Martin Bayer reports on his win at European Championship
Immediately following a successful week of 1/8 off-road racing, I travelled with my teammate Reno Savoya to Spain for the European Electric Off-road Championships.
The race program started with the 2WD class. We were using a 2WD prototype buggy based on the XB4 1/10 4WD offroad buggy. The car felt very good, but the track proved difficult with many low traction areas.
I worked diligently during my free time to continuously improve my set up. After qualifying was completed, I was sitting in 8th position. I was quite pleased with this result considering it was my first race using this prototype on clay.
In the final I improved my position, finishing in 6th place. I believe that I could have managed an even better result were it not for some small mistakes, but in general I was pleased with the outcome.
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1.    Jörn NEUMANN
2.    Neil CRAGG
3.    Lee MARTIN
4.    Darren BLOOMFIELD
5.    Hupo HÖNIGL 6.    Martin BAYER ⓠXRAY XB2 PROTOTYPE
7.    David RONNEFALK
8.    Christoffer SVENSSON
9.    Wesley van HELMOND
10.  Oliver SCHOLZ
The next day after completing the 2WD racing, we commenced with the next challenge â“ 4WD with the XB4.
The car felt excellent on the track right away from the very early moments in practice. I still put in the extra effort to make the car even faster and more consistent throughout the practice and qualifying rounds.After some missed opportunities for a stronger showing in qualifying, I still was able to manage a very respectable 4th position.
There was an additional practice session prior to the final that allowed me to try a final setup change. The change made the car feel even more incredible, so I decided to use this updated setup for the main
Right from the start in the first main, I was able to apply pressure and take the lead. I was able to maintain that lead and hold it until the finish.
In the second main, I made a mistake that dropped me to the back of the pack. I managed to keep my cool and was able to recover to 4th place.
Before the third final I ran the calculations to determine the results I would require in order to secure the win. There were still 4 drivers who could win the championships depending on their result in this final main. I decided to make a minor adjustment to my setup to increase the stability and improve my chances.
When the race started, I quickly moved into 3rd position, and on the 2nd lap I was able to take the lead. Once in the lead, I focused on remaining calm and driving a clean race in order to maintain my lead and secure the championship.Â
Final results:
1. Martin Bayer - XRAY XB4
2. Jörn Neumann
3. Lee Martin
4. David Ronnefalk
5. Neil Cragg
6. Darren Bloomfield
7. Hupo Hönigl 8. Lorenzo Crolla - XRAY XB4
9. Martin Kreil
10. Paul Bradby
This was a really amazing race. It was my first race on clay and my first time racing for a European Championship in this class.
I would like to thank all my sponsors, especially Team Xray for the amazing car and LRP for the amazing power.
