DHI Cup 2008

During the weekend of 11-13 of January, Denmark was once again the host to the massive international DHI Cup, a collection of top RC touring car drivers from top manufacturers and countries around the world. Drivers from as far as Japan and all over Europe descended upon the southern town of Odense to do battle in what's become the first major electric touring car race of the year 2008!

Friday the 11th:

Jilles' new Tamiya TRF416, picture by partner site RedRc.net

The first real day of the DHI. The drivers had 4 practice rounds and one qualifier. The practice rounds went pretty smooth. Al the drivers weren't pushing hard, but just exploring the conditions. It was Alexander Hagberg who made with his XRay 18 laps in 304.08 seconds, the fastest run in during the practice sessions. After these practice rounds it was time for the first qualifier. This was the moment to see how every one was standing. This first qualifier was really close, with some great driving skills in heat 21. Jilles Groskamp took with his new Tamiya the TQ of the day just in front of Teemu Leino, Viktor Wilck and the World Champion Andy Moore. Juho Leavanen was setting a great pace, but slowed down in the end of the qualifier. Here are the results of day one:

Pos. Name nationality car Time
1 Jilles Groskamp Netherlands Tamiya TRF416 19L 315.23
2 Teemu Leino Finland XRay T2'008 19L 316.27
3 Viktor Wilck Sweden Tamiya TRF416 19L 316.28
4 Andy Moore England Hot-Bodies Cyclone 19L 316.48
5 Juho Levanen Finland Associated TC5 19L 318.38
6 Steen Graversen Denmark Kyosho Stallion 18L 300.95
7 Ronald Volker Germany Hot-Bodies Cyclone 18L 301.43
8 Shin Adachi Japan Kyosho Stallion 18L 302.09
9 Marc Rheinard Germany Tamiya TRF416 18L 303.49
10 Alexander Hagberg Sweden XRay T2'008 18L 303.79

A Danish website called RacerRc.dk have made some interviews:

Jilles Groskamp: http://www.rctv.dk/Jilles_DHI_Cup_2008.wmv

Atsushi Hara: http://www.rctv.dk/Atsushi_DHI_Cup_2008.wmv

Ronald Volker: http://www.rctv.dk/Ronald_DHI_Cup_2008.wmv

Graig Drescher: http://www.rctv.dk/Craig_DHI_Cup_2008.wmv

 

Saturday the 12th:

Teemu Leino setting the pace with his XRay, picture made by RedRc.net

This was the deciding day about the starting order of Sundays finals. There were 4 qualifiers rounds held on Saturday and 1 on Friday, with 3 of the 5 to count. In the first qualifing round it was Steen Graversen who took the the first spot in front of Viktor Wilck and Jilles Groskamp, who was still in first place after these to rounds. In the round 3 was Teemu Leino setting the pace in front of Andy Moore and Steen Graversen. Jilles Groskamp made a little mistake in this round and handed over the lead after these 3 rounds to Steen Graversen and his Kyosho. The fourth round was totally dominated by the great team work of the Tamiya Team. Viktor Wilck took the first place in front of Jilles Groskamp and Marc Rheinard. This gave Viktor Wilck the lead after round 4 in front of Jilles Groskamp and Teemu Leino. Round 5 was the deciding round. Teemu Leino showed some great driving making the first spot with 19 laps in 5 minutes 03.03 seconds. Viktor Wilck had unfortuntly crashed his car while Jilles Groskamp was setting a TQ pace to beat time of Teemu. But unfortunately Jilles lost the TQ by hitting the turn marshal who was busy with Viktor Wilcks car. This gave the following starting order:

Pos. Name nationality car
1 Teemu Leino Finland XRay T2'008
2 Viktor Wilck Sweden Tamiya TRF416
3 Steen Graversen Denmark Kyosho Stallion
4 Jilles Groskamp Netherlands Tamiya TRF416
5 Andy Moore England Hot-Bodies Cyclone
6 Alexander Hagberg Sweden XRay T2'008
7 Martin Hudy Slovakia XRay T2'008
8 Juho Levanen Finland Associated TC5
9 Marc Rheinard Germany Tamiya TRF416
10 Ronald Volker Germany Hot-Bodies Cyclone

RacerRC.dk has also made today some new interviews:

Steen Graversen: http://www.rctv.dk/SteenGraversen_DHI_Cup_2008.wmv

Martin Lissau: http://www.rctv.dk/MartinLissau_DHI_Cup_2008.wmv

Andy Moore: http://www.rctv.dk/AndyMoore_DHI_Cup_2008.wmv

and Oscar Jansen talking about how to avoid exploding cells: http://www.rctv.dk/OscarJansen_DHI_Cup_2008.wmv

 

Sunday, the 13th:

Teemu Leino, picture made by racegallery.dk

The final and last day of the DHI Cup with 2 of the 3 finals to count. Teemu Leino had taken the first leg under pressure of the Tamiya of Viktor Wilck. This long battle ended just 30 seconds for the end when Viktor Wilck hit a dot and rolled over. The defending DHI Cup Champion Ronald Volker managed to climb up from the 10th spot to 3rd position. Early on in the race was Jilles Groskamp hit by Juho Leavanen, who took the 4th spot. Jilles had his body stuck and dropped way down to the 10th spot. Here are the result from the first final:

Pos. Qual. Name nationality car Time
1 1 Teemu Leino Finland XRay T2'008 19L 309.05
2 2 Viktor Wilck Sweden Tamiya TRF416 19L 310.15
3 10 Ronald Volker Germany Hot-Bodies Cyclone 19L 314.35
4 8 Juho Levanen Finland Associated TC5 19L 315.78
5 6 Alexander Hagberg Sweden XRay T2'008 18L 300.17
6 9 Marc Rheinard Germany Tamiya TRF416 18L 300.63
7 2 Steen Graversen Denmark Kyosho Stallion 18L 301.82
8 5 Andy Moore England Hot-Bodies Cyclone 18L 302.46
9 7 Martin Hudy Slovakia XRay T2'008 18L 304.19
10 4 Jilles Groskamp Netherlands Tamiya TRF416 18L 306.24

Here's a video of the first A-Main: http://www.rctv.dk/DHI_CUP_2008_A_Finale_Modified_01.wmv

Viktor Wilck, picture made by racegallery.dk

The second final started for the most drivers better than the first. Teemu Leino and Viktor Wilck raced once again very close. After 7 laps Teemu Leino hit some dots and returned in 3rd position behind Steen Graversen and in front of Jilles Groskamp. This gave Viktor Wilck the win in the second final, despite the great pace of Teemu Leino after the accident. Here are the full standing of the second final:

Pos. Qual. Name nationality car Time
1 2 Viktor Wilck Sweden Tamiya TRF416 19L 308.17
2 2 Steen Graversen Denmark Kyosho Stallion 19L 311.13
3 9 Marc Rheinard Germany Tamiya TRF416 19L 312.38
4 1 Teemu Leino Finland XRay T2'008 19L 312.70
5 8 Juho Levanen Finland Associated TC5 19L 316.33
6 4 Jilles Groskamp Netherlands Tamiya TRF416 18L 299.32
7 7 Martin Hudy Slovakia XRay T2'008 18L 300.85
8 6 Alexander Hagberg Sweden XRay T2'008 18L 303.05
9 5 Andy Moore England Hot-Bodies Cyclone 18L 309.04
10 10 Ronald Volker Germany Hot-Bodies Cyclone   1L   31.22

Here's a video of the second A-Main: http://www.rctv.dk/DHI_CUP_2008_A_Finale_Modified_02.wmv

 

The third final started with a heave battle between Teemu Leino and Viktor Wilck, follewed by Jilles Groskamp who had te retire later on the race with some problems with his car. Teemu Leino had hit some dots again and Viktor Wilck took the DHI Cup win. Andy Moore had also some problems with his car and to retire after four laps. Teemu Leino had also some problems at the end of the race and didn't finish the race. This gave the following standings:

Pos. Qual. Name nationality car Time
1 2 Viktor Wilck Sweden Tamiya TRF416 19L 310.29
2 6 Alexander Hagberg Sweden XRay T2'008 19L 313.01
3 10 Ronald Volker Germany Hot-Bodies Cyclone 19L 313.98
4 2 Steen Graversen Denmark Kyosho Stallion 19L 314.83
5 9 Marc Rheinard Germany Tamiya TRF416 19L 315.92
6 8 Juho Levanen Finland Associated TC5 18L 305.92
7 1 Teemu Leino Finland XRay T2'008 17L 289.25
8 7 Martin Hudy Slovakia XRay T2'008 17L 305.96
9 4 Jilles Groskamp Netherlands Tamiya TRF416   9L 227.55
10 5 Andy Moore England Hot-Bodies Cyclone   4L   90.95

And gave the following overall final standings:

Pos. Qual. Name nationality car ESC Motor
1 2 Viktor Wilck Sweden Tamiya TRF416 LRP Sphere TC Orion Vortex
2 1 Teemu Leino Finland XRay T2'008 LRP Sphere TC Orion Vortex
3 2 Steen Graversen Denmark Kyosho Stallion Nosram Matrix Orion Vortex
4 10 Ronald Volker Germany Hot-Bodies Cyclone LRP Sphere TC LRP X11
5 6 Alexander Hagberg Sweden XRay T2'008 LRP Sphere TC LRP X11
6 9 Marc Rheinard Germany Tamiya TRF416 LRP Sphere TC Checkpoint
7 8 Juho Levanen Finland Associated TC5 LRP Sphere TC Reedy One
8 4 Jilles Groskamp Netherlands Tamiya TRF416 Nosram Matrix SpeedPassion
9 7 Martin Hudy Slovakia XRay T2'008 LRP Sphere TC Orion Vortex
10 5 Andy Moore England Hot-Bodies Cyclone Nosram Matrix Orion Vortex

 

Source: Redrc.net