Impressions from Poland
Embedded above is a very nice video production by the OSM to highlight the fourth round of the 2009/2010 Xenon Racing backed Euro Touring Series which visited Warsaw, Poland, in early March.
A-main Leg 3 – Videos
Rheinard & Stocker extend championship lead in Poland
Marc Rheinard and Alexander Stocker came to Poland at the top of the Euro Touring Series standings and this evening they go away with an even greater advantage over their rivals after notching up their third win of the 2009/10 season at the Arena Ursynow. Stocker wrapped up the Pro Stock win early, taking victory in the opening two legs of the A-Main but in Modified things went down to the wire with no less than half the grid still having the potential to claim the overall victory.
Starting from pole, Rheinard was to be the class of the field in the closing race, quickly establishing a comfortable buffer but the German almost threw it away. Three corners from the finish line he flipped his Speedpassion powered Tamiya, loosing 2.5 seconds, but luckily for the two time World Champion his lead was big enough that he could still take the win. The big battle of the race was for second between last year’s winner Yannic Prumper and Leg 1 winner Viktor Wilck. Having struggled all weekend it was a case of too little too late from the German teenager. Moving his shocks to a lower position the 16-year-old finally showed the the kind of pace we saw 12 months ago when he took his first international victory. Starting fourth on the grid he found a way passed Steven Weiss and eventually got ahead of Wilck for second, lifting him to fourth overall. Expected to really push Rheinard for the win, Wilck fitted a fresh rear diff to his TRF416 X for the final race but it was to slip costing him any chance of closing the standings deficit which has now grown to 5 points.
Fourth in the final leg, Team Yokomo’s Steven Weiss would take the final step on the podium thanks to his second place finishes in Leg 1 & 2. His first ETS podium, the German said it was a very encouraging weekend and had been very beneficial for him in terms of getting to grips with the BD5.
In Pro Stock while the weekend belonged to Alexander Stocker we witnessed some great driving from Zdenko Kunák. Having pushed the German all the way in the opening leg, the Slovak teenager put in another great performance in the third leg with a very mature drive to take a well deserved second on the podium. Making it two Xray’s in the Top 3 Oliver Franke also put in a fine performance with his second top three finish of the day in Leg 3 to secure the final step on the podium. In the Hobby class Michal Orlowski upheld the honour of the Automobilklub Polski by cruising to victory, winning all three A-Mains from pole, and his talents were further recognised when he was presented with the Speed Passion ‘One to Watch Award’ by race director Scotty Ernst.
Round 4 of the Xenon Racing backed Euro Touring Series has been completed with the polish hosts OSM putting on a first class event. The event also brings to a close the indoor part of the 2009/10 season with the championship returning to Heemstede in the Netherlands for the first outdoor round on May 21-23.
Modified overall A-main results
1. Rheinard Marc – 2pts
2. Wilck Viktor – 4pts
3. Weiss Steven – 4pts
4. Prümper Yanni – 8pts
5. Ehrbar David – 8pts
6. Lnenicka Sacha – 9pts
7. Gollner Patrick – 9pts
8. Hudy Martin – 11pts
9. Bok Michal – 13pts
10. Treder Lars – 17pts
Pro Stock overall A-main results
1. Stocker Alexander – 2pts
2. Kunák Zdenko – 4pts
3. Franke Oliver – 6pts
4. Gehrig Jan – 7pts
5. Wohlgemuth Daniel – 9pts
6. Lepelaar Michael – 10pts
7. Bergfeldt Tommy – 14pts
8. Orlowski Blazej – 14pts
9. Sakaguchi Dai – 15pts
10.Wiessmann Felix – 18pts
Full results can be found here.
View our event image gallery here.
A-main Leg 2 – Videos
Rheinard converts in leg 2
After a poor performance in the opening final Marc Rheinard corrected things in Leg 2 by converting his Warsaw pole position into a rather easy victory over Steven Wiess and Sacha Lnenicka. ‘I drove better, but it would have been hard to drive any worse than I did this morning’ was how the German summed up the race. Finishing 4.5 seconds clear of Weiss’ Yokomo, the Championship leader said the track feels like it has less traction than yesterday and this is causing his Tamiya to be quite loose, but despite this he doesn’t plan any set-up changes for the deciding leg. Going into the third leg any one of five drivers can still take the win here at the Arena Ursynow.
Steven Weiss was happy to again take second position but a new set of tyres made his LRP powered BD5 not so nice to drive. The German, who is looking very strong for his first ever ETS podium finish, will run the same set of tyres again but will switch additive along with adjusting roll centres and front shock oil. Swiss National Champion Sacha Lnenicka said he had lots of luck on his side but was none the less very pleased with third. Running a Speed Passion powered TRF416 WE, he switched from CS Racing High Grip to Competition additive for the race and this had made his car easier to drive. For the closing race of the day he plans to try a combination of the two additives.
Leg 1 winner Viktor Wilck suffered bad luck, lasting less than a minute after his Tamiya shut down on the main straight. The Swede, who really wants to close the 3 point championship deficit to Rheinard before the series moves outdoors, is currently looking for the reason behind the mysterious shut down. Although he only finished ninth, one driver who deserves a mention is Lars Treder. The 18-year-old German was running a fine third and putting in the race of his life until last year’s Polish victor Yannic Prumper tried a move and the pair touched both ending up on their roofs.
After a great opening race, the second Leg of the Pro Stock A-Main didn’t live up to expectations with Alexander Stocker resuming his domination and cruising to victory to secure his third ETS win of the season. Behind the Hot Bodies driver the big battle was for second between Jan Gehrig and Zdenko Kunák but the star of the opening leg made a mistake giving Gehrig the break he needed to hold on for second. The error also allowed Daniel Wohlegumth through for third.
Modified A-main Leg 1
1. Rheinard Marc – 19 Laps in 5:01.623
2. Weiss Steven – 19 Laps in 5:06.120
3. Lnenicka Sacha – 19 Laps in 5:11.471
4. Gollner Patrick – 19 Laps in 5:11.633
5. Ehrbar David – 19 Laps in 5:13.070
6. Prümper Yannic – 19 Laps in 5:16.559
7. Hudy Martin – 18 Laps in 5:01.090
8. Bok Michal – 18 Laps in 5:01.780
9. Treder Lars – 18 Laps in 5:02.319
10.Wilck Viktor – 3 Laps in 0:38.774
Pro Stock A-main Leg 2
1. Stocker Alexander – 19 Laps in 5:13.693
2. Gehrig Jan – 19 Laps in 5:16.700
3. Wohlgemuth Daniel – 18 Laps in 5:01.693
4. Kunák Zdenko – 18 Laps in 5:04.361
5. Franke Oliver – 18 Laps in 5:05.374
6. Lepelaar Michael – 18 Laps in 5:06.200
7. Orlowski Blazej – 18 Laps in 5:07.908
8. Sakaguchi Dai – 18 Laps in 5:10.368
9. Wiessmann Felix – 18 Laps in 5:10.922
10.Bergfeldt Tommy – 18 Laps in 5:11.126
Full results can be found here.
View our event image gallery here.
A-main Leg 1 – Videos
Wilck takes first A-Main in Warsaw
Starting from the 2nd spot on the grid, Viktor Wilck has won the first A-Main here in Poland at the fourth round of the Xenon Racing backed Euro Touring Series. The Swedish ace took the win from Steven Weiss after Top Qualifier Marc Rheinard rolled out of the lead on lap 6. David Ebrbar completed the Top 3 for the leg.
After the race a very pleased Wilck said, ‘the pressure is now on Marc’. The Tamiya Factory Racing pairing are seperated by just 3 points at the top of the championship standings, Rheinard having taken the bonus point for securing TQ honurs yesterday, and Wilck is determined to make sure that the deficit is lower if not gone come this evening’s podium presentations. The Kastelluan ETS winner described the run a pretty OK but admitted he nearly threw it all away in his quest to beat his team-mate. Pushing hard into the first corner he got his Speed Passion powered TRF416X up on two wheels which allowed Weiss through to second spot. Switching to a less aggressive driving style it was to pay off for Wilck as retook Weiss and started to close on Rheinard, who in turn made the first of a number of mistakes, handing him an important pshycological victory.
Team Yokomo’s Steven Weiss was very happy with his run to second as his weekend improves with every extra lap. Having jumped to the 3rd on the grid following two great runs in the final two rounds of heats yesterday the German said he is starting to really get a handle on the BD5 and has, after a lot of set-up changes, got a point to work from. Admitting that he still lacks the outright pace of Wilck, whose fastest lap of the race was over a 1/10 faster than anyone else, the former European Championship Top Qualifier said he feels confident he can leave here with a podium trophy.
David Ehrbar was delighted with his run to third but the 2009 Czech Grand Prix winner said it was a lucky race as other made mistakes that benefited him. Having ran a new set of rubber in the leg his Xray T3 suffered with understeer and now he plans to switch back to a used set of the controlled Xenon tyres for Leg 2 to cure the problem. Asked if he thought a podium was possible, Ehrbar was realistic about his chances saying that there are a number of drivers faster than him and if he can finish in the Top 5 he will leave Poland a happy man.
Starting from seventh on the grid Marin Hudy claimed fourth but the factory Xray driver was annoyed with himself for pushing too hard. Running right on the bumper of Ehrbar and clearly the faster of the two Xray’s he rolled, costing him an almost certain third spot. The Slovak driver said he knew if he pushed too hard he would go over and he did, but having learned his lesson he is confident he can make up for it in A-Main number 2 as his car feels really good.
Rheinard summed up his out of character performance and ninth place finish by saying ‘I just made too many mistakes’. One nice gesture from the World Champion was when he and Toni Sport driver Yannic Prumper touched resulting in last year’s Polish winner ending up on its roof. Turning around Rheinard pushed Prumpers car back on its wheels before resuming racing.
In Pro Stock the winner might have been who we expected but for the first time we witnessed Alexander Stocker coming under pressure. Up and coming Slovak talent Zdenko Kunák drove a fantastic race, pushing the championship leader hard right throughout the race setting the fastest lap in the process. Stocker was given a slight breeder in the final few laps when Kunák caught the dots a few times but afterward he acknowlegded the impressive performance from the 16-year-old Xray driver. Stocker said he plans to change to a longer gearing on his LRP powered Hot Bodies while Kunák said his car is fine, the only changes needed being in his hands. Finishing third just ahead of Tommy Bergfeldt, Germany’s Oliver Franke was delighted with his opening race and although coming here not thinking a podium was possible, now has his sights set on finishing in the overall Top 3. Finishing 8th, Czech ETS race winner Daniel Wohlgemuth’s difficult weekend continued as he struggled with grip roll and a lack of punch, the power of the latest speedos being a major talking point here this weekend.
Modified A-main Leg 1 results
1. Wilck Viktor – 19 Laps in 5:02.156
2. Weiss Steven – 19 Laps in 5:04.332
3. Ehrbar David – 19 Laps in 5:09.867
4. Hudy Martin – 19 Laps in 5:10.536
5. Gollner Patrick – 19 Laps in 5:11.562
6. Lnenicka Sacha – 19 Laps in 5:11.841
7. Prümper Yannic – 19 Laps in 5:15.583
8. Bok Michal – 19 Laps in 5:15.632
9. Rheinard Marc – 19 Laps in 5:19.773
10.Treder Lars – 18 Laps in 5:08.350
Pro Stock A-main Leg 1
1. Stocker Alexander – 19 Laps in 5:14.890
2. Kunák Zdenko – 19 Laps in 5:15.233
3. Franke Oliver – 19 Laps in 5:16.466
4. Bergfeldt Tommy – 19 Laps in 5:16.805
5. Gehrig Jan – 18 Laps in 5:03.201
6. Lepelaar Michael – 18 Laps in 5:05.897
7. Orlowski Blazej – 18 Laps in 5:08.906
8. Wohlgemuth Daniel – 18 Laps in 5:10.624
9. Wiessmann Felix – 18 Laps in 5:11.172
10.Sakaguchi Dai – 17 Laps in 5:02.599
Full results can be found here.
View our event image gallery here.
Rheinard on pole in Warsaw
Marc Rheinard will start the fourth round of the Euro Touring Series from pole position ahead of his Tamiya Racing Factory team-mate Viktor Wilck. Going into the final qualifier here in Warsaw tied on 310 points each, Wilck needed to TQ the round in a faster time than that set by the German in Q4 but it wasn’t to be. The Swede could only manage the 5th fastest time while Rheinard was the only driver to record 19 laps for the round.
The star of the last round of heats was former European Championship Top Qualifier Steven Weiss. Having signed with Team Yokomo for the 2010 season, the German was yesterday still learning the new chassis in terms of set-up but for the final two rounds of qualifying he found his way. Running in the second fastest group, Weiss produced an 18 lap run in 5:00.193 to take second in the final qualifier backing up his fourth fastest time in the penultimate round. With each driver’s best two of the five qualifiers to count Weiss jumps right into contention for a strong result this weekend, lining up 3rd on the grid.
Third fastest in the final round of qualifying and jumping from a place in the B final to seventh on the grid in the A was Martin Hudy. A previous ETS podium finisher, the factory Xray driver has struggled since crashing out in the warm-up for his opening heat but looked far more confident in Q5 and hopefully can carry that through to tomorrow. The sheer size and width of track here in the Arena Ursynow should give the Slovak driver a real chance of progressing through the field. Swiss National Champion Sacha Lnenicka was another driver to benefit from a ‘best for last’ run as he ran the fourth fastest time bumping him up to ninth on the grid.
In Pro Stock, the last round of qualifying was the first time we didn’t see Alexander Stocker’s name at the top of the list. Both he and team-mate Daniel Wohlgemuth had their cars shut down within seconds of one another, leaving Slovak talent Zdenko Kunak to TQ the round and secure second on the grid ahead of German’s Jan Gehrig who has really impressed here this weekend. Gehrig is being run by Mod racer David Ehrbar, who is also running his girlfriend Anna Wysgol in the Hobby class, and tomorrow all three of them will line up on the grid for the A-Main of their respective classes.
In the Tamiya TT01 based Hobby Class it is emerging 8-year-old Polish talent and championship leader Michal Orlowski who will start on pole ahead of Dutch driver Eric Mulder. Making his ETS debut Gerd Strenge of Durango fame will line up fourth on the gird.
Modified Top 10 final standings
1. Rheinard Marc (DE) – Tamiya/Speedpassion
2. Wilck Viktor (SE) – Tamiya/Speedpassion
3. Weiss Steven (DE) – Yokomo/LRP
4. Prümper Yannic (DE) – Tamiya/Speedpassion
5. Ehrbar David (DE) – Xray/LRP
6. Treder Lars (DE) – Tamiya/GM
7. Hudy Martin (SK) – Xray/LRP
8. Bok Michal (CZ) – Tamiya/Speedpassion
9. Lnenicka Sacha (CH) – Tamiya/Speedpassion
10.Gollner Patrick (AT) – Tamiya/LRP
Pro Stock Top 10 final standings
1. Stocker Alexander (DE) – Hot Bodies
2. Kunák Zdenko (SK) – Xray
3. Gehrig Jan (DE) – Xray
4. Franke Oliver (DE) – Xray
5. Bergfeldt Tommy (SE) – Hot Bodies
6. Orlowski Blazej (PL) – Tamiya
7. Wohlgemuth Daniel (DE) – Hot Bodies
8. Sakaguchi Dai (DE) – Tamiya
9. Lepelaar Michael (NL) – Tamiya
10.Wiessmann Felix (DE) – Tamiya
Full results can be found here.
View our event image gallery here.
