Volker is Top Qualifier for ETS season opener
Team Yokomo’s Ronald Volker is Top Qualifier for the opening round of the 2011/12 Yokomo Euro Touring Series. Having TQ’d the opening two qualifiers in Germany, the reigning champion laid claim to his sixth ETS pole position when he topped Q3 with a new fastest time. The German once again outpaced the Tamiya of Marc Rheinard with Xray’s Alexander Hagberg enjoying his best round to set the third fastest time.
Having changed the set-up of his front shocks for the penultimate qualifier in order to improve corner speed, Volker said his BD5 WXi was better but nearer to the edge and on lap 19 of 23 he found that edge losing over a second when he suffered a roll. The loss of time resulted in the German missing out on the first 24 lap of the weekend. Delighted to be starting his title defense from pole position tomorrow he said he will use the last round of qualifying this evening to try a different set-up which he described as ‘risky’.
Currently the only Yokomo driver in the final, Volker’s team-mates need to pull something out of the bag in Q4. Switching to the same set-up as his team-mate Naoto Matsukura was a lot happier with his car and set an almost identical lap time to that of Volkers fastest lap of the event but a couple of mistakes meant the IIC Champion was only 15th for the round. Yannic Prümper also tried Volker’s set-up but it didn’t suit the German teenager’s driving style as the car was not aggressive enough and he was only 9th.
Runner-up to Volker in all three qualifier’s Rheinard said he still does not have a good feeling with his Tamiya TRF417x. Having changed springs for Q3 he said it made little difference. Not sure what direction to take the driver with the most ETS wins to his credit said he will try different shiming of the ackermann for Q4 that was suggested to him by Matsukura as he has run out of ideas of his own to try.
Behind the top 3, Kyosho’s Christopher Krapp and Hot Bodies’ Dominik Fleischmann both put in their best runs setting the fourth and fifth fastest times respectively while Andy Moore completed the Top 6.
In Pro Stock Hot Bodies driver Oliver Franke again set the pace taking the round from the Awesomatix pairing of Ivan Laptev and Denmark’s Carsten Madsen. Champion Martin Hofer saw his run ruined when he caught a corner dot on his the second lap resulting in him getting stuck against the track barrier and losing over 4 seconds. Currently only 6th in the overall qualification ranking the German really needs a good final qualifier if he is to have any chance of starting off his title defence with a win tomorrow. Fifth for the round Zdenko Kunák’s opening TQ run is still the fastest five minute time so it is still all to play for in the final qualifier with both drivers still seeking their first ever ETS TQ honour.
View complete race results here.
View the event image gallery here.
