Detail

published: 2011-08-26 19:35:01 (57721) Author: Oli_M

Controlled Practice Completed!

Despite the terrible weather at the start of the day, the 4WD event is officially started!
The rain soaked the track this morning leaving many drivers to head back to their hotel rooms or find alternative ways of entertaining themselves in the pits - often resorting to seeking out RC Racing TV's coverage of the event!

But, shortly after lunchtime, the rain stopped and the sun came out. After a sterling job by both the sun and the club members to dry the track out, the controlled practice round - one thing neccessary to make the event "official" - kicked off at 6pm local time.

Once the cars took to the track, it was German driver Jorn Neumann who was officially quickest.
Using the system of couting a drivers best 2 consecutive laps, Jorn set a time of 53.7 seconds to top the scoreboard from British driver and defending champion, Lee Martin, by one tenth of a second.

Nearly half a second further back was Austria's Hupo Honigl, a further three tenths up on 2WD Pole Sitter Neil Cragg (GB). Another Brit, Ellis Stafford rounded out the top 5.

But many drivers used this round more to get a feel for the new track conditions rather than perhaps going all-out to set the best lap times straight away.
With the sun now setting, no further rounds could be completed this evening. Everyone's fingers are crossed that the weather stays dry overnight and in the early morning. The new tentitive schedule calls for a breif practice round kicking off at 8am tomorrow, to "groove" the track back in, followed by 4 qualifying rounds and the finals.

Of course, weather could yet disrupt the schedule, but by completing controlled practice this evening, for the event to become "official", 2 complete rounds of qualifying are needed tomorrow.

Stay tuned to www.EFRA.ws for a wrap up of the news from today featuring Austrian driver Peter Pinisch, plus all the news tomorrow.

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