Posted: 8/31/22
EuroCrawl 22
By Matt Higgins
Think crawling is pretty big in the U.S.? Okay, it certainly is, but it's definitely worth noting our European friends across the big pond might be making a solid run for the top spot. Case in point, an impressive event called EuroCrawl 22 just went down, from August 19 to August 21, in Reposaari, Lansi-Suomen Laani, Finland at Siikaranta Camping. This was a true international championship with 10 countries represented and 140 total entries. No matter where you’re from, that’s a big comp.
EuroCrawl 22 is a ERCCA (European RC Crawling Association) competition and held under WRCCA (World Radio Controlled Crawler Association) rules. The classes included Pro, Performance Scale, Mini, Super, and Sportsman. Each class ran five courses consisting of 10 gates each.
Overall, the biggest class was Pro, with 44 entires. The second largest was Performance Scale, which was close behind with 41 competitors.
Pro Class
The Pro class is limited to 2.2 size tires, two-wheel steering, and a maximum of a 12.5 in. wheelbase. These trucks can use motor-on-axle (MOA) setups. One competitor reported that many still use Axial’s wild looking XR10 rig, a competition-built rig introduced in 2010 with a motor on each axle and a slick sloped body that hung tight to the twin vertical plate chassis. For more on Axial’s history and products check out the About Axial page. The winner in the large field of competitors was Karl Berger of Austria.
Performance Scale Class
The Performance Scale class is best summed up by the WRCCA’s own rules: “Vehicles should represent a vehicle that has been modified to become a capable trail rated/competition based rig and is not necessarily street legal.” No dig, no MOA, no winch, and, while 2.2 wheels are allowed, tires can’t exceed 4.8 in.
Fairly strict body rules keep the rigs scale looking and prevent competitors from “innovating” the realism out of the class. With its classic looks, slightly pinched front, dovetailed rear, and roll cage, one of the most popular bodies in the Scale Performance class is the Axial Deadbolt. In fact, the top two finishers in the class, Lukas Klapfer of Austria, and Balint Czere of Hungary, used Axial Deadbolt bodies. These two competitors were separated by only four points. The competition was so close the top three were separated by only seven points.
First-place finisher Lukas Klapfer started with a RTR Deadbolt but has extensively modified it for the highest level of competition. The body remains, but Vanquish axles and Pro-Line tires are found underneath.
Balint Czere runs the Deadbolt body over a Yuuki FS1 V1 Maxxx LCG AMS chassis kit. He uses Axial Capra axles. For traction, he relies on Pro-Line Trencher 1.9 tires in the sticky Predator compound.
You can learn more about Balint’s build here. In addition to a video of each of his runs, Balint includes links to all of the cool parts he used. It's definitely worth checking out. While you’re probably familiar with the Axial Deadbolt body and Capra axles, there are a lot of exotic European components you’ve probably never seen.
Mini Class
Top honors in the Mini class was taken by event organizer Samu Sarka. Minis might be the newest class in RC rock crawling competition, but we know a lot more is yet to come. Keep an eye on this class of small crawlers as it is sure to be the next big thing. You can count on some SCX24 competition-specific builds coming soon on the Axial Adventure blog.
Super Class
Just the opposite of the Mini class, the Super class is big and old. When competitive rock crawling first became a thing, the Super class was both literally and figuratively the big deal. These big wheeled, oversized machines were, at first, the most popular class. With 4WS, dig, MOA, and stretched wheelbases, these big rigs are fun to drive.
Winning by an impressive 10 points over second place and using widened Axial XR10 axles, Samu Sarka took first place.
Sportsman Class
Often endearingly referred to as just Sporty, the Sportsman class is similar to Pro but does not allow MOA and require a body. The vehicles can only have one motor, which must be chassis mounted, and the axles must be shaft driven.
Apparently not satified with two class wins at EuroCrawl 22, Samu Sarka won Sportsman, too, making it three out of five for the local. On his Sportsman rig, he employed Axial AX10 axles.
Wrap Up
Hats off to the event organizers and the particpants at EuroCrawl 22. It's great to see how popular RC rock crawling is all across the world. Not only is it interesting but we hope you find it inspiring. The WRCCA rules aren't a huge departure than what most of us are accustomed to in the U.S. (many clubs already use them) and the Performance Scale class is a great option if you don't want to deal with scale points.
Follow @AxialAdventure on social media and be sure to post your #myAxialAdventure post! We can't wait to see where you go and what you do on your adventure!
