Wilck pips Prumper to take Q2
Tamiya Racing Factory’s Viktor Wilck has taken the second round of qualifying at the season finale of the 2011/12 Yokomo Euro Touring Series in Austria by just 58/1000ths of a second over Q1 top qualifier Yannic Prumper. Having pulled up early after traction rolling his Thunder Power equipped TRF417 in Q1 yesterday, Wilck had the benefit of fresh tyres for this morning’s heat and while pleased to TQ the round the Swede said all been equal in terms of tyres Prumper is in a different league this weekend. With Team Xray’s Alexander Hagberg using his second allocated set of controlled Ride R32 tyres to set the third fastest time, Prumper’s second fastest time was all the more impressive given the young German’s tyres had already produced a 21 lap TQ run.
Describing his run as safe, Reedy Race Champion Wilck said his car was ‘not nice to drive’ with it being very edgy. Asked what set-up changes he can make to improve the car for the remaining two qualifiers, he replied that having tried a few ideas in practice yesterday that did not work he was starting to run out of things to change adding that he expects it is going to be a tough afternoon here at Traiskirchen. Team-mate Marc Rheinard, who set the 5th fastest time on used tyres, said a number of set-up changes to try and make the car less edgy didn’t work and actually resulted in him suffering with lack of steering. While his car is better on new tyres the World Champion said he thinks there is little to be gained in terms of overall starting position and it would be more beneficial to save his second set of tyres for tomorrow’s finals.
Prumper said on used tyres his Thunder Power equipped Yokomo was more difficult to drive but considering how close he was able to run against Wilck on fresh tyres he was very happy with his pace. Preferring to adjust his driving to the feeling of the car on used tyres the former ETS race winner said he will run the same set-up for Q3. Team-mate and defending champion Ronald Volker took fourth in Q2 with a run he described as ‘OK’. The German ace said his LRP powered BD5 is super consistent but lacks overall pace. Looking to retain the car’s stability but find more steering he will try some small changes for Q3. One of the drivers to pull up early in Q1 to save tyres Yokomo’s Hayato Matsuzaki couldn’t capitalise, traction rolling his Reedy powered BD5 on the second lap before again pulling in to save his rubber.
Taking the gamble to run his second set of tyres in Q2, Hagberg said his ORCA powered T3 was still getting onto two wheels through the corners but he managed to complete a mistake free run. With a more stable car on used tyres the Polish ETS race winner is hopeful that for Q3 the majority of drivers will be on used rubber giving him the chance to add to his third place points from Q2.
The fourth of the title contenders, Kyosho’s Christopher Krapp was much happier with his Orion powered TF6 compared with yesterday. Running on used tyres the Gran Canaria winner was able to better is Q1 time while most of the front runners went slower. Having made a host of set-up changes he said he now has a good feeling with the car and he is confident that with a few more small adjustments and a different tyre management he should be a lot more competitive for the final two heats.
Having done just four laps in Q1, Team HB’s Atsushi Hara couldn’t make the most of the tyres as he once again traction rolled but opting to continue he set the 9th fastest time. Team-mate Andy Moore who was second fastest in Q1 did not even complete a lap after he lost the pin from his left rear drive shaft on the opening lap.
In the Xray Pro stock class out going champion Martin Hofer took his Schumacher to the fastest time ahead of the Awesomatix’s of Philipp Neudinger and Morten Iversen. Title contenders Oliver Franke and Zdenko Kunak set the 4th and 10th fastest time respectively.
Ride Modified Q2 Top 10 times
1. Viktor Wilck (SE) – Tamiya/Thunder Power – 20/5:00.614
2. Yannic Prümper (DE) – Yokmo/Thunder Power – 20/5:00.672
3. Alexander Hagberg (SE) – Xray/ORCA – 20/5:01.392
4. Ronald Völker (DE) – Yokomo/LRP – 20/5:02.611
5. Marc Rheinard (DE) – Tamiya/Speed Passion – 20/5:03.535
6. Christopher Krapp (DE) – Kyosho/Orion – 20/5:04.149
7. Magnus Vässmar (SE) – Xray/Thunder Power – 20/5:05.979
8. Martin Hudy (SK) – Xray/LRP – 20/5:06.253
9. Atsushi Hara (TH) – HB/Reedy – 20/5:06.556
10.Freddy Sudhoff (DE) – Awesomatix/LRP – 20/5:08.360
Xray Pro-Stock Q2 Top 10 times
1. Martin Hofer (DE) – Schumacher – 19/5:10.999
2. Philipp Neudinger (AT) – Awesomatix – 19 5:11.693
3. Morten Iversen (DK) – Awesomatix – 19 5:12.209
4. Oliver Franke (DE) – HB – 19/5:12.260
5. Marek Cerny (CZ) – Yokomo – 19/5:13.921
6. Tony Streit (DE) – Xray – 19/5:15.162
7. Denis Zuykov (RU) – Awesomatix – 19/5:16.044
8. Markus Kreder (DE) – Yokomo – 19/5:16.346
9. Jens Kroger (DE) – Kyosho – 19/5:20.708
10.Zdenko Kunak (SK) – Xray – 18/5:00.091
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