INSIDE THIS ISSUE

1. Europa Cup-St Martins Le Beau, France
2. Rounds 1 & 2
3. Rounds 3 & 4
4. Rounds 5 & 6
5. The Semi Finals
6. The Final
7. Picture Gallery

The weekend of 7/8/9th September saw the third and final round of this year's FAI Pylon Racing's Europa Cup. For the fourth year running the third round of the championship would be held at the French Modele Air Club Commandant Tulasne (MACCT). With 45 competitors from 8 nations this would be the biggest entry the competition had seen.

The format of the Europa Cup Championships consists of three competitions held in Italy, Czech Republic and France. Each competition involves six rounds of racing of which five times count. Although the competition also includes semi finals and a final to determine the overall event winner, only your position at the end of the qualifying rounds scores Europa Cup points, with your best two results counting towards the championship.

So far this year Paolo Mucedola (Italy) had won round one in Milan, but Robbert Van Den Bosch (Holland) had equaled the score by winning round two in Melnik so round three would be a case of winner takes all. Robbert, had won the Europa Cup in 1997 and 1999 and was intent on taking it for a third time. Paulo was equally determined to be the victor. As for the individual event, hot favourites would also include Jean Yves Perret (France), recently crowned French National Champion, and Carlo Perella (Italy), who after a period of absence due to College exams was confidently predicting a return to winning ways.

Pylon racing has enjoyed a renaissance in Europe in recent years and this competition would see pilots attending from Russia and, new kids on the block, Spain. This would be the first international for the two pilots from Spain who have enjoyed FAI pylon racing in their own country for five years now. Using Rossi and MVVS engines they would be somewhat off the pace for this year but they are taking delivery of German designed Dago Innovations and Dutch MB engines so opposition watch out, especially as these guys enjoy the luxury of racing during the warm winter months. Britain with a team, six strong would be looking for a good result whilst Italy, had the unique claim of providing three pilots from the same family. The Tosi family, an entire flying unit, would see both Father and two Sons competing.

Sept 7th would be for official practice although the French and Italian pilots had been using the facilities from the start of the week, something us Brits can only dream of. Not much to report on here as the writer got lost twice on the way down to the event so didn't arrive until late on in the day when most people had packed up, still the real event was yet to come.

We woke up to a morning, which was cool overcast and slightly windy. Typical weather for us Brits this would be just like a regular race meeting. Good result on the cards I think.

Round 1

Early racing saw Les Knott kick the Brits off to a good start with a 77 seconds. This was quickly followed by Phil Greeno (Race 4) with a promising 69.3. Frantiek Hovorka (Czech) looked faster lapping Phil and recording a 63 seconds but two cuts would leave him harbouring a big fat zero. Bruce Illingworth took to the stage in race five but a failure to start the engine within the specified minute would leave him with a zero. Remember, as pilots can only drop one time from six this would put tremendous pressure on Bruce if he were to fight for a place in the semis.

Race seven saw the next British entrants Alan Laurie and Paul Bardoe. A four man heat, Paul and Benoit Leclerc (France) failed to get away recording instant zeros, leaving Alan to let his flying do the talking and record a 66.1 easily beating Germany's Hans-Joachim Schaller on 73.00.

Race eight saw two of the competition's favourites Robbert Van Den Bosch and Carlo Perella in a head to head. As a Europa cup race matrix means that you race against the same pilots through all six rounds this would provide an interesting guide as too how strong Perella's challenge over Robberts dominance would be. Also involved would be Bernard Brun (France) and new contender Roberto Sedes (Spain).

Robbert immediately stamped his dominance on the race taking an early lead, leaving Perella to race against Bernard. After some close racing Carlo finally passes Bernard but Robbert has disappeared into the distance. Although Carlo tried to give chase, Robbert came home an easy winner recording a 63.5 with Carlo on a respectable 66.9.

The final member of the British team Roger (Frank) Spencer would fly in race 9. Having lost two models in dramatic fashion at the British Nationals in August, Frank was left with a Raptor, previously unflown. Problems with the radio gear had prevented any test flying during practice day so this race would be done cold. Once airborne Frank proceeded to negotiate his way tentatively round the course flying a smooth but high course. Although the plane looked quick, a wide course left Frank one lap down although a 73.9 certainly showed promise for the competition ahead.

Round Two

Race thirteen, unlucky for some would see Andre Tesslaar (Holland) record the first of four no times. This would see him fall from his current 6th place to 41st by the end to the competition. Perret looked in form for a semi place recording a 70.4 and Les' sub eighty seconds kept the momentum going for the Brits.

Race 16 had Phil in action for his second heat. Determined to avenge his defeat by Hovorka in the first round. Phil chased hard but just wasn't quick enough to catch him. Both received cuts for their efforts, Phil's 70.4 could have been a 64.

In round two Bruce would be keen to make amends for his first round no time. Setting off third Bruce had blasted into the lead by lap two. The speed looked awesome unfortunately the engine only ran for one more lap, leaving Bruce with two zeros and out of contention. He would now have to fly for personal pride.

Race 19 was a battle royale for the Brits, Alan versus Paul. Paul got away to an early lead but his engine quit on lap three leaving him out of contention. Alan was left to defend British honour against Schaller. Close racing eschewed with Schaller flying all over the place but managing to keep up with Alan. Alan finally broke away to win the day but at a cost of around three seconds leaving him with a slower 69.8.

Race 20 saw round two for Van Den Bosch/Perella. If the opposition had any delusions of grandeur these would be quickly extinguished. Robbert, flying like a man obsessed, left the opposition standing, recording a scorching time of 58.7, one tenth of a second off the current world record set by Chris Callow of Australia at the recent World Championships. Poor Carlo didn't stand a chance, was lapped by Robbert and then awarded two cuts for his efforts in trying to

Round two saw the first bout of carnage with a midair between Russia's Konstantin Krikoun and France's Christian Schmitt. One of the strangest mid air's I have ever seen, Krikoun flew into Schmitt's model from above causing it to go into a flat spin. Although Schmitt's model appeared to crash in a big way there was only slight damage to the wing. Krikoun faired slightly better with a broken aileron.

By the end of round two, Robbert had seen his lead increase by 9.4 seconds, due to a rather poor show from the opposition. Overall a 65.2 saw Tomas Andrlik (Czech Republic) rise to second, whilst a 67 from Giles Desgruelles (France) helped him move to 3rd. That eleven-lap time cost Paolo his second place and he was relegated to fourth. Perella's 200 saw him lose 20 places, falling from 10th to 30th.

As for the Brits, whilst Phil managed to hold on to 12th spot Alan lost a place and fell to 8th. Only three times out of a possible six and two pilots effectively out with two zeros things hadn't gone as well as round one.

Round 3

By the afternoon the weather had started to change, the clouds had cleared and the wind had picked up. Would this alter engine settings, slow the models down? We would have to wait and see.

Another good performance by Phil Greeno, although a cut left him with a 73.3. Hovorka ran away with the honours with a 65.6 but this was pretty academic, as he already had two no times. Another no time for Bruce, failed to start, the engine was running great until the flag dropped. Currently in 40th place this would see him fall to 43rd.

Race 31 saw Alan and Paul at it again. Paul finally recorded a time and it was a good one. Starting second he led by the first lap and never looked back. A smooth, tight flying 67.8 left us wondering what could have been. As for Alan, he enjoyed his now expected tussle with Schaller, both traded places for a number of laps before Alan broke away, still a 67.1 kept him in contention.

What Spain's Roberto Sedes must have been making of all this was anybody's guess. Imagine it is your first Pylon Racing international competition and you are placed in a head to head with the likes of Schumacher/Hakkinen. Not only that you still have three more races to run. No wonder most times he decided it was best to leave the model on the starting line and let the others get on with it. Still who better to learn from, but the master himself?

Race 39 and another no time for the Brits, this time it was Frank who failed to start, problems getting the engine on the pipe. Mucedola still looking strong posted a 64.7 but would this be quick enough?

Round 3 claimed it's second victim for the day. This time it was the turn of the Czech pilot Zdenek Vojan. Clearly with some form of elevator problem the plane crashed the other side of some trees. As with the midair the model only suffered superficial damage to the wing. These guys must build their planes strong.

Overall, Robbert held onto his first place increasing his lead to 15.1 seconds, Desgruelles held onto second, Mucedola moved up to third whilst it would be Andrlik's turn to be relegated two spots down to fourth. Alan held on to 8th place but Phil had slipped back to 13th and was currently out of semi final contention. Four times out of six showed a better performance for the Brits but now three pilots had effectively been eliminated.

Round 4 - Final round of Day 1

They always say leave the best for last and round four certainly provided a sting in the tail.

Gilles Desgruelles and Peter Van Doesberg (Holland) gave us an excellent display of close racing in round four. Both pilots traded places numerous times before Van Doesberg eventually won courtesy of a flame out on the part of Desgruelles. Fortunately for Desgruelles pilots were now able to discard their worst score so this 200 wouldn't affect his position.

Mucedola picked up a zero for 2 cuts putting the pressure on, as his 11-lap time in round two would now have to count. Any hopes of wresting the Europa Cup from Robbert were fading fast. Konstantin Krikoun, (midair round two), decided to test the strength of his plane a second time by crashing it into a tree. This time on the landing, once again the plane survived unscathed.

As for the Brits, Phil's final race was a solo affair seeing him record a slower 70.3. Alan and Paul both recorded times in their race but Frank picked up another zero, as the engine flamed out on lap four. Another four times, things still holding together, although now one plane down and three pilots out ,the price had been high.

By the end of day one Robbert V.D Bosch's lead had been cut back to 14.7 seconds by compatriot Peter Van Doesberg in second. Only Giles Desgruelles prevented the Dutch taking a one two three by taking third spot from Marcel Huisman who took fourth. The Dutch were in danger of taking over. Mucedola had slipped back to 5th and Andrlik 6th. Choy and Perella had benefited from dropping a zero to pull back to 8th and 10th respectively but at the cost to Alan Laurie who fell back to 9th. Phil Greeno was also losing ground and was now down to 14th, he would have to work hard if he intended to make the semi finals.

No one could doubt the day had belonged to Robbert, two times below sixty seconds it would taking a disaster of gargantuan proportions to prevent him lifting the Europa Cup. Paolo knew it and by evening had all but conceded victory to Robbert; all that was left to fly for was the Final itself.

Round 5

Another change to the weather brought bright sunshine and the wind had gone, hopes of a nice hot day were high. Phil Greeno posted a 74.3, the early morning low-lying sun giving him problems, this would do his semi final hopes no

Even more woe befell the Brits when in Race 55 Paul Bardoe had a big midair with Schaller. The race had been pretty close, a three way tussle between Laurie, Bardoe and Schaller. On previous races you would have thought a Laurie/Schaller mid air was more likely but Paul wanted his fifteen minutes of fame. Diving out of the number one turn down to the two three pylon, Schaller cut across him rounding the number two turn. The inevitable happened, Paul flew into Schaller's model chopping his tail off, and ripping the wing off his own model in the process. Both models crashing in a big way.

Other casualties of the round were Karel Hromada (Czech Rep) who also crashed and Bert Metkemeijer (Holland) who landed in a neighbouring field.

Poor Perella was lapped again by Robbert V.D Bosch, who now, with the minimum five times required, had an unbeatable lead. For the record his lead was 18.7 but his nearest challenger Peter Van Doesberg would have to record a final round time of 49.8 seconds to beat him. An impossible task Robbert V.D Bosch would be crowned Europa Cup Champion for 2001.

With two tenths of a second splitting Van Doesberg, Perret and Huisman in second/third and fourth places respectively, there was still everything to play for in the final round. Alan Laurie in 8th place also had five times and was guaranteed a place in the semis. Phil Greeno down in 15th would have to wait and see, over three seconds behind twelfth place he would have to rely on a really fast time to book his place into the semis. Andrlik/Mucedola/Choy and Desgruelles, carrying one 200 each already would have to ensure they recorded a sixth round score if they were to progress to the semis themselves.

Round 6

The weather had become cloudy and the wind had picked up making the air feel cooler. Perret posted an early 65.2 seconds to press home his claim for second place. Desgruelles (5th place) and Van Doesberg (2nd) place had

Then it was Phil Greeno's turn; a 66.3 or better would be required in order to achieve a place in the top twelve. With this in mind Phil threw caution to the wind, it was all or nothing now, with ten laps gone the timekeepers watch showed 65.5 well within the required time. Well done Phil.

Bruce had recorded a fifth zero, leaving Frank a final round opportunity to avoid ending up last of the Brits. Frank required 69.1 or lower to relegate Bruce to 44th spot, (last but one). The race saw Frank mixing it with Paolo Mucedola; Frank won one for the Brits while Mucedola ,only requiring a time to qualify for the semis, eased off to record a sluggish 71.6.

More carnage eschewed in the final round. Schaller not content with smashing one model in a midair decided to go one better and flew his second model into the number three pylon in his final heat.

All that was left of round six was the refly for Van Doesberg and Desgruelles. Desgruelles nearly flew his model in the ground rounding the first turn on lap one. Both pilots looked like they were heading for a replay midair with some very close racing before Van Doesberg eased off to play follow my leader.

As for Tomas Andrlik he failed to record the required fifth time and so fell from a qualifying 7th place to an out of contention 26th. This just demonstrates the importance of getting all your times in. Andrlik averaging 67 seconds per

When all the dust had settled the Semi Finalists lined up as in the table at the foot of the page.

Semi Finals

Robbert V.D Bosch had taken first place with Jean Yves Perret in second place some 15.4 seconds behind. Peter Van Doesberg held on for third and Marcel Huisman came home fourth. All that remained was the semis and final. Britain had two competitors, Alan Laurie 7th and Phil Greeno 11th. France, Italy and Holland all filled three places each which left the final place to go to Germany's Dieter Bergmann in 12th place. No prizes for guessing which was the engine of choice (Chris Callow had recently won the World Championships using MB powered planes), but which would be the winning combination?

For the record, the semi finals involve two rounds, with the fastest score counting. At this stage an eleven-lap time would be as good as useless so cuts were best avoided. The trick of this type of knockout is to get a good first round time in with no cuts and then really throw caution to the wind in your second attempt. A zero in round one would really put the pressure on. Before the racing started Paonessa withdrew his entry due to problems with the radio gear and would therefore instantly be relegated to 12th place.

Semi 1 would see Bosch, Bergmann, Perella and Desgruelles take the plunge. As the flag dropped Bosch was away first, although Perella started third he had overhauled Bergmann by lap two and setoff in pursuit of

Semi 2 was a three-man affair due to no Paonessa but involved our man Phil, France's Perret and Holland's Doesberg. Perret off first quickly built up a large lead leaving Greeno and Doesberg to contest for second place. Doesberg nearly lost the model coming out of turn three and fell back leaving Phil to chase Perret alone. Phil started to catch Perret but two very tight laps by the Frenchman helped him defend his lead. On paper the times looked impressive Perret on 63.9, Greeno on 64.2 and Doesberg on 64.6 but Perret and Doesberg had cuts to add ruining their first round times, although interestingly enough Phil suddenly found himself in second place behind Bosch.

Semi 3 involved the final four Huisman, Choy, Laurie and Mucedola. Huisman set off first and led from start to finish. Mucedola who set off fourth got away late and so was forced to play catch up. Choy, Laurie and Mucedola got together for a three way tussle providing, the now quite large crowd, with a great display of high speed racing. The times looked quick Huisman on a 60.8 and Choy on 62.7, the difference was Huisman would have a cut to add whilst Choy's clean ten lap time would be a new French record and would put him into first place. Mucedola on 65.3 paid the price for that late start and Alan on 68.8 had failed to improve on his qualifying times.

So at the end of a thrilling round one Choy led, Van Den Bosch was second, Greeno suddenly found himself in a commanding third place and Desgruelles was hanging on in fourth. As for the rest the pressure was really on now. Only a sub 64 seconds would guarantee a place in the final.

Semi 4 would be a repeat of semi 1. Bosch quickly rectified his second place and recorded a scorching 59.6 which would put his lead out of reach. Bergmann flamed out and would take no further part in the race. The others tried hard but couldn't keep up with Bosch. Perella recorded a 64.6, which would see him rise into fourth place at the cost of Desgruelles whose 11 lap 72.1 would see him drop out of contention. Perella would have to wait to see if his time would be quick enough, as there were still

Semi 5 Perret again was first away and led what would be a parade of a race, but not before Greeno had nearly taken Doesberg out in a mid air coming out of the number one turn. That would have been an interesting way to prevent your competitor scoring, as there are no reflys in semis. In the end it wasn't important, as the times weren't quick enough. Perret on 65.3 and Doesberg on 65 would have to wait until next year.

Semi 6 Greeno's hopes of making the final had improved dramatically as Choy was already ahead in the pecking order. This left Mucedola and Huisman as the only real challengers. Alan Laurie decided to give his compatriot a good start by failing to get away from the line and recording his only zero of the weekend. Mucedola and Huisman thrashed it out in an all or nothing scrap. Huisman finally beat Mucedola but at the price of another eleven-lap time. Choy aiming for another French record flew a 59.7 but also had a cut to add. That left Mucedola who in recording a 63.4 looked like he had just done it, unfortunately the time keeper picked up on a cut on the base pylons and the eleven lap time would relegate him back to 7th. Hopes of an Italian victory would now rest with Perella.

So the final line up was Van Den Bosch, Choy, Greeno and Perella. All using MB engines and three our of four flying Dago Innovations. After a possible Holland one two three the places were evenly shared out among four nations.

The Final

As with all the other heats the final would be run on a staggered start, so the pilot who crossed the line first wouldn't necessarily be the winner. With one minute to go and all the engines running it was clear somebody's engine wasn't running to peak performance and the race would quickly be reduced to a three-man affair. As it turned out it was Choy who would fail to finish, his engine flaming out on lap 3. Greeno chose to fly his own race hoping the others would trip each other up and cut but with Choy out that was unlikely and besides Bosch had passed him by lap 4.

That left Bosch and Perella to contest the top spot, a repeat of the qualifying rounds but this time Perella was determined to give as good as he got. Although both planes were flying as opposite ends of the course it was