Day 1 21 March 2008
Wild winds and hail saw in the early morning of day one of the neo08 but it didn't last long and soon the sun was out - it was still cold though.

Stu Evans - Nortech Piecar

Practice got underway at 9:30am - round one practice is only 5 minutes but rounds two and three are a full 10 minutes long, which will allow drivers to get used to the format the qualifying will use. The first round wasn't timed but from round 2 onward the timing system was active. Even if it's just practice for now, it should be an indicator of who's quick.

Team Associated have one of the strongest teams here and the big guy himself, Craig Drescher is here piloting his RC8 for what looks like the first time (it's that clean). Craig has practiced the last couple of weekends prior to this event however, to get used to driving his 8th scale.

Lee martin showed us some of the new parts on / going on his RC8 for this meeting. A new prototype 4 degree rear block, new lightweight axles and input shafts, and a new top brace.

Lee was also running the new JConcepts double dees tyres, in 'blue' compound. Ryan Maifield is running them also.

New front top brace

New light weight parts

4 degree rear toe-in prototype part

New JConcepts tyres - double dees

Ishima Racing have one of their cars here, being driven by Bart Loomans. The car looks pretty interesting with the laid down shocks - but seems to go against the fashion with their small diameter.

Andy Moore and Marc Rheinard are here again - for Andy Moore, this is still only his second 8th off race ever! Masayuki Miura is here again, over from Japan to maintain the cars for the star Hot Bodies drivers.

Some of the Hot Bodies drivers had some new shocks on their Lightning 2 Pro Evo's - these are monster sized, which seems to be popular these days.

Masayuki Miura from Hot Bodies / Hpi Japan

The new shocks are big daddys!

The top ten fastest laps in round two (the first timed round) of qualifying was as follows:

Taylor James from the USA driving the HongNor X1CR was quickest with a 42.46 second lap - but it was Adam Drake with only the 13th quickest lap that put most laps in, though since this is practice neither times (fastest lap, or overall time) are concrete indicators.

Fastest overall in practice 2:

With very changeable weather and temperatures outside, the track surface inside could change from one heat to the next, which can easily affect laptimes. On day one we've had hail, rain, cold winds, and bright, warm sunshine.

Toward the end of round two of practice the hail started blowing through the large doors and onto the track, so the doors were promptly closed and the hall cast into relative darkness.

The track is actually better lit than in previous times since new white lights have been installed prior to this event.

Joern Neuman is running the Serpent prototype

10th off road specialist Kev Lee, marshalling

Interview with Joseph Quagraine / JQ Products

How many years have you been racing for, and what do you most enjoy?
Been racing for 8 years, and I most enjoy the travelling and meeting new people.

Who or what is your biggest influence in racing?
Jukka Stenari and Teemu Leimo, I am inspired by their accomplishments.

What result are you the most proud of, and what would you like to achieve this year?
I've won the Nordic championship 4 times, and I qualified 2nd at the 2005 Euros.
This year I'd like to complete the production of the car which I am developing, and race it at the Worlds.

What is your favourite flavour cheese?
I'm not really a big fan of cheese, but Emmental is my favourite. I think the best invention ever is the cheese slicer. I don't like cutting my cheese with a knife, I like it properly sliced.

How do you stay calm and focussed when you are racing at a major event?
I don't, I can't focus due to being retarded. I have a retardation which prevents me from concentrating on anything for long.

What advice can you offer to new drivers who wish to race competitively?
Number one is practice, lots and lots. Two would be learn how to set up your car properly how you like it. Other peoples set ups may not be what is right for you.

What is your latest venture with Himoto?
Himoto fund the development of the car which I am designing (8th offroad buggy). I invest my time and knowledge. Can't release any details just yet. We're also looking at producing a 1/10th scale offroad buggy in the future.

Where do you see yourself in 10 years time?
In ten years time I think I will still be racing, but not at 100% competitive level.
I will have won all my championships by then, so I'll just be racing for fun. Also I'd like to be living in a warm, sunny, english speaking country, not sure where though.

Stu's guest question: Have you ever tried proper English beer? Real cask ale?
Err, no, I don't think so. Maybe you'll buy me one here? I have had beer in this country, but I don't think it was real cask ale.

In round three - the final practice round, Lee Martin was the quickest, going on the best single lap, closely followed by team mate, Neil Cragg.

The heats were re-seeded (but NOT entirely) going on the fastest three consecutive laps. Fast driver's that hadn't had a good time in practice weren't punished and dropped to the lowest heat - so common sense seems to have still been used.

Mike Truhe took the second and final round of timed practice (practice round three) - below is the top ten of the two combined timed practice rounds - Adam Drake got his time in round one, whilst Mike got his in round two.

Position

Name

Overall after 3RD practice

1

Adam Drake

14/10m 22.98

2

Mike Truhe

14/10m 25.02

3

Richard Saxton

14/10m 28.52

4

Chad Bradley

14/10m 35.27

5

Riccardo Rabitti

14/10m 38.35

6

Tim Bremicker

14/10m 40.70

7

Neil Cragg

14/10m 41.28

8

Lee Martin

14/10m 41.36

9

Borja Hernandez Cordoba

14/10m 41.84

10

Yannick Aigoin

14/10m 41.96