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Full Online coverage articles and videos from the 2010 Euros provided by Neobuggy.net Team Pro-Line, Savoya and Batlle, take the top 2 podium positions Savoya becomes a
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Finalists: drivers & mechanics The track after all racing had finished
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 As defending champions through Renaud Savoya in 2009, and a strong performance at the warm up, Pro-Lines team drivers had reason to be confident for strong finishes at the 2010 Euros. However things havent gone entirely to plan; the main reasons lie in the track surfaces changes between the warm up and the actual Euros. In a top-level race like the Euros tyre choice is critical and can easily determine whether you have a strong result or a race to forget. Going into the Euros the information was that the PL Caliber tyre was the favoured one at the warm up; being used in M2 and M3 compounds at that race, thus the PL team drivers prepared accordingly; going out on those in practice.
 In the weeks leading up to the Euros the organisers prepped the track significantly; hardpacking sections that had cut up horribly at the warm up, as well as applying dustex/frisol to bind the surface together and keep the dust down. The effects of this were clear immediately; the track behaved differently from the off, but in particular come qualifying the touring car style S section of the track had more or less blue grooved as the application of dustex had encouraged a lot of rubber to be laid down. Coupled with the addition of egg-resembling concrete corners the grip levels on track varied a lot.
 The track at the start of the event
In the following video Craig Drescher talks and shows us the 2010 Euros track in detail.
As Craig describes below, the Caliber worked fantastically well on the loose surface of the jumps but wasnt as strong in the rubbered-in S section which has turned out to be a major area for winning or losing time over a lap.
However towards the end of qualifying things were settling down a bit, but it seems the PL guys were having to work harder to find the pace at this particular track. Speaking with the drivers this wasnt necessarily a bad thing as when things arent going swimmingly; the PL drivers pull together and pool information. Recognising they have a better chance of doing well if they share their experiences, at the end of quali the top 16 go direct to the semis, of which 4 were on Pro-Line tyres: Renaud Savoya, Jerome Sartel, Robert Batlle and Neil Cragg.
Taking a step back, qualifying was tough for the Pro-Line guys; struggling a bit to find a tyre/compound/insert package that could match the pace of others over the 5 minute quali run. However qualifying is over and essentially the race for the final starts now and anything can happen.
Remember at the warm up the track declined significantly and PL were strong with the Caliber tyres. Between qualifying and the ¼ finals and semis there is a lot of racing to be done And over the course of qualifying larger ruts have appeared every day and the track has only got tougher and tougher, so it could be that the balance could begin to sway back towards the big PL as the higher finals roll around. A massive opportunity for the 4 PL guys will be the semi practice; as well as observing the earlier mains and track conditions.
In terms of bodies we spoke with Reno and Robert about the ‘Bulldog’ bodies and their advantages; a small but important improvement in steering, but above all the engine runs a few degrees celcius cooler. Vital in the hot conditions we are experiencing at the Euros and something that can play a major part in the longer finals.
As you can see both Drescher & Batlle opted to run the Bulldog body in qualifying, Batlle strapped it up in the last few rounds to finish in the top 16 whilst Drescher ended up 25th overall.
In conclusion, we still have the finals to go, but thus far Pro-Line haven’t had the Euros they were hoping and working towards, however a lot can still happen. The majority of this has to do with the unique nature of the Guarda track; changed layout and significant surface changes have all played a part in the PL drivers’ slow start to qualifying. That said though the rate at which they have improved during the five rounds has been impressive, in particular Savoya battling to a 4th qualifying place and a great result for Sartel in the last round promoting him to 6th. It would be foolish to discount the experienced PL just yet…
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Following on from our Part 1 article published after qualifying, here is Part 2 of ‘Pro-Line @ The Euros’. We ended the first part of the Pro-Line @ the Euros article with a prediction that the track could come towards the Pro-Line runners; they had a tough time during qualifying, anticipating track conditions would be more similar to the warm up. Ironically this cost them in quali but this focus on a torn up track may have contributed to their team drivers success in the final where the track did have deep holes, ruts and bumps. Things werent looking so bright after quali and perhaps a betting man should have put a few dollars on a PL 1,2 The turning point was the semi final with the top guys not on track from the end of Q5 until semi practice, they had to re-learn their lines and we saw quite a few drivers descend onto the track for a quick walk… Click Read More
 In the first semi Robert Batlle pushed Yannick (on Losi XBTs) Robert looked quicker and so it proved as he took the win easily, the first doubts about a Yannick Aigoin Euros sweep started to creep in at this point, more so backed up when Renaud won his semi final by a canter, despite missing his last lap he would start 2nd. Already a Pro-Line pole for the final, the balance of power in terms of tyres seemed to have shifted slightly that, and Robert and Reno know how to do finals racing at European championships.
 As the main started Yannicks quest for a TQ & title faded, not able to match the pace of Robert and Renaud out front, Yannick was also denied a potential 3rd place consolation as he flamed out. It was clear from 10-15mins in that the final was between Robert and Renaud both using the Pro-Line Bow-Fighter combination in the M2 compound. Robert held the early advantage and Renaud looked to have given Robert a huge gift as he crashed twice within the space of 10secs; only for Robert, perhaps distracted to crash and hand all the time and more back to Reno. As the final progressed it seemed Reno was able to carry more speed around the track; his car looking comfortable and very fast, whilst Roberts title challenged began to ebb away as his refuelling strategy was inferior to Renos. And so it was, Reno continued to open up more of a gap to Robert, now with Miguel behind him, albeit a lap back. Not the greatest final to watch, but from a 1/8 Buggy historical perspective a special moment to witness as Reno claimed his 3rd consecutive European title; a feat never accomplished before. Does this make him the best European champion ever ? Well technically Yes, but he has two World championships to win before he can challenge the great Maurizio Monesi of Italy
 From 4 PL drivers in the top 16 after quali, compared with AKAs 9 (Reckward used AKA rather than his own Tourex), Pro-Line had the strongest result in the final: 4 Pro-Line (all Bow Fighter), 3 AKA, 3 JConcepts, 2 Losi of which they finished 1,2. PL driver Neil Cragg bombed out of the semis with engine problems, but there to replace him in the final was Spanish Mugen/Reds driver Alberto Garcia, backed by the strong Spanish trackside supporters.
 As mentioned both Robert and Reno opted for the Bow-Fighter M2 combination, first seen a few years ago in the US by the Losi drivers, since adopted as a solid option for consistent speed for longer finals. The differences start to appear if we examine their tyres after the 45 minute final
Renaud Savoya: Click to enlarge 
Robert Batlle: Click to enlarge What is very obvious is the huge difference in rear tyre wear on Savoyas Mugen buggy, his Bow-ties looking like theyve been through a serious work out, compared with Roberts which look in much better shape. In particular Renos right rear tyre has seen a lot of wear concentrated to the center and inside lugs to the point that its almost bald. The front Crime Fighters on both cars look fairly similar, possibly Roberts the slightly more worn of the one-two finishers.
Going into the Euros Savoya looked a likely candidate for the win having won the warm up and driven the track several times, qualifying didnt go according to plan as he struggled with the resurfaced track, tyre selection and inconsistent conditions. At that stage Yannick was on fine form TQing Q1 & Q3 on ProCircuit tyres, Q5 on Losi XBT, Q2 & Q4 going to AKA runners Jerome Aigoin & Miguel Matias. Savoyas performance wasn’t exactly bad, but certainly below his expectations having TQ’d the past two years Euros. Reporting on the race we couldnt see how Savoya could claim that tantalising 3rd title with the pace of the drivers around him, but this is offroad at its best; the storyline twisting and turning to a point where its anyones guess. For Pro-Line as a team, it came good in the end, one could say when it mattered they had the right driver on the right tyres at the right time, not only one but two of them.
  A massive thank you to Pro-Line for the coverage sponsorship for this years Euros, its the 2nd year they have supported Neo Buggys Euros coverage. I would also like to thank you all for checking out Neo Buggy for coverage of the Euros, hope you enjoyed it!
2008, 2009, 2010 = History
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