Hara powers to victory in first A-Main
Atsushi Hara has won the opening leg of the A-Main here at a sun soaked MACH. The Hot Bodies driver used the ‘horse power’ of his GM powered Hot Bodies to work his way from fourth on the grid to snatch the race win from Marc Rheinard 3 laps from the end of the final. The former Touring Car World Champion said he knew his only chance of overtaking was going to be on the main straight and that’s what he did. Having changed to thicker shock oil on his new TCX chassis for today’s very hot track conditions, the Japanese pro said his car was working really well but feels it will be hard to repeat the result again in Leg 2. Having the power is one thing but being able to get it stopped from 110 + kph is another and Hara said with the tyres now used it will be hard to take advantage of the spectacular top speed he has.
Having got the jump on Top Qualifier Viktor Wilck off the start and into the first corner current World Champion & ETS standings leader Rheinard said he gave away the race. Challenged for the lead by his Tamiya team-mate Wilck the German said he let up too much when the Swede retired with a stripped spur gear allowing Hara to take 6/10th out of his lead on one lap alone. Knowing Hara was fast at the end of the main straight Rheinard tried staying on the power longer but he then struggled with getting his Speed Passion powered TRF416 slowed down.
Defending ETS Champion Jilles Groskamp completed the Top 3 but admitted he was a bit lucky with the demise of Wilck and Andy Moore. The Dutch ace said his Tamiya is working really well but a clear lack of straight line speed is making it hard to challenge for the win. Hara blasted passed him on the straight but as soon as they reached the infield Groskamp was all over the back of his car actually making contact with the rear bumper of the Hot Bodies. With the temperature continuing to rise here in the Netherlands the European Champion feels this will help reduce his power disadvantage.
Running the same set of tyres he ran in qualifying Steen Graversen will be one to watch in the remaining two finals. With a fresh set of tyres at his disposal he will have a distinct advantage over the rest of the field. ‘Should not be possible’ was how the fast Dane described his fourth place finish after a great clean battle with Dutchman Bart Wubben and France’s Cyril N’diaye. Graversen said he may gamble on running old tyres once again in Leg 2 and save his new set for the final race of the day but admits its a big risk.
Although he failed to finish the race, going out at the 3-minute mark while running second, Wilck said he was caught by surprise at how fast Rheinard was off the start. Able to close the gap to the leader in the mid part of the race he said his car suffered with a little understeer making it hard to challenge Rheinard but planning a faster start next time around he is confident he can take the win. For factory Hot Bodies driver Moore, a motor failure ended a very strong run. The Englishman, who started 6th, was following his team-mate Hara up through the field but at the start of lap 9 his car came to a halt. The only plus side is that he will now have the advantage of fresher tyres for Leg 2. Another one to watch will be young German talent Yannic Prumper who crashed in the opening laps and pulled up to save his tyres.
In Pro Stock, Top Qualifier Vasco Christiaanse threw away a certain win when he went off the track loosing 5 seconds and allowing the Corally of Rob Janssen to cruise to an easy win. ‘No excuse, a stupid mistake. What else can I say’ was how the Kyosho driver summed up the race, but with his new TF6 working really well the Dutchman plans to rectify his error in Leg 2. Winner Janssen, who won the Dutch ETS encounter last year, said his PHi ’09 is working much better today and believes he can take the challenge to his fellow countryman having outpaced Christiaanse on lap times in the later part of the race. Making it an all local Top 3 Tjitte Miedema enjoyed a good drive, but the star of the opening Leg was Russia’s Ivan Laptev who finished 4th from 10th on the gird.
Modified A-main Leg 1 results
1. Hara Ataushi – 20 Laps in 5:09.816
2. Rheinard Marc – 20 Laps in 5:10.306
3. Groskamp Jilles – 20 Laps in 5:12.206
4. Graversen Steen – 19 Laps in 5:05.990
5. Wubben Bart – 19 Laps in 5:07.684
6. N’diaye Cyril – 19 Laps in 5:11.203
7. Ehrbar David – 19 Laps in 5:11.627
8. Wilck Viktor – 12 Laps in 3:00.944
9. Moore Andy – 8 Laps in 1:59.038
10.Prümper Yannic – 3 Laps in 0:42.313
Pro Stock A-main Leg 1 results
1. Janssen Rob – 17 Laps in 5:09.909
2. Christiaanse Vasco – 17 Laps in 5:15.678
3. Miedema Tjitte – 17 Laps in 5:18.997
4. Laptev Ivan – 16 Laps in 5:02.314
5. Madsen Carsten – 16 Laps in 5:03.956
6. Vekemans Geoffrey – 16 Laps in 5:05.398
7. Franke Oliver – 16 Laps in 5:06.189
8. Kunák Zdenko – 16 Laps in 5:06.426
9. Persijn Joffrey – 16 Laps in 5:11.322
10.Jongenelis Patrick – 16 Laps in 5:12.239
Full results can be found here.
View the event image gallery here.
