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.
