| Report from Thanos Ioannidis |
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The third round of Greek XRS was held on 2 July at the legendary FRT racing track in Athens. The capital, over the weekend was in the grip of a heatwave reaching the 45 and sometimes even 47οC. On the day of the race, temperature in the track soared to 42οC accompanied by a stunning 53οC on asphalt driving all participants insane.
Despite the extreme weather conditions, the Greek-freak drivers proved very tough to âśdieâť and contrary to official precautions concerning overheated electronics, they continued to be racing and rising the adrenaline thanks to the fierce competition created throughout all the classes.
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| 4WD offroad buggy |
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| National champion John Takas had not an easy afternoon as he had been chased by a well-concentrated Dimitris Ioannidis who tried to challenge pole-man Takas putting pressure on him especially in Leg-3 but staying in the 2nd position in the end. Despite problems with worn tires and high temperatures drivers enjoyed racing until its very end looking forward to fight in the next XRS round. |
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| 4WD |
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1. Takas - XRAY XB4
2. Ioannidis - XRAY XB4
3. Andreas - XRAY XB4
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| 17.5T BlinkyTC |
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| Junior Dimitris Ioannidis dispersed the competition and TQed ahead of other much more experienced and eminent drivers. Leading by his mistakes in Leg 1 where he qualified in the third place, he made a great comeback and took Leg 2 and Leg 3 finding himself climbed at the top of the podium, halleluiah. National and ex-European champion Giannis Sotiropoulos finished second followed by another national champion Tasos Papadopoulos who finished in third position. |
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| 17.5T BlinkyTC |
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1. Ioannidis - XRAY T4
2. Sotiropoulos - XRAY T4
3. Papadopoulos - XRAY T4
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| Modified TC |
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| In the modified class, the reigning Giannis Sotiropoulos gave no chance to all other contesters and took it all that is the pole position and the three legs in the row. Behind the winner, Sotos Diamadis ended up in second place trying to push Giannis Sotiropoulos hard even though he encountered minor technical issues. Third but in true style, Chris Kidis had a decent race showing quite significant signs of development. Lessons learned for Junior Dimitris Ioannidis who he could have beaten the other runners and hopefully taken the third place should he would risk more and decide to push harder his electronics. |
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1. Sotiropoulos - XRAY T4
2. Diamadis - XRAY T4
3. Kidis - XRAY T4
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| Formula |
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| Vagelis Papachristos seemed unbeatable throughout the race and clenched the victory from the beginning by taking the pole position and coming out on top by taking all three legs. Although Sakis Sikianakis challenged Papachristos strongly, he eventually compromised with the second place in podium leaving behind him in the third place Chris Kidis and further away the âśoldies but goodiesâť, Petros Katsikis. |
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| Formula |
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1. Papachristos - XRAY X1
2. Sikianakis - XRAY X1
3. Kidis - XRAY X1
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| Pan Car |
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| In the Pan Car class, the absolute favourite Nikos Nikolakopoulos continued to collect top posts with his teeny-weeny orange rocket. Tasos Papadopoulos grabbed the second place though he should made further improvement in order for him to shoot into the lead for the races ahead. The podium was completed by the last yearâ™s Pan Car champion George Kazoglou. |
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| Pan Car |
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1. Pappas - XRAY X10
2. Diamadis - XRAY X10
3. Moros Stratos - XRAY X10
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| 1/10 IC Stock |
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| Despite easy-gained TQ position, last yearâ™s champion Sotos Diamadis concluded in the second position due to some wrong pit stop tactics and just behind the outsider George Pappas who took the race with his recently rebuilt car. Junior Stratos Moros with his new NT1 got the third place after showing everybody how much progress he has made obtaining driving skills and fight mentality. |
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| 1/10 IC Stock |
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1. Pappas - XRAY NT1
2. Diamadis - XRAY NT1
3. Moros Stratos - XRAY NT1
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| 1/8 GT |
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| The cherry on top of the cake was the new added category 1/8GT class later at evening which proved to be the most entertaining race of all classes gifting exhilarating moments to drivers and attendants. All said, Abdel vanquished competition and sky rocketed in the first place. Daditsos came out in the second position by capitalising mistakes of other R/C drivers. Finally, Terlepanis got the third seat while he promised to get back stronger for the next contest. |
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