No surprises in Czech Republic as Volker takes Q1
The first qualifier for the second round of the 2010/11 ETS has been run and to no ones great surprise it is Ronald Volker who remains the man to beat. The Yokomo driver was the only person to break 25 laps with a time of 5:11.417 with Marc Rheinard second fastest on 24 laps in 5:00.231.
Describing his LRP powered BD5 Worlds Spec as easy to drive and well balanced, Volker said as he had expected Rheinard was able to match his pace, a roll by the World Champion on lap 6 hampering his chances of knocking his fellow German off the top of the time sheets. Rheinard said his new TRF417 felt strange on fresh rubber but after a few laps he was able to run same pace as Volker and that the key to taking the challenge to his arch rival is getting his car to work as well as Volker’s from lap 1.
This morning he said testing at Xray’s private indoor track in Slovakia had been very productive and Alexander Hagberg backed that statement up by setting the third fastest time. Having to drive from a different position on the rostrum following the reseed for qualifying the Swedish ace said it took a few laps to adjust to this but his T3’11 was really good and he has no plans to change anything for the morning. Overall it was a much better start to the event for Xray than at Round 1 with Teemu Leino, Adrian Bernsten and Zdenko Kunak all making the Top 10 in Q1 setting the 6th, 8th and 9th fastest times respectively.
Freddy Sudhoff was fourth fastest but the Hot Bodies driver was not so happy with his driving at the beginning of the run. The German also found his TCX to be a little loose at the rear, something he hopes to cure for the morning by changing additive and the timing of its application. Right behind Sudhoff was his team-mate Dominik Fleischmann but the Kastellaun finalist was also not entirely pleased with his driving either.
Sandwiched in between the Tamiya and Hot Bodies of factory drivers Viktor Wilck and Andy Moore, former team driver Steven Weiss put in a strong showing with his privately entered Top Racing Photon setting the 11th fastest time.
In the Xray Pro-Stock class Eric Dankel took the opening qualifier with ease, his pace being a massive 5 seconds clear of the second fastest driver Martin Lissau. Dankel flipped his Xray at the end of the run but luckily his time had already expired. With a new set of Xenon controlled tyres on his T3’11 the German suffered understeer for the opening part of the 5-minute run but once the tyres came in the car was back to how it was in practice. Fellow Xray driver Tony Streit, who finished 7th overall in Kastellaun, reported the same issue but the 21-year-old was pleased with his run to the third fastest time.
Making his ETS debut former 1:5 World Champion Martin Lissau said his run to second was a little lucky as a number of the championship regulars made mistakes. The Danish driver, who is running a Tamiya TRF416WE fitted with a rear gear diff, found his car very inconsistent and for Q2 tomorrow morning plans to change the spool for a front gear diff.
Former ETS Pro-Stock Champion Balint Raijki said his Hot Bodies TCX was good and stable allowing him to easily ride the dots but felt like it lacked punch out of the corners. The Hungarian driver thinks he may need to adjust his driving style for the next qualifier rather than go changing the set-up. The Top 6 was completed by current Champion Alexander Stocker and Round 1 podium finisher Martin Hofer.
Xenon Modified Qualifying – Round 1 Top 10
1. Völker Ronald (DE) – 25 5:11.417 [Yokomo/LRP]
2. Rheinard Marc (DE) – 24 5:00.231 [Tamiya/Speedpassion]
3. Hagberg Alexander (SE) – 24 5:01.859 [Xray/LRP]
4. Südhoff Frederik (DE) – 24 5:02.823 [Hot Bodies/LRP]
5. Fleischmann Dominik (DE) – 24 5:04.707 [Hot Bodies/LRP]
6. Leino Teemu (FI) – 24 5:04.806 [Xray/Orion]
7. Levanen Juho (FI) – 24 5:05.083 [Associated/LRP]
8. Berntsen Adrian (NO) – 24 5:05.090 [Xray/LRP]
9. Kunak Zdenko (SK) – 24 5:05.526 [Xray/LRP]
10.Wilck Viktor (SE) – 24 5:06.353 [Tamiya/Speedpassion]
Xray Pro Stock Qualifying – Round 1 Top 10
1. Dankel Eric (DE) – 23 5:02.742 [Xray]
2. Lissau Martin (DK) – 23 5:07.878 [Tamiya]
3. Streit Tony (DE) – 23 5:08.775 [Xray]
4. Rajki Balint (HU) – 23 5:09.943 [Hot Bodies]
5. Stocker Alexander (DE) – 23 5:10.041 [Hot Bodies]
6. Hofer Martin (DE) – 23 5:11.429 [Yokomo]
7. Tschupp Philip (CH) – 23 5:13.764 [TOP]
8. Klöckner René (DE) – 23 5:13.872 [Tamiya]
9. Kuriger Sandro (CH) – 22 5:00.080 [Tamiya]
10.Wohlgemuth Daniel (DE) – 22 5:00.333 [Xray]
Full results can be found here.
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