Friday's practice session got underway in perfect spring weather after club president Richard had cleaned the track and treated it with a special "mixture". At first, the grip was still a bit lackluster—or rather, low—and we had to deal with some rear-end instability. We determined that the somewhat unpredictable but not slow track conditions were due to the spring pollen from the blossoming trees surrounding the track. 

As more and more drivers arrived and more and more cars took to the track, the grip improved significantly, and by the end of the day, some were already posting fast lap times.

Overall, the lap times in practice painted a positive picture, as they were very fast; on the other hand, Markus didn’t feel the car the way he did three years ago—it’s almost unbelievable that it’s already been three years. It felt like much less than three years. In any case, back then James was the only one to break the 14-second mark (by a significant margin, in fact). Markus was the second fastest back then with 14.0 seconds. 

This Friday, we got under 14 seconds relatively quickly. Laurent and Markus clocked 13.9 seconds. Later, when conditions were very good, Laurent set an impressive benchmark with a 13.5-second lap but as always in a consistent manner by running the full 5 minutes. James couldn’t match his pace from three years ago. It’s definitely possible to see the progress each driver has made since their last visit here.

Q1

Markus took P1, even though he didn't exactly come out of qualifying feeling very confident. He had gone into qualifying as only the fourth-fastest driver. However, he was satisfied with his time of 5:12 minutes for 21 laps, though he couldn't say it was a flawless run. Steve secured P2 and Laurent P3, both with 20 laps, ahead of Julien in P4 and Jeff in P5, who isn’t a big fan of this track. He obviously likes more the traditional Tracks with grass inlays and bigger layouts.

Q2

Same picture with Markus in P1. But now Julien has the second-fastest time, and Jeff is in P3. Steve in P4 and Laurent in P5 haven't been able to match their performance from practice yet, as they haven't managed to complete a 5-minute run without any mistakes. The temperatures were now higher, and it didn't seem possible to improve the times at the moment.

Q3

Markus again in P1, not far ahead of Laurent in P2 and Julien on P3. A good result from Stephane, the 2023 European Cup Runner up in Stock class posted a P4 in this round. Most of the drivers were not able to do clean runs. Sometimes it was dangerous to head down the straight full throttle, while constating noise from the other edge of the track, as some had hard crashes.

Q4

On that day, it was clear to most that the final lap on Saturday evening had been the fastest, and the pressure to perform well in that session was considerable. However, a brisk wind had been blowing all day, making it difficult to drive the aerodynamically sensitive cars without making mistakes. On top of that, the track was very slippery outside the ideal line. We suspect this was a result of the moderate wind. 
Laurent kept the pressure on Markus for the entire 5 minutes, pushing his MID Shorty to the limit until it finally gave out in the final corner. Markus managed to hold his ground and defend his lead, however, meaning he won 4 out of 4 races. They were the only two to complete 21 laps, with Laurent finishing 3 seconds behind.

The unlucky ones

James was unable to finish any of his runs in his usual style and had to cut most of them short, either due to mechanical issues or for safety reasons. The handling was sometimes unpredictable. Nicolas, who still had a chance of winning in Monteux, also had a run of bad luck here in Bourg. Technical problems were compounded by a series of unusual crashes. He also struggled with the handling of his JRP, which was anything but stable.

A1

The start of A1 turned into a drama for the top two qualifiers right from the off, as Laurent spun out immediately after the start and entered the first corners in last place, whilst Markus also veered off in the wrong direction after the initial acceleration; however, he managed to avoid spinning out, only to be overtaken on the second lap – just after the finish loop – following a wobble that caused his rear end to break away whilst accelerating. The first few laps were difficult and very slow for everyone, as the track grip was very low, as expected. The fastest lap times at the start were in the high 16s. Later on, the times improved slightly, but were nowhere near Saturday’s best and were also less consistent. The winner of A1 was Julien with 19 laps in 5:11.999 mins, who managed to hold his car clean on the line, ahead of Laurent in P2, who fought his way back strongly, and Steve in P3. Markus crashed out on the straight in lap 7 after pushing hard to catch back up to the leaders.

It’s worth noting that the final starting positions at Bourg are rather poorly chosen. They’re in an area that’s never really used whilst driving, so they offer little to no grip. Not exactly ideal for our sensitive yet powerful Pro 10 cars. On top of that, the grip conditions were poor that day anyway, and there was a wind blowing, which made these spots even worse. If you drove into this section during the race, you certainly wouldn’t have been able to make the corner. Generally speaking, if you strayed from the ideal line, you got the feeling that something was wrong with the car, as it wouldn’t steer at all. And when it did steer, it ended up oversteering as a result.

A2

The start of Race 2 was less dramatic, as the two front-runners managed to hold onto the lead. Philippe had already worked his way up from P7 on the grid to P3 by Lap 3. The conditions suited his style and his set-up. Generally speaking, he was probably more used to driving in difficult conditions. On lap 3, it was Laurent who pulled off the manoeuvre of the weekend. Following a small mistake by Markus, who had slightly missed the apex before the rostrum, Laurent was able to slot into the small gap at the next corner and take the lead at the Omega bend. Unfortunately, both went a bit wide afterwards, which resulted in Markus spinning out and Laurent understeering into the barrier. Philippe was able to take the lead in the process. Markus then pushed hard and managed to reclaim the lead, narrowly holding on to it until the end, despite Philippe putting on strong pressure. In terms of laptimes Laurent and Markus were able to set the fastest times, about 3/10 faster than the rest.

A3

The moment of truth had arrived. Markus attempted to repeat his performance from A2 in order to secure the race win. However, Julien initially had the upper hand, having already achieved two strong final heats. The start was once again relatively calm, allowing the drivers to settle into their positions. Markus was having problems with the handling of his WRP and wasn’t driving 100% cleanly, which tempted Laurent to attempt an overtaking manoeuvre in the chicane before the podium. This was unsuccessful. The two collided, and Laurent waited patiently. Markus, however, recognised his own mistake and was surprised by Laurent’s fairness. This opened up the field for the drivers behind, and Steve managed to win A3 ahead of Julien and James. Well done, lads.

The free practice session on Friday took place under the bright, azure skies of the south of France. The typical Mistral wind made it somewhat difficult to control the car on the track. Nevertheless, track grip improved steadily and lap times kept getting faster. The unpleasant wind blew in gusts of up to 70 km/h at times. Apparently, the previous day it had reached over 100 km/h in places. 

Luckily, the weather forecast predicted little to no wind for Saturday and Sunday, so we were looking forward to a wonderful race weekend.

Most people were able to use Friday to get back into the swing of things on the larger (outdoor) tracks – or simply to get used to driving again – after the long winter break; for those in Central and Northern Europe, there hadn’t yet been many opportunities to drive their cars outdoors. Some hadn’t driven an RC car since mid-October.

However, it was clear that our friends from Paris, the MRTE lads – who are particularly motivated this year as this year’s European PRO10 Cup is taking place on their home track and everyone naturally wants to achieve a good result there – were already putting in their laps with great confidence. Some members of this club had already completed more than 500 laps there and were demonstrating the confidence that comes with experience.

Nicolas Schiltz and Jean-François ‘Jeff’ Béchu clocked their fast lap times with ease and were delighted with their JRPs, fitted with MID-Size batteries and CS-Project ‘Mirage’ components. Jeff made a point of mentioning that the lighter car suits his driving style much better. As in Formula 1, weight is a key factor in performance in the world of RC cars. 
Logically: lighter = faster. 

It’s fair to say that most JRP drivers have switched to the new MID-Size battery, whilst others, such as Laurent ‘the mechanic’ Tobel, Pascal Closset, Stéphane Clisol and Markus Schneider, continue to rely on the larger and heavier Stick battery. 

Last year’s Euro Cup champion, Philippe Vialla, competed – just as he did last year – on a newer Roche Car and, as before, with a Shorty battery. We were keen to see how this combination would perform on this rather large and fast track in Monteux. 

James Hild, the organiser and founder of the PRO10 Series, was also on the grid with his VIP, which was also fitted with a MID-size battery. For him, it was definitely his first outing after the winter break, and he was delighted that the season was finally getting underway.

As announced, the wind died down on Saturday and we were delighted to get the qualifying day underway. Free practice was allowed until 12:30h, meaning the qualifying heats could start on time at 13:00h. The first laps on Saturday morning already showed that track conditions had improved significantly and grip had increased considerably.

The sun had already heated the track up considerably. Some riders had to monitor the temperature of their electronic components to ensure they didn’t overheat or burn down during the first race of the season. The 13 Modified drivers were divided into two groups of six and seven drivers respectively, so that everyone had enough space.

Q1

Steve Olanier set the pace with a victory, completing 19 laps in 5:08.602 ahead of his two team-mates, Nicolas Schiltz P2 and Jeff Béchu P3. Tobel on P4 got off to a solid start. The lap times were already fast, with Olanier clocking 15.6s and Schneider 15.5s, although Schneider unfortunately retired on lap 18 due to a technical fault. 

Q2

In the penultimate group, Vialla took the lead and set the fastest time. Vialla’s heat was only beaten by Nicolas Schiltz in P1, Schneider in P2 and Olanier in P3 – all with 19 laps. Schneider held P1 for a long time, but lost this position to Schiltz by 19/1000s shortly before the end. For Schneider, however, it was still a success and a step "back on track". 

Q3

Schneider struck. He clocked the fastest time so far with 19 laps in 5:05.346, putting him at the top of the standings. As the winner of the last PRO10 Series event here in Monteux in spring 2024, he was one of the favourites to win this year’s event. Schiltz in P2 and Tobel in P3 also put in strong performances. Hild shone with fast laps and set a new best time of 15.507s, but was unable to maintain that pace for the entire race.

Q4

Nicolas Schiltz retook the lead in the standings and set the fastest time of 5:03.670 over 19 laps. Hats off to him for that performance. The slightly cooler temperatures in the early evening helped to improve the lap times. Parnot was finally able to put in a strong performance and finished his run in P2 this round. Was this the turnaround he had been hoping for? Hild in P3 was now better able to maintain a high pace.

Rocket Round Q5

Sunday morning, cool temperatures, fired-up drivers. 

It was clear that, given the conditions, Q5 would offer the best opportunity to set the fastest times. So the pressure was on everyone to seize this chance and make the most of it. 
Schiltz was aware of this situation and went "all in". He had to, because he knew that Schneider would be doing the same. Schiltz was too aggressive and threw the car big time in the left-hand bend onto the straight. Realising this, Schneider was able to secure the qualifying win and pole position for the finals. Shortly before his big wreck, Schiltz set a new track record with a time of 15.255s. Schneider reclaimed it in the following lap with a time of 15.200s. That was to remain the fastest lap time for the entire weekend. Olanier took P2 and Parnot P3, both also with fast run-times.

These drivers had problems to finish their quali-heats:
Q1: Bedoucha, Schneider
Q2: Valente, Dupont
Q3: Closset, Clisol
Q4: Vialla, Clisol, Schneider, Closset
Q5: Hild, Schiltz (big crash on straight)

Unfortunately Alex Dupont and Stéphane Clisol decided to not compete the race on sunday and left the track too soon. We liked to have you here for the whole race. This withdrawal turned us to race all 11 pilots in one A-Main group. We hope to have you back next time for the complete race.

A1

The start went smoothly and all the drivers were mindful of one another, so there were no incidents in the opening corners. As this class consisted exclusively of drivers of a certain age, one could safely assume a "gentleman like driving". It looked like to be a win for Schneider, until on lap 10 one of the drivers being lapped became an obstacle and sent the leader into the grass. The driver himself had made a mistake and failed to clear the ideal line for the leader. These things can happen at any time. As a result, Schiltz took the win, Olanier finished P2 and Schneider, after the rejoin, came in P3.

The end of A1 already meant increased pressure for pole-setter Schneider. With 3 out of 4 races counting, there was no room for errors in the finals!

A2

Olanier, starting from P2, made a mistake on the first lap, allowing Schiltz to overtake him. He tried to put pressure on Schneider, which he managed to do at times. Ultimately, Schneider was able to build up a lead of almost 6 seconds and cross the finish line safely. Behind Schiltz, Hild finished in P3 and Tobel in P4.

A3

In the opening corners of A3, Schneider noticed that the car was handling very well, allowing him to quickly build up a lead. A few changes in position behind him helped him in this regard, so that after about two minutes he was able to switch to "management-mode" and finish the race in P1. Jeff was even able to apply some pressure towards the end with a strong performance and crossed the line in P2. A messy race for Schiltz, featuring a spin out in the first lap, meant he finished P8 and found himself in a less favourable position going into the final 4th race.

A4

Once again, A1 winner Schiltz got off to a poor start; he failed to complete the first lap without making a mistake and found himself at the back of the field after rejoining the race. Olanier, on the other hand, was in top form and kept the pressure on the leader, forcing him to stay on his toes for the full race. Jeff secured P3 and Hild P4. 

The Provence is famous for many things: endless lavender fields, charming stone villages, and the gentle art of doing absolutely nothing for several hours at a café terrace. Here, life moves slowly. The sun shines generously, the rosé is always perfectly chilled, and even the cicadas seem to follow a relaxed schedule.

Visitors come for the picturesque landscapes, the smell of herbs in the air, and the romantic idea that time itself has decided to take a holiday. In Provence, lunch is never rushed, conversations are long, and driving through the countryside often feels like a scene from a postcard.

But this year, something slightly less relaxed is happening among the lavender fields.

Because while Provence is usually about slowing down… the PRO10 Series Race is about going very, very fast.

PRO10 RC Cars, built for speed and precision, will tear across the track with extreme intensity. The banked corners on the Monteux track will even make them even faster. Drivers will focus like F1 champions, while their cars reach speeds that would definitely make these F1 drivers nervous.

It’s a delightful contrast: peaceful Provence on one side, highspeed PRO-10 RC-racing on the other.

So come for the lavender, stay for the adrenaline, and witness the most exciting thing to happen in Provence since someone decided to drive the romans out