Xray T3 Double Podium Finish At DRCMU Round 3

Race report by Danni Eyde Nielsen

The third round of the Danish series (DRCMU) was held on February 21st in Tinglev. The race was hosted by Ti-Mo and they did a perfect job! Nearly 80 drivers attended and were distributed amongst three classes: Modified (LiPo), SuperStock (17.5 T LiPo) and Stock (21.5 T LiPo).

There was free practice the whole Saturday, and Team Xray and I took good advantage of this. We all started with the same set-up, which worked very well for the track right from the first battery. We tested many different things and the car got better and better. By the end of the day we had a set-up which made the car very consistent and yet very fast, with lots of cornering speed and still enough turn-in. I felt pretty confident for Sunday, since my car was so easy to drive. It was easy to see the battle for the win was going to be between Steen Graversen, Nicolai Sorensen, Rasmus Callesen and me.

We had two heat practices in the morning before the qualification rounds. We used these practice rounds to feel how the car was on new tires. After the first practice round we all struggled with understeer. My car felt lazy on the track so we all made different changes for the second practice to find the best way to get rid of this understeer. After second practice we found the best change and drove with that for the first qualification round.

QUALIFIERS

1st Qualifier: I knew the car was understeering a bit, so I choose to drive it a bit aggressively. The car was very consistent, but on the first lap I made a very big mistake by hitting a dots in the S-corner; my car rolled onto the roof but luckily it rolled onto its wheels again, but it still cost me 2 seconds. After that I drove really consistently and really caught up. Steen ended up winning this round, I came in 2nd just 0.1sec behind him, while the rest of the drivers were 5-6 seconds behind us.

2nd Qualifier: I didn’t change anything for this round except my driving style since I knew the car would get more and more steering for each time it was driven on the tires. So I choose to drive less aggressively for the second round. We were very close but Steen took the win, and again I came in 2nd place only 0.4sec behind him. Fellow Xray driver Nicolai Sorensen took 3rd place in this round, 5sec behind Steen and me.

3rd Qualifier: Steen had won the 2 first rounds so I couldn’t take TQ, but my 2nd place on the grid wasn’t safe since Rasmus Callesen and Xray driver Nicolai Sorensen had a 3rd place each. I pushed my car but at the same time I saved the tires. Nicolai Sorensen’s car was really good in this qualifier and he was following Steen and I pretty close. Suddenly Steen hit a dot and flipped the car on its roof; he lost 1 second and I went into the lead with Nicolai Sorensen following closely. I ended up winning the third round with Steen coming in 2nd and Nicolai in 3rd.

Modified A-final after qualifiers:

• 1. Steen Graversen
• 2. Danni Eyde – Xray T3
• 3. Nicolai Sorensen – Xray T3
• 4. Rasmus Callesen
• 5. Johnni Andersen – Xray T3
• 6. Mads Emil Bisgaard – Xray T2’009
• 7. Kristoffer Ratchke – Xray T3
• 8. Thomas Larsen

FINALS

1st final: I got a good start and followed Steen very closely with Nicolai right behind me. After 3 laps we had built up a gap ahead of the rest of the guys, and I fought as hard as I could to get by Steen but he simply made no mistakes. Nicolai made a mistake by hitting a dot, so he was now a little farther behind Steen and I. I was still right behind Steen and looking for any opportunity to pass him, but Steen is a very experienced and consistent driver and he didn’t make one mistake. Steen won the first final, and I passed the finish line less than 0.2sec behind him, with Nicolai “cruising” over the finish line in 3rd place.

2nd final: This time I started a little bit late after the start signal so I had Nicolai right behind me, and Steen had a little space gap ahead of us. I was putting big pressure on Steen after 3 laps, and Nicolai was a little behind. I really pushed as hard as I could to pass him and I really tested the brakes of the car! But still there was no way to get by him. In the meantime Nicolai started to catch up to us and was about to challenge me for 2nd but right as he came up to me he made a big mistake which gave me the opportunity to concentrate on getting by Steen. Steen ended up winning the second final and taking the overall win, I finished 2nd and Nicolai again took 3rd place.

3rd final: This time I got a pretty good start, and after 2 minutes of hard pressure on Steen he made a mistake by hitting a dot in the S-corner and the car flipped on it roof. I got into a good lead and drove very carefully. But Steen got closer and closer as he really pushed his car hard! With 1 minute left he was right behind me and I started to feel the pressure. With 30 seconds left I messed up after the straight and the car started to slide. Steen didn’t had enough time to brake so he hit me and I went off the track but at the same time he also went off the track. He got back onto the track again and waited for me to pass him… that’s the kind of fair racer he is! On the last lap he tried everything to pass and 2 corners before the finish line we were side-by-side. To Steen’s luck he was on the inside for the next corner. I accidently hit him and he went off the track, so to return his favor I waited for him and let him pass me because it was my fault he went off. Steen won and I finished 0.1sec behind him, with Nicolai in a 3rd again. Nicolai was just “driving his own race” as he was as fast as Steen and I, but he made too many mistakes to challenge Steen and me.

Modified Final Standings:

• 1. Steen Graversen
• 2. Danni Eyde – Xray T3
• 3. Nicolai Sorensen – Xray T3
• 4. Rasmus Callesen
• 5. Kristoffer Ratchke – Xray T3
• 6. Johnni Andersen – Xray T3
• 7. Mads Emil Bisgaard – Xray T2’009
• 8. Thomas Larsen

Stock Top 3

• 1. Paw Ormstrup – Xray T3
• 2. Sebastian Sorensen
• 3. Finn Engholmd

Overall it was a really great race, I would like to thank Xray, North TQ and Nosram for delivering the high performance. Next race will be the Indoor EC, which I’m really looking forward to!

 

Source: Team Xray