Euro Touring Series

April 7, 2016

All equal as ETS resumes at new Austrian venue

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With the opening two races producing different winners and those drivers now sharing the lead at the top of the Volante Modified class standings, the Yokomo Euro Touring Series resumes this weekend after a six week break. Round 3 will present somewhat of a neutral ground for the resumption of the championship battle as the ETS makes its first visit to Wels, Austria. Taking over the date previously filled by the Euro Offroad Series at the Modellbau Wels hobby show, this year over 20,000 vistors will be treated to seeing the World’s best touring car drivers battle it out for glory. The final indoor race of the ETS’ ninth season, Tamiya’s Marc Rheinard and Xray’s Bruno Coelho will be looking to wrap up the first half of the season with a points advantage over their rival.

After kicking off the ninth season of the ETS with a strong win in the Czech Republic, Rheinard couldn’t repeat that performance on his home event. In Germany, the former race winner was no match for the Xrays of Coelho and Alexander Hagberg with Coelho claiming his first carpet victory in Mulheim ahead of 2014 winner of the event Hagberg. The 4-time World Champion will be hoping his TRF team’s latest development of the upcoming 419X release will allow him to take the fight to the very much on form Xray team.

Since the last ETS encounter, Coelho has gone on to take victory at the prestigious TITC race in Thailand and Hagberg travels to Austria on the back of claiming a third consecutive 1:12 European title last weekend. Behind the championship leaders, Hagberg sits equal on points with defending champion Ronald Volker, and having forced Round 2 to be decided in A3 eventually taking second, the Swede will be hoping to go one better come Sunday evening. Rising Xray talent Dionys Stadler will also be looking to build on his impressive double A-main start to the season.

Even by their own admission it has been a difficult start to the defence of their sixth title for Volker and Yokomo. Volker missed out on the podium to Rheinard in Germany and needs to fight back this weekend if he is to stand a chance of going for an unprecedented 7th consecutive title in the sports most competitive championship. Another set back for the Japanese team is the departure of Yannic Prumper, who since Round 2 has made the switch to VBC Racing. The signing of the multiple ETS race winner is a big commitment from VBC and, this the first time he’s the lead driver for a factory effort, the German will be more determined than ever to be in the mix for the win.

Another high profile driver change for Round 3 is the return of Freddy Sudhoff to Awesomatix. After a tough time at HB, Sudhoff will be aiming to revive his ‘Fast Freddy’ title. While it will be the popular German’s first time with the Russian manufacturer’s belt drive A800, Finnish ace Viljami Kutvonen has already shown the potential of the car putting it in the A-Main at the opening two rounds. The Awesomatix team already travel to Austria on a high after Tony Streit took a very popular win in the Xray Pro Stock class in Mulheim where Bernhard Bopp also made the podium.

In Pro Stock it is Czech winner and Round 2 runner-up Jan Ratheisky who holds a strong lead in the standings from Xray team-mate & reigning champion Marek Cerny. Behind them, ARC’s Helge Johannessen completes the current Top 3. Ratheisky also leads the way in the Serpent Formula class from Olivier Bultynck and after TQ & wins in the opening two races will be looking to continue his perfect run.

February 7, 2016

Coelho claims 1st carpet win at ETS Germany

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Bruno Coelho has claimed his first carpet win of the Euro Touring Series, the Portuguese driver leading an Xray 1-2 at the second round of the championship in Germany. Starting the weekend by securing his first TQ on carpet, the 2-time asphalt ETS race winner would flip in A1 handing team-mate Alexander Hagberg the win but a faultless A2 would set the stage for a showdown in the deciding third leg. While clearly having improved his pace for A3, Hagberg would push Coelho hard but the Vice-World Champion had enough in reserve to cement the win. In what was somewhat a battle of the second division such was Xray’s pace all weekend, it was Marc Rheinard who would claim the final step on the podium. The result means Coelho now moves into the joint lead of the championship standings with Round 1 winner Rheinard. Even though he would get passed Rheinard in A3, Ronald Volker would finish fourth with the result marking the Yokomo driver’s first time to miss the podium on carpet since he began his current 5-consecutive seasons reign as ETS champion.

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‘Super good’ was how Coelho summed up his 3rd ETS win, this weekend being only his 8th outing in championship. Describing his new Hobbywing powered T4 as being ‘good all weekend’, the 22-year-old said ‘This race was a big step forward for me on carpet. Last year I finished 8th and now I managed to get the TQ & win. I want to congratulate the whole team as we got four cars in the final, finished 1-2, won Formula and made the podium in Pro Stock’. Commenting on A3, he said ‘For sure he (Hagberg) pushed much more but I was still comfortable with my car and he didn’t ever get close enough to try to pass’. Finishing off his rookie season very strong winning the final two outdoor rounds to end up 3rd overall and now a competitive force on carpet, he said he was looking forward to carrying that momentum into the final indoor event on the calendar in Austria in early April.

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Making a set-up change for A3, Hagberg said this ‘improved (the) car a lot’ and he ‘felt (he) finally had a car to challenge for 1st place but didn’t really find a place to overtake’. Finishing second having dominated the event in 2014, he ‘wished (he) had changed the car earlier’. With himself and Coelho ‘setting the pace from the start (of the event)’ the Swede said he was ‘very happy with how the team worked together’ to achieve and maintain this and he feels they go into the final carpet round in very good shape.

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‘In the end that was all we could do this weekend’, was Rheinard’s view of the weekend. Having opened the season with a strong win and won the Muelheim-Kaerlich event last year, the 4-time World Champion said the weekend was far from their expectations but added he was ‘still happy to finish on the podium’. Admitting Xray have a ‘good car’, the ETS most winning driver said they have the big advantage of being able to test extensively at the Hudy Arena on the same ETS carpet. With his TRF team making a big step forward for Round 1 with the TRF419, he said what he had this weekend was not as good as before with the feeling of the car taking a step backwards adding ‘we have a lot of work to do to be ready for the next race’. Asked about A3, he said he was lucky to finish 4th as a contact with the barriers while trying to fend off Volker left him to run the rest of the race with a cracked C-Hub, with him luckily able to hold off team-mate Akio Sobue to get 3rd on the tie break with Volker.

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Once the master of carpet races with victory for the German a foregone conclusion at the start of the weekend, Volker said he was ‘definitely a bit disappointed as 3rd was possible but the 3rd final was not enough’. Feeling they ‘didn’t realise their full potential as in Hrotovice’ he continued that while ‘the new car is amazing on carpet’, him winning easily ahead of Hagberg and Coelho at the DHI Cup, he said they still haven’t cracked the ETS carpet. With the ETS organisers leaving the track in place and offering the drivers the opportunity to do a day’s testing tomorrow, Volker is hopeful the test will help them put that right.

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In the Xray Pro Stock class, A3 would also be the decider after Top Qualifier & A1 winner Tony Streit made a mistake in A2 giving Mike Gosvig the win. With Gosvig having a fraught opening few laps putting the Dane out of contention, it was now a battle between Streit and Ratheisky for the overall win. Leading for 16 of the 20 laps from the ETS Czech winner, Streit would get out of shape with the lost momentum enough to allow Ratheisky to go to the front. Leaving the two drivers tied on points, Streit’s perfect run in A1 was faster giving the German his second ever ETS win after a four year wait. Making it a great weekend for Awesomatix, having failed to get any cars into the A-Main at the season opener, Bernhard Bopp’s A800 would complete the podium. With Ratheisky having wrapped up the Formula win in A2, leg 3 would be won by Olivier Bultynck, giving him second on his debut with Roche with Serpent’s David Ehrbar claiming the final step on the podium.

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February 7, 2016

Coelho wins A2 with faultless drive

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Having rolled his Xray on the first lap of the opening A-Main at ETS Germany, Bruno Coelho put in a faultless A2 drive to win comfortably ahead of A1 winner Alexander Hagberg and Ronald Volker. While the Top Qualifier ran an error free race the same couldn’t be said for others with Marc Rheinard, Viljami Kutvonen and Yannic Prümper all breaking their cars. Prümper wouldn’t even last a lap, an error sending him right into the path of 10th place start Marco Kaufmann with the massive impact putting both cars out in the spot.

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‘Without mistakes the car is super fast’ was how Coelho summed up what was an uneventful race for the Portuguese driver. Winning by 8/10th of a second he said after his A1 error he ‘drove safely and all was ok’. Having finished 8th in the first final, the win leaves the 22-year-old perfect poised to claim his first ETS win on carpet.

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The benefactor of his team-mate error in opening final, Hagberg was happy with his race to 2nd having seen off the attentions of both Rheinard and Volker saying ‘they never really had a chance to pass’. With Coelho able to pull away the Swede said his focus was to protect his 2nd describing Volker’s last lap last corner attempt to pass as a ‘desperate move’. Looking for more steering from his T4 for the final leg, the 2014 event winner said he would try to fight with his team-mate for the win.

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Having got caught up in Rheinard’s first lap A1 error, Volker said of A2 ‘it was a better first lap’ but added ‘I didn’t feel I had the pace at the beginning’. Coming under serious attack from the Awesomatix of Kutvonen until the fast Finn made contact with the serrated edge of corner barrier which shifted the entire rear end of his A800, the Yokomo driver after this ‘went in all’ to try and catch the leaders. Within 2-laps of Kutvonen’s retirement, on lap 7 Rheinard would suffer the same faith. Closing on Hagberg, Volker said he ‘tried an aggressive move that didn’t pay but gladly didn’t mess up anyone’s race’. Not sure why his BD7 lacked traction over the early minutes of the race he said they need to get this figured out for A3.

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Rheinard, pointing out the serrated side of the flexible corner section should be on the inside not out on the racing side, said the contact broke a C-Hub on his Tamiya. Having changed the set-up on his TRF419 after struggling in A1, he said the car was better allowing him to ‘push harder’. With the Xrays ‘looking not as fast as before’ the ETS Czech winner added had he not made his ‘stupid mistake’ ‘it could have been interesting’.

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In the Serpent Formula class, A2 would produce the first overall winner in Muelheim-Kaerlich as Top Qualifier Jan Ratheisky again took a tone to tone win. The reigning 3-time Champion’s second win of the season, the Xray driver will head to Round 3 with a commanding lead in the standings. Behind Ratheisky, after retiring from A1 David Ehrbar took his Serpent to 2nd in A2, followed by the Roche of Olivier Bultynck holding off Masami Hirosaka for third.

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For Pro Stock Top Qualifier and A1 winner Tony Streit, a kiss of the barrier coming onto the straight meant he would end a 4 year winning drought. Helped to a comfortable lead when the no.2 starting Ratheisky rolled on the opening lap, on lap 2 his Awesomatix would suffer a body tuck on the main straight after rubbing the barrier, dropping the German to 9th. This would hand Xray’s Mike Gosvig the lead with the Dane seeing off an intense challenge from Awesomatix pairing Bernhard Bopp and Maxim Laverychev, the Russian having a late bobble but still holding on for third.

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February 7, 2016

Hagberg wins A1

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Alexander Hagberg took an easy win in the opening A-Main at the Yokomo Euro Touring Series this morning in Germany, a first lap error from Top Qualifier Bruno Coelho handing the Swede an unassailable lead. Behind the Xray driver, Marc Rheinard would survive a first lap error of his own, out of which Ronald Volker came off worst, to finish second. Starting 6th on the grid, Akio Sobue would complete the Top 3, the Tamiya driver seeing off Viljami Kutvonen and the recovering Yokomos of Volker and Yannic Prümper.

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‘Obviously I got lucky Bruno rolled but it was a very good race for me’ was Hagberg’s reaction to his win. Finishing 1.8-seconds clear of Rheinard, the 2014 event winner said ‘the traction was different (to qualifying)’ but with his ORCA powered T4 having ‘less steering’. Expecting higher traction for A2, the Snowbirds Champion said it was ‘not necessary to change’ his set-up’ adding the car was still ‘very easy to drive’. Summing up the mistake that left him last at the end of the first lap, Coelho said, ‘I hit the curb and it flipped the car. I had no chance (to recover) from 10th’. Finishing 8th, the Portuguese ace said it was just a driver error as his Hobbywing powered T4 was still really good as highlighted by him putting in the fastest lap of the race.

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‘A tough final’ was Rheinard’s view of A1. Starting 3rd on the grid, last year’s race winner having twice rolled his TRF419 in the warm-up knew it was going to be a tricky race and only three corners after the start he hit the barrier bouncing out into the path of Volker. The German said, ‘it wasn’t my intention to block Ronald. I got lucky not to come off worse. Running third after Coelho’s mistake, the championship leader would survive a second incident, this time with Volker’s team-mate Prümper. Battling for second, a mistake by the Yokomo driver would lead to contact between the pair with both having different views of the incident. Rheinard said after Prümper had a bobble at the previous corner they were side by side with him on the outside for the left hand corner onto the main straight and for him it was a ‘normal racing incident’ adding ‘if I thought I was to blame I would have waited’. Prumper’s view was that while he did make a mistake he still held his line and the body tuck he suffered was proof that Rheinard hit him from the rear adding ‘for me it was not (a) fair (pass)’.

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Summing up his mood after the race Volker said, ‘Things didn’t go well yesterday and today it seems luck is also going against us’. The reigning champion added ‘Marc hit the barrier and landed in front of me collecting my car, there was nothing I could do but there was nothing Marc could do either. It wasn’t intentional’. With only Coelho putting in a faster lap time, Volker said set-up changes after the final qualifier had result in the car being ‘the best it has been all weekend’ and he feels ‘definitely more is possible in A2’.

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In the Serpent Formula final while Top Qualifier Jan Rathiesky took the win as if he was out for a Sunday drive, behind him was the most entertaining battle of the first round of all the A-Mains. With a certain Masami Hirosaka meaning there was no standing room around the track, when the 14-time World Champion made a pass the hall errupted. Having a great battle with Francesco Martini for second, unfortunately with three laps to go contact would drop the Yokomo driver to fifth leaving Martini to finish 2nd ahead of the CRC of former Champion Hebert Weber. Unfortunately for No.2 starter David Ehrbar, the Serpent driver would retire from the second place battle after just 6-laps.

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The Xray Pro Stock class would see Top Qualifier Tony Streit take a tone to tone win over Ratheisky. Behind them the big battle of the race was for third which Mike Gosvig held for 17 of the 20 laps before Helge Johannessen went through for 2-laps, but contact with Maxim Laverychev allowed Bernhard Bopp to slip through to complete the Top 3. Starting 9th on the grid, reigning champion Marek Cerny would finish 6th.

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February 7, 2016

Coelho on pole at German ETS

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Bruno Coelho will line up on pole position for Round 2 of the Yokomo Euro Touring Series in Germany tomorrow, the Xray driver heading a 1-2 in qualifying for the Slovakian manufacturer. Taking the opening two qualifiers Coelho claimed his first carpet TQ ahead of Alexander Hagberg, the 2014 event winner topping the final qualifier in Muelheim-Kaerlich. The only driver who could deny Coelho the overall TQ, having topped the penultimate round when both Xray drivers had issues, Marc Rheinard would only manage a P5. With a TQ to count however the championship leader importantly secures third on the grid ahead of reigning champion Ronald Volker.

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‘The first year I was fighting for a place in the A-Main and this year I’m TQ’, was Coelho’s reaction to his second ever ETS TQ, his first having come last season on asphalt at the Hudy Arena. Commenting on the final qualifier, the 22-year-old said ‘once I knew Rheinard was not in the Top 4 I just drove around as Alex was faster and I didn’t want to push as I could crash the car and damage the tyres which I need for the finals’. Having tested for 2-days in the Hudy Arena earlier in the week in preparation for the ETS, he said this helped them put 4 cars in the final. Looking to tomorrow’s finals, the Portuguese ace said his Hobbywing powered T4 is perfect and with no mistakes he plans to try an defend his No. 1 starting position.

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After having a potential TQ run robbed from him in Q3 when he suffered a rear belt failure, Hagberg said of his TQ run ‘I did the best I could and ran a clean run, it was not perfect but ok for a TQ’. Getting his ORCA powered T4 up on two wheel on the opening lap, the Swede feeling the traction was higher, he said it took a few laps to get used to it. Starting second on the grid, he said from that position ‘anything can happen tomorrow’. Asked about overtaking opportunities he feels there are not much places to pass and with the high grip they were going to be difficult finals. He added with the cars a little difficult at the beginning of a run this too would make things a little tricky.

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Having broken a 5-year winning drought on carpet here last year, Rheinard wasn’t too confident of repeating that win tomorrow. In the final qualifier the championship’s most winning driver would get up on two wheels twice on the opening lap, later rolling his TRF419. With the car ‘really edgy and hard to drive’, something he said you don’t want for the finals, he said even without his roll he wouldn’t have been fast enough to fight for the TQ. Asked about the final he said ‘I have no idea what to do with the set-up and maybe we will just try to glue the tyre walls’.

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Fourth fastest in the final qualifier behind Hagberg, Coelho and his Yokomo team-mate Yannic Prumper, Volker said he ‘needed to win Q4 to start ahead of Marc and went for it but with the car still difficult (he) lost it once in the chicane which cost a lot of time’. Beating Rheinard in 3 of the 4 qualifiers he said it was frustrating to be starting behind his longtime arch rival but feeling they are coming closer to Xray’s pace they will keep trying other things on his BD7 for A1 to improve it so he can try to pass and fight for the podium. Asked about racing on the track, the 2-time winner of the event replied the cars are not super easy to drive on this track and its going to be difficult to race but this might present some opportunities if others make mistakes. Behind Volker, Prümper completes the top half of the grid which will see 5-different manufacturers represented.

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February 7, 2016

Ratheisky TQs Formula at ETS, Masami to start 5th

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Reigning 3-time Formula Champion Jan Ratheisky has secured his second overall TQ of Season #9 of the Euro Touring Series. Topping three of the four qualifiers at the second round of the championship in Germany, the Round 1 winner will start on pole position ahead of Q1 pace setter, the Serpent of David Ehrbar with Xray team-mate Francesco Martini lining up third. Attracting a record 120 entries, a big coup for the class was the entry of 14-time World Champion Masami Hirosaka who having come out of retirement to make his ETS debut will start 5th in the A-Main.

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The benchmark for Formula, Ratheisky said it was a very good day for him and very happy with his X1 ’16 he said the only thing he would be doing to it for tomorrow would be to ‘charge the batteries’. In terms of competition in the final the German said ‘I think I have the pace to handle David (Erbhar) and I will just try to drive safe races’. Asked about racing against Hirosaka he replied ‘I am so proud to be able to say I drove on the same rostrum as Masami’. As a child I saw him race with his feet and in ’94 I got a bodyshell signed by him so it is really special to be racing him. Starting behind the legend of the sport in the second qualifier he said ‘overtaking him in Q2 was so amazing’.

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Arriving a day later than his rivals due to passport issues, Masami described his qualifying as ‘so so’. A 5-time 1:12 World Champion, the Yokomo driver said Formula on rubber tyres requires a very different style to other pan cars and he ultimately needs more track time. Getting a very impressive P2 in the opening qualifier, he said while his YR-10F feels very good he doesn’t have enough knowledge of it to know what set-up changes he should be making to get it to do a certain thing. ‘Really enjoying’ his return to racing he said the ETS is ‘a very nice race’ and he is ‘looking forward to the finals’. Having lost none of his competitive instinct, he said he will change a few things for A1 adding he has ‘three more goes to beat them’.

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February 6, 2016

Streit TQs Pro Stock at ETS Germany

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Tony Streit is Top Qualifier in the Xray Pro Stock class at the Yokomo Euro Touring Series in Germany. In his second season with Awesomatix, the German claimed his second ETS pole position start when he backed up his Q3 topping run with the fastest TQ of the day in the fourth & final qualifier to deny Xray’s Jan Ratheisky, who took Q1 & 2, on the tie breaker. Behind them, Dane Mike Gosvig will line-up third ahead of Norwegian ARC driver Johannessen who pushed Streit hard in the final qualifier.

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A former Pro Stock winner, winning the 2011/12 season finale in Austria from the TQ, Streit said he ‘never expected to TQ as (he) never ran on the Volante tyres before’. Missing the season opener in the Czech Republic due to having to sit exams, but having a good run to fourth at the DHI Cup, he said he was happy to carry that form from the Danish event, adding his A800 has been outstanding all weekend ‘even on the strange carpet’. With Awesomatix failing to get a car into the A-Main at Round 1, he said today showed how well they have worked as a team to turn things around with 4 cars now in the A-main. Looking to the finals, Streit said ‘Jan (Ratheisky) is the benchmark in Pro-Stock and an excellent racer so it will be hard race but my aim is to run clean races’.

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Top Qualifier & winner of the season opener in December, Ratheisky said ‘I’m happy with everything’. One of racing’s most happy & easy going characters, the German said after a good start taking the first two qualifier, mistakes were his problem in the final two with him rolling his T4 on the opening lap of Q3. Giving Streit credit for his TQ, he said ‘I know Tony is a good driver and we should be able to have a fair battle’. Asked if he would change his car for the final he said the only plans he had was to ‘clean his glasses or change the colour of the carpet’, a joke aim at himself over his mistakes in qualifying.

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For reigning champion Marek Cerny, who finished runner-up to Ratheisky at the season opener, qualifying would not go well with the Czech driver set to line up 9th on the grid ahead of former champion Martin Hofer. The Xray driver, who is chasing a fourth consecutive title this season, said a bad set of tyres left him on the back foot. Struggling in Q1 he would change from a carbon to an aluminium chassis T4 for Q2 but the problem was still the same. Deciding it was a tyre issue that was the problem, he would change to a second set for Q3 with the car much improved but then pushing too hard in Q4 to try and salvage a better starting position he crashed and was out after just 2-laps. On cutting open his first set of tyres it was discovered one had a broken insert. With good tyres he said he would try to improve hs position but said from so far back getting a good overall finish was going to be hard.

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February 6, 2016

Rheinard takes Q3 as Xray reign self destructs

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Marc Rheinard took a somewhat surprise TQ in the penultimate round of qualifying at the Yokomo Euro Touring Series in Germany. Having struggled with sixth in the opening two qualifiers, the Tamiya took a close run TQ over his arch rival Ronald Volker but only after the Xray reign self destructed when Bruno Coelho rolled while poised to secure the overall TQ and then Alexander Hagberg crashed as a result of a rear belt failure. In the end Rheinard would snatch the TQ by 0.182 of second, with Akio Sobue completing the Top 3.

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‘Hard work’ was how Rheinard summed up his TQ round, the German missing out on a 23-lap run by just over 4/10ths. Making changes to his Muchmore powered TRF419, the championship leader said the car ‘was better but still can flip easy’. ‘For sure an improvement’ he added the ‘chicane was the biggest problem’. Admitting that ‘if Xray didn’t break they would still be top’, last year’s event Top Qualifier and race winner said he was driving on the edge every lap because compared to Hrotovice, where he won the season opener, the grip is much higher. Looking to make the car easier to drive he will mke further sert-up changes for the final qualifier.

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Giving his reaction to Q3, Volker said ‘It was a solid second but there was more to get’. The 5-time reigning Champion continued ‘as the Xrays crashed I would like to have got ahead of Marc. I was pushing super hard while behind him but then slightly tapped the boards and that cost me the few tenths I needed’. Having got his car ‘easier to drive through some corners’ he said they still need to find a bit more pace and if not he is ‘probably only start fourth’. For the final qualifier he said he hopes they can ‘get rid of some understeer without making the car edgy’.

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Having dominated proceeding since the 2-minute practice last night after the carpet change, Coelho took full responsibility for his mistake on lap 13 of 22 that left him with a P16. ‘I touched the curb coming onto the straight and that was the TQ done for me’. Dropping to last in the top heat, he would then go on to post the fastest lap of the race with his first pole position on carpet looking like only a formality with Rheinard needing to TQ the final heat with a 23 lap in under 5:12.421. Dominating this event two years ago, Hagberg was clearly frustrated at losing out on a TQ run keen to highlight his crash on the straight was caused by ‘something (breaking) on the car’. The car’s designer Martin Hudy would later confirm the rear belt had broken on the Swede’s car.

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Sobue said his P3 was a good result but the Japanese National Champion was not very happy with his Tamiya. Making a shock change, the 22-year-old ETS podium finisher said it left him with too much rear traction. Happy with his car in Q2 he will revert back to that shock set-up along with a few tweaks to the current chassis set up. For compatriot Naoto Matsukura an error on the main straight while on a strong run means the World Champion’s ETS carpet debut will not see him lining up on the A-Main grid. Pulling a wheel off his TRF419, his best of the three qualifiers is a 29th in Q1.

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Fourth fastest would be Viljami Kutvonen, the Awesomatix driver saying the run was ‘not perfect’ as he suffered a body tuck on the third lap. Having Rheinard behind him then for three & a half minutes, he would hit a curb and had to let the 4-time World Champion go. The Finn said without this he could have been in the mix. Reducing the rear toe-in on his A800, he said it was better but he plans further tweaks for Q4. With the points very close he said his target for the final qualifier is a Top 3 run to give him the best starting position possible.

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Elliott Harper would be next up taking his Schumacher Mi5 Evo to the fifth fastest time. 10th in Q1, the British National Champion and Round 1 A-Finalist said ‘I could drive around that time’ adding the run was ‘nothing special, I just kept it on the track’. Having struggled with traction roll in the opening two qualifiers, the World Championship podium finisher said while the car was better he still needs to fine tune the set-up for the last one to make it easier to drive.

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With his senior team-mates crashing out it would be Dionys Stadler who was the best Xray for the round with a P6. Changing from a Mazda Speed 6 to an LTC-R bodyshell, the 19-year-old said this gave him more speed in the corners with him adding the car was ‘perfect’. Getting his ETS Season off to a very strong start in Czech where he finished 6th, the German will leave his T4 unchanged for the final qualifier as he aims for another A-Main start. Behind him, team-mates Marco Kaufmann & Olly Jefferies posted the 7th & 8th fastest times respectively with Yokomo’s Yannic Prumper and VBC’s Lucas Urbain completing the Top 10.

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