Savox/PF Win Halifax & Fast at Euros

My first big race of 2015 was the 1/8 Circuit Euro B's held in Cassino Italy at the end of May.  Arriving on the Friday before the race provided a nice weekend to visit Rome and relax before the event kicked off on the Monday.

With my Serpent 977 powered by Savox and shod with a Protoform race body, the package felt good right from the first practice on Monday.  Having tested both the P909 and the PFR18, this track in particular suited the PFR18 best for me.

Through the week, we worked on making the car faster half tenth by half tenth, but at the same time making it easy on tyres with a view to maximise race pace.

After the 5 qualifying runs, we qualified 4th Overall which meant participation in the “Super Pole” where 2nd-5th take part in a shootout for a place in the main alongside TQ.  This was different and fun, but as we were setting up an engine for the finals we couldn’t take it too seriously.

Our qualifying would see our Savox car line up on pole for one of the two 20 minute Semi-Finals.  From the off we had a good start and used the overall fast race pace to take the win, and with it, line up 3rd in the Main Final.

The start of the final was straight forward, and after settling in we worked our way up to second after 15 minutes.  With only 1 scheduled tyre change and 5minute fuel stops the lead and the chance to fight for the win was on.  Unfortunately, a mis-calculation/error by my Italian mechanic meant we ran out of fuel just after 1/3 race distance, which gifted a nice fight to the rest of the field.  This was really tough as it is not something that has happened in a final in the last 10 years!

At the flag, Italian Serpent driver Luca Piramalli ran out the winner, with us recovering to take 6th Overall.

The Savox SB2271-SG servos and Protoform PFR18 were faultless all week and really proved a strong package.

With the presentation ceremony over, onto our next challenge! We headed straight to the airport to fly back to the UK on the Saturday night, drive from Gatwick up to Halifax to race in round 4 of the BRCA 1/8 Circuit Nationals.

On arrival the track was drying and all drivers only really got 1 dry qually run.  My Serpent 977 ran well, and with the help of a fresh PFR18 we lined up 3rd Overall for the main final.  After a tough race (with a somewhat exhausted driver and mechanic!) we managed to take the win – a nice result especially after the disappointment the day before. 

Strong runs for Andy Hastings and Andy North, both with PF shells saw them complete the podium.

I would like to thank all my sponsors that made the strong results possible, Mark Green for his assistance "by-wire" in Italy, but especially Savox Servos, Protoform Bodyshells and CML Distribution.

 
Next race:- Adur 1/8 National