| XRAY - European Vice-Champion 2003 |
All XRAY drivers at EC 2003
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Friday, August 15, 2003
Timed Practice
Fridayâ™s timed practice started with great weather and it was exciting to watch the last heat with the fastest drivers. At the end it was Jilles Groskamp (XRAY) who set the best timed practice result with 16 laps (5:17.30), followed 2sec behind by Juho Levanen (Asso) and Craig Drescher (Asso).
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| Qualifying Heats |
XRAY pits
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There were two qualifying heats schedule for Friday, but because the weather forecast did not look good for Saturday, it was expected that most of the drivers would put maximum effort to get their best possible result on Friday to give them a solid starting point. All drivers were divided into 15 heats, with most of the top drivers in heats 13-15. Each driver was allowed to use three sets of tires, so it was of utmost importance to determine the best possible use of tires for Fridayâ™s and Saturdayâ™s qualifiers.
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| 1st Qualifier |
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Fridayâ™s first qualifiers started with great weather conditions, the track had very high grip, so it was no surprise to see most drivers break the fastest lap records from the timed practice. Andreas Myrberg (XRAY) in heat 14 was the first driver to break the 16 lap barrier in a time of 5:19.20. In heat 15, Jilles Groskamp was leading on a TQ pace for the entire 5 minutes, followed very closely by Juho Levanen. Both these leading drivers were already onto lap 16 when Jilles went off line in the last corner in front of straight; that cost him a loss of 1.5sec and left enough space for Juho to get by Jilles at the finish line.
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| Results after 1st qualifier - European Championship 2003 |
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1. Levanen Juho - Asso - 16 laps - 5:18.55
2. Myrberg Andreas - XRAY - 16 laps - 5:19.20
3. Groskamp Jilles - XRAY - 16 laps - 5:19.49
4. Kaerup Jonas - Asso - 16 laps - 5:21.04
5. Honigl Hubert - Losi - 16 laps - 5:22.47
6. Kramer Michael - Losi - 16 laps - 5:23.37
7. Graversen Steen - Tamiya - 15 laps - 5:01.47
8. Ahoniemi Simo - Corally - 15 laps - 5:02.61
9. Tormann Hans Jurgen - Asso - 15 laps - 5:03.33
10. Andersson Jonas - Yokomo - 15 laps - 5:03.58
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| 2nd Qualifier |
Jilles Groskamp
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For the second qualifier, drivers had to decide whether to use the 2nd set of new tires and go for an improved result, or keep the tires for Saturdayâ™s qualifier or Sunday\'s final. Some drivers decided to run their already-used tires, gambling to see what Saturdayâ™s weather would be like; this was Jillesâ™ and Andreasâ™ strategy, as well as Juhoâ™s. Some drivers decided to use their 2nd set of new tires to try to get the best result; this was Craig Drescherâ™s and Jonas Kaerupâ™s strategy.
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Andreas Myrberg
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In heat 14 Andreas Myrberg was again the only driver to achieve 16 laps, in a time of 5:19.41. Heat 15 was exciting to watch, as Craig Drescher and Jonas Kaerup were unbelievably fast thanks to their new tires. After two laps they set the pace and led the entire run. At the end of heat 15 it was Craig Drescher who set the best result of 16 laps in a time of 5:18.58.
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| Results after the 2nd qualifier - European Championship 2003 |
Ben Cosgrove
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1. Levanen Juho - Asso - 16 laps - 5:18.55
2. Drescher Craig - Asso - 16 laps - 5:18.58
3. Kaerup Jonas - Asso - 16 laps - 5:19.10
4. Myrberg Andreas - XRAY - 16 laps - 5:19.20
5. Groskamp Jilles - XRAY - 16 laps - 5:19.49
6. Honigl Hubert - Losi - 16 laps - 5:22.47
7. Kramer Michael - Losi - 16 laps - 5:23.37
8. Moore Andrew - XRAY - 15 laps - 5:00.67
9. Cosgrove Ben - XRAY - 15 laps - 5.00.89
10. Graversen Steen - Tamiya - 15 laps - 5:01.47
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| Saturday, August 16, 2003 |
Markus Mobers
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Saturday morning the track was completely wet and it seemed it would rain all day. It was already thought that there would be no racing possible, and that the results from Fridayâ™s first two qualifiers would divide drivers into the final groups.
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Fortunately, at noontime the sun started to shine and in a short time the track was completely dry. For the last qualifying round, optimal track conditions were available for all drivers to try to improve their times.
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Tony Vredenberg
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Jilles Groskamp, starting 4th behind Jonas Kaerup, was unbelievably quick right after the start. In the first lap as Jilles came to the long straight following Jonas Kaerup (who was very mysteriously slow onto the straight), Jilles was able to get close behind him right away. At the end of the corner after the straight, Kaerupâ™s car got a slide and Jilles crashed into him, getting off the track for 4.5 seconds.
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| After he recovered, Jilles was doing the fastest lap times in the whole qualifiers, making lap times good enough for an absolute TQ, but he was unable to recover his 4.5 seconds loss. This last qualifier run mixed the current standings quite well, and Craig Drescher claimed TQ. |
| Final results after the qualifiers - European Championship 2003 |
A main finalists
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1. Drescher Craig - Asso - 16 laps - 5:17.49
2. Levanen Juho - Asso - 16 laps - 5:18.55
3. Honigl Hubert - Losi - 16 laps - 5:19.05
4. Kaerup Jonas - Asso - 16 laps - 5:19.10
5. Myrberg Andreas - XRAY - 16 laps - 5:19.20
6. Groskamp Jilles - XRAY - 16 laps - 5:19.49
7. Barton Richard - Asso - 16 laps - 5:20.58
8. Pinisch Peter - Asso - 16 laps - 5:21.16
9. Kramer Michael - Losi - 16 laps - 5:23.37
10. Myrberg Joel - XRAY - 15 laps - 5:00.16
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| Sunday, August 17, 2003 |
Jilles\' T1
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| Sunday morning started with a final practice run, followed by three finals for the rest of the day. Jilles, being in an exceptionally good mood considering his bad luck in his last qualifier, was ready to show his racing skills and the potential of his XRAY car for the whole day, even starting from 6th position. In the practice final run it was incredible to see Jilles driving through the first cars and to win the practice final with flair. A good start to the day, but very few people could expect to repeat the performance in the real finals. |
| 1st Final |
Andreas and Jilles at the starting grid
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| Right after the start of the first final, Craig Drescher drove into the grass and Juho went into lead. In only a few laps, Andreas and Jilles went from 5th and 6th positions to right behind Juho and were cruising behind him for most of the final run⦠constantly decreasing Juhoâ™s lead. Two laps before the end Jilles passed Juho in a chicane before the straight and went into the lead. Andreas pushed very hard and got close behind Juho, then overtook him in the last lap. By that time, Jilles had built up a nice lead, and he pass the finish line first followed by Andreas. A great result for Team XRAY, Jilles and Andreas starting from 5th and 6th positions to finish 1st and 2nd! Joel Myrberg, starting from 10th position, was also able to get through half of the field and finish 5th â“ a good start for Team XRAY. |
| Results after the 1st final - European Championship 2003 |
Joel Myrberg
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1. Groskamp Jilles â“ XRAY
2. Myrberg Andreas â“ XRAY
3. Levanen Juho â“ Asso
4. Honigl Hubert â“ Losi
5. Myrberg Joel â“ XRAY
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| 2nd Final |
XRAY finalists
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Everybody thought that to go from 5th/6th to 1st/2nd was just luck and could not be repeated⦠if those people had laid bets on that assumption, they would have lost their shirts in the second A main final.
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Trophies for winners
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| Right after the start, Jilles passed Andreas and Kaerup and went into 4th place by the end of the straight. Kaerup tangled with Andreas, putting Andreas in 9th position right after the start. Honigl was pushing on Drescher from the very beginning, then an unfortunate collision took him out. This left enough space for Jilles to overtake the lead. It was just crazy and unbelievable to again see Jilles starting from 6th position in going into the lead â“ the crowd was astonished and applauded. Andreas, who had fallen to 9th position, was driving excellently and in only a few laps got right behind of Jilles â“ again an unbelievable move from 9th position to 2nd! Honigl tagged closely behind Andreas and all three cars cruised in a tight line of few centimeters apart for the remainder of the race â“ definitely the most exciting and closest run at the Euros. |
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| Three laps before the end Jilles started getting interference, but was still able to keep the ideal line and the lead. Andreas was the whole final extremely fast and was looking for a space to pass over Jilles who was struggling with the interference problem, but Andreas did not want to touch him or get into collision, so he had to back up and wait for any safe pass and this enabled Honigl to hang up extremely closely behind the two leaders. As the 5 minute buzzer signalled the end of the final, and the drivers were on their final lap, everybody was sure that the impossible had again happened â“ that Jilles and Andreas started from 5th/6th positions and would finish in 1st/2nd again! All three cars passed for the last time on the straight and went into the long corner. Then interference struck Jillesâ™ car again, putting him off his line and into the side of Andreasâ™ car, giving enough room for Honigl to slip by in the final corner for the win. With this final ending, it meant that the last final would decide who would be the winner. |
| Results of the 2nd final - European Championship 2003 |
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1. Honigl Hubert â“ Losi
2. Myrberg Andreas â“ XRAY
3. Groskamp Jilles â“ XRAY |
| 3rd (Last) Final: |
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| It would take the 3rd (and last) final to determine who would be the overall winner of the 2003 European Championship. This was by far the most exciting and thrilling European Championship ever. |
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| Juho Levanen was the only driver who still had a set of new tires remaining, and it was expected that he would set the pace from the very beginning, making it difficult for most drivers to catch him. The last run was at the end of the day, so the track had the very best racing conditions of the event. Because all potential winners had the same points, the winner of this last run had to set the fastest possible time to become the overall winner. |
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Jilles and Andreas, who showed the impossible in the previous two finals, were confident enough with their cars and wanted to surprise everybody by repeat their racing style for the third time. The thrill before the start of the final was incredible⦠it was a surprise that nobody got a heart attack from all the excitement!
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Prize ceremony
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| After the start, Drescher let Juho into the lead and tucked in close behind him. Andreas and Jilles again showed the amazing acceleration of their belt-driven XRAY cars and put their cars right behind the leaders. In the first corner after the straight, Jilles was crashed, putting him out of the race. Andreas hung on right behind Drescher in 3rd position and was cruising behind him. However, Drescher didnâ™t give Andreas any chance to pass him and gave Juho enough space to stretch his lead. This position remained to the end of the race and Juho was able to run the fastest final lap. |
| Result of the 3rd final - European Championship 2003 |
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1. Levanen Juho â“ Asso
2. Drescher Craig â“ Asso
3. Myrberg Andreas â“ XRAY
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| Final Results: |
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All final runs were extremely exciting, with unexpected results. Competition was very close, and all three top drivers had the same number of points. In the last final it was Juho Levanen who took the final win.
Congratulations to the winner and all A main finalists!
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| Final results of European Championship 2003 - Kirchberg (Austria) |
Ben, Andy, Jilles, Andreas, Joel
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1. Juho Levanen - Asso - 4 points
2. Jilles Groskamp - XRAY - 4 points
3. Andreas Myrberg - XRAY - 4 points
4. Hubert Honigl - Losi - 5 points
5. Craig Drescher - Asso - 6 points
6. Peter Pinisch - Asso - 11 points
7. Joel Myrberg - XRAY - 11 points
8. Kramer Michael - Losi - 14 points
9. Kaerup Jonas - Asso - 14 points
10. Richard Barton - Asso - 15 points
B final:
1. Steen Graversen - Tamiya
2. Ben Cosgrove - XRAY
3. Andy Moore - XRAY
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| Check this link to read a report from the XRAY pits, some comments from the XRAY Factory Team, car set-ups, and plenty of the photos. |
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