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| After the very successful race the team was already looking forward to the XRAY Czech Off-road Challenge scheduled to take place beside the model hobby exhibition at the modern exhibition center in Brno. The international XRAY Czech Off-road Challenge was supported by Czech distributor Martin Korinek, and organized by the authorized XRAY dealer AUTO BAYER. All the strongest Czech teams signed up for this race so we could expect strong competition between XRAY, Hobao and Kyosho teams. Markus Feldmann came from Germany to support the XRAY team, and Juraj and Martin Hudy from the XRAY factory were there to provide technical and set-up support. |
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| The track was been built in a very nice and brand new exhibition hall next to the hall where the model hobby show took place, so it was a great opportunity to promote the hobby to the public and the track was all the time fully crowded by spectators. Having this race organized and run in a public area along with the model hobby exhibition was a great idea that would hopefully bring many more new interested youngsters. |
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| The staff and organizers built the track and all the surroundings for the whole two day event, and made it a very nice and tricky track. There were parts of the track where there was no surface laid out and cars were sliding on pavement, making it kind of a drift show for spectators while at the same time making it tricky for the drivers to handle the cars with calmness and intelligence. The rest of the track had a thick carpet layout with two large bumps and several small slow-down bumps. |
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| The layout was more technical so many hardcore off-road drivers had a bit difficult to get used to the technical racing style. On the other hand, this layout was perfectly suited to typical on-road drivers like Michal Bok (first time racing off-road cars) and Martin Hudy, as well as to well known Martin Bayer (1/5 Euros TQ) and Markus Feldman (World Champion 1/5). |
| Qualifications: |
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| After free practice on Friday the qualifiers started early on Saturday. From the first round it was Markus Feldmann who set the pace and was the fastest in the qualifiers, closely followed by Martin Bayer from ARC Slavkov in second. The rest of the qualifiers saw very close competition, with many favourites such as Petr Klatovsky and Patrik Dworschak not making it to the final. |
| Final race: |
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| The fight for victory was expected to be between Martin Bayer and Markus Feldmann. The start of the final was a bit hectic since Markus' engine stopped just few second before the start, so the mechanic managed to place his car on the starting line just two second before the start, which resulted in a stop-and-go penalty for incorrect start. |
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| After a few laps it showed that the tire change that Martin Bayer made was the best decision for him. Martin had a lot of grip on the paved part of the track where most of the remaining drivers struggled and had to drift slowly. Driving fast through this part of the track resulted in a nice lead for Martin and in the rest of the track he did not give any chances to anybody. Markus was the only car close behind Martin all the time but not having his pit-crew with him cost him the chance to fight for the victory, since Markus ran out of fuel twice and losing some laps. |
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| The thrilling race was not only for the first two positions â“ which were dominated by Markus and Martin Bayer â“ but mainly for the third position. From the start it was Kapicka (Kyosho) who was cruising safely in 3rd place, followed closely by Michal Bok. Martin Hudy showcased some nice driving too, and despite being the slowest car in the paved part of the track he managed to move up from end of the starting line to 4th place behind Kapicka. |
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| In an unfortunate crash, Kapicka broke the rear suspension which allowed Michal Bok to move to final 3rd position. Martin Pater finished in 5th position, but was very close be being 4th⦠but a few laps before end, he was passed by Martin Hudy who took 4th place. Young Ales Bayer finished in 6th place. |
| Conclusion: |
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| The Czech XRAY Off-road Challenge had top-notch organization and was well run without any technical problems or delays. Competition was at the highest level and the race was a great and unique exhibition showcase for the public, as evidenced by the abundant crowds always present. All RC car races should have this kind of exposure, which would surely bring a lot of new interest to this great hobby. The exhibition hall and all the facility were very nice, modern and new, making it very attractive for all racers making it a race at the highest level. |
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The preparation for next years' Czech XRAY Challenge is already in the works, with the aim to make it the best off-road indoor event in Middle Europe. All details will be published in advance as soon they are available.
Final results of the Czech XRAY Off-road Challenge
1. Martin Bayer XRAY
2. Markus Feldmann XRAY
3. Michal Bok XRAY
4. Martin Hudy XRAY
5. Martin Pater XRAY
6. Aleš Bayer XRAY
7. Tomáš Kapička Kyosho
8. Jan KapiÄŤka Kyosho
9. Lukáš Zeman XRAY
10. Miroslav Jurenka XRAY |
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| Big thanks to Mr. Bayer and Martin Korinek for professionaly organising such a great event. |
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