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Japan WC: interviews with Strenge, Easton and Neumann (30/09/2015)

By:: Reporter
Linked to:: Spyder Buggy SRX-2 MM 2wd 1/10

Short Interview with Gerd Strenge

Q: Are you ready for the WC in Japan ?
A: Well after the test in Japan earlier this year, and some more races in astro in Europe we had many new idea’s and they all take time to design, proto-type, test and make, but yes in the end its a close call but we are ready

Q: You have been with Serpent before in 2006 when they initially took on your 1/10 4wd buggy design as Serpent S500; how is it to be back ?
A: Its my true passion to design rc cars and be involved in rc racing, and this same passion I find in the Serpent company. I started at Serpent in 2006 and we did well at the 2007 WC in Japan with both Neumann and Easton running the Serpent S500 4wd proto type and both making the main. Its been long time since and many things happened in the tough rc car market in the meantime, but for sure it feels great to be back. Serpent has grown so much since then, with now over 30 different rc cars in its line. Stronger than ever before.

Q: Billy has designed a really nice range of Spyder 1/10 buggies. What is the extra you bring for Serpent to the table ?
A: I know Billy for a long time and I respect his race and design capabilities a lot. As designers we have many things common, but also some different idea’s and can learn a lot from eachother. I am more the practical designer, as I dont use 3D design software. Together for sure we can create even better products. I have always focussed on shaft drive cars and that is where I have most experience , but for sure I also see the advantages of beltdrive cars. For this Worlds I expect the shaft-drive cars we bring to do better than the belt cars, as the griplevel is extremely high, but each Worlds is different, and only when all topguys run together you will really know what works best. We worked hard on all cars and parts for 2wd and 4wd and hope for the best !

Short Interview with Billy Easton ( designer and Worlds racer)

Q: Same question for you, are you also ready for the Worlds ?
A: Well you can never be 100% ready for the Worlds, because as a designer your mind continious all the time to improve the cars and parts even more. On my job as designer for Serpent I dont have much time to race anymore, as most time is focussed on design, test, check samples and all duties around that. So yes I am prepared but some parts did arrive last minute . However the factory did an amazing job to get ready the new parts we designed in time ! Last few bits and pieces to paint and pack and then its off to Japan !

Q: What cars will you be running at the Worlds ?
A: I will bring the current 2wd MM Spyder and the 4WD Spyder SRX4 as well as a number of other cars and parts we designed in the last months prior to the Worlds to cope best with the incredible traction the astro seems to offer. I only ran my cars on carpet once , otherwise only on very high grip clay, and I have not been able to attend the Worlds test. So in that respect i certainly do not have an advantage compared to some others. I did get and analysed the test-data from Gerd, Joern and Hupo from the Wc test in Japan and designed a number of new parts based on that and my own experience to date. Overall I think I have some really good packages for 2wd and 4wd and enough other stuff to play around with once we are in Japan.

Q: Serpent is bringing a number of cars to the Worlds to select the best package there to cope with the special grip levels at this 1st ever 1/10 buggy Worlds being indoor and on astro . This may mean that Joern, Hupo and you may run partially different cars ? What effect may that have ?
A: Its hard to know exactly what may happen. Running the same cars for sure has advantages as its easier to share the set-ups and compare notes. On the other hand on this superhigh level of racing, the set-up of the cars depends also so much on driving style and personal preferences that its quite hard anyway to really copy each others set-ups. At a big race as the Worlds you only have limited time to find the best set-up for your package. Even when we are running partially different cars, we can still look at each others runs and give feedback and advice, discuss and improve set-ups for that package, to get the best out of it.

Short Interview with Joern Neumann

Q: How many WCs in 1/10 scale did you race to date and what was the best result ?
A: I have raced 4 World Championships already, Italy, Japan, Finnland, USA. My best results were TQ in USA and 2nd overall in Finnland both in 4WD . I made the A-main all 4 WC’s.

Q: Do you recall which position in qualify and final you reached at the 2007 WC in Japan in 4wd with the prototype Serpent S500 ?
A: I think I qualified 7th and finished 8th overall, if I remember correctly:)

Q: Which cars will you run at the WC in Japan and why ?
A: In 2wd I will start of with the Spyder SRX2 MM with a number of new parts Billy designed. Its has the motor more to the front and lower, an alu chassis and some more tweaks. In case traction is superhigh we may play another card.
In 4wd I will most likely use the prototype Spyder SRX4 shaftcar that we made, as I am very much used to shaft cars in 4wd. For sure the belt-drive SRX4 is very well balanced, agile and responsive, but I just need more time to learn how to get more speed out of it on high grip tracks.

Q: Whats your opinion about running a WC indoor and on astro ?
A: I like to race outdoors, but most of the time the weather play not in our cards. This time it cant happen, so that's not a factor. Most of the time in Europe we race on astro or carpet, I really like it and it seems like the japanese people enjoy it as well, so they decided to held the Worlds for the first time on astro. We will see how it work out.

Q: What are your goals for the WC, as you already showed such good results with Serpent this year also at the EC and EOS ?
A: My highest goal ofcourse is to win both classes at the WC. I will do all I can to achieve that.