Chassis Focus – Ronald Volker
Chassis Name – Yokomo BD7
Motor – LRP
ESC – LRP
Batteries - LRP
Tires – Ride (handout)
Radio/Servos – Sanwa
Remarks – Ronald Volker has come to the island of Gran Canaria with some new parts on his Yokomo BD7. A new thinner top deck for more flex there is also new lower shock towers to compliment the new shorter shock absorbers. The new shocks have a shorter body and shorter shafts for a lower centre of gravity and more reactive feel to the car. There are no concrete plans to release these new parts as the team are just testing different options.
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Sunday, March 3, 2013
Wilck wins first A-Main, Volker & Rheinard clash
Tamiya’s Viktor Wilck took an unchallenged tone to tone win in the first A-Main at the Euro Touring Series in Gran Canaria but the big talking point of the race was to be an incident between defending Champion Ronald Volker and Marc Rheinard while the two rivals were battling over second position. At the end of the 5-minute encounter Xray’s Alexander Hagberg claimed second ahead of Andy Moore who benefited from a late coming together between Yannic Prumper and last year’s winner Christopher Krapp.
Top Qualifier for the race, Wilck was happy that he could convert his number 1 starting posting into a win but said the high winds at the circuit today made for difficult driving conditions blowing a lot of dust on to the track and making for low traction even on new tyres. Following the tactics witnessed in qualifying when driver’s sat out heats to save tyres a decision was made last night to allow all A-Main finalist to buy three brand new sets of Ride tyres so as the race would not be decided on tyres strategy. In the closing stages of the race Wilck’s advantage started to reduce as Hagberg closed to within 9/10ths. Admitting that his fellow Swede had a faster car in the latter part of the race, Hagberg’s best lap of the race being 2/10ths faster than his, Wilck said he switched to safe mode for the final laps as he knew if he kept them mistake free it would be enough to hold onto to his lead.
Starting from 4th on the grid and getting passed by Rheinard at the start, Hagberg was delighted with his run to second. The Snowbirds Champion said his T4 was ‘horrible’ at the start compounded by the wind which made it difficult to drive but once the tyres came in he was able to set about closing in on Wilck. Hoping for a better start in the second Leg the Swede is determined to claim his first podium finish of what has been so far a tough start to the 2012/13 ETS season.
Making the A-Main for the first time this season, HB’s Andy Moore said his car was undriveable at the start of the race dropping him from his 7th spot starting position back to last. Improving slightly as the race progressed the former World Champion said he just stayed out of trouble battling the wind more than anything else and suddenly he found himself up into fifth and then on the penultimate lap up to third when Krapp ran into the back of Prumper as they battled over third. Starting from 8th Krapp was clearly annoyed with himself for hitting his fellow German saying it was a ‘stupid mistake’ and he just pushed too hard. Waiting for the recovering Prumper, Krapp who said his Kyosho was working really well would finish 6th behind Prumper who said it was ‘bad luck’ that he got hit after such a good battle.
Commenting on the incident that would see him finish last having started 2nd on the grid, the very diplomatic Volker said he did ‘see any fault from his side’ in causing the accident. Admitting that Rheinard was slightly faster he said he was able to cover his line and race fairly but ‘as can be seen by my wing he hit me quite hard’. The rear wing on the LRP powered BD7 looking rather second hand. Rheinard said the incident looked really bad on him but believes it was not 100% his fault as Volker ran on the curb and lost forward traction which was something he could not predict as he took his regular line and breaking point at the next corner. Setting the fastest lap of the race, the 3-time World Champion said his Muchmore powered TRF417 V5 felt really fast and encouraged by this he is looking forward to an incident free second race.
In the Xray Pro stock class Marek Cerny took the win but the Xray driver came under pressure from Awesomatix’ Viljami Kutvonen before the Finn rolled on lap 10 dropping him back to third. Closing back in on Yokomo driver Olivier Bultynck who took over second Kutvonen would put a great pass on Belgian on his penultimate lap to finish were he started. For defending and former champions champion Zdenko Kunak and Martin Hofer the race would see both retire as a result of the same opening lap incident.
Ride Modified A-Main Leg 1 Result
1.(1) Viktor Wilck (SE) – Tamiya/Speed Passion – 16/5:03.487
2.(4) Alexander Hagberg (SE) – Xray/ORCA – 16/5:04.324
3.(7) Andy Moore (GB) – HB/Hobbywing – 16/5:07.975
4.(5) Marc Rheinard (DE) – Tamiya/Muchmore – 16/5:08.499
5.(3) Yannic Prumper (DE) – Yokomo/Muchmore – 16/5:09.803
6.(8) Christopher Krapp (DE) – Kyosho/Orion – 16/5:10.222
7.(6) Marc Fischer (DE) – Serpent/Thunder Power – 16/5:10.569
8.(9) Adrien Berntsen (NO) – Xray/ORCA – 16/5:12.047
9.(10)Loic Jasmin (FR) – Yokmo/LRP – 16/5:12.288
10.(2)Ronald Volker (DE) – Yokomo/LRP – 16/5:15.286
Xray Pro Stock A-Main Leg 1 Result
1.(1) Marek Cerny (CZ) – Xray – 16/5:20.160
2.(2) Viljami Kutvonen (FI) – Awesomatix – 15/5:06.023
3.(4) Olivier Bultynck (BE) – Yokomo – 15/5:06.159
4.(9) Toni Mateo (ES) – Yokomo – 15/5:13.939
5.(5) René Klöckner (DE) – Yokomo – 15/5:14.007
6.(7) Trin Tanongsakchaikul (TH) – Yokomo – 15/5:17.356
7.(10)Alvaro Fernandez (ES) – Tamiya – 13/4:27.116
8.(3) Zdenko Kunak (SK) – Yokomo – 6/1:58.020
9.(8) Bart Wubben (NL) – Xray – 4/1:14.724
10.(6)Martin Hofer (DE) – Schumacher – 1/0:03.997
View complete event results here.
View the event image gallery here.
Sunday, March 3, 2013
Wilck Top Qualifier at ETS Gran Canaria
Tamiya Racing Factory’s Viktor Wilck is the Top Qualifier for the 3rd round of the Yokomo Euro Touring Series in Gran Canaria. The Swede secured his first ETS pole position since 2010 after posting his second TQ run of the day in the 6th & final round of qualifying on the Spanish holiday island. Defending Champion Ronald Volker will start second, only able to post the 8th fastest time in Q6, with his Yokomo team-mate Yannic Prumper securing the third grid spot in front of Xray’s Alexander Hagberg.
Having taken a big gamble when he sat out the opening round of qualifying yesterday Wilck was delighted that it had paid off securing his first ETS TQ in 15 races and the first for Tamiya since Apeldoorn last year where team Marc Rheinard took the honour. The only front running driver with new tyres for the closing qualifier, Wilck topped the timing by 2.5 seconds from Serpent’s Marc Fischer who in turn was 5/100th fastest than last year’s race runner-up Hagberg. Commenting on tomorrow’s race Wilck said that with everything equal he believes he can go for the win tomorrow but he added tyre tactics could still be a key factor in the outcome of the race. Having previously TQ’d three ETS races but only converted one into a win, the Reedy Race champion is confident of adding a second win in the series to his CV pointing out that he sees Prumper as his biggest treat rather than Volker.
Volker’s aim for the final qualifier was to set a Top 3 time as this would have secured him overall TQ honours but said he lacked a little pace despite having tyres that were only on their second run. Eventually finishing the 5-minute run 4.8 seconds off Wilck, the Top Qualifier at the opening two rounds of the 2012/13 season said he was still happy with second as the track had plenty of opportunities for overtaking. Like Wilck, the German, who is chasing his third consecutive ETS title this season, believes tyre strategy will play a part in tomorrow results.
Making his debut on the island, Prumper is upbeat he can challenge for the win tomorrow saying his Muchmore equipped BD7 is really good on new tyres. Confident that he is a little faster than his team-mate Volker he said being able to overtake will depend a lot on the track conditions and the level of traction they bring. Already a circuit that has low traction he said if the conditions are not right it will be very difficult to move off the racing line for any attempts at passing.
For Christopher Krapp, who TQ’d last year’s event before going on to take a very popular first ETS win for himself & Kyosho, it was a disappointing qualifying. The German who opened qualifying with a solid run to third needed a good last qualifier to move up him to the grid but he could only manage 7th meaning he will start the A-Main from 8th in between Andy Moore and Adrien Berntsen.
In contrast to Krapp, for the winner of last year’s Pro Stock race Marek Cerny qualifying saw the Czech driver TQ 5 of the 6 rounds, an electrical problem in Q3 denying the Xray team driver a clean sweep. Starting behind the Xray Pro Stock Championship leader will be the Awesomatix of Finnish talent Viljami Kutvonen with defending champion Zdenko Kunak’s Yokomo completing the Top 3 spots for the grid.
Ride Modified Q6 times
1. Viktor Wilck – Tamiya/Speed Passion – 16/5:07.052
2. Marc Fischer – Serpent/Thunder Power – 16/5:09.680
3. Alexander Hagberg – Xray/ORCA – 16/5:09.737
4. Yannic Prumper – Yokomo/Muchmore – 16/5:10.069
5. Marc Rheinard – Tamiya/Muchmore – 16/5:10.298
6. Andy Moore – HB/Hobbywing – 16/5:10.944
7. Christopher Krapp – Kyosho/Orion – 16/5:15.682
8. Ronald Volker – Yokomo/LRP – 16/5:11.879
9. Meen Vejrak – Yokomo/DualSky – 16/5:13.791
10.Juho Levanen – Associated/Reedy – 16/5:15.053
Ride Modified A-Main Grid
1. Viktor Wilck (SE) – Tamiya/Speed Passion – 462 pts
2. Ronald Volker (DE) – Yokomo/LRP – 460
3. Yannic Prumper (DE) – Yokomo/Muchmore – 459
4. Alexander Hagberg (SE) – Xray/ORCA – 457
5. Marc Rheinard (DE) – Tamiya/Muchmore – 455
6. Marc Fischer (DE) – Serpent/Thunder Power – 454
7. Andy Moore (GB) – HB/Hobbywing – 453
8. Christopher Krapp (DE) – Kyosho/Orion – 451
9. Adrien Berntsen (NO) – Xray/ORCA – 466
10.Loic Jasmin (FR) – Yokmo/LRP – 466
Xray Pro Stock A-Main Grid
1. Marek Cerny (CZ) – Xray – 465 pts
2. Viljami Kutvonen (FI) – Awesomatix – 459
3. Zdenko Kunak (SK) – Yokomo – 458
4. Olivier Bultynck (BE) – Yokomo – 453
5. René Klöckner (DE) – Yokomo – 452
6. Martin Hofer (DE) – Schumacher – 451
7. Trin Tanongsakchaikul (TH) – Yokomo – 450
8. Bart Wubben (NL) – Xray – 449
9. Toni Mateo (ES) – Yokomo – 448
10.Alvaro Fernandez (ES) – Tamiya – 446
View complete event results here.
View the event image gallery here.
Saturday, March 2, 2013
Q5 Update – Rheinard fastest
Armed with a fresh set of tyres Marc Rheinard was fastest in the penultimate round of qualifying setting the pace head of fellow former World Champion Andy Moore who also utilized his second set of handout Ride tyres. Suffering cruel luck in the previous qualifier when his Xray suffered a speedo shut down while on a TQ run, Alexander Hagberg was the best placed driver on used tyres posting the third fastest time.
Last year’s winner in Gran Canaria, Christopher Krapp gambled on running his second set of tyres in Q5 but could only manage 4th saying that his car didn’t feel that good. Disappointed by the run the factory Kyosho driver, who is currently on target for 7th on the grid said the event has not gone as he had hoped but with one more qualifier he would be trying to better his starting position for tomorrow’s triple A-Mains.
While defending champion Ronald Volker holds the provisional overall TQ honours the real danger man to him keeping the No.1 spot on the grid is Viktor Wilck. Sitting out the first qualifier to save his tyres for Q2 which he duly TQ’d, the Swede still has to run his second set of new tyres which will give him a distinct advantage in the sixth & final qualifier.
Ride Modified Q5 times
1. Marc Rheinard – Tamiya/Muchmore – 16/5:09.610
2. Andy Moore – HB/Hobbywing – 16/5:10.766
3. Alexander Hagberg – Xray/ORCA – 16/5:13.215
4. Christopher Krapp – Kyosho/Orion – 16/5:15.682
5. Ronald Volker – Yokomo/LRP – 16/5:16.762
6. Juho Levanen – Associated/Reedy – 16/5:17.857
7. Marc Fischer – Serpent/Thunder Power – 16/5:18.540
8. Oliver Bultynck – Yokomo/LRP – 16/5:19.842
9. Charlee Phutiyotin – Yokomo/Muchmore – 16/5:19.857
10.Thomas Pumpler – Tamiya/Speed Passion – 16/5:19.866
View complete event results here.
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Saturday, March 2, 2013
Volker takes Q4 after Hagberg shuts down
Having sat out Q2 & 3, Q1 top qualifier Ronald Volker took the fourth round of qualifying at the ETS in Gran Canaria but only after Alexander Hagberg suffered a speedo shut down three & a half minutes in to the run while on target for his first TQ run. Despite running his second set of new tyres Volkers run was over 8 seconds slower than his Q1 pace due to the hotter track conditions and a windy spell in the final minute of the top heat which made for tricky conditions. Marc Fischer took his Serpent to the second fastest time 1.4 seconds behind Volker with Dominic Fleischmann third in his Yokomo.
After the round Volker said ‘so far the gamble (not to run the previous two heats) was paying off’ but added with three from the 6 rounds to count the gamble was still on as he only has two finishes to his credit. Describing the conditions as ‘tricky’ the defending champion said he was a little lucky that Hagberg hit trouble as he wasn’t sure he would have had the pace over the closing minute of the qualifier to make back the early advantage the Xray had before retiring. Overall happy with how is LRP BD7 ran in the conditions the German said it was a good round for the team with 5 of the Top 6 running Yokomos.
Also gambling on running his second set of Ride tyres, Fischer said having driven ‘like shit’ in yesterday’s opening qualifier when on his new tyres he needed to get a good run. He said unfortunately Volker & Hagberg also opted to run new tyres in the round with Hagberg suffering ‘bad luck’ he was able to get a valuable second. Expecting Marc Rheinard, Viktor Wilck and Andy Moore to use their second set of tyres in the penultimate qualifier, Fischer said because of this he will use three run old tyres for his next run saving his Q4 tyres for the final round. Expecting cooler conditions for the evening run the German is confident this would give him the potential for another top run as the difference between the first & second run on new tyres is not that big with his S411.
Fleischmann was very happy to set the third fastest time, the German suspecting he had one bad tyre in his first set of tyres. Having a lot more overall traction he said the first four laps of the run his BD7 didn’t feel to good but ‘all of a sudden’ it started to work very well and based on this he will try a different tyre management for Q5. Fellow Yokomo/LRP driver Loic Jasmin set the fourth fastest time but could have claimed his second Top 3 result were it not for a mistake on the last lap which cost him over 1-second in time.
Making the trip all the way to the Spanish holiday island from Thailand, Charlee Phutiyotin enjoyed his best run taking 5th for the round ahead of Q3 pace setter Yannic Prumper. Running in the 2nd fastest heat and on new tyres, the A-finalist at last weekend’s TITC said the sun which never got to break through the clouds yesterday made conditions a little trickier but he was pleased with his points haul for the round. His first time to contest a round of the Euro Touring Series he said he was really enjoying competing in the World famous electric Touring Car Championship.
Former European Championship Top Qualifier Steven Weiss took his Top Racing Photon EX to the 7th fastest time. The German, who is running a number of new parts that will form part of a new upcoming car from the Hong Kong company, said he was very happy to end the run just 3 seconds behind Volker who is widely acknowledged as being currently the best touring car in the world. Having made few set-up changes to his car Weiss said most of his work as been on tyre management.
Debuting the all new Schumacher Mi5 here this weekend, which because it is not the final production version the British company has asked us not to photograph, multiple British National Champion Chris Grainger set the 8th fastest time. A finalist at this event last year, Grainger said while putting the new car in the A-Main would be a dream result they have to be realistic but overall they are really pleased with how the car is working. Feature a number of hand made parts as production parts didn’t arrive in time, he said Phil Boots, who is responsible for the design of the car, has been busy making lots of notes on things which they can improve for the first production run of the new chassis.
In the Xray Pro Stock class Marek Cerny bounced back from his electrical issue in Q3 to post his third TQ run of qualifying. Winner of the event last year, the Xray driver is looking very strong but defending champion Zdenko Kunak was just 2/10th off the Czech driver this time and could give him a good run in the final on this his first visit to the island. In the Speed Passion Formula class Jan Asmer wrapped up the overall TQ honours for Sunday’s triple mains when he posted his fourth TQ qualifier.
Ride Modified Q4 times
1. Ronald Volker – Yokomo/LRP – 16/5:14.022
2. Marc Fischer – Serpent/Thunder Power – 16/5:15.433
3. Dominik Fleischmann – Yokomo/LRP – 16/5:15.682
4. Loic Jasmin – Yokmo/LRP – 16/5:16.253
5. Charlee Phutiyotin – Yokomo/Muchmore – 16/5:16.549
6. Yannic Prumper – Yokomo/Muchmore – 16/5:16.899
7. Steven Weiss – TOP/LRP – 16/5:17.153
8. Chris Grainger – Schumacher/GM Racing – 16/5:17.209
9. Zdenko Kunak – Yokomo/LRP – 16/5:17.383
10.Michael Bok – Yokomo/Speed Passion – 16/5:18.592
View complete event results here.
View the event image gallery here.
Saturday, March 2, 2013
