The EOS has become the premiere Indoor Offroad racing series in Europe. Spanning 4 countries, 5 races, and now in its 6th year of existence, the European Offroad Series attracts some of the World’s finest drivers to compete on a carpet indoor arena built for the weekend. The final round of the 2017 EOS, round 5, was hosted in Modellbau Wels, Austria just over the weekend of April 21st – 23rd.
A few months back, it was rumored that Yokomo/JConcepts ace, Ryan Maifield, would be attending the final round in Austria and to the delight of his many teams and supporters, the rumor was true. Since it was Ryan’s first ever EOS race, the big question was how Ryan was going to adapt to the European style tracks and carpet surface as Ryan’s only experience on a surface other than dirt was the 2015 IFMAR World Championships at Yatabe Arena.
After setting his car down for Q1, Ryan would emerge as the round 1 TQ answering all questions with a blistering 5-minute run with his JConcepts equipped YZ-2 DTM RM Edition. Through qualifying, Ryan’s best run was Q1 and Q2. While trying to improve the car in Q3 and Q4, he wasn’t able to find a good balance and get comfortable enough to deliver mistake free runs. After 4 rounds of qualifying, Ryan would sit 2nd for the triple A-Mains.
Another star that has really started to shine as of late is AE/JConcepts’ Joona Haatenen. Having TQ’d 2wd at the EOS rd 4, the Finnish Phenom is starting to find his groove beating some of the top names in the industry along the way. Joona was able to qualify 4th overall positioning himself in a spot to win.
Thanks to Red RC for the awesome photos and videos to highlight this race report. Please re-live the action and press play to watch A1, A2, and A3!
2wd Modified A1
2wd Modified A2
2wd Modified A3
After 3 intense A-main events, Ryan Maifield would go on to tie Bruno Coelho for the overall win in his first ever outing at the EOS. Unfortunately, Maifield would take 2nd by losing the tie-breaker and young gun, Joona Haatanen would not be denied of a podium spot and finish 3rd.
We’re excited for what the future holds for these two drivers at future EOS events. With Ryan already one of the most exciting drivers to watch, being new to the series and first time ever competing on carpet…. there’s a lot to learn in such a short amount of time. On top of that, he was quoted saying that it was a lot of fun and that the carpet was much more fun than Astro.
Again, another fantastic job by the 14-year-old rising star from Finland making it two 2wd podiums in a row. Joona drove exceptionally well all weekend and even took a win in A1. Joona’s smooth, calm, and collected driving style is well matured beyond his age and definitely holds a bright future in the RC industry. Congrats to these two for making the podium!
