Rheinard tops opening Czech qualifier
Marc Rheinard has TQ’d the opening round of qualifying here in the Czech Republic. The World Champion set the pace from Tamiya team-mate Viktor Wilck who was 1.6 seconds off his 16 laps in 5:04.492 run. Having complained that his car felt tweaked in practice, the German moved the battery pack back to its original kit position for the first of the five qualifiers resulting in a much better car. Although happy to bag the maximum 155 points, Rheinard said he needs to improve the car further as it remains very loose under power. Making a number of mistakes during his run to the second fastest time, Wilck said his car was drivable but not perfect. The Swede said he hopes traction improves tomorrow as such conditions would suit his TRF416X.
Behind the Tamiya pairing it was Juho Levanen who was the closest challenger with a run of 16 laps in 5:07.686. The Finn switched to a heavier oil in the rear shocks of his TC5 but it resulted in the back end becoming very loose. With the handling compromised he said he was forced to drive a safe run and it paid off. The Finn is very confident he can improve the car and challenge for a TQ run in the four remaining heats tomorrow.
It was an encouraging start to the weekend for former World Champion Andy Moore as he recorded the fourth fastest time. The factory Hot Bodies driver said his Cyclone TC is working surprisingly well. Feeling average for the first 2-minutes of the run he said it really came good in the last 2-minutes. The Englishman said he wants to try some changes for Q2 but will not decide on what adjustments to make until the morning.
Martin Hudy made it four different brands of cars in the Top 5 as he took his Xray T3 to fifth fastest time ahead of former team-mate Elliot Harper. Harper said he didn’t drive well in the first heat and that going with a harder shock oil had also made his TRF416X hard to drive. The British teenager, who only got four hours sleep last night, says the car has a lot of potential but he wont decide on how to get that out of the car until he’s had a decent nights sleep.
Having surprised everyone in practice with his stunning pace Zdenek Hamak could only manage 11th fastest in the first round of qualifying. The Czech driver changed to a heavier oil in the rear of his Xray T3 which made the rear of the car very unstable. With his fastest lap of 18.519 still standing, Hamak plans to return his car to the set-up used to record that time.
Tomorrow’s action gets underway with the opening round of qualifying for the huge Pro Stock entry here in Hrotovice.
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