Euro Touring Series

July 20, 2013

Rheinard TQs final qualifier

Marc Rheinard

Marc Rheinard has TQ’d the final round of qualifying at the season finale of the Yokomo Euro Touring Series in Slovakia. The Tamiya driver, who is the only one who can deny Top Qualifier Ronald Volker from wrapping up his third consecutive title of the Ride Modified class, said he was only able to top Q5 as a result of being one of the few drivers who had a new set of tyres left. Topping the round by 1-second from Team Xray’s Alexander Hagberg, who was also on a fresh set of tyres, the 3-time World Champion said his Much More powered TRF417 still does not have a good feeling and the advantage of the new tyres was only good for the first 5-laps after which he started to lose steering particularly when turning left.

Marc Rheinard

The result will see Rheinard start second on the grid at the Hudy Racing Arena directly behind Volker but the series’ most winning driver said being realistic the Yokomo’s drivers pace is too much for him to be able to do anything about getting the win needed to regain the ETS title he lost to Volker 3 seasons ago. Known for pulling off some of the most memorable passes in the sport, Rheinard said his only chance for tomorrow is to try make moves on his arch rival at places he described as ‘not normal spots’. Such is Volker’s pace this weekend, even on used tyres he never finished outside the Top 3 throughout the five rounds of qualifying. In Q5 he set the third fastest time ahead of the Associated Juho Levanen, who was on new tyres.

Vogl

In the Xray Pro Stock class Dominic Vogl backed up his Q4 TQ run by again topping the time-sheets, this time from Awesomatix team-mate Viljami Kutvonen securing himself second on the grid behind Top Qualifier Zdenko Kunak. Having struggled in early qualifying, Vogl looks to have found his form and should make Kunak, the outgoing champion, work hard for the win tomorrow. Championship protagonists Marek Cerny will start from 4th behind Kutvonen and directly in front of the Schumacher of former Champion Martin Hofer.

View the event results here.

View our event image gallery here.

July 20, 2013

A-Main Grids/Qualifying times – Round 5

Ride Modified A-Main Grid
1. Ronald Völker (DE) – Yokomo – 465 pts
2. Marc Rheinard (DE) – Tamiya – 459
3. Yannic Prümper (DE) – Yokomo – 457
4. Viktor Wilck (SE) – Tamiya – 455
5. Alexander Hagberg (SE) – Xray – 453
6. Marc Fischer (DE) – Serpent – 450
7. Frederik Südhoff (DE) – Awesomatix – 450
8. Andy Moore (GB) – HB – 445
9. Magnus Vässmar (SE) – Xray – 444
10.Adrian Berntsen (NO) – Xray – 440

Ride Modified Q5 times
1. Marc Rheinard – Tamiya – 17/5:15.660
2. Alexander Hagberg – Xray – 17/5:16.612
3. Ronald Völker – Yokomo – 17/5:18.229
4. Juho Levanen – Associated – 16/5:01.870
5. Frederik Südhoff – Awesomatix – 16/5:02.059
6. Viktor Wilck – Tamiya – 16/5:02.349
7. Lucas Urbain – VBC Racing – 16/5:02.419
8. Olivier Bultynck – VBC Racing – 16/5:02.584
9. Marco Kaufmann – Xray – 16/5:02.733
10.Marc Fischer – Serpent – 16/5:02.991

Xray Pro Stock A-Main Grid
1. Zdenko Kunak (SK) – Yokomo – 465 pts
2. Dominic Vogl (AT) – Awesomatix – 461
3. Viljami Kutvonen (FI) – Awesomatix – 459
4. Marek Cerny (CZ) – Xray – 457
5. Martin Hofer (DE) – Schumacher – 454
6. Olivier Bultynck (BE) – VBC Racing – 452
7. Jan Asmer (DE) – Serpent – 448
8. Henrik Heitsch (DE) – ARC – 446
9. David Nemcek (SK) – Xray – 446
10.Mike Gosvig (DK) – Awesomatix – 443

Xray Pro Stock Q5 times
1. Dominic Vogl – Awesomatix – 15/5:10.837
2. Viljami Kutvonen – Awesomatix – 15/5:11.055
3. Martin Hofer – Schumacher – 15/5:13.301
4. Marek Cerny – Xray – 15/5:13.310
5. Jan Asmer – Serpent – 15/5:13.720
6. Olivier Bultynck – VBC Racing – 15/5:14.100
7. Henrik Heitsch – ARC – 15/5:14.423
8. Tobias Hepp – Xray – 15/5:15.795
9. Kuba Simurda – Xray – 15/5:16.075
10.Thomas Oehler – ARC – 15/5:16.300

July 20, 2013

Q4 Update – TQ run for Prumper

Yannic

The fourth round of qualifying at the ETS in Slovakia saw Yannic Prumper record his first TQ run of the weekend but only after a late mistake by Serpent’s Marc Fischer. Both running on new tyres, Fischer would hold on to take 2nd with already confirmed Top Qualifier Ronald Volker completing the Top 3 on used rubber. Having been on a similar pace in practice to team-mate Volker, since the start of qualifying Prumper has struggled to match his fellow countryman and so for Q4 ran he tried a tyre additive from Volker’s engineer Umino Yukijiro. The additive turned out not to suit Prumper’s driving style with the 19-year-old saying his TQ run was a lucky result. Still in contention to start second on the grid behind Volker, for the fifth & final qualifier he will revert back to the additive he ran in the opening three heats which is a new sample blend Much More have giving him to test. In terms of chassis set-up Prumper will also change to a lighter shock oil for the run.

Fischer

Holding a 1-second advantage over Prumper, Fischer said his roll was caused by him clipping the curbing but he doesn’t know why he made such an error. While he had new tyres and was able to set the fastest lap, he said his S411 was still pushing a little adding that it was probably not any worse than what every other driver is having to deal with this weekend. With Marc Rheinard and Alexander Hagberg expected to battle it out for the final TQ run due to both still having a brand new set of tyres at their disposal, Fischer said he hopes he can do a Top 6 run which he said should be enough to help him start from the front half of the A-Main grid.

Freddy

Another driver to go into Q4 with new tyres was Freddy Sudhoff who would take his Awesomatix to fourth. The German said the first five laps were really good but then a problem with his rear left tyre started to hinder him in right hand corners. Adding that he was lucky to get away with the result, he said despite this he is very happy with how the new parts are working with them able to improve the car every run.

Paul Lemieux

The round saw the best run of the weekend from American ace Paul Lemieux. Using his second set of tyres the US National Champion took his Thunder Power equipped T4 to the ninth fastest time just 18/1000ths behind Xray team-mate Adrian Berntsen.

Vogl

In the Xray Pro Stock class Austrian Dominic Vogl TQ’d the penultimate round from former Champion Martin Hofer while Zdenko Kunak, who secured the overall TQ one round earlier, pulled up to save tyres having run just 4-lap to test a set-up change. Driving his Awesomatix A700, 16-year-old Vogl, who came so close to his first ETS win in Austria, was clearly delighted with his run having had troubled runs in the first three qualifiers.

View the event results here.

View our event image gallery here.

July 20, 2013

Qualifying times – Round 4

Ride Modified Q4 times
1. Yannic Prümper – Yokomo – 17/5:17.976
2. Marc Fischer – Serpent – 17/5:18.174
3. Ronald Völker – Yokomo – 16/5:01.372
4. Frederik Südhoff – Awesomatix – 16/5:01.626
5. Alexander Hagberg – Xray – 16/5:03.177
6. Marc Rheinard – Tamiya – 16/5:04.109
7. Magnus Vässmar – Xray – 16/5:04.840
8. Adrian Berntsen – Xray – 16/5:05.174
9. Paul Lemieux – Xray – 16/5:05.192
10.Rene Klockner – Yokomo – 16/5:05.586

Xray Pro Stock Q4 times
1. Dominic Vogl – Awesomatix – 15/5:09.360
2. Martin Hofer – Schumacher – 15/5:09.530
3. Olivier Bultynck – VBC Racing – 15/5:12.283
4. Jan Asmer – Serpent – 15/5:12.362
5. Tobias Hepp – Xray – 15/5:13.627
6. David Nemcek – Xray – 15/5:14.898
7. Mike Gosvig – Awesomatix – 15/5:15.114
8. Lukas Ellerbrock – Kyosho – 15/5:15.309
9. Henrik Heitsch – ARC – 15/5:15.575
10.Barnabas Toth – Yokomo – 15/5:17.267

July 20, 2013

Volker ‘Top Qualifier’ for ETS Finale

Yokomo TQ

Ronald Volker is Top Qualifier for the season finale of the Yokomo Euro Touring Series after the Yokomo driver carried through his form from yesterday’s opening two qualifiers to top the third round this morning at the Hudy Racing Arena to put pole position for Sunday’s title deciding A-Main beyond the reach of his rivals. It was the perfect morning for Yokomo as they also locked up overall TQ honours in Slovakia with their Pro Stock team driver and outgoing champion Zdenko Kunak.

Volker

Topping the round from HB’s Andy Moore, who was on new tyres, Volker described his run on used tyres as ‘awesome’. Having previously been at a disadvantage to his rivals when running used tyres on asphalt, the German said after a lot of hard work by his engineer Umino Yukijiro they had finally found a way to get the BD7 to be competitive on old tyres. Delighted to sew up the overall TQ, the result takes Volker a step closer to a third consecutive ETS title. Complimenting Kunak on his performance in Pro Stock saying the team could not have asked for better, Volker said the team’s attention is now on trying to help his Modified team-mate Yannic Prumper, who still has a new set of tyres, improve his performance for the final two qualifiers so hopefully he can secure the No.2 spot on the grid thereby making the task in the final for the Tamiyas, and in particular title rival Marc Rheinard, more difficult.

Marc Rheinard

Rheinard took third for the round despite a costly roll on his final lap which cost him almost 5-seconds. The German said he was lucky all the other drivers just missed out on making 17 laps so while the mistake was frustrating it didn’t effect his position for the round. With Rheinard’s handling issues clearly visible to see on track, the Tamiya Racing Factory driver said that on power the car has chronic oversteer. While he has still to use his second set of allocated qualifying tyres he said with Volker taking the TQ honours his chance at the title is now very hard as even if he can turn things around and win tomorrow he also needs Volker to finish 3rd or lower.

Andy

While the round was by far his best run so far Moore said new tyres were probably the only reason for his pace. The British ace said for a new tyre run he should have been a lot faster adding that ‘in general (they are) not quite there yet’ in terms of set-up. ‘Still searching for something’ he plans to change a ‘bunch of stuff’ for the penultimate qualifier.

Magnus Vassmar

The next fastest driver running new tyres for the round was Xray’s Magnus Vassmar who took his T4 to fifth. The Swede said he didn’t drive particularly well and as a result he didn’t make the most of the new tyres. Happy with how his car is working he doesn’t plan to make any set-up changes for Q4 focusing instead on improving his driving. Team-mate & fellow countryman Alexander Hagberg was sixth fastest just 3/10th behind. The former ETS race winner said he pushed a little too hard which resulted in him running wide a number of times. Still with a new set of tyres at his disposal he said he is confident for the remaining two qualifiers.

Wilck

Having used his two sets of tyres in the opening two qualifiers to finish second to Volker on both occasions, TRF’s Viktor Wilck could only manage 7th on used rubber. Behind the Gran Canaria race winner Awesomatix’s Viljami Kutvonen had his best Modified qualifier. The Finn was on new tyres but said reverting to the original chassis plate in combination with new anti tork steer parts he was much happier with his A700. Planning to adjust the roll centres for Q4 he said he hopes he can get two more strong runs and make the A-Main.

View the event results here.

View our event image gallery here.

July 20, 2013

Qualifying times – Round 3

Ride Modified Q3 times
1. Ronald Völker – Yokomo – 17/5:16.248
2. Andy Moore – HB – 17/5:18.062
3. Marc Rheinard – Tamiya – 17/5:23.421
4. Yannic Prümper – Yokomo – 16/5:00.192
5. Magnus Vässmar – Xray – 16/5:00.356
6. Alexander Hagberg – Xray – 16/5:00.680
7. Viktor Wilck – Tamiya – 16/5:01.172
8. Viljami Kutvonen – Awesomatix – 16/5:01.246
9. Fabian Bucher – Xray – 16/5:02.504
10.Marco Kaufmann – Xray – 16/5:02.777

Xray Pro Stock Q3 times
1. Zdenko Kunak – Yokomo – 15/5:08.233
2. Viljami Kutvonen – Awesomatix – 15/5:09.181
3. Marek Cerny – Xray – 15/5:11.255
4. Dominic Vogl – Awesomatix – 15/5:11.919
5. Henrik Heitsch – ARC – 15/5:12.638
6. David Nemcek – Xray – 15/5:13.178
7. Olivier Bultynck – VBC Racing – 15/5:13.396
8. Martin Hofer – Schumacher – 15/5:14.880
9. Jan Asmer – Serpent – 15/5:15.880
10.Blazej Orlowski – Yokomo – 15/5:15.827

July 19, 2013

Perfect day for Volker at Hudy Arena

Volker

It was the perfect day for Ronald Volker at the Hudy Racing Arena in Slovakia as the Team Yokomo driver topping the opening two rounds of qualifying at the title deciding season finale of the 2012/13 Yokomo Euro Touring Series. Having topped timed practice earlier in the day, the German who is chasing a third consecutive ETS title opened qualifying with a TQ run which he then backed up with an even faster 5-minute run in Q2 which brought Day 1 of the event to a close. Once again it was Tamiya’s Viktor Wilck who was the closest challenger, the Swede again posting the second fastest time in a Round that saw tyre strategy play a big part, Serpent’s Marc Fischer benefiting from near new tyres to set the 3rd quickest run.

Ronald Volker

‘Everything is going to plan’ was how Volker summed up the day. Running his second set of allocated Ride tyres in Q2 he said they knew they had to match Wilck who also ran new tyres for the round. Admitting that Wilck has the faster car in the early laps he said he had to be careful not to drive too aggressively trying to match him and this approach paid off as on lap 5 of 17 he assumed control of the pace staying there till the end to take the round, which was 2.5 seconds quicker than Q1, by 1.7 seconds from Wilck. Wilck said he had the same issues as in Q1 with his TRF417 ‘pretty good’ for the first few laps before the front tyres go off and the car starts to ‘push’.

Marc Fischer

Having pulled up in Q1 after 5-laps following a crash, Fischer was happy with his 3rd. The German described his opening laps as a ‘little shit’ but said his S411 feels good and for tomorrow he will stay with the same set-up. Setting the fourth fastest time and the quickest driver for the round on second run tyres was Yannic Prümper. The Yokomo driver said considering this and how close he was able to run with Fischer he was pretty pleased with the run.

Rheinard

While Volker has had the perfect day the same cant be said for his only title rival. Rheinard had a spin on his opening lap which cost him a second and overall the German is not happy with the performance of his TRF417 on such a critical weekend, the 3-time World Champion critical of the tyres.

Berntsen

Completing the Top 6 was Team Xray’s Adrian Berntsen. The Norwegian suffered an speedo problem in Q1 which ended his run after just 4-laps, but the 19-year-old was able to turn that to his advantage in Q2 as he capitalised on having fresher tyres. Happy with his T4 he said by the end of the run the car started to develop understeer and for tomorrow’s remaining 3 qualifiers he plans to alter his tyre prep.

Sudhoff

Setting the seventh fastest time on used tyres, Freddy Südhoff said he was surprised at how good his Awesomatix ran. While the cooler condition have always suited the A700, he said he was still pleased with the performance of the car considering the number of drivers who ran new tyres. Another driver running on practically new tyres was Team Associated’s Juho Levanen who posted the 9th fastest time behind Alexander Hagberg. Completing only 2-laps in Q1, just like Italian Alessio Menicucci who set the 10th fastest time, the former ETS race winner said he was a little disappointed he didn’t finish higher. Describing his TC6.1 as feeling ‘pretty good’ he said he needs now to choose carefully when he runs his second set of tyres.

Kunak

In the Xray Pro Stock class Zdenko Kunak made it the perfect day for Yokomo as he backed up his Q1 TQ run with another fastest time in the second qualifier ahead of Viljami Kutvonen and championship protagonist Marek Cerny.

View the event results here.

View our event image gallery here.

July 19, 2013

Qualifying times – Round 2

Ride Modified Q2 times
1. Ronald Völker – Yokomo – 17/5:10.769
2. Viktor Wilck – Tamiya – 17/5:12.540
3. Marc Fischer – Serpent – 17/5:14.131
4. Yannic Prümper – Yokomo – 17/5:14.463
5. Marc Rheinard – Tamiya – 17/5:15.027
6. Adrian Berntsen – Xray – 17/5:15.198
7. Frederik Südhoff – Awesomatix – 17/5:15.529
8. Alexander Hagberg – Xray – 17/5:15.590
9. Juho Levanen – Associated – 17/5:17.588
10.Alessio Menicucci – Xray – 17/5:17.777

Xray Pro Stock Q2 times
1. Zdenko Kunak – Yokomo – 15/5:07.578
2. Viljami Kutvonen – Awesomatix – 15/5:07.764
3. Marek Cerny – Xray – 15/5:11.882
4. Mike Gosvig – Awesomatix – 15/5:12.501
5. Barnabas Toth – Yokomo – 15/5:13.084
6. Martin Hofer – Schumacher – 15/5:13.088
7. David Nemcek – Xray – 15/5:13.962
8. Jan Asmer – Serpent – 15/5:14.061
9. Tobias Hepp – Xray – 15/5:14.095
10.Henrik Heitsch – ARC – 15/5:14.324