After attending two EOS events earlier in the year, we were excited to be attending the first EOS race of its second season in a place called Poland. Once upon a time most polish people lived in England but many quickly realised it was crap so formed their own country called Poland - named of course after the polish themselves.

The race would be taking place in Poznan - not a very easy place to get to by all accounts. The only flights really available were down in the badlands of England, close to London at Luton airport. This would be our first ever experience flying with a budget airline - a scary prospect, given the company name 'wizz air' - which translated to English means 'urine air'. Not a great start.

So as we prepared our bags we got a nice surprise that the maximum sizes for carry-on luggage would be vastly reducing in size on the 24th October - the day before we flew. Cramming four cameras into one of my old bags along with as many lenses and accessories as possible left no room for much else. Somehow I would need to secrete my gopro hd hero2 upon my body as there was quite literally nowhere left. A HD HERO ain't something you want to carry inside!

Still, the checked baggage which needed to be paid for separately seemed generous - indeed suspiciously so. 32kg was the misleading maximum allowance and some last minute Googling found an explanation - Wizzair try to hide the fact you only actually get 15kg for your £17ukp investment! We hastily weighed our single bag and discovered it was 19kg already. After casting various things aside and reducing to two pairs of man pants and only the shorts I was wearing later, we were back in business and ready to rock.
After a hard days work the rush to pack and get going was exhausting - the long drive down south to our overnight accommodation was uneventful and we were soon asleep. The 5am wake up was like a kick in the face and the airport at Luton felt like a chav convention crossed with a cattle truck.

Wizzair have a cute system where you line up to check in for the flight - but anyone who was dumb enough to pay the extra for express check in basically barges past. It's a great idea, we thought as we stood in line for half an hour patiently awaiting our budget check in.

Security was friendly enough as I was physically dragged through the scanner because I was apparently walking too slowly - and then told to 'move' whilst trying to reattach my belt to prevent any exposures. Luton airport I concluded was a ****ing dump.

A practice attempt of the 'brace position'	Not much leg room - in fact, none.

On board our budget flight, the free-for-all seating was something new to us as first time budget flyers and a serious number of people had left a space in the middle - like they thought they would be 'Lucky' and have actual room to breath. Sadly mistaken, fools.

To help report late into the evening I bought a couple of cans of the vaguely racist 'Black Power' drink featuring rapist ear-biter Mike Tyson. COOL

A brief flight across the continent later and we were nearly evicted already because DC became little over excited whilst conversing with some of the locals on board our flight. A friendly Polish chap soon settled him down before the situation deteriorated into fisticuffs, and before too long we were in a taxi en-route to our hotel.

We finally made our way to the venue late Thursday afternoon, to find a small and committed team of track builders hard at work. We were overwhelmed instantly by the size of the rostrum, which is actually a 59ft high balcony - vertigo inducing according to some racers. Tom cockerill was overheard exclaiming that he'd be surprised if it was ready to race on in time for Friday mornings practice, all the same though he had important business to attend to in the bar so was unable to stay and assist.

The initial layout we saw being constructed was quickly deemed unworkable since the large step up tabletop jump was too far away and looked about an inch wide despite the height.

Fabricated DC statement.
"There has been some mention of events which occurred on the Luton-Poznan flight this morning, in my own defence I feel it necessary to clarify that I meant no offence at all to those passengers sitting within a 10 row vicinity of my seat, I was simply being friendly to the pleasant lady sitting next to me, we had a good laugh throughout the flight and we both believe the situation has been blown out of proportion.

I'm a professional racer and commentator and represent the hobby to the best of my ability at all times."

Friday October 26th 2012 - Practice Day.
Things kicked off early with racers turning up from 0700 hrs onwards - greeted by a newly built layout with just the finishing touches being applied. The serious guys were already wrenching hard but those less dedicated were still turning up for the next couple of hours.

Practice got underway at 0800 - that's 8am btw. With about 1 car on the track. 2WD practice in heat order would run for a whole 5 rounds before the 4WD would kick off with the same format. The last two rounds of practice would be used for re-seeding the qualifying heats, using the fastest three consequtive laps.

The venue really does look like this.	Early morning mood-lighting photos.

In 2WD the top guys are switching back and forth between the dBoots nanobytes and dBoots 'Block Pass' - which is a new tyre for this season and unfamiliar to pretty much all the racers here.

Otto Ausfelt - XX4 retro machine	Hupo's extended DEX210

But the wheels are LEGAL! - NEIN, Worsley says no!	Ahhh, mistake - yes all is legal Paul, I measure.

Jörn Neumann made the fastest laptime in rd 4 2WD practice with 18.270sec - using the dBoots Block Pass on the front.

The first three rounds of practice were inconsequential, however rounds three and four would determine whether any changes needed to be made prior to qualifying the next day - reseeding would be based on the fastest three consequetive laps.

	2WD Practice Rd4 - fastest 3 consequetive laps
	position name result 1 Jörn Neumann 3/0:55.251 2 Darren Bloomfield 3/0:56.605 3 Hupo Hönigl 3/0:56.660 4 Michal Orlowski 3/0:58.089 5 Benni Gröschel 3/0:58.188 6 Tom Maquel 3/0:58.672 7 Matt Castelano 3/0:58.696 8 Calle Svensson 3/0:58.993 9 David Poulter 3/0:59.004 10 Torben Højfeldt 3/0:59.300

Jörn took off almost a full second from his previous best to again lead the pack in final practice. Don't use all your juice early dude, keep some for the real stuff!

	2WD Practice Rd5 - fastest 3 consequetive laps
	position name result 1 Jörn Neumann 3/0:54.411 2 Dustin Evans 3/0:55.653 3 Darren Bloomfield 3/0:56.490 4 Hupo Hönigl 3/0:56.617 5 Michal Orlowski 3/0:57.135 6 Matt Castelano 3/0:57.454 7 Tom Cockerill 3/0:57.707 8 Benni Gröschel 3/0:57.946 9 David Poulter 3/0:58.378 10 Marcus Lübke 3/0:59.318

I spent some time with Scotty Ernst finding out a little about the background to these EOS events. Scotty is a hero - as well as keeping an eye on the timekeeping, commentating, and warning drivers of obstacles in the track, he frequently participated in marshalling upturned cars AND provided me with detailed answers to my questions - male multitasking at it's finest.

"The EOS idea came after the success we had with the ETS, we wanted to bring the same fun idea to off-road racing with simple rules and the focus on having fun. We were really happy with how the first series went. This year will be very similar to the first year, with different venues, although the finals will still be held at the Hobby Show in Dortmund. We're excited to be here in Poland at another hobby show, the venue is expecting over 30,000 visitors over the course of the weekend. Its great for our sponsors to have so many new eyes on R/C racing."

"The next events in the series will be held at Langenfeld in Germany on the 4th, 5th and 6th of January, round 3 at Leoben in Austria on March 8th, 9th, and 10th, and finally the 4th round in Dortmund, Germany, on April 12th, 13th, and 14th.
It's great having TLR as the title sponsor, their support allows the EOS to travel around Europe, and they bring their top drivers to race competitively and help their customers. This in turn encourages other manufacturers to bring their drivers and show a good presence in the hobby - throughout the series we'll have representatives from all the major manufacturers. The best part of the series is bringing the fun atmosphere to racing, were relaxed on the rules and dont have referees, just keep it simple. That attracts average club racers from elsewhere too, they dont have to worry about having approved motors or batteries."

"The series is run by myself (Scotty) and Uwe. The race club provides equipment for the track build, we bring the race control equipment. RedRC are our media partners, so whereas they dont get involved in the planning and running of EOS races, they promote the events and report on whats happened at each race."

DCstroyed

We spoke to Sascha Hengen (photo below) who is heavily involved with advanced testing and quality control for TEAM C, he gave us a brief background to one of the newest teams on the racing block.

China based company TEAM C, originally worked with Ansmann Racing in Europe and TQ in the US but now work independently to produce and market their own cars.

The German team drive for Absima, who sell Team C cars in Germany and much of Europe - in the UK it's oOple advertiser SMD who of course distribute Team C!
The Team C cars are aimed at club racers who want competitive products; there are two lines , the RTR and the team editions. Sascha Hengen, Marcus Lübke, and Tom Maquel from Germany, and polish father and son team drivers - Dawid & Mateusz Geteìa. There are around 60 TEAM C team-drivers across the world.

The guys were running a brand new prototype 2WD buggy that they only recieved a couple of days before the event started and with no time to test. The new buggy has its basic parts from the 2WD competition buggy front end and 4WD competition buggy at the centre and rear end. Of course - a new chassis and machined aluminium parts were made for the cars and although they look really good and well-finished, this is just testing and may not even get released.

TEAM C drivers were loving the new 2WD prototype.

	NICE quality finish - considering it's just a prototype

Like the DB1 based upon the Kyosho RB5 that the UK Kyosho team were driving - this design uses a shaft drive layout with the motor in the centre of the car putting the power to the rear. The DB1 needed a counter-rotating weight on the propshaft because of the motor position but the layout on the Team C car means this doesn't matter we're told.

	This car only fits 'shorty' style lipo packs

	4WD Practice Rd4 - fastest 3 consequetive laps
	position name result 1 Jörn Neumann 3/0:52.974 2 Hupo Hönigl 3/0:54.290 3 Dustin Evans 3/0:55.090 4 Danny McGee 3/0:55.540 5 Tom Cockerill 3/0:55.596 6 Michal Orlowski 3/0:55.919 7 Benni Gröschel 3/0:57.001 8 Matt Castelano 3/0:57.189 9 David Poulter 3/0:57.208 10 Kája Novotny 3/0:57.225

Strangely, when sensible racers see Jimmys camera...	...they're overcome by the urge to look mad.

Except for professional RedRC reporters Eoghain...	....And brother Oisin, who look merely bemused

	4wd Overall fastest 3 consecutive laps from Rd 4 and 5
	position name result 1 Jörn Neumann 3/0:52.974 2 Hupo Hönigl 3/0:54.290 3 Dustin Evans 3/0:55.090 4 Danny McGee 3/0:55.201 5 Tom Cockerill 3/0:55.596 6 Michal Orlowski 3/0:55.919 7 Benni Gröschel 3/0:56.484 8 Kája Novotny 3/0:56.862 9 Adreas Daving 3/0:57.208 10 Matt Castelano 'American Northy' 3/0:57.189

Tom Cockerill - One of my favourite pastimes when I get a spare couple of hours is reading through historical oOple race reports whilst chugging back a few beers - harmless fun and an inexpensive night in. BOOM.

	4WD Short Course - fastest 3 consequetive laps (rd 4+5)
	position name result 1 Hupo Hönigl 3/0:58.045 2 Dustin Evans 3/0:58.377 3 Jörn Neumann 3/0:58.486 4 Matt Castelano 3/1:03.544 5 Kája Novotny 3/1:03.644 6 Sven Rudig 3/1:09.176 7 Daniel Kobbervik 3/1:14.962

Team Norway.

Norweigan coach and superstar former professional beach volleyball warrior Magne Kobbevik from Norway introduced us to his team and demonstrated some of his elite ball handling skills for the purpose of our reportage amusement.

Magne is present with his 7 year old son Daniel, who by all accounts is something of a rising star in the Norweigan race scene. With two years racing experience under his belt Daniel stormed his way to number 5 in the Norweigan 4wd championship series this year and won the short course championship.

The father-son duo are also joined by Andreas Daving (who arrived late due to a passport error) and Nicolaisen Joakim who is the current vice-champion in the Norweigan 4wd series.

Norweigans up and coming junior star Daniel.

With his team of supporters - and head coach.

Jorn put in some fast laps with his buggies during practice, but in 4wd short course it was Hupo and Dustin who beat him to the fastest 3 consequetive laps. Still, this is only practice and we have two full days of racing to determine the champion.

Day 2 - Qualifying - Saturday October 27th 2012.

Round one of qualifying got off to a bad start for the previous days fastest guy - Jorn Neumann, as he had a roll on lap two and followed it up with several more. Too much traction was the problem he said - with brand new dBoots Block Pass on the front. Jorn said he couldn't understand how it was possible for Hupo to race with new dBoot nanobyte tyres on the front of his DEX210!

Mistakes from Jorn in round 1	Making way for a round TQ from TLR driver Dustin

Despite the errors Jorn was still the quickest driver on the track and managed to finish second behind Dustin Evans - younger brother of our very own Stu Evans from oOple.com

As the main sponsor of the EOS - it's TLR we must thank mostly for helping towards us coming and reporting, so, obviously we will make them look really good and professional. The team are a mix of Swedish, Americans and of course 8th buggy Euro champion Darren Bloomfield, who was only doing the one class, 2WD.

Round 3 2WD Buggy Qualifying.
Jorn led a very clean race without error to take the round win. Hupo kept close to Jorn for the first few laps but after a couple of mistakes he soon dropped down a few places. Jorn was pretty much uncatchable, taking the round win and beating his own round 2 TQ time.

	2wd Qualifying Round 3
	position name result 1 Jörn Neumann 17/5:12.993 2 Darren Bloomfield 16/5:01.763 3 Dustin Evans 16/5:02.144 4 Michal Orlowski 16/5:03.593 5 Hupo Hönigl 16/5:05.651 6 Matt Castelano 16:5.06.178 7 Oskar Levin 16/5:09.314 8 Tom Cockerill 16/5:12.062 9 Marcus Lübke 16/5:12.481 10 Otto Ausfelt 16/5:15.422

If you build it, they will come - www.oOple.com

Round 4 2WD Buggy Qualifying.
Jorn rolled on the first lap and let Dustin through for the lead. Dustin lead for half the race as Jorn slowly reeled him in with some quick laps and as the pressure was starting to build Dustin rolled it and Jorn moved through for the lead again which he held for the rest of the race, to take round win and overall 2wd TQ.

	2wd Qualifying Round 4
	position name result 1 Jörn Neumann 17/5:11.799 2 Dustin Evans 17/5:15.700 3 Darren Bloomfield 17/5:15.893 4 Michal Orlowski 16/5:01.652 5 Matt Castelano 16/5:02.748 6 Tom Cockerill 16:5.06.254 7 Kája Novotny 16/5:09.363 8 David Poulter 16/5:11.350 9 Otto Ausfelt 16/5:11.991 10 Oskar Levin 16/5:13.856

After a short break of about half an hour for the drivers to prepare their 4WD rides and reset their minds - the 4WD qualifying began.

4WD Qualifying.
oOF! Straight away Jörn was in full attack mode in 4WD - taking the first round by a whopping 13 seconds from second place Benni Gröschel and Hupo third. Tom Cockerill was the last to make it through for 17 laps just 0.1 of a second behind Hupo.

We're told Benni was regularly beating Jörn in Germany in years gone past - but of coruse things have changed and Jörn is now one of the worlds best drivers whilst Benni took a break from racing and this is only his second buggy race this year.

	4wd Qualifying Round 1
	position name result 1 Jörn Neumann 17/5:02.456 2 Benni Gröschel 17/5:15.982 3 Hupo Hönigl 17/5:16.103 4 Tom Cockerill 17/5:16.236 5 Dustin Evans 16/5:00.127 6 Matt Castelano 16:5:03.487 7 Jesper Rasmussen 16/5:05.459 8 David Poulter 16/5:07.127 9 Joakim Nicolaisen 16/5:09.211 10 Tommy Vinge 16/5:09.642

Impressed... no?	Strange customs in Poland - this is typical over here

Men and measuring tapes!	Eee-up our Daz, there's some of thems there r/c cars

	Durango driver Kaja from the Czech Republic has travelled over to show off his skillz. Not only has Kaja trebled in height since we last saw him at the 2010 European Champions in Austria, but he's been busy on the RC scene - winning the Czech 2wd national championship, short course series, and he finished second in the 4wd championship. Kaja is putting in some fast times here at the opening round of the EOS races, putting his Durango DEX210 into the A final, a result which he is really happy with and he is aspiring for similar results in 4wd. Kaja is a fully sponsored driver of new company Revolution Design Products - by former Team Durango designer Michael Vollmer - hence the number of DEX210 parts RDP are making! Vampire Racing's Sven Rudig is here racing and is also the business partner of RDP, and said there are something like 250 different items currently planned - but it takes time to get everything perfect. Kaja or Charlie as we call him has some of the awesome RDP gear on his pit table You won't break these 210 towers!!!! BOOM! The Revolution Design Z-Team

Interview with TLR Pro Driver "American Northy" - fondly referred to by his friends as "Matt Castellano"

How many years have you been racing R/C?
9 years.

Where is your home track?
OCRC in California.

What is your professional title?
Enthusiastic radio controlled model car navigator.

How long have you been racing professionally for?
3 years.

What was your first R/C car?
An RC10 GT.

Which classes do you compete in?
I race all off-road classes - nitro and electric, my favourite class is the 2wd buggy.

Where is your favourite track, and if you could design your dream track what would it look like?
My favourite is Thunder Alley in California, if I could design my dream track it would be indoors, with a clay surface and a lot of elevation changes.

How much of your time do you spend practicing and setting up your cars? And what do you like to do in your spare time?
I probably spend about 60 hours per week working on my cars and getting in plenty of practice. When I get a break in my schedule I prefer to spend time relaxing at home, hanging out with my brother playing video games, or chilling out watching television.

Guest question from your British lookalike Northy - "What do you find prepares you best for a race event, back sack and crack wax or a thai massage with an extra happy ending?"
I'm not sure how to answer that, it'd have to be the Thai massage though.

What about seriously, how do you make sure that you are mentally prepared to compete at major events?
When I know that I am well prepared and have all my cars ready, I feel more comfortable.

What has been your proudest racing achievement?
Making the FINAL in our nationals modified 2wd.

Left: The photo is not Matt Castellano but I couldn't find anything else suitable.

How do you practice for racing on unfamiliar surfaces such as the carpets at EOS events, do you practice on the carpet in your DEN?
I did joke with my Mom about practicing in the living room, but really we have no facilities in America similar to the track here so my first time practicing was when we arrived. I talked to Dustin a lot before we came over, he raced in the series last year so had plenty of set up advice for me, I haven't needed to make many changes since we got here.

Is this your first time in Poland, what are your first impressions?
This is my first time here yeah, it's good here but I wish we had more time to look around - there isn't much free time!

Who is your inspiration in the RC world?
The designer behind this car is called Dan, we call him Dyno, he has taught me pretty much everything I have learnt since the tender age of 15 - he's great.

4wd Qualifying Round 2

Jörn put in his best time yet to take the second 4wd qualifier ten seconds ahead of Austrian team-rival Hupo. Tom Cockerill just missed out on a 17-lap run by a the skin of a hare's tooth, after a race smudged by multiple roll's. Tom was overheard saying something about a bruise on his ankle which prevented him from making it through for 17 laps.

Jörn saw the chance for making the extra lap but the excitement saw a couple of untidy corners and maybe it was never meant to be as he missed out by 0.9 seconds.

	4wd Qualifying Round 2
	position name result 1 Jörn Neumann 17/5:00.907 2 Hupo Hönigl 17/5:10.265 3 Dustin Evans 17/5:11.907 4 Benni Gröschel 17/5:13.876 5 Tom Cockerill 16/5:00.001 6 Danny McGee 16:5:05.189 7 Jesper Rasmussen 16/5:06.814 8 Joakim Nicolaisen 16/5:06.814 9 Otto Ausfelt 16/5:08.005 10 Marcus Lübke 16/5:08.283

Jörn again took the win but this time things were a little closer - with Hupo only 5 seconds back and Benni a further 2 seconds behind - Team Durango 1-2-3 in round. Gear diffs?

	4wd Qualifying Round 3
	position name result 1 Jörn Neumann 17/5:02.598 2 Hupo Hönigl 17/5:07.908 3 Benni Gröschel 17/5:09.757 4 Tom Cockerill 17/5:10.165 5 Jesper Rasmussen 16/5:04.127 6 Joakim Nicolaisen 16:5:04.768 7 Marcus Lübke 16/5:04.995 8 Andreas Daving 16/5:06.665 9 David Poulter 16/5:06.805 10 Michal Orlowski 16/5:10.107

"Actually, I might be banned from ALL R/C events after this report after this madness" - Jimmy

Tom Cockerill from Schumacher and Hupo of Durango spotted Samuel Cieciala wearing this dual-sponsored t-shirt. The guys decided that Samuel would have to choose between teams, and started a tug of war to gain the talented driver tothe 'correct side'. Samual was later seen with a torn shirt crying into his empty wallet with his new B44.2 and B4 Vega cars.

Please note, some of the information in this race report might be 'made up' and not the whole, 100%, honest truth.

4WD Qualifying round 4

Jörn got even closer to the elusive 18th lap in the final round of qualifying - this time missing out by 0.6 of a second.

	4wd Qualifying Round 4
	position name result 1 Jörn Neumann 17/5:00.676 2 Benni Gröschel 17/5:09.399 3 Hupo Hönigl 17/5:11.271 4 Dustin Evans 17/5:12.455 5 Michal Orlowski 16/5:01.492 6 Kaja Novotny 16:5:01.657 7 Joakim Nicolaisen 16/5:04.358 8 Danny McGee 16/5:06.754 9 Matt Castelano 16/5:08.377 10 Jesper Rasmussen 16/5:11.803

	4wd Qualifying Overall
	pos name Nat Pts rd1 rd2 rd3 rd4 1 Neumann Jörn DE 310 17 5:02.456 (155)  17 5:00.907 (155)  17 5:02.598 (155)  17 5:00.676 (155)  2 Hönigl Hupo AT 306 17 5:16.103 (152)  17 5:10.265 (153)  17 5:07.908 (153)  17 5:11.271 (152)  3 Gröschel Benni DE 306 17 5:15.982 (153)  17 5:13.876 (151)  17 5:09.757 (152)  17 5:09.399 (153)  4 Evans Dustin US 303 16 5:00.127 (150)  17 5:11.907 (152)  10 3:05.559 (118)  17 5:12.455 (151)  5 Cockerill Tom GB 302 17 5:16.236 (151)  16 5:00.001 (150)  17 5:10.165 (151)  15 5:14.189 (133)  6 Rasmussen Jesper DK 298 16 5:05.459 (148)  16 5:05.189 (148)  16 5:04.127 (150)  16 5:11.803 (145)  7 Nicolaisen Joakim NO 297 16 5:09.211 (146)  16 5:06.814 (147)  16 5:04.768 (149)  16 5:04.358 (148)  8 McGee Danny GB 296 16 5:10.295 (143)  16 5:02.247 (149)  16 5:15.708 (139)  16 5:06.754 (147)  9 Orlowski Michal PL 295 16 5:09.766 (144)  16 5:09.824 (143)  16 5:10.107 (145)  16 5:01.492 (150)  10 Castelano Matt US 295 16 5:03.487 (149)  16 5:16.284 (139)  16 5:16.709 (138)  16 5:08.377 (146)  BQ Lübke Marcus DE 293 15 5:03.406 (138)  16 5:08.283 (145)  16 5:04.995 (148)  16 5:19.624 (139)

After a domination of 4WD and a near-domination of 2WD buggy classes - Jörn couldn't quite grasp the reason that the TLR guys were so much more on the pace this time around. In the previous EOS series the Team Durango guys were undeniably in a class of their own - untouchable by a long way. Now they have to work very hard to beat the likes of Dustin Evans - who's Losi truck was looking seriously planted and cornering flat on the ultra high-traction surface - taking rounds 3 and 4 to go overall TQ with his SCTE beast. Jörn looked to have the speed but his truck just wasn't as glued to the track and it was only Jörn's quick reactions that kept his truck from rolling several times as he chased Dustin down.

Jorn up on two wheels as Dustin chases him down without mercy.

Not quite champion - but the fist says he'll fight for it	The 'T' says it all - Dustin is a truck-dominator.

Day 3 - Finals - Sunday October 28th 2012.

The finals day kicked off with a little confusion - at least for us - since the clocks had changed but somehow my Samsung 'devices' had gone the wrong way, so I woke up in a panic at 8:50am and thought we were missing finals! Flashbacks to Worksop a couple of weeks previous filled my mind as I hastily dressed and Vicky ordered a Taxi whilst brushing her hair. We ran all the way through the exhibition complex only to find barely anyone here and still an hour of open practice to go before finals kicked off at 9:30am - the real 9:30am, not the 10:30am it says on my phone.

In Norway it is customary to hang children up by their coats to prevent mischief.	She could wear a dead rat on her head and look good

The 'early morning light of god' was on the track during practice - sadly, there weren't so many top racers willing to get out of bed at this time in the morning and we had already missed most of the good light. But still - we managed to get a few tasty shots.

You know it matters when you only have one narrow band of light to work with

At the EOS events every driver gets three-leg finals, with 2wd short course starting first to kick off the day. Following the same format as practice and qualifying, the morning would consist of 2wd finals before moving on to run 4wd finals in the afternoon.

2wd A final Leg 1

Jorn drove an almost immaculate race in leg 1, quickly pulling a strong lead back to second place where some early mistakes saw a lot of crashes and carnage. Dustin Evans made an error through the double-double and needed marshalling.

Bloomfield took up the chase but half a lap later rolled coming off the big jump in front of the rostrum and now Hupo was up to second with Castellano right on his tail. Hupo came off the corner tabletop onto the straight badly and Castellano was able to capitalise on it and move past for second - but a mistake over the double-double like Dustin saw him need marshalling and Hupo was back to second.

Jorn built up a huge lead and despite a couple of errors - traction rolling at the end of the straight - he stayed way out front as positions constantly changed behind him.

Oskar Levin	Hupo Honigl

	2wd A Final Leg 1
	position name result 1 Jörn Neumann 16/5:09.609 2 Dustin Evans 15/5:06.998 3 Darren Bloomfield 15/5:08.170 4 Michal Orlowski 15/5:09.490 5 Tom Cockerill 15/5:13.210 6 Hupo Hönigl 15/5:13.485 7 David Poulter 15/5:16.273 8 Matt Castelano 15/5:16.614 9 Oskar Levin 14/5:00.220 10 Kája Novotny 14/5:10.862

The atmosphere here at EOS is thrilling. The setting is one sizeable corner of a huge exhibition arena, there are various other stands and shops set up for the hobby show but we're pretty sure the live toy car racing is one of the main attractions. Large crowds gather all around the track edges to observe some of the finest displays of R/C talent, and with Scotty Ernst's exciteable commentating entertaining r/c regulars and newcomers alike, the experience for the crowds is certainly enhanced.

Qualifying might be hard to understand for newcomers - but the finals were some of the most exciting we've seen for a while in 2WD buggy and 4WD Short Course.

2wd A final Leg 2
Leg two of the 2WD A final got off to a good start with Jorn and Dustin pulling a gap on the rest as they battled for the lead. Jorn traction rolled and Dustin took over the lead - Jorn fought back but Dustin had a small gap in front until he then had a traction roll himself - Jorn wasn't close enough to pass but instead tucked in right behind the US driver.

Jorn Rolls as Dustin comes round	Dustin rolls but is quickly marshalled

Jorn is right up with Dustin looking for a pass	...But Jorn also makes the same error as Dustin

The lead changed a couple more times between the pair as they both made small errors but the racing remained close. The final couple of laps Jorn was running second and looking for a way past - Jorn over-jumped Dustin and took the lead but his car wasn't settled and the pair came out of the corner together - side by side. A crash between the two saw Jorn come out in front but after the next corner the pair tangled again and this time it was apparently Dustin crashing into Jorn from behind, Dustin waited until Jorn was marshalled but retained the lead.

A roll from Dustin gave the lead back to Jorn	And right away Jorn gave it back as he rolles

Jorn goes for the dramatic over-jump	Jorn sticks the landing and the pair are side by side.

The pair tangle - Jorn comes out in front - all fair	Dustin tags Jorn on the up slope - Jorn tumbles

Jorn had little to lose now - he had to try everything and looked MUCH faster as he quickly got right up to Dustin and looked for any way around. Time was against him and as the pair came to the final corner - the corner tabletop jump before the main straight and the finish line, Jorn took a cheeky inside line but Dustin had the momentum of the down-slope and as Jorn flew past for the lead the drag race down the main straight was Dustin's as his TLR machine just managed to get ahead of the Team Durango of Jorn. It was an immensely exciting race! IMMENSE. EPIC.

In a desperate move - Jorn does a cheeky little move on the inside - jumping straight across

Jorn was now in front but landed flat	Landing down-slope gave Dustin the momentum

Dustin pulled past Jorn and took the win - for a moment at least.

A halt to the proceedings whilst the organisers examined an incident in the race meant the result of Dustin 1st and Jörn 2nd was reversed - and Jörn would take the win. It was decided that because Dustin hit Jörn's car he should have waited - which he did, but just not long enough.

Jörn was ecstatic with his 2WD win!	Whilst Dustin is left to dream of revenge in his favourite class - them truck things..

	2wd A Final Leg 2
	position name result 1 Jörn Neumann 16/5:14.537 2 Dustin Evans 16/5:14.538 3 Hupo Hönigl 16/5:18.750 4 Michal Orlowski 15/5:04.191 5 Tom Cockerill 15/5:05.493 6 Matt Castelano 15/5:08.931 7 Kája Novotny 15/5:09.112 8 David Poulter 15/5:16.087 9 Oskar Levin 14/5:00.867 10 Darren Bloomfield 4/1:40.945

2wd A final Leg 3
Having taken the 2wd win from the first two legs, Jorn sat out leg 3, which is the custom at the EOS events. Dustin lead the pack from the grid but got the first corner wrong after wheelying off the start - and so team manager Darren Bloomfield was into the lead.

Wheelie from the start Dustin lost control and WENT NUTS

One minute into the race though, Darren nudged a track marker and Dustin moved back through for the lead.

Dustin had to fight to keep second	Dustin regains the lead

Dustin Crashes - Polish driver Michal comes past	Michal Orlowski lead the third leg - 11 years old!

Dustin stormed off ahead and there was a decent gap back to 2nd place. An error coming off the corner tabletop allowed the 11 year old Polish hero Michal Orlowski through for the lead with his Tamiya Vega after he battled his way from 6th on the grid. The young star held his own for a while but Dustin was just faster and was soon on the back door of Michals car. The pair came through the chichane and Dustin showed he's got the moves like Jagger and didn't let off the power - passing for the lead.

Dustin chases Michal hard - but the young driver wasn't intimidated.

Dustin muscles his way past through the chicane	Michal was still pleased with second in leg

Dustin held on for the win in the final leg with Michal a second behind and Darren Bloomfield coming in third.

	2wd A Final Leg 3
	position name result 1 Dustin Evans 16/5:17.069 2 Michal Orlowski 16/5:18.522 3 Darren Bloomfield 16/5:22.496 4 Tom Cockerill 15/5:05.532 5 Hupo Hönigl 15/5:05.794 6 Matt Castelano 15/5:05.933 7 Kája Novotny 15/5:14.295 8 Oskar Levin 14/5:00.699 9 David Poulter 10/3:45.379 10 Jörn Neumann -

With so much happening in such a short time we appologise for not covering the 2WD SC properly.

	Short Course 2wd Overall final results.
	pos name Nat Pts rd1 rd2 rd3 1 Tom Bujara DE 2 13 5:19.634 (1)  13 5:20.126 (2)  13 5:19.733 (1)  2 Eberhard Beck DE 3 12 5:02.418 (2)  13 5:12.800 (1)  13 5:21.366 (2)  3 Gerd Strenge DE 6 12 5:14.123 (3)  12 5:07.951 (3)  12 5:21.366 (4)  4 Rene Levetzow AT 7 11 5:05.323 (4)  11 5:07.692 (4)  12 5:10.278 (3)  5 Lasse Soholt DK 11 11 5:22.492 (6)  10 5:23.801 (6)  11 5:17.315 (5)  6 Rasmus Schmidt DK 11 10 5:18.354 (7)  10 5:00.932 (5)  10 5:09.999 (6)  7 Karel Szotek CZ 12 11 5:18.259 (5)  9 5:02.625 (7)  - (-)  8 Harmut Wenzel DE 16 - (-)  - (-)  - (-)

After another brief break - it was time for the 4WD finals to begin. 4WD SC would be up first - and then run through from the lowest to the highest 4WD buggy finals. A short break between rounds where drivers were allowed a few minutes free practice allowed the 4WD A-Main drivers to recover and prepare their 4WD Short Course trucks for battle.

Gerd and DC really appreciate each other

OOOH! Mad cosplay action - ungh

Short Course 4wd A final Leg 1

The first leg of the 4WD SC was set to be a rematch between Jorn Neumann and Dustin Evans - Evans in the TQ spot had a terrible start as he misjudged the first jump and landed on the wrong side of the track as both Jorn and Hupo sailed past. Dustin quickly regained a position as Hupo got the next jump wrong and Jorn had a few car lengths lead out front.

Darren Bloomfield: - 'That was awesome'

	Short Course 4wd Leg 1
	position name result 1 Dustin Evans 15/5:05.313 2 Jörn Neumann 15/5:05.471 3 Hupo Hönigl 15/5:18.161 4 Matt Castelano 14/5:10.457 5 Kája Novotny 14/5:17.558 6 Sven Rudig 13/5:17.975 7 Daniel Kobbevik 13/5:20.111

4wd A final Leg 1
The first leg of 4wd a final is difficult to report on - Jorn pretty much flew off and never looked back, strolling away casually with the first leg win. Tom Cockerill was briefly in 3rd place but had to settle for 4th in the end to make way for the 1-2-3 Durango love train of Jorn, Hupo and Benni.

	4wd A Final Leg 1
	position name result 1 Jörn Neumann 17/5:14.819 2 Hupo Hönigl 16/5:03.724 3 Benni Gröschel 16/5:07.641 4 Tom Cockerill 16/5:08.330 5 Danny McGee 15/5:02.254 6 Joakim Nicolaisen 15/5:03.453 7 Michal Orlowski 15/5:03.940 8 Dustin Evans 15/5:04.324 9 Jesper Rasmussen 15/5:11.152 10 Matt Castelano 15/5:13.636

Short Course 4wd A final Leg 2
Dustin led the trucks away for SC4wd a leg 2, the top three pulled away from the other drivers and on the first lap Jorn collided with the side of Dustin's car and sent the Losi driver sideways. Jorn waited and this allowed Hupo to move into second as he flew past Jorn. A few corners later Jorn slipped back through past his team mate. One minute in and Hupo took a bad landing coming off the tabletop corner, needing repositioning by marshalls and dropping down a spot.

The battle for lead was in full swing up front, with Jorn chasing Dustin hard. Two minutes into the race Dustin crashed and tumbled off a track marker, Jorn was through into the lead.

Hupo Honigl dances in the only spot of sun on the track

Dustin makes an error but doesn't lose too much	Side by side action all the way

CHEEKY line - this time from Dustin as he looks for a sneaky way past Jorn

With the race into the final minute Dustin was charging hard, he attempted a brief man wrestle coming over the double double but couldn't make it stick, the pair made brief contact coming over the tabletop corner on the same lap but they both remained on their wheels and kept the same order. Pushing even harder now Dustin tried again to take the inside line coming over the doubles, but ended up nosediving onto the downramp as Jorn slipped away from his grasp a little, crossing the line seconds later to take the leg2 win just barely ahead of Dustin's RTR Losi car.

WOW!	The guys lift wheels as the finish the race

	Short Course 4wd Leg 2
	position name result 1 Jörn Neumann 15/5:03.435 2 Dustin Evans 15/5:03.782 3 Hupo Hönigl 14/5:08.186 4 Matt Castelano 14/5:10.245 5 Kája Novotny 14/5:16.735 6 Daniel Kobbevik 12/5:09.554 7 Sven Rudig 4/1:47.530

4wd A final Leg 2
Jörn lead the same Team Durango train as in leg one - pulling away a huge gap on a chasing Hupo, with Benni running third. Benni put

Bloomfield prepares Costellano's XX4	Scotty Ernst = HERO - tapes up track mid race.

Schumacher driver Jesper Rasmussen not only gets faster but doubles in height in just a year.

At half race distance Jorn had pulled a strong lead again, and was rapidly approaching the backmarkers. The real racing was going on further back in 2nd and 3rd place, where Hupo and Benni raced closely throughout the leg, It was Hupo who won the drag race down the straight taking 2nd place a fraction of a second ahead of team mate Benni.

Cockerill gets some marshalling assistance	THIS was the race - Hupo and Benni

Last corner - Benni takes the 'CHEEKY' line	The drag race for second - Hupo just took the win

No need for a third leg for Jörn, as he once again proves he's truly one of the best in the 4WD buggy class -we couldn't get him to pose with a blank face for this win because he said he loves this car too much not to smile.

	4wd A Final Leg 2
	position name result 1 Jörn Neumann 17/5:12.586 2 Hupo Hönigl 16/5:05.020 3 Benni Gröschel 16/5:05.075 4 Tom Cockerill 16/5:17.885 5 Danny McGee 15/5:04.344 6 Jesper Rasmussen 15/5:04.520 7 Joakim Nicolaisen 15/5:06.628 8 Matt Castelano 15/5:12.122 9 Michal Orlowski 12/4:13.258 10 Dustin Evans 5/1:48.589

There is a god - and he's into cosplay too	on second thoughts..... run away!

Short Course 4wd A final Leg 3
Hupo got off to a bad start in this one and then it was all about the front runners - Dustin and Jörn. Dustin wanted to come away with something after the disappointment of 2WD buggy but Jörn was more determined than ever to take this win against the surprisingly fast TLR driver.

Gridded up - let battle begin.	Youngster Daniel from Norway

Dustin goes wide - Jörn tucks inside

The race went nose to tail until Dustin went wide at the end of the straight and Jörn was quick to take the inside - the pair exchanged paintwork but Jörn was now in the lead. The pair lined up for the double-doubles and Jörn must have over-jumped or made some other error as Dustin stormed past to take the inside line at the next corner to regain the lead. It was a thrilling race and went right to the wire with Dustin just hanging on to the lead by less than a second - with a 24 second gap back to Hupo in third!!!!!!!!

Jörn and Dustin rub paint - but Jörn is past	A better run through the jumps - Dustin comes back

Intense action from the last leg of the 4WD Short Course main - Winner Dustin Evans leads

	Short Course 4wd Leg 3
	position name result 1 Dustin Evans 15/5:01.040 2 Jörn Neumann 15/5:01.953 3 Hupo Hönigl 15/5:25.743 4 Matt Castelano 14/5:06.044 5 Kája Novotny 14/5:13.438 6 Daniel Kobbevik 13/5:13.986 7 Sven Rudig 13/5:23.294

The 4WD Short Course class was a bit boring at the previous EOS series - this year it's probably the most exciting class to watch now that the Losi truck has a setup that's on pace with the dominant Durango trucks. Last EOS season Dustin was making up numbers in trucks and getting lapped - this time he's back with setup help from Darren Bloomfield and really showing his skills. It will be interesting to see what the Team Durango guys can come back with to compete.

	4WD Short Course Overall final results.
	pos name Nat Pts rd1 rd2 rd3 1 Evans Dustin US 2 15 5:05.313 (1)  15 5:03.782 (2)  15 5:01.040 (1)  Losi Ten SCTE 2 Neumann Jörn DE 3 15 5:05.471 (2)  15 5:03.435 (1)  15 5:01.953 (2)  Team Durango DESC410 3 Hönigl Hupo AT 6 15 5:18.161 (3)  14 5:08.186 (3)  15 5:25.743 (3)  Team Durango DESC410 4 Castelano Matt US 8 14 5:10.457 (4)  14 5:10.245 (4)  14 5:06.044 (4)  Losi Ten SCTE 5 Novotny Kája CZ 10 14 5:17.558 (5)  14 5:16.735 (5)  14 5:13.438 (5)  Team Durango DESC410 6 Kobbevik Daniel NO 12 13 5:20.111 (7)  12 5:09.554 (6)  13 5:13.986 (6)    7 Rudig Sven DE 13 13 5:17.975 (6)  4 1:47.530 (7)  13 5:23.294 (7)  Team Durango DESC410

4wd A final Leg 3
Having won the 4wd event from leg 2, Jorn again sat out for leg 3, leaving Hupo in pole position. Coming over the double double on the first lap Hupo crashed into an upturned Cockerill, allowing Benni through into the lead and now with a chasing Dustin up the rear. One minute into the race Hupo landed the double double on the wrong side of the track, he was now down to 3rd with Dustin chasing down Benni in the lead. A further error off the tabletop corner saw Hupo drop again down the order. By now Benni looked to be pulling a strong lead, and Dustin appeared to be on his own in 2nd - with a clear track though Dustin was chasing hard and soon moved in to challenge Benni for the lead. With the pressure mounting, Benni crashed over the double double and Dustin was now in control of the race.

Dustin was well ahead, and his main challenge in the final 30 seconds was the obstacle course of backmarkers and crashing traffic, but he made it through the carnage safely to take the leg 3 win.

	4wd A Final Leg 3
	position name result 1 Dustin Evans 16/5:03.742 2 Benni Gröschel 16/5:06.662 3 Michal Orlowski 16/5:13.021 4 Hupo Hönigl 16/5:14.299 5 Jesper Rasmussen 16/5:18.093 6 Matt Castelano 15/5:02.700 7 Danny McGee 15/5:05.545 8 Joakim Nicolaisen 15/5:06.102 9 Tom Cockerill 3/1:10.456 10 Jörn Neumann -

Despite his efforts in leg three and taking an impressive win - it was too late for Dustin this time and with his previous two round scores, he wouldn't make top three, which was a Team Durango lock out.

Reporting on the first round of this seasons EOS race wouldn't have been possible without the support of TLR, Horizon, DBoots, Spektrum, Team C, Proline, Vampire, Tonisport, and Dubidesign - so to them we extend our gratitude. With huge thanks also to Scotty Ernst and Uwe Rheinard for putting on an awesome show, to everyone involved in the planning, organisation and running of the race weekend, the drivers for entertainment and reporting content, and especially to everyone who did mad stuff to help keep our report oOple themed. Thank you also to everyone who supported our oOple cause by purchasing stickers and clothing -  showing love for the site and keeping us fed and watered. We hope to be able to attend future EOS events and will bring stock with us but will be limited due to luggage space, so anyone wishing to pre-order please contact Vicky.

The atmosphere at the EOS series is meant to be one of fun and the huge crowds of onlookers can only be good for the hobby / sport as they get a chance to see up close and personal the fun side and serious side of R/C racing. The rules at the EOS are loose and for that reason there's far more smiles and fun than you'd expect from a race containing so many talented drivers. Bringing people together from around the world is what it's all about - meeting new friends, being serious on the track and not quite so serious off it. Scotty Ernst and Uwe Rheinard have started something that's sure to grow and grow.

Thanks for reading our crazy report! - And don't forget If you want the FACTS please visit our friends at redrc.net, who have been very welcoming and helpful to us in attending this and previous EOS events. These guys are super professional and any redrc jokes in this report are meant only for fun - these guys have been very good to us and we appreciate their support and help.

We're looking forward to the next EOS race which is to be held at Langendeld in Germany on January 4th-6th 2013. Anyone wishing to enter the race can do so by following the link:
book in :
http://www.myrcm.ch/myrcm/main?pLa=de&sField=HostName&hId[1]=com&dId[E]=10106&sOrder=asc


See you there :)