Day one of the neo09 race started early - the banging of race gear being forced down the poorly sound proofed on-site accomodation was the only alarm clock we needed. Despite the early start however it wasn't until 8:40am that practice finally got underway - a full 40 minutes later than originall scheduled - but the start time was subsequently changed to 8:30am due to several drivers having 'trouble' giving their frequencies which caused big problems with organsation.

Round one wasn't finished until after 11am and was crowned with the electric 8th buggies. Most of the top drivers were doing both classes and for the most part were quicker with their electric cars than the noisy nitro beasts. Ryan Maifield was the quickest with the electric - getting several sub-40 second laps whilst being unable to crack the 40's in nitro.

This years track is packed with more small features than last year. The big jumps are there of course, but there is also a glut of off camber corners, level changes and small whoops & rolls. These make it VERY difficult to hold the correct line throught the full lap. Adding more difficulty are areas of the racing line that are partially hidden as viewed from the rostrum. The cars dissapear from view for only a split second before and after some of the critical sections, which disturbs the driving rhythm.

Hupo Honigl - LRP Electric 8th	Maifield goes past Rabitti

Cavalieri didn't run in his first electric heat because he hadn't had a chance to run the car prior to the meeting and apparently hadn't figured out how to setup his Mamba Monster Max speedo yet. We're sure he'll be quick tho.

James Helliwell holds up his 44.4v MEGA LIPO

Last minute starterbox adjustments by Damian Whittle
Damo mentioned this is 'reet ard' - meaning racing around the massive track.

Practice round two started at about 11.30am. Practice day will see three rounds of 10 minute practice - the best three laps will go toward re-seeding the drivers in their respective heats for the qualifying which starts Saturday.

At ~12:30 in the afternoon we finally got power for the laptop and can at last write from the relative comfort of our little pitting space.

Mid afternoon we decided to take a look around the pits at the various electric cars in use at the neo. The variations are nothing short of stunning - with some pretty standard looking conversions all the way up to fully custom machined chassis and even the plastic fantastic Hot Bodies car.

The only car we could not see as yet was the Manolis car - due to the fact that he'd not actually made it yet. I'm sure we'll see more from the crazy haired Greek legend.

The Durango electric 8th scale car is one of a kind and whilst it still features Losi suspension parts in this relatively early stage - the rest of the car is shaping up nicely.
The narrow alloy chassis is widened with carbon fibre side pods in this prototype

Gerd Pfeifer from Germany has a custom made Associated RC8 electric conversion - with help from Gerd Strenge of Team Durango.

Ishima have their new BEAST fully on display. Were not sure what it's called - but it's got an E on there, so it must be electric. The big whopping centrally mounted Mamba Monster motor is another clue.
The bodyshell is very low compared to traditional 8th buggies - looking a lot more like an electric 10th scale buggy.

Adam Skelding of EDIT & Hot Bodies was running a coverted prototype Electric-D8, but the thing worth talking about was the 10th scale Nosram ISTC brushless ESC that's somehow (we're not sure how - weetabix?) powering his buggy to enormous speeds and surviving the 14.8 volts of MAD POWER.
Don't try this at home however - Adam has specially modified his ESC for the voltage and this same conversion should soon see the light of day on a production version meant for 8th buggies / high voltages.

I never thought I'd see a time when the Noram ISTC would be described as a 'micro ESC' - this is MADNESS.

The biggest news on the 8th Electric front is possibly the new Hot Bodies production 8th scale electric. The car is ultra narrow (for an 8th) and features a moulded composite chassis (plastic to you and me) which looks tough enough to handle the abuse this car will surely get.
The car features mechanical brakes just like its nitro brother - but smaller than usual. The motor mount slides sideways to mesh with the centre differential.

Unfortunately it doesn't seem like Hara will be running the electric class - apparently lack of electrics and his focus on the nitro class have conspired against us seeing this fantastic car in action. Personally I think he just doesn't like the bodyshell colour!

Walking about the pits is the best way to appreciate how international the competitors are. The variation in languages being spoken is immense, there is much chattering in tongues that we ingnorant English speakers can only guess at. Maybe they are all cursing oOple for not taking anything seriously enough, or maybe exclaiming their love (but hopefully not man-love). Our USA accented friends are also here in droves. As we are so used to their funky-speak from TV and films we forget how far they have come for this event, the USA is further away than Filey would you believe.

Some of the top drivers like Richard Saxton - mentioning no names - have been seen to 'take advantage' of the layout to slightly bypass a corner on the track coming off the tabletop, to reduce the chances of this tomorrow, a 'bear trap' (series of pressure triggered atomic butt plugs) will be installed at vulnerable corners to prevent corner-cutting.

In nitro practice rd 1 Tebo came out tops, with the fastest 3 consecutive laps, Saxton and Cavalieri were close behind.

In Rd2 nitro practice it was Saxton who took the lead, with his newfound cheeky-corner technique which was found to save him up to an entire second per lap. Lutz, Cragg, Tebo and Elliott Boots also made up the top five in this round.

Ryan Maifield was showing his speed in round 1 Electric practice, with Lee Martin hot on his substantial tail. In round 2 electric practice Riccardo Rabitti, Lee Martin and Ryan Cavalieri made up the top three fastest cars.

Manolis likes to pit on the floor

Cosy laptop setups - Rob Nelsons campervan setup on the left, and Phils race office on the right.

With all the camera gear to bring, Phil could only squeeze in a flannel and towel for this weekends necessities. Ben Jemison wouldn't fit in a suitcase, we tried.

Car over jump - some warrior.

Nortech FISTER PIE car - Stu Evans 2009 hero dancer.

Some mad stuff kicked off toward the end of the third and final round of practice on day one there was suddenly an 'emergency call' over the tannoy system - asking for DXR security on the track quickly. EVERYBODY TO-A-MAN ofcourse piled like cattle through the narrow door - pretending they themselves were aforementioned 'security' - like some mass rubbernecking frenzy.

"It was like Rocky 5 - you know, that film":- Stu Evans, Who didn't actually see it.

A racing incident lead to fisticuffs which spilled onto the main straight with cars still circulating! Lee Martin it would appear was the target of some volitile Spanish temprement from Borja Hernandez and his father, who apparently tag-teamed Lee. Details were sketchy with various reports of punches and scrappages.
We caught up with Lee Martin for the FACTS and he was candid in his telling of the incident - which ended with him being choked but not actually punched. Lee was happy for the Spanish driver and his dad to stay and race so it seems all is forgiven and the wild spanish temprement lives to fight another day - or not we hope.

For tomorrow's qualifying team oOple drivers are spread over four of the bottom five heats. From Damo in heat 2, up to Stu in heat 5. This may sound like we are all a bit poo, but thats not the case. We are superstars, in the mix with super-heroes. The top drivers today seem to have tamed the difficult track, where we have just been surviving. We will improve, we will dominate - not.