The Xray Challenge Grand Final was held at the Hudy Racing Arena in Trencin, Slovakia and Alexander Hagberg made this report. ‘Once again we saw a perfectly organized event. More than 100 drivers from many different countries joined the race to come and have fun at this great venue. It was a good opportunity as well, to prepare for the upcoming ETS final. The race was run in seven different classes, both electric and nitro, to allow for all kinds of adrenaline charged fun. Unfortunately the weather gods were not with us on Friday as it rained away. It was not a problem for those who had signed up for the electric categories though, as the newly prepared indoor track was open for practice. New curbs and paint gave the track a really nice look and was very enjoyable to race on. Traction levels became high eventually as sugar water was used.
Some of the Xray team drivers were present including myself, Martin Hudy, Marek Černý, Martin Christensen, Francesco Martini among others. We also had visitors from Italy, England and Denmark to name a few. The weather turned ot really nicely on Saturday, and we were able to run three rounds of qualifying. In the electric category I managed to win all qualifiying rounds with ease to set the overall TQ position. In the nitro class it was Martin Hudy who had a clean qualifying to take the TQ spot in front of myself and Juraj Hudy. The stock category was dominated by David Nemcek from start to end.
All competitors could enjoy great Italian food which was cooked trackside. The pits were spacious with a great atmosphere. On Sunday morning, Trencin was again struck by rain showers which meant that we had to wait for the track to dry up. So the last round of qualifying in the electric classes was held at the indoor track. At lunchtime, the outdoor track was dry, so the organizer gathered the competitors for a vote, if the the event was to be continued at the outdoor track. In the end, most drivers agreed that this was the best decision. The crew sprayed the track with sugar water, and the finals soon started. I had a great running with my T4 in the modified category as I could win the first two finals to take the win in front of Marek and Kuba Simurda on 3rd place overall. Martin Hudy had continous bad luck and various misfortunes throughout the event which hindered him from a higher finishing position.
In the nitro class, Martin Hudy held the lead for a short time from the TQ position, but eventually had to pit for engine adjustments. I then managed to take over the lead, which I held until the finish of the 30 minute final. I was delighted to take the win in two classes. The 1:8 final was won by Igor Liptak with his Xray RX8. In the other classes, there were no big surprises. Nemcek was crowned the winner in the stock class, and Jan Červený in the super stock category.
Personally I am really happy with the results as both my T4 and NT1 cars were running great all weekend with only minor adjustments to the set-up. I believe that I have found a good basic set-up for both cars which seems to work for most tracks. The T4 was easy to drive with sufficient steering, even on very used tires, which always is a plus.
The NT1 stayed very consistent with good steering for the entire final. Tire wear wasn’t high even with a spool fitted up front. As for the shock set-up, I have received many questions what I am running in my NT1 shocks. The current set-up is 700 cSt oil with 4×1.0 pistons. I recommend this hard oil or even 1000 cSt if 1.1 or 1.2 piston holes are in use. As for the springs, I do believe that the car can benefit from a bit stiffer springs than what is included in the kit, especially for high grip conditions.
Big thanks to the crew behind the race. We all enjoyed it very much, and I am really looking forward to the ETS final race which will be held in Trencin in July. I expect nothing less than a perfect organized event also during that week. It is really something special to join a race at the very home of the Xray brand, I recommend anyone and Xray fans in particular to join’
1/10 Touring Modified results:
1. Hagberg Alexander – Xray T4
2. Cerny Marek – Xray T4
3. Šimurda Kuba – Xray T4
4. Hudy Martin – Xray T4
5. Nemček David – Xray T4
6. Francesco Martini – Xray T4
7. Vyšín Jiří – Xray T4
8. Janousek Jiri – Xray T4
9. Hudy Juraj – Xray T4
10. Korinek Roman – Xray T4
1/10 Touring Stock results:
1. Nemček David – Xray T4
2. Martinec Pavel – Xray T4
3. Retrivi Andrea – Xray T4
4. Berselli Marco – Xray T4
5. Montecchi Alberto – Xray T4
6. Carbone Davide – Xray T4
7. Španěl Roman – Xray T4
8. Španěl Jan – Xray T4
9. Španěl Lubomír – Xray T4
10. Havránek Oliver – Xray T4
1/10 Touring Super stock results:
1. Červený Jan – Xray T4
2. Vopat Lukas – Xray T4
3. Bábovský starší Martin – Xray T4
4. Kukan Alexandr – Xray T4
5. Lebánek Ladislav – Xray T4
6. Uher Filip – Xray T4
7. Vadlejch ml. Miroslav – Xray T4
8. Bábovský Matěj – Xray T4
9. Pavliš Radek – Xray T4
10. Granát Richard – Xray T4
1:8 nitro results:
1. Liptak Igor – Xray RX8
2. Abrahamek Michal – Xray RX8
3. Liptak Tomas – Xray RX8
4. Čermák David – Xray RX8
5. Vyšín Jiří – Xray RX8
6. Withington Jonathan – Xray RX8
7. Ťažký Dodo – Xray RX8
8. Hudy Juraj – Xray RX8
9. Ockajak Alexander – Xray RX8
10. Hudy Martin – Xray RX8
1:10 nitro results:
1. Hagberg Alexander – Xray NT1 2013
2. Hudy Martin – Xray NT1 2013
3. Hudy Juraj – Xray NT1 2013
4. Kubík Denis – Xray NT1
5. Vyšín Jiří – Xray NT1
6. Abrahamek Michal – Xray NT1
7. Kanina Jan – Xray NT1
8. Ryeskov Claus – Xray NT1 2013
9. B. Nielsen Rasmus – Xray NT1
10. Ockajak Alexander – Xray NT1
11. Kulhánek Ondřej – Xray NT1
12. Christensen Martin – Xray NT1 2013
WGT results:
1. Kulhánek Ondřej – Xray X10
2. Vnučko Andrej
3. Peška Milan
4. Granát Richard
Formula results:
1. Vopat Lukas
2. Peška Milan
3. Montecchi Alberto
4. Matiášek Aleš
5. Zádrapa Leoš
6. Carbone Davide
Source: Xray [teamxray.com]
