Volker takes Q4 after Hagberg shuts down
Having sat out Q2 & 3, Q1 top qualifier Ronald Volker took the fourth round of qualifying at the ETS in Gran Canaria but only after Alexander Hagberg suffered a speedo shut down three & a half minutes in to the run while on target for his first TQ run. Despite running his second set of new tyres Volkers run was over 8 seconds slower than his Q1 pace due to the hotter track conditions and a windy spell in the final minute of the top heat which made for tricky conditions. Marc Fischer took his Serpent to the second fastest time 1.4 seconds behind Volker with Dominic Fleischmann third in his Yokomo.
After the round Volker said ‘so far the gamble (not to run the previous two heats) was paying off’ but added with three from the 6 rounds to count the gamble was still on as he only has two finishes to his credit. Describing the conditions as ‘tricky’ the defending champion said he was a little lucky that Hagberg hit trouble as he wasn’t sure he would have had the pace over the closing minute of the qualifier to make back the early advantage the Xray had before retiring. Overall happy with how is LRP BD7 ran in the conditions the German said it was a good round for the team with 5 of the Top 6 running Yokomos.
Also gambling on running his second set of Ride tyres, Fischer said having driven ‘like shit’ in yesterday’s opening qualifier when on his new tyres he needed to get a good run. He said unfortunately Volker & Hagberg also opted to run new tyres in the round with Hagberg suffering ‘bad luck’ he was able to get a valuable second. Expecting Marc Rheinard, Viktor Wilck and Andy Moore to use their second set of tyres in the penultimate qualifier, Fischer said because of this he will use three run old tyres for his next run saving his Q4 tyres for the final round. Expecting cooler conditions for the evening run the German is confident this would give him the potential for another top run as the difference between the first & second run on new tyres is not that big with his S411.
Fleischmann was very happy to set the third fastest time, the German suspecting he had one bad tyre in his first set of tyres. Having a lot more overall traction he said the first four laps of the run his BD7 didn’t feel to good but ‘all of a sudden’ it started to work very well and based on this he will try a different tyre management for Q5. Fellow Yokomo/LRP driver Loic Jasmin set the fourth fastest time but could have claimed his second Top 3 result were it not for a mistake on the last lap which cost him over 1-second in time.
Making the trip all the way to the Spanish holiday island from Thailand, Charlee Phutiyotin enjoyed his best run taking 5th for the round ahead of Q3 pace setter Yannic Prumper. Running in the 2nd fastest heat and on new tyres, the A-finalist at last weekend’s TITC said the sun which never got to break through the clouds yesterday made conditions a little trickier but he was pleased with his points haul for the round. His first time to contest a round of the Euro Touring Series he said he was really enjoying competing in the World famous electric Touring Car Championship.
Former European Championship Top Qualifier Steven Weiss took his Top Racing Photon EX to the 7th fastest time. The German, who is running a number of new parts that will form part of a new upcoming car from the Hong Kong company, said he was very happy to end the run just 3 seconds behind Volker who is widely acknowledged as being currently the best touring car in the world. Having made few set-up changes to his car Weiss said most of his work as been on tyre management.
Debuting the all new Schumacher Mi5 here this weekend, which because it is not the final production version the British company has asked us not to photograph, multiple British National Champion Chris Grainger set the 8th fastest time. A finalist at this event last year, Grainger said while putting the new car in the A-Main would be a dream result they have to be realistic but overall they are really pleased with how the car is working. Feature a number of hand made parts as production parts didn’t arrive in time, he said Phil Boots, who is responsible for the design of the car, has been busy making lots of notes on things which they can improve for the first production run of the new chassis.
In the Xray Pro Stock class Marek Cerny bounced back from his electrical issue in Q3 to post his third TQ run of qualifying. Winner of the event last year, the Xray driver is looking very strong but defending champion Zdenko Kunak was just 2/10th off the Czech driver this time and could give him a good run in the final on this his first visit to the island. In the Speed Passion Formula class Jan Asmer wrapped up the overall TQ honours for Sunday’s triple mains when he posted his fourth TQ qualifier.
Ride Modified Q4 times
1. Ronald Volker – Yokomo/LRP – 16/5:14.022
2. Marc Fischer – Serpent/Thunder Power – 16/5:15.433
3. Dominik Fleischmann – Yokomo/LRP – 16/5:15.682
4. Loic Jasmin – Yokmo/LRP – 16/5:16.253
5. Charlee Phutiyotin – Yokomo/Muchmore – 16/5:16.549
6. Yannic Prumper – Yokomo/Muchmore – 16/5:16.899
7. Steven Weiss – TOP/LRP – 16/5:17.153
8. Chris Grainger – Schumacher/GM Racing – 16/5:17.209
9. Zdenko Kunak – Yokomo/LRP – 16/5:17.383
10.Michael Bok – Yokomo/Speed Passion – 16/5:18.592
View complete event results here.
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