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 HĂ–NIGL 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 − 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.
