Euro Touring Series

June 15, 2017

Coelho aiming to wrap it up at Hudy Arena

The Yokomo Euro Touring Series travels to rc racingâ€™s bucket list topping Hudy Arena this weekend (16-18 June) but unlike previous visits to the home of Xray the event will not mark the traditional conclusion to the season for the world famous touring car championship. Now scheduled in as Round 5 of 6, the ETSâ€™ fifth trip to Slovakia however looks likely to decide the Season #10 champion with Bruno Coelho already within hands reach of successfully defending his title. The only one who can attempt to deny Coelho form celebrating one of the sportâ€™s most coveted titles on Sunday night is World Champion Ronald Volker. With Coelho having three wins from four races, Volker is the only other winner this season but the Yokomo driver needs to dominate on a track where he has only won once before when the ETS made its first visit in 2013. Coelho on the other hand has never failed to win at his â€˜home trackâ€™ since making his championship debut and would love to wrap up the title with that record remaining intact.

While all the attention will be on seeing if Volker can force the title to be decided in his home country, Ettlingen in Germany the new location for the season finale, a number of drivers will be striving for their own personal success at the Hudy Arena. Having given Infinity its first international title when he won the Reedy Race of Champions last month, Marc Rheinard will be aiming to give the Japanese newcomer its first ETS win as a manufacturer. Missing out on the podium at Round 4 in Italy for the first time since joining Infinity, that result ended the Germanâ€™s title hopes. Given the trackâ€™s ownership, winning at the Hudy Arena would now be the next best thing and itâ€™s something he has done once before when he led a Tamiya 1-2 from Viktor Wilck there in 2014 albeit before the arrival of Coelho.

Claiming a surprise but very popular podium finish last time out behind Coelho and Volker, Elliott Harper will be looking to repeat that performance for the relatively small Schumacher team. The multiple World Championship finalist, put his second ever ETS podium down to progress made by the team finding a set-up for asphalt and after his confidence boosting performance he should be in the mix this weekend having made the final on his previous visit to the Hudy Arena.

Having made his first A-Main this season in Italy, Wilck would go on to be competitive at the Reedy Race of Champions eventually finishing on the podium. While a unique race format, the Serpent driver did have good speed and having made the A-Main every year at the Hudy Arena we might see the Swede back mixing it at the sharp end of the field. Fellow countryman Alexander Hagberg has contributed to an Xray 1-2 here the last two years and after his misfortunes in Italy the 1:12 European Champion will be looking to bounce back.

In Pro Stock, it is also the reigning champion who leads the way but Jan Ratheisky has yet to register a win. The season so far has seen three different winners with Ratheiskyâ€™s Xray team-mate Alexandre Duchet claiming two of those. Second in the standings, the French driver took a surprise win at the season opener and a win on the championshipâ€™s first visit to Madrid. Bringing the challenge to Xray is Awesomatix with Olivier Bultynck holding third in the standings with a win at Round 2 to his credit. The Russian manufacturer added a second win with team manager Max MÃ¤chler taking a very popular first ETS win in Italy. In the Scorpion Power Formula class, it is two wins a piece for champion Ratheisky and Serpentâ€™s David Ehrbar with just a single point separating the two title contenders.

May 14, 2017

Volker & Harper complete podium in Riccione

Ronald Volker has kept the championship race for this year’s ETS title going by winning the third A-Main in Italy to finish 2nd overall. Â With reigning champion Bruno Coelho wrapping up his third win of the season in A2, Â the Portuguese driver was a more than usual interested spectator of A3 as the failure of Volker to finish second overall would mean he would be crowned Champion for a second year. Â Leading away the field Volker will get the result he needs with pursuer Elliott Harper not able to get by the Yokomo driver. Â Harper would in fact come under attack from Marc Rheinard until the Infinity driver ran onto the grass. Â An important result for Volker, if not the one he came to Riccione seeking, it was probably Harper however who was the happiest driver on the podium, his first podium finish in 6-years marking the first for Schumacher in the premiere Modified class.

Commenting on his second overall and clearly choosing his words carefully, Volker said, ‘A3 wasn’t easy because I was fighting with the balance (of the car) but I can’t be too unhappy to get P2. Â It was the max I could do for now’. Â The only other winner this year apart from Coelho, the World Champion said, ‘we are trying hard to catch up in car performance but it wasn’t on point so we couldn’t win’. Â Needing perfect results in the final two races of the season, he concluded, ‘we have to improve the car and that’s got to be our main focus from now to the next ETS’.

‘It nice to be back, we worked hard for this’, was how Harper summed up his impressive performance over the weekend. Â Having TQ’d a round of qualifying for the first time on Saturday, the multiple World’s Finalist continued, ‘we did a lot of learning and we had pretty good pace today and for the size of the team I think thats pretty impressive’. Â With former ETS Champion Jilles Groskamp one of the first to compliment the British driver on his performance, Harper said, ‘hopefully its the first of more to come’. Â On his A3 performance he said, ‘I tried to pressure Ronald. Â I would get closer some laps and then other laps he would pull away. Â When Marc went on the grass I could push a little over the limit but myself and Ronald were onÂ exactly the same pace so I couldn’t challenge, but I tried’.

Finishing fourth, his first time to not make the podium since joining Infinity, Rheinard summed up the weekend as ‘disappointing’. Â With his title hopes over, he said, ‘the pace of the car was there for sure for a podium and I think also the potential was in the car to challenge Bruno but I messed it up in qualifying with my own driving mistakes’. Â Asked about A3, he replied, ‘I was stuck behind Elliott and then I ended up on the grass but somehow I kept going but I had no podium chance so it didn’t change the overall result’.

Unlike Modified and Formula, the overall Pro Stock winner would be decided in A3. Â Having lead both opening A-Mains, Top Qualifier Mattia Collina would finally go the full distance to win ahead ofÂ MaxÂ MÃ¤chler but winner of A2 that was enough forÂ MÃ¤chler to take the overall win. Â Winner of A1, following the clash between Collina andÂ MÃ¤chler, Lars Hoppe would get P5 in A3 but it would be enough to secure him 2nd overall with Olivier Bultynck completing the podium. With Jan Ratheisky wrapping up his second asphaltÂ win of the season in A2, A3 would see Top Qualifier David Ehrbar win fromÂ JitseÂ Miedema which is how they would complete the podium presentation.

View the complete event results here.

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May 14, 2017

Coelho moves closer to retaining title with ETS Italy win

Bruno Coelho has put one hand on retaining his Euro Touring Series title as he notched up his third ETS win of the season today in Riccione, Italy. Â The Xray driver repeatedÂ his 2016 win at theÂ Marco Simoncelli RC Circuit with another win in A2, although Ronald Volker made the Top Qualifier work harder for the win second time round before a mistake ended the challenge. Â Allowing Elliott Harper into second, the Schumacher driver would finish 1.2-seconds back from Coelho withÂ Volker a similar distance back in 3rd.

‘We’re not quite there yet with the first place in the championship but today’s win gets us a bitÂ closer’ was how Coelho summed up his 8th ETS career win. Â Having made his asphalt debut of the championship at the Italian track and instantly makingÂ his mark after disappointing results atÂ the season’s opening two carpet rounds, the Portuguese ace said, ‘racing on asphalt has always been very good for me I have always preferred it to carpet’. Â Summing up his A2 performance, he said, ‘in the first final the opening laps were loose so this time I drove more calm so I didn’t pull away easy. Â Ronald was pushingÂ a lot to catch me so I pushed a little more toÂ get some space. Â When he made hisÂ mistake the race was more comfortable for me’. Â With the penultimate round of ETSÂ Season #10 taking place in Xray’s backyard, the Hudy Arena, Coelho said, ‘for sure it would be great to wrap the title up there in front of everyone. Â It is our home track but because of all the other classes I race I don’t get to practice on it and 200 people racing on it is going to be different to when only 3 or 4 drivers are testing. Â But the track has been good for me in the past’. Â Since joining track Coelho has won both ETS encounters in Slovakia.

Summing up his race, Harper said, ‘I didn’t get the best of starts and went wide at turn one. Â I just managed to hold my position’. Â He continued, ‘Myself, Bruno and Ronald pulled away and Ronald was pushing hard. Â Next thing I just saw a flash and somehow managed to get to the inside and avoid his (Volker’s) car. Â I knew I wasn’t going to catch Bruno so for the last few laps I backed it off to bring it home’. Â With P2 up for grabs in A3, it 6 years since the British driver last made an ETS podium, he said, ‘I’ll have to push hard and try to pressure Ronald into a mistake. Â I’ll try hard to make a pass’.

The only driver who can mathematically challenge Coelho for the title, albeit he needs to dominate the rest of the season, Volker said on his A2 performance, ‘I made a bit better start off the line but I was over the limit the whole time to keep up’. Â The Yokomo driver continued, ‘then in the middle of the run I hit a bump and after my donuts on the straight I just tried to survive to the end. Â I went all in for the challenge but it didn’t pay off. Â Bruno did a good job so congrats’. Â Set to battle in A3 with Harper for second overall, having never made the podium in Riccione, he concluded, ‘I just try to do it simple and go tone to tone’. Â Behind Volker, Jilles Groskamp would get another P4 although his Infinity team-mate Marc Rheinard was not happy with the Dutch driver’s driving as he finished 6th behind the VBC Racing of Yannic Prumper.

In Pro Stock it was another tough outcome for Top QualifierÂ MattiaÂ Collina. Â With the crowd behind him, the Italian would again have a great battle with Max Machler before getting tagged by the Awesomatix. Â Unlike A1, the Xray driver could continue but only briefly. With Martin Hofer joining the battle at the next corner Collina would try down the inside but hit the Yokomo sending both cars off into the barrier leaving Machler to take an easy win over OlivierÂ Bultynck. Â In Formula, David Ehrbar would lead away as he did in A1 but again a mistake would ruin his race allowing Jan Ratheisky to the front where he would stay to win ahead of Bultynck and a recovering Ehrbar.

View the complete event results here.

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May 14, 2017

Easy Sunday morning drive for Coelho in A1

It was an easy Sunday morning drive for Bruno Coelho in A1 as the Xray driver took a dominant A1 win at ETS Italy. Â Top Qualifier at the Riccione track, the reigning champion would immediately break away from the pack to win ahead of Ronald Volker and Elliott Harper, the Top 3 remaining the same from start to finish. Behind, 4th place starter Marc Rheinard would fall back after an altercation with the track’s infamous bump, snatching back 5th at the line from Serpent’s Viktor Wilck to finish behind his Infinity team-mate Jilles Groskamp.

‘A very good start, although the first two laps were a little difficult’, was Coelho’s reaction after the race. Â Moving a step closer to hisÂ third win of the season, the championship leader continued, ‘we are still not perfect with the tyre prep. Â We tried many different ways already but its still the same. Â Normally you have more traction at the start but instead there is a strange traction. Â The lap times are there but it is super loose in the rear and then after 3 or 4 laps its perfect’. Â Bolting away from his rivals at the start, his first lap would be the fastest of the race with him the only driver to manage a 15-second lap. Â Having gapped the field he said after that he just ‘tried to make no mistakes and get to the end’ adding ‘I’ll try to do the same in the second one’.

‘Not much I could do’ was how Volker summed up the race. Â The Yokomo driver said, ‘I started with understeer already. Â Bruno was everywhere faster’. Â Describing it as an uneventful race, when asked about Harper closing in on him, the World Champion replied, ‘Elliot came close and I had to defend but gladly he never got too close and at least I could stay second’. Â A track which hasn’t been good for the 5-time ETS Champion on the previous two visits, the German was clearly frustrated with the lack of performance from his BD8’s current set-up which he said they will change for A2.

Featuring at the sharp end ofÂ an ETS A-Main for the first time in a long time, summing up his race Harper said, ‘the first few laps were not very good but having said that I did set the second fastest lap of the race on my second lap’. Â The Schumacher driver, who TQ’d the third round of qualifying, continued, ‘the first lap was hectic, the feeling was not direct and a ‘skatey’ but then the tyres came in’. Â On his battle with Volker the British driver said, ‘there was less pressure when something happened to Marc (Rheinard) and I could close a little bit on Ronald but I couldn’t challenge him. Â Still it was a good run’. Â Planning to make changes to his Mi6, he concluded, ‘hopefully then I’ll be able to challenge Ronald in the next one’.

While the Volante Modified A-Main didn’t set pulses racing, the Scorpion Power Formula and Xray Pro Stock encounters did. Â In Formula there was a great battle between Top Qualifier David Ehrbar and reigning champion Jan Ratheisky. Â Around three & a half minutes in howeverÂ Ehrbar’s would take a tight line onto the straight and catch the grass sending his Serpent tumbling to the infield and allowing Ratheisky to take the win ahead of Infinity driver JitseÂ Miedema and OlivierÂ Bultynck. In Pro Stock, it was also the Top 2 starters who went at it. Â Starting from pole MattiaÂ Collina was putting in a great drive to resist the pressure of MaxÂ MÃ¤chler but coming onto the straight the Awesomatix driver would collect the Xray with Lars Hoppe there to pick up the pieces and the win ahead of ChristianÂ Donath and HenrikÂ Heitsch.

View the complete event results here.

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May 13, 2017

Coelho Top Qualifier at ETS Italy

Bruno Coelho will make his third pole position start of the season at ETS Italy tomorrow, the Xray driver officially able to celebrate being the Top Qualifier at Round 4 after Ronald Volker topped the final round of qualifying. With the reigning ETS Champion taking a critical TQ run in last night’s opening ‘rocket round’ qualifier and backing it up another in Q2, a TQ run from Elliott Harper in the penultimate round meant there was a theoretical chance the British driver could deny last year’s winner from again starting the Riccione race on pole although beating the Q1 time was always going to be a mammoth challenge. WithÂ both Coelho and Harper out of new tyres, it was Volker who had saved his second set of tyres who would take the fourth & final qualifier ahead of Michal Orlowski, the EOS Champion also having the advantage of fresh rubber. Â With this a crucial weekend for Coelho’s main title rivals, the TQ run will see Volker start from P3 on the grid while Marc Rheinard will try to keep his championship hopes alive from fourth behind Harper.

Picking up another championship point for the TQ to extend his lead in the standings, Coelho said, ‘For sure it is a good to TQ but I can’t say I am 100% confident going into the finals’. Â Winner of the event here last year having also TQ’d, the Portuguese driver said, ‘the conditions canÂ be different each time or the wind can pick up so its tricky but the car is working very well and if nothing happens I am in a position for tomorrow’. Â Having suffered a number of offs in the final qualifier, Â the winner of the season opener and the previous round in Madrid said ‘we made changes for the last one and it was not so good but we will go back to our previous set-up’. Â Despite posting two TQ runs, both using new tyres, he complained that his T4 was loose in the opening laps. Â Asked if he managed to improve this, he replied, ‘in Q3 we tried something and it was better so we will go back to that set-up for tomorrow’.

Commenting on his P2 starting position Volker said, ‘to keep my hopes alive for the overall title I have to attack to win this event. Winning is the one and only goal for tomorrow’. Asked about the final qualifier, the Yokomo driver said, ‘My closest rivals had all run out of tyres so my strategy to safe my tyres for the last run worked and let me claim second on the grid but I think the ETS needs to do something on the tyre ruling for outdoor tracks. Â As you could see there is a big difference between new & used tyres and its just a big tyre gamble’. Â With the A-Main drivers allocated a new set of tyres for each of the triple finals taking tactics out of the equation, he said, ‘we will do some small changes on the car but I think it will be very difficult to pass especially in the high speed sections. Â They are very dangerous as I know from the past’ – that a reference to his clash with Coelho here in 2015. Â Like his rival he said track conditions and the wind will also be a factor adding, ‘we always see some spins especially on newÂ sets of tyres so anything can happen’.

While only 8th in the final qualifier, Harper said, ‘It wasn’t bad for second run tyres.Â We made small changes then and it (the car) was a bit better’. Â Equalling his best ETS qualifying result, the Schumacher driver said, ‘I’m petty confident for the finals, the car is consistent the whole run and Michal’s Q4 run showed how much we have improved the car’. Â Asked his approach for the finals he replied, ‘I will push to see if I can challenge Ronald & Bruno. Â Marc is starting behind me and he is always racy in the finals plus he is one of the best overtakers but we’ll see what we can do and enjoy it’.

With his car sliding off the track a number of times in the final qualifier, Rheinard said, ‘I think I destroyed my tyres in the previous two rounds because my car was undriveable’. Referring to his fourth on the grid he continued, ‘it not the best position to start, third would have been better but Elliott has pace and he’s fast. Â Normally I am quicker but I screwed up. For sure it is not what I wanted this weekend’. On his expectations for the finals he concluded, ‘with the bump everything can happen tomorrow’.

Completing the top half of the grid for the A-Main, Jilles Groskamp declared ‘I’m happy with Top 5, its just a pity we have 2 andÂ not 4 cars in the final like in Madrid’. Â Enjoying his best run in Q3 with a mix of new and used tyres, the Infinity driver tried it again but without the same success. Â ‘What can I say I did the same as Q3 but spun out on the first lap because I braked a little too late but there was not the same traction as before. Â Then I spun out and I don’t know why’. He continued, ‘I think the set-up is to critical and if you go over the limit it gets very loose. Â I will go for a more standard set-up tomorrow. What we have now is fast but not safeÂ and the conditions are changing all the time because of the wind, dust and the fluff (tree seeds) so I think a more safe set-up is the best way’. Â Behind Groskamp, Serpent’s Viktor Wilck will make his first A-Main appearance of the season from 6th on the grid.

In Pro Stock, it is last year’s winner Mattia Collina who will start on pole. The Italian TQ’d his home race when he put his Xray at the top of the timesheets forÂ a second time in the final qualifier. Â With a TQ a piece, Max Machler and Martin Hofer will line up 2nd and 3rd respectivelyÂ with ETS Czech and Spain winner lining up fourth. In Formula, David Ehrbar took his third TQ of the season when he set the pace for the third time in the final qualifier to deny Champion Jan Ratheisky, with Matej Dobnikar completing the Top 3 ahead of Jitse Miedema and Olivier Bultynck.

View the complete event results here.

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May 13, 2017

Harper takes Q3 at ETS Italy

Having shown strong form with a P4 in the opening qualifier but spun off in Q2, Elliott Harper would deliver a TQ run in the penultimate qualifier at ETS Italy. The Schumacher driver, who had the advantage of being on new tyres, would top the times from Q1 & 2 pace setter Bruno Coelho with both drivers the only ones to manage 19-laps.Â SelectingÂ Q3 to run his second set of tyres, Marc Rheinard would complete the Top 3 but the German was frustrated at being caught out by the track’s infamous bump. Â Ronald Volker would opt to do a third run on his first set of tyres but after 6-laps choseÂ to pull off saying there was ‘no point’ and it was ‘better to save the car’ for Q4 when he will run his second set of the handout Volante tyres.

‘That was pretty good’ was how Harper summed up his TQ run. Â The British driver continued, ‘I crashed in the last one when I was on old tyres but we made small changes to the diff and it turned out to be really good’. Â Currently sitting second in the qualification ranking he said, ‘Ronald has new tyres so I expect him to jump me but 3rd is still good for the final’. The most competitive the multiple World Championship finalist has been for quite some time, he said, ‘Its nice to be back racing at the front. Â We have worked hard the last few months to close the gap to the other teams. Â I’m running a standard carÂ and we have worked a lot on improving the set-up, we have made a few big steps forward this weekend’.

‘That piece of shit jump killed me’, was Rheinard’s reaction to Q3. Â The Infinity driver continued, ‘it sent me flying off but luckily it kept on the asphalt and not the grass. Â Every lap your thinking I hope I make it through’. With the flip damaging his front tyres and a similar high speed mistake in Q2 damaging the front tyres of his first set of tyres, the 4-time World Champion will run the final qualifying with rear tyres from both sets on his car with him clearly frustrated at the prospects of lining up fourth on tomorrow’s A-Main grid.

Rheinard’s team-mate Jilles Groskamp would enjoy his best run so far with a P4 for the round. Â The Dutch ace said, ‘That went quite well. Â I think I can tell you my secret that I run fresh rears and old fronts. Â I tried this in practice and it was closer to fresh tyres than running in used. Â I move the rear to the front and then put the new set on the back. Â It very stable and while not the fastest at the start itsÂ good at the finish. Â I wanted to try it in Madrid but didn’t because I wasn’t so sure butÂ its worked out good here. Â I will have the same for the last qualifier (old fronts/new rears) so hopefully it willÂ help me gain some spots on the grid’.

Locking himself into his first A-Main appearanceÂ this season and not having to depend on the result of his final qualifier as he did at the World Championships, Viktor Wilck was pleased with his P4 for the round but less happy with his car. Making a diff change on his Serpent he said, ‘it didn’t help, it was even worse and had more understeer. Â The car now pushes too much into the corner’. Â Running on new tyres, having sat out Q1 to save tyres, the Swede said, because I was on new tyres I had to drive safe but its good to be back in the A-Main’. Â For the final qualifier he will go back to his Q2 diff set-up and make other changes to his Project 4X to try get more steering. Â Behind Wilck, Tim Wahl would complete the Top 6 ahead of Freddy Sudhoff and Meen Vejrak.

In Pro Stock Martin Hofer became the third different driver to TQ in as many rounds. Â The Yokomo driver set a new fastest TQ timeÂ in front of Q2 winnerÂ MattiaÂ Collina and Q1 pace setterÂ MaxÂ MÃ¤chler. Â In Formula, Serpent’s DavidÂ Ehrbar would double up to post his second TQ run in front ofÂ JanÂ Ratheisky andÂ OlivierÂ Bultynck.

View the complete event results here.

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May 13, 2017

Bruno again in Q2

Bruno CoelhoÂ has effectivelyÂ secured himself the overall TQ at Round 4 of the Euro Touring Series in Italy after he opened Day 2 of the event with a second TQ run. Â Having claimed last night’s opening ‘rocket round’ qualifier, Â taking Q2 will make it hard for the Xray driver to be denied pole for the A-Main as the time from the opening qualifier will be near impossible to beat giving today’s hotter track conditions. Â With Coelho on his second set of tyres, Ronald Volker would do well to get within 3/10ths of the reigning champion given he was on the same set of tyres he ran to a P3 in Q1. Â While offering ‘no comment’ on his tyre strategy for Q2, Viljami KutvonenÂ would complete the Top 3 ahead of Viktor Wilck and Meen Vejrak, both drivers on new tyres having opted to sit out Q1.

Summing up his run, the start to Day 2 delayed following overnight rain and the track being covered in widely dispersed cotton-like seed, Coelho said, ‘again it was not perfect but for the result it was good’. Â In a repeat of Q1, he would again lose the rear of his Hobbywing powered T4 on the opening lap but being lucky in being able to get it straight again. Â Dropping him 2-seconds off the early TQ pace set by Marc Rheinard, the Infinity driver running wide onto the grass on the straight a lap later ending his run, once the tyres did come in he would recover the deficit to go to the top of the times. Â He said, ‘On new tyres the car is nervous for the first few laps, I don’t know if its because of additive or that we are starting with the tyre too hot. Â To be able to pull back 2-second shows the car is good so if we can get the start sorted this will be perfect for the finals. Â I can’t do more (in terms of the TQ) so we will use the next qualifier to find the problem with the firstÂ few laps’.

‘This was the absolute maximum I could do on 2nd run tyres’, was Volker’s reaction to Q2. Â The Yokomo driver continued, ‘It was clear Bruno was pulling away as his tyres came in but I’m happy to get 2-points on used tyres. Â He (Coelho) almost threw it away but unfortunately he looks safe for the overall TQ now’. Â Asked aboutÂ his plans for his second set of tyres he said ‘We already know when we will run it and I also know when Marc (Rheinard) will run on his but it will be hard to beat Bruno’s time from yesterday’. Â A much hotter day today at Riccione, Coelho’s Q2 TQ pace was 8-seconds slower than Q1.

11th in Q1, Viljami said, ‘I lacked pace yesterday but I didn’t change the car so maybe the weather suits us better’. Â Runner-up at ETS Italy last year, the Awesomatix driver continued, ‘I was less than 2-seconds slower than my Q1 pace but the others were 8-seconds off so I will leave the car the same and just try to get another good run to put myself in the A-Main’.

Effectively theÂ first qualifying run for the 4th seed after he opted to not start Q1, Wilck described the outcome of his gamble as, ‘OK’. Â The Serpent driver continued that while his Project 4X had ‘even more understeer today’ his ‘5-minute pace was better than expected’. Describing today as ‘so hot’, the Swede plans to go up in the oil of his rear diff as well as ‘try to make the right call on tactics with the tyres’, him still needing another strong run to make his first ETS A-Main appearanceÂ of the season.

A track where he claimed his best ETS result to date in 2015 when he finished second, Meen Vejrak was content with his P5. Â The Thai driver said, ‘I pulled off yesterday so I couldn’t blow the run and just put in a safe drive’. Running in the third fastest heat, the Yokomo driver continued, ‘The beginning was too slow but this did mean the car was more consistent in the end. Â Now I need one more safe run to make the A-Final’. Â A fan of the track, the former Nitro Touring Car World Champion said, ‘the bump is getting more difficult as I found out many times in practice but anything could still happen so there is still plenty to play for’. Â Behind Vejrak, Italian Xray driver Alessio Menicucci completed the Top 6.

In the Xray Pro Stock class, the opening two qualifiers saw TQ runs from two different drivers. Â In Q1, Awesomatix’ MaxÂ MÃ¤chler topped the round ahead of Italian MattiaÂ Collina but last year’s race winner reversed that result in Q2 with double race winnerÂ AlexandreÂ Duchet third in both. Â In the Scorpion Power Formula class, champion JanÂ Ratheisky took the first round with his Xray while Serpent’s championship leader David Erhbar took the second one.

View the complete event results here.

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May 12, 2017

Coelho returns to form to take opening Q1 at ETS Italy

Bruno Coelho returned to form when it counted most with the Xray driver taking the opening round of qualifying at ETS Italy. Â Having set the pace in free practice, the ETS Champion ended upÂ P6 after the two rounds of controlled practice as Ronald Volker topped the seeding. Â In the evening’s opening qualifier, which would bring the first official day of the fourth round to a close, Coelho was back in business taking the TQ ahead of Marc Rheinard and Volker. Â Behind the trio of title protagonists, ElliottÂ Harper would put in a strong performance to set a competitive P4 time followed by Jilles Groskamp and Yannic Prumper.

‘We kept the car the same because it was strange that in free practice we were fastest and then in controlled we suddenly went off the pace so we decided to wait to see if something happens. We put on our race tyres and it did, we were fast again’, was how Coelho summed up his return to the top of the time sheets. Â The qualifying wasn’t without its dramas for the Portuguese driver as he had a ‘big mistake’ on the run onto the straight on his second lap. Â ‘Luckily able to get it straight again’, it would leave him with a 17-second lap but with his car workingÂ ‘amazing’ as it had been in free practice he would lay down the only 15-second lap of the qualifying two laps later as he set about working his way to the top of the timing screens. Pleased to end the day back on form the reigning champion admitted his comeback had resulted in his tyres getting too hot towards the final laps.

‘I can be happy with the result’ was Rheinard’s reaction to his P2. Â The Infinity driver would suffer a moment on the curbing at the end of the straight on the opening lap and backing it up with his fastest lap on the next lap would lay down the TQ pace. Â He said, ‘I was leading but could see Bruno was suddenly running a faster pace than me’. Making a mistake on his final lap, Rheinard said even without this he couldn’t have held off Coelho as his rival had the faster car towards the end of the 5-minutes. Looking to tomorrow’s qualifiers with a number of drivers pulling up or choosing to not start Q1, the German said, ‘it will come down to tyres now so lets see how the tactics play out but I think Bruno will run his second set of tyres in Q2 to try and get the overall TQ wrapped up early’.

Having topped both rounds of controlled practice, Volker said, ‘I’m definitely disappointed finishing P3’. Â A driver for whom the Riccione track has not be kind in terms of results though he rates it as one of his favourite circuits, the World Champion said, ‘the car was good at the beginning but got too much understeer over the run. Â I couldn’t challenge for the TQ, this was the max I could do for now in terms of my driving. Â The Yokomo driver hinted that the cold conditions also went against them saying, ‘we have a good feeling for the hotter conditions, we worked towards this because except for Q1, the rest of the qualifiers and the finals will be run during the day time so I am confident for tomorrow’.

‘After the first few laps I had, I’m surprised with the result’, said Harper of his P4. Â The Schumacher driver continued, ‘I had no grip for the first two laps because we took the warmers off too early but the car was consistent and at the end still quite fast’. He added ‘it is nice to have good result because we’ve put a lot of effort in’. Describing his car as having ‘good corner speed’, the British driver said he ‘just need(s) to focus on driving a little bit better’Â admitting toÂ having tried to ‘over compensate’ for the inevitable drop off over the run.

Second fastest in seeding, Groskamp said, ‘the start was quite OK and I tried to follow RonaldÂ but the car broke away and I spun out’. Â Able to continueÂ after hisÂ 360 degree spin, the Infinity driver said his tyres never came backÂ after their run over theÂ dust and he ‘lost a lot of pace’ over the second half of the run. Â Having to open to let team-mate Rheinard through, he said even without his ‘donut’ he still feels his IF14 is lacking pace over the second part of the run and he will look at a possible shock set-up for tomorrow.

Completing the Top 6 despite running in the second fastest heat, Prumper summed up his day by saying, ‘it started pretty bad but ended pretty good. I was 25th yesterday and 15 in seeding I was off the pace but we got it figured out now’. Â The winner here in 2015, the factory VBC Racing driver said, ‘I got a little nervous in the middle of the run as the car started to slide but I held it and to get a P6 is a good boost for tomorrow’. Â Behind the German and also running in the same heat, Spain’sÂ DavidÂ PÃ©rez would set the 7th fastest time ahead ofÂ NaokiÂ Akiyama,Â AlexanderÂ Hagberg andÂ Freddy SÃ¼dhoff.

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