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| The XRAY Racing Team spent a lot of time to perfectly prepare for the 2006 European Championship 2006, so as to be well prepared for this highly-competitive and exciting race. In the official warm-up, as well in some individual practices, the Teamâ™s main focus was to test different set-ups for all the different racing conditions, test different tires, and of course prepare the engines well. Despite that the Euros were at a track in Spain, nobody expected sunny and dry conditions as the track was situated in the mountains where the storms and showers were on the daily schedule. As we could expect both high temperatures and super-dry and dusty tracks, we also had to count on a wet and muddy track too, and be well prepared for both. Not an easy task. |
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The XRAY factory support team was in place to help all XRAY drivers with spare parts, tech service and all other types of help. Juraj Hudy, XRAYâ™s chief designer, was in the XRAY pits to helping XRAY drivers with technical and set-up questions, and used the opportunity to "play" and utilize track time for some testing.
All the advanced preparation and testing paid off as soon as the team put the XB8 on the track. In free practice only minor set-up details were fine-tuned and the team was ready for the qualifiers. Besides Yannick it was also Michel Farina who was setting some very good lap times, keeping him on pace during the practice. |
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The qualifiers went very well from the very start. Warm and dry weather was expected for the entire day which would push the lap times down each heat. Yannick Aigoin won two of the first qualifiers which gave XRAY a very solid start. Finishing in 2nd position in another qualifying heat made it 1-1-2 for Yannick, securing a back-to-back 2006 TQ position for the XRAY XB8.
The Teamâ™s main focus in Saturday's semi-finals was not to get unlucky again and miss the finals. Robert Gustafson got his car working for the lower-finals and with excellent driving he bumped-up in two finals up to the quarter-final. Jon Hazlewood had bad luck and was not able to move from the quarter-final to the semi-final. Michel Farina cemented his good standing by moving from the quarter-finals up to the semi-finals, giving him a chance to fight in the semi-final for a position in the main race. |
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| Just before the first semi-final it started to rain and the track got very dirty. There was not much time left for changing the car much so the main focus during the few practice minutes was to find best possible tires for the carâ™s current set-up. Just after the start, with more mud on the track, it was obvious that the set-up and tires Yannick had were really not optimal as his car was sliding and he lost the leading position. But with an excellent driving style and calm head he pushed his XB8 to the final 2nd position in his semi-final securing him a starting position in the final. Michel was not lucky in the same semi-final as he lost his position to the final just a few minutes before the end of the race after a very tight and thrilling race with Renaud Savoya. |
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Yannick's car after the A-main final race
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As the rain stopped and the second semi-final heat was run in better conditions, the final results of all drivers in this semi-final were improved, which moved Yannick back to 8th position in the starting grid. Meanwhile, the second semi-final was run, Yannick used the time to rework the set-up of the car completely to be prepared for the heavy rain expected for the finals.
Despite not having the best starting position on the grid, the finals started very well for Yannick who after the first double-jump (after the starting corner) got onto 4th position and a few meters later in the triple jump moved into 3rd position right away. The car had not only a sufficient amount of steering but also a lot of grip which was very important in these muddy conditions, and the tire selection seemed to be perfect. Within another two rounds Yannick put his XB8 into the leading position and slowly started to pull away from the crowd behind him. |
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Champagne celebration
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| Pit crew did an excellent job with refuelling and his lead time increased every lap. As the rain continued in the early finals, more and more mud got on the cars which made them not only non-recognizable on the track, but also the cars got heavier which required changes to fuel strategies â” requiring more frequent fuelling but also changes to driving styles, as everybody stopped jumping the triple as a whole and rather started doing safer 2+1 jumps. As the cars became completely mud-covered it was also very difficult for the race director to recognise the cars and many times the leading XB8 of Yannick got into collisions with other cars which were 1 or more laps down already. During a fuel pit-stop, mechanics (thanks, Christophe) cleaned off the car number, allowing the race director to watch the leading car again. By the end of the race, Yannickâ™s XB8 had more than a 1 lap lead which allowed for one extra fuel pit-stop and allowed Yannick to relax and drive safely up to the finish line - making the XRAY XB8 the 2006 European Champion !! |
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The European Champion 2006
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The entire team was extremely happy and proud, and the round of congratulations and happiness started bringing Yannick down from the rostrum on hands. The technical inspection confirmed that the XB8 was completely perfect and the official ceremony could start handing out the prizes and celebrating with lots of champagne. After a long photo session and interviews, thanking to everybody for an excellent job, support, and teamwork, the celebration continued and moved to the restaurant and a nice local bar late in the night, celebrating the European Champion 2006.
In conclusion we would like to thank all organisers for a smooth-running event, to all the drivers making this race very thrilling and highly competitive, and the biggest thanks goes to all XRAY drivers for excellent teamwork and great racing. After the huge success of the XB8-TQ during this season in many countries around the world, winning many local and national races worldwide, the 2006 European Championship is the first title of the European Champion for XRAY and the team. After the TQ achievement at the very first European Championship where Team XRAY participated for the first time last year in 2005, the back-to-back TQ and the WIN of the 2006 European Championship brings a big honour to the team and great pride that the XB8 has been not only winning the awards from press and magazines but is capable of winning international races at the highest competition levels, proving the racing pedigree and the best performance of the XB8.
Last, we give our promise and commitment that Team XRAY will continue with further development, provide the very best Team Drivers, but also mainly and most importantly will continue with our great customer support and help at the highest level, making all of you the winners. See you next time at the track! |
| Race report by Yannick Aigoin |
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I left France on Monday morning after a difficult night with the football results. We went immediately to our nice rented bungalow (which we had for the week) which was approximately 15 minutes from the Ripoll race track.
On Tuesday there was the technical inspection and a round of free practice. It was a long day of waiting for only 10 minutes of driving but the car was already good. This day was also the opportunity to see and speak with many other drivers. |
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XRAY Team at European Championship 2006
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On Wednesday, there were two controlled practice sessions to remake the qualifying heat plus a free practice for a final check. The track was very slippery so I had to change my basic set-up a little bit from the one I was using during the warm-up. I made the rear diff softer and used a smaller front anti-roll bar. The car was getting better and better, but I committed some mistakes and finished the practices in a good 7th place.
Thursday was the first day of qualifying, and it was a very good day for me. The car was really good and I made the best time in the first two qualifying rounds, having perfect starts. My 3rd round was also very good but the track changed a lot due to a light rain. In this qualifier I finished 4th so my place in the semi-final was already secured. |
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On Friday I had a good fourth qualifying round with a second place finish, which gave me the overall TQ before the last round⦠great! I decided to make a few tests for the sub-finals during the 5th qualifying, with a harder diff and different tires, but I was a little bit slower but still with the top driver with a 3rd place at this round.
After a perfect qualifying, I felt very confident with this awesome car⦠fast and really easy to drive. I prepare it on Friday afternoon during the first sub-finals. I paid an incredible amount of attention to it, since I didnâ™t want to be once more the unlucky TQ !! |
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| On Saturday morning, I spent time watching the sub-finals and seeing that the weather could be terrible for the semi-final. Unfortunately, I was not wrong. Before the semi practices, the rain began and I tested a lot of tires. After that, we had only 10 minutes before the start of the semi-final, and I only had time to clean the car a little bit and change my clutch bell from 14T to 13T and shock spring from white to light blue. The car was ready but not really set for these conditions. I did my best and finished second of the semi-final. Not too bad. |
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To prepare the car for the main, I changed many things to make it better for the poor conditions. I changed the clutch springs, shock pistons, car width, tires, rear camber link, and many other things.
When we put the car on the track during the warm-up lap, it was VERY good, quite perfect with fabulous engine power, and I knew at that moment that I would have a good result. I had a good start and took the lead in the 3rd lap. Then, I was consistent and lead all the race. After the 1st pit-stop at 7â™30âť, I decided to make one refuelling stop because the car became heavier and heavier. I did not want to take any risk. I also stopped jumping the triple and opted for a more secure 2+1 jump for the rest of the final. The cars on the track were unrecognizable but I was leading. I won the race by more than 1 lap⦠I love this engine so much since it did not stop at all though the terrible conditions, and I claimed my second title, 8 years after the first one in Sweden. |
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Yannick Aigoin & Juraj Hudy
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It was really a good time after the race⦠I was congratulated by everybody and celebrating the title, then I spent a great evening with my team.
Yours
Yannick Aigoin |
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Yannick\'s XB8 before the final race
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Technical inspection after the final race
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Juraj working on the car
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Niklas Hakanson won 2nd position of the 40+ Euros
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Tattoo man Robert Gustafsson
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Yannick\'s mechanic - Christophe
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Dirty Christophe & Martin after the final race
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Unofficial 40+ Euros Awards
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The European Championship 2006 podium
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The winning team
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Yannick, Juraj & Christophe
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The 2006 racing team
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