Volker snatches last lap win from Rheinard
Ronald Volker snatched a thrilling last lap win in the opening A-Main of the Yokomo Euro Touring Series season opener in the Czech Republic. Starting second behind Marc Rheinard, the Yokomo driver would recover from a slow start to the race and helped by an uncharacteristic roll from the Top Qualifier force a pass on the 4-time World Champion in the final hairpin that sent onlookers crazy. With just the chicane to negotiate, Volker would win by 0.339 of a second from Rheinard, the Tamiya driver clearly dejected by his rivals overtake. Running a somewhat lonely race Alexander Hagberg completed the Top 3 followed by Xray team-mate Bruno Coelho who he got by when the Portuguese driver made a mistake 8 laps into the 23-lap encounter.
‘I couldn’t be happier. I have never celebrated a single A-Main win more than this’ was how Volker summed up the race. The meaning of the win for the new BD7 2016 was none more clear than the reaction of its designer & engineer to Volker Yukijiro Umino whose jump for joy could very well have secured him qualification for the high jump at the 2016 Olympics. Commenting on his slow start to the race which gave Rheinard a healthy early lead with the race looking like a foregone conclusion, the reigning Champion said ‘I struggled with the rear of the car in the early minutes’. With the lack of rear grip obvious to onlookers, he continued ‘I have to give credit to Bruno for his very fare driving over the first few laps’. With Coelho’s mistake giving Volker and his improving car the opportunity to try to close the 1.5-second gap to Rheinard he said as he pushed hard setting the only 12-second lap of the race and ‘suddenly Marc made a mistake and (he) was close enough to put pressure on him’. With the car getting more predictable and feeling his car was quicker in the right section of the track he said the gap to Hagberg was also big enough ‘to give the pass a shot and it paid off’. With a night to sleep on and enjoy his A1 win, he said for A2 tomorrow they need to discuss tyre prep so as to have a better opening pace.
Looking like he got the break he wanted as a struggling Volker held up Coelho, a dejected Rheinard said ‘I lost the race myself with the roll on the straight, this was enough to let him catch me’. On the move itself, Rheinard who having also TQ’d this race last year but ended up 4th in the final result, said ‘I went into the last corner too safe trying to bring home the win’. Still somewhat stunned by the pass, he said his TRF419 got a little loose but was still drivable pointing out again that he was solely to blame for throwing away the win.
Hagberg was not happy with his race to 3rd. The frustrated Swede said ‘I had no traction so I had no chance to challenge the others’. Coelho, who hinted his patience behind Volker was more a fear of being taken out by the by tail happy Yokomo, said like Rheinard that he ruined his own race with a mistake. Behind Coelho, Dionys Stadler would finish fifth benefitting from the retirement of Yannic Prumper who had been battling with Coelho for fourth.
The opening A-Main of Pro Stock and Formula would see Top Qualifier Jan Ratheisky take the wins but the German was made work hard for them both. In the Serpent Formula encounter, the Champion appeared to have checked out but he too rolled his Xray coming into the main straight. Although he was already closing in this would set the stage for VBC team driver Olivier Bultynck to get right with Ratheisky with them interlocking wheels as they battled it out but Bultynck came off worst on the penultimate lap to finish second 6/10ths back.
The Xray Pro Stock race produced a great battle between Top Qualifier Ratheisky and reigning champion Marek Cerny, the Xray team-mates going at it until contact at 1-minute to go turned the race on its head. With Cerny having to wait on Ratheisky following his failed pass, the Czech driver would get consumed by the pack ending up 8th while ARC driver Helge Johannessen took second just ahead of Spanish Yokomo driver Toni Mateo who came through from 10th on the grid.
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