Volker tops practice at ETS finale
Team Yokomo’s Ronald Volker is the top seed for qualifying at the sixth & final round of the 2010/11 ETS after outpacing Tamiya’s Viktor Wilck and Marc Rheinard in the second controlled practice. Once again the German tried two different cars this time to back to back test a front geardiff against a spool, the former proving the better option. Describing the ever changing track conditions as not being as good as CP1, Volker said he was surprised by his faster time for the three consecutive laps and now plans to run that set-up for this evening’s opening round of qualifying.
Using CP2 to run in his second set of race tyres, Wilck was happy to be able to run closer to the pace of Volker this time round also managing to move ahead of his TRF team-mate Rheinard. The Swede found the track to suit his TRF417 better and chose to scrub in the tyres as it should make for a more stable car over the opening laps of the first qualifier.
The first two laps of the run are still a problem for Hot Bodies’ two former World Champions Andy Moore and Atsushi Hara but having found a front drive shaft to be binding in the diff of his Hot Bodies TCX after CP1 Moore was able to improve to the fourth fastest time. Hara also improved his time but dropped to sixth. Running a softer set-up the Japanese star said the car produced faster lap times but did not have the correct feeling and he will revert back to his earlier set-up.
Top Danish racer Steen Graversen, who is running the still relatively new Russian designed Awesomatix, ran the fifth fastest time in CP2. Describing the traction as a complete lottery due to the wind being able to completely change conditions, Graversen is happy with the handling of the A700 for when the track is good. Finding it hard to judge what the traction is going to be like when you arrive into a corner he admitted he is not sure what set-up changes he would change if he had too.
Although he improved his time in CP2 Kyosho’s Christopher Krapp ends practice seventh fastest ahead of Tamiya’s Jille Groskamp and Team Yokomo’s Lucas Urbain. The fastest Xray driver Eric Dankel, the winner of the opening to round of this year’s series in Pro Stock, completes the Top 10 for Modified practice.
In Pro Stock Ivan Laptev set the pace with his Awesomatix outpacing Jens Kroger, Martin Hofer and Cyril N’diaye, the Top 3 in CP1, who all failed to better their times in the final practice.
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