formerly known as Schumacher Cup), 58 drivers attended in 4 classes: Stock, SuperStock, Pro-Stock, and Modified. It was a very nice race with some great race facilities (As always). We had five qualifiers and three finals (round by round), and for the first time we were allowed to drive with LiPo Batteries. You could already see before the race that it there would be some tough competition.
Saturday started with free practice from the early morning, followed by two heat practices and then four qualification rounds. During the heat practice it was clear that the main battle was going to be between Steen Graversen and I in the Modified class. Already by the second heat practice, Steen and I were a lot faster than the other Modified drivers. |
|
(click to enlarge) |
|
|
|
Qualification Rnd1:
I set the pace from the first lap, with Steen behind me in 2nd. My car was a bit loose in the rear end, but was still fast enough. I made a small mistake and Steen went into the lead, so then I pushed my car harder to keep up with him. We were changing positions every round, with only 0.1sec between us. I made another small mistake which gave Steen the opportunity to take the lead.
Qualification Rnd2:
I made some changes on my car to make the rear end more stable. Again I took the lead from the first lap and set the pace a bit higher by driving low 13sec times. Steen was following pretty closely, and I held a 1sec lead over Steen. My car felt better but it was still a bit nervous. I made some small mistakes, allowing Steen into the lead. |
|
|
Qualification Rnd3:
I had to take TQ this round to prevent Steen from taking TQ. I was still not happy with my car â“ it was pretty nervous in mid-corner sections â“ so I knew I had to concentrate a lot more. I was fastest again on the first lap and improving my lead more and more, when suddenly Steen hit a curb and flipped his car at the roof; that cost him 5 seconds. It was perfect for me because my car was getting really difficult to drive⦠sometimes it just spun out. I found out it was the tires. I drove really carefully to keep control of my car. Steen was pushing his car to its maximum and was coming up really fast. After 4 minutes Steen was up to me and again my car made a weird spin. I got it on track pretty fast, but Steen was ahead of me by then. I couldnâ™t catch him again because my car was so unpredictable.
Qualification Rnd4:
Steen had already secured TQ so I just tried not to wear my tires too much and secure my 2nd position on the grid. I was not so nervous because in the other qualification rounds, Steen and I were more than 5sec ahead of the other drivers. I made a lot of changes for this heat, and already on the practice lap it felt pretty good. I took the lead from the first lap and my lead got bigger and bigger. However, I was slowing down a bit to save my tires for the finals. Steen was coming up to me after I slowed down the pace a bit. It wouldnâ™t make any difference if Steen won this round, so I didnâ™t push my car after he took the lead. Still then I didnâ™t push my car. I had the fastest lap time, breaking into the 12sec realm: 12.83s. Steen was also driving 12sec times: 12.92s. I knew that Steen wasnâ™t pushing his car as he had already secured his TQ. So I knew that we both could drive faster. |
|
|
Qualification Rnd5:
For the 5th qualifier I tried using the asphalt top deck to get some more traction and steering. My car felt very good and not loose in the rear end. I again took the lead from the first lap, and my car felt very good from the very first lap. After 3 minutes it still hadnâ™t lost traction, and it was very quick in the chicane. I made a big mistake which put me off the track, though. Steen took the lead and won that qualifier. |
|
(click to enlarge) |
|
|
|
A-Main Grid:
1. Steen Graversen
2. Danni Eyde-Nielsen â“ XRAY T2â™009
3. Johnni Andersen â“ XRAY T2â™009
4. Mads Emil Bisgaard â“ XRAY T2â™009
5. Thomas Mikkelsen
6. Michael Ravn â“ XRAY T2â™009
7. Morten Juul Iversen
8. Carsten Madsen |
|
|
1st Final:
I was pretty confident for the first final as my car felt very good. I was right behind Steen when the start buzzer went off. I was putting lots of pressure on Steen and tried to make some holes so I could pass him. But Steen is a very experienced driver so he was not very influenced by my pressure. Steen and I were already way ahead of the other drivers. Suddenly on the straight away, as I was turning in my car spun 360°. I managed to regain control of the car after and it only cost me 0.4s but I was afraid it would do it again. I came up very fast to Steen and as I was very close to him, he made a mistake and I could take the lead. I was driving very carefully so my car wouldnâ™t spin out. My lead after some time was getting bigger and bigger, until my car spun out and put my car off the track. I came onto the track pretty fast in front of Steen. He was very close now and I was started to feel the pressure. I hit a dot which cost me the lead. I was chasing Steen as fast as I could and came very close, but Steen got out for another lap but I didnâ™t.
Steen Graversen 1st. Danni Eyde-Nielsen 2nd. Johnni Andersen 3rd. |
|
|
2nd Final:
I tried to find the fault in my car after the second final but there was nothing to find. After talking with the other drivers, I was pretty sure it was the tires. I was again following Steen closely, and he made a mistake on the 3rd lap which I took advantage of to claim the lead. After 3 laps more my car spun out and Steen took the lead. I came out just ahead of XRAY driver Johnni Andersen. We were 3 drivers within 2,5sec, but Steen and I were quickly driving away from Johnni; he was just driving his own race. Steen suddenly spun out, just like had happened for me. It wasnâ™t close enough to him that I could take the lead, but I was very close now and put pressure on him. Steen hit a dot and I took over the lead, but 5 laps later I hit a dot and Steen took back the lead. He finished first and had the overall win now. I finished a half-second behind him.
Steen Graversen 1st. Danni Eyde-Nielsen 2nd. Johnni Andersen 3rd. |
|
|
3rd Final:
I just had to secure my 2nd place in the last final; I would have to be really unlucky to not get 2nd overall. I tried another tire additive for the last final, and already at the warm-up lap it felt very bad! I knew that I couldnâ™t follow Steen now, so I drove my own race and secured my overall 2nd place. Johnni had a good battle with fellow XRAY driver Michael Ravn.
Steen Graversen 1st. Danni Eyde-Nielsen 2nd. Johnni Andersen 3rd. |
|
(click to enlarge) |
|
|
|
Modified A-final results
1. Steen Graversen
2. Danni Eyde-Nielsen â“ XRAY T2â™009
3. Johnni Andersen â“ XRAY T2â™009
4. Michael Ravn â“ XRAY T2â™009
5. Carsten Madsen
6. Thomas Mikkelsen
7. Morten Juul Iversen
8. Mads Emil Bisgaard â“ XRAY T2â™009 |
|
|
| I would like to thank XRAY for making such a good car â“ Iâ™m looking forward to the T3 â“ and thank GM-Racing for the power! My next big races will be the EFRA Grand Prix Prague, DHI Cup, and Indoor Euros. |
|
