The legendary 2012 Season of the Buggy 1600 class!

14 February 2025, Ronalds

AX MAGAZINE ITALIA presents a new feature: "Discover the History of Autocross." In this series, we will explore key historical moments in autocross across different eras. To kick things off, we will dive into the thrilling 2012 season of the Buggy 1600 class, where three drivers from the Peters team—John Lagodny, Florent Tafani, and Thomas Anacleto battled fiercely for the title throughout the season. Read on to find out more!

Let’s start with the first round, held at the St. Martin Valmeroux circuit in France. The front row of the final grid was occupied by the French drivers Florent Tafani and Thomas Anacleto, while John Lagodny started from the second row. However, all three drivers faced technical issues due to the challenging track conditions, causing them to drop out of the leading positions. The most successful driver of the round was Czech driver Vit Nosalek, who clinched the victory in the final.

The championship standings, considering only the title contenders, were as follows:

John Lagodny – 12 points
Thomas Anacleto – 9 points
Florent Tafani – 8 points

Next, we head to Bauska, Latvia, for the second round of the European Autocross Championship. This time, Thomas Anacleto dominated the heats, securing the top spot, while his closest rivals, John Lagodny and Florent Tafani, lined up right behind him on the second row, ready to battle for top positions.

The final brought no surprises—Thomas Anacleto claimed a decisive victory, leaving his competitors far behind. The unluckiest of the trio was John Lagodny, who got stuck behind the slower driver, Frank Meinzel, costing him valuable points.

The updated championship standings:

Thomas Anacleto – 29 points
John Lagodny – 23 points
Florent Tafani – 23 points

The third round of the championship headed to Germany, at the Seelow circuit. This round brought a dramatic shift in the overall standings, as one of the title contenders, Florent Tafani, failed to qualify for the final. Meanwhile, Thomas Anacleto, from second place, collided with a stationary buggy and was forced to retire from the race.

John Lagodny, however, delivered a flawless performance, securing a confident victory. In the final lap, he was so in control that he effortlessly navigated around all the bumps on the track. With this win, John Lagodny took the lead in the championship standings after three rounds.

Championship Standings:

John Lagodny – 43 points
Thomas Anacleto – 38 points
Florent Tafani – 28 points

Just like in Seelow, Florent Tafani once again failed to reach the final at the Matschenberg Offroad Arena. Thomas Anacleto managed to make it to the final but faced misfortune, missing out on a top result. Meanwhile, John Lagodny continued his dominant form, securing another victory and further solidifying his lead in the overall standings.

Championship Standings:

John Lagodny – 63 points
Thomas Anacleto – 48 points
Florent Tafani – 34 points

The fifth round took place at the legendary Nova Paka circuit in the Czech Republic. John Lagodny started the final from the outside of the front row but had a poor start, causing him to lose his podium position and finish in fourth place. One of Lagodny's closest competitors also had a modest race, finishing two positions behind him. However, Lagodny's nearest rival, Thomas Anacleto, faced even worse luck. After an unfortunate collision with Radek Jordak on the first lap—when Jordak's buggy ran over the side of Anacleto's vehicle—Anacleto’s race hopes were dashed.

The fastest driver in the final was local Czech racer Ondrej Musil, who claimed victory in front of the home crowd.

Championship Standings:

John Lagodny – 76 points
Thomas Anacleto – 57 points
Florent Tafani – 45 points

The sixth round took place at the Nyirád circuit in Hungary, and the final started in an intriguing fashion—all three title contenders lined up on the front row. However, John Lagodny struggled at the start, which immediately dashed his hopes for a strong result in the final.

Seizing the opportunity, Thomas Anacleto and Florent Tafani secured first and second place, respectively, earning crucial points in the championship battle. The overall standings have now shifted, making the title battle even more exciting!

Championship Standings:
John Lagodny – 89 points
Thomas Anacleto – 77 points
Florent Tafani – 62 points

The next round took place in the Czech Republic at the Přerov circuit. The final was thrilling, as Czech driver Ondřej Musil took the lead after the start and spent most of the race defending his position. This created a bottleneck behind him, trapping Florent Tafani and Thomas Anacleto. Towards the end of the final, both drivers managed to overtake Musil, but by that time, Luxembourgish driver John Lagodny, who had started from the third row, had caught up to them. Fortunately for the Frenchmen, Lagodny got stuck behind Musil, just as they had earlier.

As a result, Florent Tafani and Thomas Anacleto secured a one-two finish, while John Lagodny had to settle for fifth place. This means the two French drivers are closing in on the runaway championship leader, John Lagodny!

Standings:
John Lagodny – 101 points
Thomas Anacleto – 94 points
Florent Tafani – 82 points

The eighth round of the season at the Saint-Igny-de-Vers circuit in France turned out to be a complete disaster for local driver Thomas Anacleto, who failed to qualify for the final and missed the chance to battle his closest rival, John Lagodny. Now, everything comes down to the season finale at the Maggiora circuit in Italy.

John Lagodny did make it to the final and even started from the front row, but at the exit of the first corner, he was squeezed between Ondřej Musil and Thomas Anacleto, resulting in his retirement from the race. This played into the hands of both Thomas Anacleto and Florent Tafani. Tafani, in particular, benefited the most, securing the highest points haul of the three by finishing in third place.

The race winner was French driver Rigaudière Maxim from the Alfa team. As for the overall standings—check them out for yourselves!

Standings:
John Lagodny – 108 points
Thomas Anacleto – 98 points
Florent Tafani – 97 points

For the final round in Italy (Maggiora), overall leader John Lagodny arrived with a ten-point advantage over second-place driver Thomas Anacleto. The final race turned out to be dramatic, full of unexpected twists.

Lagodny was among the frontrunners in the opening laps, but then technical issues with his buggy caused him to rapidly lose positions. Meanwhile, Florent Tafani and Thomas Anacleto were holding second and third place, respectively, until a decisive moment Anacleto overtook Tafani and he was so fast that on the last lap and the last corner he overtook the young Hungarian driver, Kristián Szabó.

As a result, John Lagodny finished in sixth place, while Thomas Anacleto climbed from third to first, securing enough points to become the European Autocross Champion in the Buggy 1600 class winning the title by just two points!

Final Standings after Nine Rounds:
Thomas Anacleto – 114 points
John Lagodny – 112 points
Florent Tafani – 109 points

Although we focused only on the top three drivers fighting for the title, right behind them was the fast Czech driver Ondřej Musil. He managed to secure a victory at the Nová Paka track and finished just four points behind Tafani, who took third place overall. Behind Musil, in fifth place in the overall standings, was the 2010 Euraca Cup - Division 4 (now Junior Buggy class) champion, Kristian Szabó.

That’s all for now! But if you consider yourself an autocross expert and have access to historical resources about the sport, we would like for you to share your knowledge and materials with us. We promise to show our appreciation!

Get in touch by emailing us at [email protected] and help us promote the incredible history of our sport. Stay tuned for the next article in our series, "Discover the History of Autocross."