Saturday, July 17, 2010
Rheinard takes Q4 & overall Andernach TQ honours Categories - Racing, Report - comments closed
Euro Touring Series Champion elect Marc Rheinard is the Top Qualifier for the closing race of the 2009/2010 season after topping the final round of qualifying here this evening at his home track of Andernach. The three time World Champion set the first & only 17 second lap of the event on his way to taking the round by half a second from Tamiya team-mate Viktor Wilck. This left the pair tied on points but setting the fastest overall qualifying time in Q4 the German will start tomorrow’s finals from pole. Rheinard said his Speed Passion powered TRF416 was better at the start of the run than in the previous three qualifiers after he left his tyre warmers on for longer.
Wilck, who started on pole here last year, said his car was pretty good except for the right hand sweeper through which it suffers a little understeer. Unlike the World Championships at Burgdorf two weeks ago the Swede feels the racing tomorrow should be a lot closer as the track has more places in which he can safely try to find a way past Rheinard.
Atsushi Hara, who was third fastest in the final qualifier, will line up third on grid and is looking forward to tomorrow’s finals. The pace setter in yesterday’s opening round of qualifying, Hara hasn’t changed the set-up on his Hot Bodies TCX all day saying it has been better than he’s been driving. Happy with his driving in the final run today the Japanese ace is confident he can take the fight to his great rival Rheinard and repeat his 2008 victory here having been denied the chance in Burgdorf where he failed to qualify for the A final.
Fastest in Q2, Kyosho’s Christopher Krapp will start fourth, having ended the day with his first 17 lapper which was good enough for the fifth fastest time for the round ahead of Xray’s Zdenek Hamak who secures 9th on the grid. Finishing ahead of Krapp on time in Q4, Team Yokomo’s Ronald Volker will start behind his fellow German in the three leg A-Main.
The rest of the grid is made up by 17-year-old Yannic Prumper (6th), Thomas Pumpler (7th), Andy Moore (8th) and Martin Hofer (10th). Hofer tied on points with fellow Yokomo driver Ryan Maker but the German had a best finish of 8th compared with the Australian’s 9th, who takes the BQ honours.
Modified A-Main Grid
1. Marc Rheinard (DE) – 308
2. Viktor Wilck (SE) – 308
3. Atsushi Hara (TH) – 307
4. Christopher Krapp (DE) – 305
5. Ronald Völker (DE) – 303
6. Yannic Prümper (DE) – 302
7. Thomas Pumpler (AT) – 301
8. Andy Moore Andy (GB) – 300
9. Zdenek Hamak (CZ) – 300
10.Martin Hofer (DE) – 293
Full results can be found here.
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Wilck fastest in Q3 Categories - Racing, Report - comments closed
Viktor Wilck has become the third different driver and brand of car to top qualifying here at the ETS finale in Germany. The third & penultimate round of heats saw the Swede head team-mate Marc Rheinard by 1.2 seconds to move into provisional pole for tomorrow’s A-Main ahead of this evening’s final qualifier. Switching to the same set-up that took Thomas Pumpler to the second fastest time in Q3, Wilck said the car was a little better but feels his Speed Passion TRF416 is tweaked, with it suffering understeer through right hand corners.
Switching from a Mazda Speed 6 to an LCT-R, World Champion Rheinard said his car was pretty good now and he backed this up by setting a new fastest lap of 18.039, beating the previous time set Atsushi Hara in Q1. Although quicker than his team-mate, the German gave away 1.5 seconds on the third lap when he missed his line through the chicane and got badly out of shape.
Switching additive Ronald Volker enjoyed his best round of qualifying setting the third fastest time. Back running a gear diff in his Yokomo BD5, which he says he is getting more comfortable with, the German still needs to find more time with understeer causing him problems on the long right hand sweeper. The former European Champion plans to run lighter shock oil for the final qualifier. Yokomo team-mate Yannic Prumper can not be accused of being inconsistent as he again set the fourth fastest time. The German teenager used shorter camber links and LRP tyre additive but will revert to his Q2 set-up saying the changes had made his Toni Sport supported BD5 easy to drive but slow. Another Yokomo backed driver to make the Top 10 was Martin Hofer. Going back to a ball diff for the round the German said the car was much more predictable allowing him to run his best and the seventh fastest time.
Xray backed Czech driver Zdenek Hamak was fifth fastest. Trying a different shock position and running a fresh set of rubber he said his LRP powered T3 was better but knowing he was on a good run he got nervous and made a mistake 4 laps from home which cost him 3 seconds.
Running a Tamiya TRF416 with a soon to be release 2.3mm Smokem chassis plate Loic Jasmin completed the Top 6. The French Touring Car Champion said a new set of tyres had allowed him to break into the Top 10 for the first time but in the final minute one of the rear tyres tried to part company with the rim costing him a little time. Fastest in Q2, Kyosho’s Christopher Krapp recorded his best 5-minute run but it was only good enough for 8th on this occassion. Andy Moore and Australia’s Simon Nicholson rounded out the Top 10.
In Pro Stock we finally saw a different name at the top of the time sheets as Czech ETS winner Daniel Wohlgemuth set the pace from fellow Xray driver Michael Kiesewetter. Top Russian driver Ivan Laptev was third fastest ahead of Q1 & Q2 top qualifier Alexander Stocker who had to0 many incidents during his run. While the Modified and Hobby qualifying will be decided this evening, Pro-Stock drivers will have to wait till the morning for their fourth and final chance at securing a top starting position in the finals.
Qualification Ranking
Modified after Round 3 of 4
1. Wilck Viktor (SE) – 307
2. Rheinard Marc (DE) – 306
3. Krapp Christopher (DE) – 302
4. Völker Ronald (DE) – 302
5. Prümper Yannic (DE) – 302
6. Pumpler Thomas (AT) – 301
7. Moore Andy (GB) – 300
8. Hamak Zdenek (CZ) – 300
9. Hara Ataushi (TH) – 297
10.Hofer Martin (DE) – 293
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11.Maker Ryan (AU) – 293
12.Jasmin Loic (FR) – 291Pro-Stock after Round 3 of 4
1. Stocker Alexander (DE) – 310
2. Wohlgemuth Daniel (DE) – 306
3. Kiesewetter Michael (DE) – 306
4. Streit Tony (DE) – 304
5. Tschupp Philip (CH) – 303
6. Laptev Ivan (RU) - 299
7. Klöckner René (DE) – 298
8. Larsen Thomas (DK) – 297
9. Madsen Carsten (DK) – 296
10.Janssen Rob (NL) – 293
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11.Still Steffen (DE) – 292
12.Hagnauer Philipp (CH) – 290
Full results can be found here.
View the event image gallery here and Live video stream here.
Krapp tops slow Q2 Categories - Racing, Report - comments closed
Team Kyosho’s Christopher Krapp has topped the second round of qualifying for the ETS finale. The young German TQ’d the run despite running a slower time than in Q1 yesterday which was only good for the 8th fastest time. Afterwards Krapp said he had only taken the round because his rivals had messed up their runs with mistakes. Running the 2.5mm LiPo chassis over the 2mm chassis he used at the Worlds, following pre-event testing, he said a change to Hot Bodies springs had made his car super smooth to drive but the end result was a slower time. Lacking steering in the tight corners he will change the front geometry of the front suspension in the hope it will make the car more aggressive.
Driving a Tamiya/Speedpassion combination Austrian Thomas Pumpler was second fastest for the round. Pumpler, who pits with Tamiya Racing Factory drivers Viktor Wilck & Marc Rheinard and advises them on set-up, said he ran the exact same set-up as yesterday on his TRF416 but a simple change from using paper to plastic on his tyres while in the warmers had transformed the car. Wilck was on target to TQ the round but rolled on his final lap losing over 2.5 second and ending the round third fastest. The Swede described his car as ‘bad’ saying it just lacked traction. Asked what he planned to change for Q3, the Kastellaun winner said he was going to run Pumpler’s set-up.
Heading the Yokomo challenge Yannic Prumper was once again fourth fastest. The German ran a different tyre additive for the round and was another on a possible TQ run until he too made a mistake on the last lap. Team-mate Ronald Volker could only manage 9th behind Aussie Yokomo driver Ryan Maker after he lost over 4.5 seconds following a mistake on lap 12.
Having adjusted the roll centres on his LRP powered Xray, Zdenek Hamak said the T3 was much improved allowing him to run the 5th fastest time. Opting to run a safe round the Czech driver said he still needs to find a set-up that will give him more rear end traction before he can really push the car. Hamak’s careful driving meant he was able to finish ahead of the last two World Champions with Marc Rheinard making one mistake on his way to sixth, while Andy Moore made two driver errors to end up 7th. Fastest in the opening qualifier, Atsushi Hara failed to complete the run saying he was not driving well due to a headache so he pulled up to save his tyres.
In Pro-Stock Alexander Stocker once again TQ’d the round taking his Yokomo BD5 around the Andernach track in a slightly faster time than that he set this morning. The best non German in Q1, Switerland’s Philip Tschupp upped the pace to record the second fastest time getting to within just 9/100th off the champion elect. Driving a Hot Bodies, Tony Streit again completed the Top 3 followed by the Andernach club’s own Michael Kiesewetter.
Modified Qualifying Round 2 times
1. Christopher Krapp (DE) – 16 Laps in 5:01.873
2. Thomas Pumpler (A) – 16 Laps in 5:02.543
3. Viktor Wilck (SE) – 16 Laps in 5:03.595
4. Yannic Pruemper (DE) – 16 Laps in 5:03.921
5. Zdenek Hamak (CZ) – 16 Laps in 5:04.179
6. Marc Rheinard (DE) – 16 Laps in 5:04.278
7. Andy Moore (GB) – 16 Laps in 5:05.077
8. Ryan Maker (AUS) – 16 Laps in 5:05.322
9. Ronald Volker (DE) – 16 Laps in 5:05.558
10.Martin Hofer (DE) – 16 Laps in 5:06.299
Pro Stock Qualifying Round 2 times
1. Alexander Stocker (DE) – 15 Laps in 5:08.310
2. Philip Tschupp (CH) – 15 Laps in 5:08.401
3. Tony Streit (DE) – 15 Laps in 5:09.409
4. Michael Kiesewetter (DE) – 15 Laps in 5:09.936
5. Daniel Wohlgemuth (DE) – 15 Laps in 5:10.140
6. Thomas Larsen (DK) – 15 Laps in 5:11.187
7. René Klöckner (DE) – 15 Laps in 5:12.208
8. Ivan Laptev (RU) – 15 Laps in 5:12.336
9. Philipp Hagnauer (CH) – 15 Laps in 5:12.832
10.Rob Janssen (NL) – 15 Laps in 5:12.996
Full results can be found here.
View the event image gallery here and Live video stream here.
Racing resumes, Stocker TQ’s first Pro Stock qualifier Categories - Racing, Report - comments closed
After overnight rain caused a four hour delay to the start of Day 2 of the Euro Touring Series finale here in Andernach, racing has resumed with the first round of qualifying for the Pro-Stock class. Having struggled yesterday in practice, managing only the 8th fastest time, Alexander Stocker shot to the top today to TQ Round 1 of 4 by 2.8 seconds from local Xray driver Michael Kiesewetter.
Stocker, who is also running in Modified this weekend, radically changed the set-up on his Yokomo BD5 this morning and it was a huge improvement. The German, who will be crowned the 2009/2010 Pro-Stock Champion tomorrow evening irrespective of the result, said he was much happier with his new car and it was now almost perfect for today’s cooler conditions.
The opening round of qualifying was an all German affair in the Top 4 places with Tony Streit third fastest from ETS race winner Daniel Wohlgemuth. Fastest non German was Swiss racer Philip Tschupp in fifth just ahead of Danes Carsten Madsen and Thomas Larsen. Having set the pace in yesterday’s practice Rob Janssen had his run ruined when a slower car knocked him off the track as he tried to pass. The Dutch Team Corally driver pulled up following the incident.
Pro Stock Qualifying Round 1 times
1. Stocker Alexander (DE) – 15 Laps in 5:09.931
2. Kiesewetter Michael (DE) – 15 Laps in 5:12.745
3. Streit Tony (DE) – 15 Laps in 5:13.556
4. Wohlgemuth Daniel (DE) – 15 Laps in 5:14.270
5. Tschupp Philip (CH) – 15 Laps in 5:17.111
6. Madsen Carsten (DK) – 15 Laps in 5:17.155
7. Larsen Thomas (DK) – 15 Laps in 5:17.631
8. Lütjen Christian (DE) – 15 Laps in 5:18.294
9. Laptev Ivan (RU) – 15 Laps in 5:18.893
10.Klöckner René (DE) – 15 Laps in 5:20.526Full results can be found here.
View the event image gallery here and Live video stream here.
Overnight rain in Andernach has forced the start of the Day 2 of the 2009/10 Euro Touring Series finale to be delayed. The day was scheduled to start with the first round of qualifying for the Pro Stock class. The rain has stopped with the skies above remaining very threatening but officials are busy clearing the track of standing water in the hope we can return to racing shortly.
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Friday, July 16, 2010
Hara TQ’s opening qualifier at Andernach Categories - Racing, Report - comments closed
Atsushi Hara has TQ’d the opening qualifier at the sixth & final round of the 2009/10 Xenon Racing backed Euro Touring Series. Reverting to the set-up he ran this morning, the Japanese ace topped the time sheets in Andernach ahead of World Champion Marc Rheinard and his own Hot Bodies team-mate Andy Moore. Having to pass both Rheinard and Moore during the run, the 2008 Andernach Top Qualifier & race winner finished over 1.7 seconds faster than the German despite an overshot on the penultimate lap after he out braked himself in front of the drivers’ rostrum. Hara described the set-up on his TCX as ‘traditional Cyclone’ and plans to leave it the same for Q2 tomorrow morning.
Rheinard said his Tamiya didn’t start off well and this was compounded by him driving badly too. Passed by Moore who started just behind him, his TRF416 did get better in the second half of the run and he re-passed the British driver who suffered the opposite problem. The former World Champion said his TCX was really good at the beginning of the heat but after 2 and half minutes it developed huge understeer. After, Moore found his front right tyre had strangely de-laminated which wouldn’t have helped but he believes his set-up needs more work to stop the car from creating too much rear traction in the second half of the heat.
Yannick Prumper was fastest of the Yokomo team in fourth but he felt his BD5 was capable of more. ‘The car was good but I was too slow’ was how the the German teenager summed up his opening qualifier and he plans a much more attacking approach for tomorrow. Behind Prumper with the fifth fastest time was team-mate Ronald Volker. Going back to a standard ball diff for Q1, Volker said he was more confident in the corners but the car had developed a little understeer since the switch. The German felt his driving wasn’t good with him making too many small mistakes losing him time.
Completing the Top 6, Viktor Wilck’s Tamiya was very loose at the start of the run and he lost over a second to his rivals in the first lap alone. The laid back Swede said afterwards he didnt know why his Speed Passion powered TRF416 was such a hand full at the start because on the next lap he recorded his fastest lap of the run which was identical to that set by Moore.
Driving a Tamiya Thomas Pumpler was seventh fastest ahead of Kyosho’s Christopher Krapp, Ryan Maker and Zdenek Hamak. Running gear diffs in the front and rear of his Yokomo BD5, Maker was on a fast run until just after the four minute mark when he rolled losing him over 2.5 seconds and the chance of recording 17 lap. The Australian said the roll was totally his own doing as the car, the only one here fitted with two gear diffs, feels great.
Qualifying Round 1 times
1. Atsushi Hara (JP) – 17 Laps in 5:12.217
2. Marc Rheinard (DE) – 17 Laps in 5:13.955
3. Andy Moore (GB) – 17 Laps in 5:14.977
4. Yannic Pruemper (DE) – 17 Laps in 5:15.287
5. Ronald Volker (DE) – 17 Laps in 5:15.392
6. Viktor Wilck (SE) – 17 Laps in 5:15.466
7. Thomas Pumpler (A) – 17 Laps in 5:16.589
8. Christopher Krapp (DE) – 17 Laps in 5:18.504
9. Ryan Maker (AUS) – 16 Laps in 5:02.318
10.Zdenek Hamak (CZ) – 16 Laps in 5:03.414
Qualifying continues here in Germany in the morning, starting off with the first round of heats for the Pro Stock class.
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Volker ends practice on top Categories - Racing, Report - comments closed
At the end of practice it is Team Yokomo’s Ronald Volker who is top of the time sheets ahead of Hot Bodies’ Andy Moore. The German ran the fastest 3 laps of the day in the final practice along with recording the fastest five minute run seen so far but despite his pace plans to switch back to a ball diff for this evening opening qualifier. Volker said over three laps the gear diff is pretty good but for 5-minutes he is not 100% comfortable with the feeling of his LRP powered BD5 and so will revert to standard kit diff for Q1.
Having moved the rear shock positions on his TCX, Moore said it was now felt more stable. Loosing a little low speed steering following the changes, the former World Champion thinks new tyres for the opening qualifying round should dial that out.
Having been quite a bit off the pace earlier, Yokomo new boy Yannic Pruemper found a big improvement in Q4. Having reduced the oil in the rear gear diff to 2K along with giving his shocks a full rebuild, the teenager found is BD5 a lot better and the German thinks he now has a good set-up for qualifying.
Fastest after Q3 Viktor Wilck was unable to improve his time but the Swede said his Tamiya still feels OK and he plans to stick with the same set-up for Q1. Also failing to improve their times were Atsushi Hara and Simon Nicholson who end practice 5th and 6th fastest respectively. Running an earlier prototype version of the TCX to Moore, Hara went for a set-up he thought would give him more traction but it had the total opposite effect. Nicholas had to pull up after three laps as one of his self glued tyres parted company with the rim.
Having switched to a TRF416 fitted with a standard ball diff, World Champion Marc Rheinard found no difference between it and the gear diff he ran earlier. Unable to better his Q3 time, the German said he is struggling to get a set-up and is not sure what to change. Classified 7th, the Tamiya Racing Factory team leader is almost half a second off the pace of Volker.
Improving his pace by almost 2/10th of a second, factory Kyosho driver Christopher Krapp found his TF6 a little different to drive in Q4 after he ran the controlled tyre combo for the first time. Fitted with a different insert and slightly smaller Xenon wheel he said his car felt different to earlier in the day and he just needs to adjust his driving slightly. Running only very small changes to the set-up he used to take fourth at the Worlds, Krapp is confident he is in good shape for the opening round of heats.
In Pro Stock Dutch ace Rob Janssen driving his new Corally Phi prototype set the pace from the Xrays of Daniel Wohlgemuth and local Andernach driver Michael Kiesewetter. Champion elect Alexander Stocker ended the day 8th fastest. While the Pro Stock drivers are now finished for the day, the Modified and Hobby classes now have the first of their four qualifiers.
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Wilck heads Hara after P3 Categories - Racing, Report - comments closed
Viktor Wilck is setting the pace in practice for the sixth and final round of the Xenon Racing back Euro Touring Series here in Andernach. The Swede is fastest over three consecutive laps and also over the full five minutes around the Andernach track which is running a slightly different layout to that used last year. Behind the factory Tamiya driver is the Hot Bodies pairing of Atsushi Hara and Andy Moore.
A late arrival at the track this morning, Wilck missed the opening round of practice. Running the exact same car and set-up as the Worlds he said it is working well and having only run two packs at this event while others tested yesterday he is very happy with his early pace. The winner of the opening round of this season’s ETS at Kastellaun, Wilck plans to run the gear diff in his TRF416 for the remainder of the event saying, ‘it doesn’t need maintenance and this is good for me’.
Hara feels he heated his tyres too much prior to his latest run but other than that is pleased with how his ball diff equipped TCX is working. Moore, whose example is fitted with a gear diff, said a new set of tyres gave him lots of steering which made the rear end get loose a number of times but he plans to widen the track width to make it more stable for the final practice. Asked about the gear diff he said he doesn’t feel like the car is any faster with it fitted but it is very consistent.
Simon Nicholson set the fourth quickest time along with recording the fastest single lap. Running a totally different set-up to that which he used during the Worlds he is more comfortable with the prototype Corally now but said its hard to drive it fast consistently. The Aussie has got his head around the camber links settings and this has increased the cars corner speed. On the old car the camber links were mounted on the rear shock tower but now mounted on the bulk head he can now make more accurate adjustments.
Fifth fastest after three rounds of practice Marc Rheinard doesn’t like the feel of his Tamiya. Having run a gear diff he said the car is pushing and feels loose on power. For the final practice he plans to run his second car which is fitted with a standard ball diff.
Completing the Top 6 for the moment Ronald Volker has also been testing the gear diff. Running old tyres, the Yokomo ace said his BD5 feels good and he is hopeful that it will be as good on new tyres. The European Indoor Champion is not 100% sure about running the gear diff as he finds it more difficult to drive but the German plans to try it a couple more times before making a final judgment on it.
Austrian Thomas Pumpler was seventh fastest followed by Zdenek Hamak, Christopher Krapp and David Ehrbar. Elsewhere Pro Stock ace Alexander Stocker is 15th fastest of the 64 Modified runners with a number of more established drivers like Yannic Prumper, Michal Bok and Martin Hofer behind him in the current ranking.
Drivers have one more practice before the day comes to a close with one round of qualifying for the Modified and Hobby classes, the huge Pro Stock entry having to wait till the morning for their first of four qualifiers.
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