Euro Touring Series

July 19, 2013

Volker TQ’s opening qualifier at ETS finale

Ronald Volker

Team Yokomo’s Ronald Volker got the finale of the 2012/13 Yokomo Euro Touring Series off to the best start possible as he TQ’d the opening round of qualifying at the Hudy Racing Arena in Slovakia. The title protagonist took the first of the five rounds of qualifying by 2.2 seconds from Tamiya’s Viktor Wilck who for a time was setting the early pace. Marc Rheinard completed the Top 3, the German’s hopes that a binding CVD in practice was the reason for his lack of pace not turning out to be the case.

Ronald Volker

Volker said the run was what he had ‘hoped for’. Looking to put in a ‘clean & fast’ opening round he said that worked out although the defending champion said he struggled a little with his driving in the closing laps, clipping the curbs a number of times. Hoping he can repeat the result in Q2 he said tyre strategy could play a big part as he expects some drivers to run the second qualifier on the second set of their two allocated sets of qualifying tyres.

Viktor Wilck

‘Lucky to get away with second’ was how Wilck summed up his opening qualifier after the inside of his left rear tyre came unglued on the last lap. The Swede said his Tamiya starts off really good but mid way through his tyres go off and the car starts to understeer. Winner of round 3 of the series, he said he doesn’t think the problem is with the set-up of his TRF417 but rather to do with his driving and he will try to drive his next qualifier slightly different.

Marc Rheinard

Rheinard said he is ‘just too slow’ and he is ‘not sure why’. A driver who is at his best racing on asphalt, the winner of the last two ETS encounters on the surface said overall his Much More powered TRF417 feels like it has no traction with it suffering a lot with understeer.

Yannic

Setting the fourth fastest time, Yannic Prumper said his first heat was ‘not good’. Suffering from a front shock tower that came loose over the 5-minute run he said he also had a problem with a bad front right tyre. With the shock tower hopefully well screwed in place for Q2, the 19-year-old said he doesn’t plan to change his set-up for Q2 as he is happy with how his BD7 is running when everything stays in place. Despite the loose tower Prumper was only 1.1 seconds off Rheinard.

Hagberg

Making a series of small set-up changes to his Xray, Alexander Hagberg described his run to the 5th fastest time as ‘not too bad’. The former ETS race winner said the changes made his T4 turn in better and while he feels he drove a little too safe he is optimistic that he can improve in Q2. The best placed Xray in timed practice setting the 6th fastest time, Magnus Vassmar took his T4 to the 9th fastest time in Q1 just ahead of team-mate Marco Kaufmann who completed the Top 10.

Freddy

Taking his Awesomatix to the sixth fastest time, Freddy Sudhoff said it was a ‘solid run’ with his Russian designed chassis ‘maximium easy to drive’. The said he is really happy with the new parts they have on the car. Now with a floating front spool, that prevents torque steer, he said on power steering particularly through left hand corners due to the position of the motor is much better now. Having seen a number of driver’s speedos shut down in some of the heats before his run, including Kyosho’s Christopher Krapp, he said he took it a little easy with his throttle to be safe which probably cost him some time. For Q2 this should not be an issue and in terms of set-up he plans to leave everything as is.

Dankel Car

HB’s Andy Moore took his Hobbywing powered TCXX to seventh in front of Euro Nitro Series Champion Eric Dankel. The Yokomo driver was pretty pleased with his run saying he hopes he can repeat the run two more times. Comfortable with his BD7 he said the biggest problem for him on the track which he describes as ‘awesome’ is his driving style which he will try to adjust for Q2.

Kunak

In the Xray Pro Stock class current champion Zdenko Kunak TQ’d the opening qualifier. A making a lot of small changes to his Yokomo ahead of Q1, the Slovak driver said the car was much better than practice and while he is getting it to where he wants it it is still a bit away from what it can be. Chasing his fourth win of the season and the overall championship title, Marek Cerny was second fastest. The factory Xray driver said his T4 worked perfectly but a motor problem meant he lacked top speed and this cost him a TQ run. With a different handout Speed Passion motor for Q2 he said he hopes this will resolve the problem. Completing the Top 3 was Awesomatix’ flying Finn Viljami Kutvonen. Running a standard car in Pro Stock, he said in the beginning of the run his A700 was OK but by the end it had gotten very nervous to drive. Feeling the problem is that he is overheating his tyres he will make some small suspension adjustments for tonight’s second qualifier.

View the event results here.

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July 19, 2013

Qualifying times – Round 1

Ride Modified Q1 times
1. Ronald Völker – Yokomo – 17/5:13.262
2. Viktor Wilck – Tamiya – 17/5:15.539
3. Marc Rheinard – Tamiya – 17/5:15.614
4. Yannic Prümper – Yokomo – 17/5:15.718
5. Alexander Hagberg – Xray – 17/5:17.339
6. Frederik Südhoff – Awesomatix – 17/5:18.995
7. Andy Moore – HB – 16/5:00.419
8. Eric Dankel – Yokomo – 16/5:01.274
9. Magnus Vässmar – Xray – 16/5:02.172
10.Marco Kaufmann – Xray – 16/5:02.851

Xray Pro Stock Q1 times
1. Zdenko Kunak – Yokomo – 15/5:08.092
2. Marek Cerny – Xray – 15/5:08.539
3. Viljami Kutvonen – Awesomatix – 15/5:08.678
4. Olivier Bultynck – VBC Racing – 15 5:09.967
5. Dominic Vogl – Awesomatix – 15/5:10.580
6. Martin Hofer – Schumacher – 15/5:12.724
7. Henrik Heitsch – ARC – 15/5:12.759
8. Jan Asmer – Serpent – 15/5:12.779
9. Barnabas Toth – Yokomo – 15/5:12.929
10.Tobias Hepp – Xray – 15/5:13.692

July 19, 2013

Volker No.1 seed for qualifying

Volker

Ronald Volker is the top seed for qualifying at the sixth & final round of the Yokomo Euro Touring Series in Slovakia with his rivals unable to better the time set by the defending champion in the first of the two timed practice runs. Also topping the 2nd practice, with a 3-consecutive lap time that was half a second slower than his earlier run, the Yokomo driver will lead away the top heat in qualifying with his team-mate Yannic Prumper, who also failed to improve on his opening time, starting behind him. Having posted the fourth fastest time in P1, Tamiya’s Viktor Wilck was fastest of the drivers to improve in P2 as he posted the 2nd quickest time behind Volker which will rank the Swede third for qualifying ahead of team-mate & title contender Marc Rheinard.

Volker

Volker said he was not surprised at being slower in the second practice as they expected this due to the high temperatures. Despite the slower pace, the German said his LRP powered BD7 was still well balanced but having made a mistake in both his practice runs he said even with a good car the track is still challenging and going for a clean 5-minute qualifier ‘will not be so easy’. In terms of set-up, Volker said while his car feels better today than yesterday, they may look at making some very minor changes based on information they gathered running in the cooler conditions yesterday evening.

Prumper

Team-mate Prumper posted the 3rd fastest time in P2, the German saying a small droop change made by his mechanic Toni Rheinard made his BD7 roll too much and for the opening qualifier he will revert to how the car was in P1.

Viktor Wilck

Improving his time by 5/10ths, Wilck said his TRF417 was a little better following a change to a lighter shock oil and a change of tyre additive. The Swede said he will stick with the same set-up for the first qualifier adding that it is all down to what set of tyres he gets as he felt the sets of tyres he used in his two practice runs felt quite different.

Marc

Despite failing to improve on his P1 time, a time he was not pleased with when compared to Volker’s blistering pace, Rheinard looked a lot more relieved after P2 having discovered the front right double joint CVD on his Tamiya was extremely tight. The German said this would ‘for sure’ have effected the car particularly in the high speed corners adding that he hopes this is the reason for him being over one second off his arch rival Volker over just three consecutive laps. Starting behind the 3-time World Champion will be HB’s Andy Moore whose second practice only lasted little over 3-minutes after a tyre came unglued.

Vassmar

Making a huge step forward in terms of pace Team Xray’s Magnus Vassmar went from being 10th fastest in P1 to setting the 6th fastest time overall making him the top Xray seed going into qualifying. The Swedish driver said a combination of a lot of small changes to his T4 had ‘finally’ given him the feeling he was looking for from the car. The changes made the car much easier to drive and improved its rotation in the corners. Although the rear of the car may be now a little too loose he said the direction he has taken with the set-up is much better and he will stay the same for Q1 as he is confident over 5-minutes it should be good.

Hagberg

Getting bumped back to 7th by his Xray team-mate, Alexander Hagberg said he is ‘still too slow’ with the suspension geometry change he made for P2 ‘not really any better’. Planning to revert to his regular base set-up for the first qualifier he said he will try instead to focus on doing as good an run as possible and hope it gives him a solid points haul for the opening round of 5 qualifiers.

Freddy

Starting ninth, behind Serpent’s Marc Fischer who improved slightly on his P1 time, factory Awesomatix driver Freddy Sudhoff was very happy with his second practice which was half a second faster than his earlier run. With new parts arriving for the A700 last night with the car’s designer Oleg Babich, which help prevent torque steer on the all shaft drive chassis, Sudhoff said the car is getting better and better as they find what is the best combination of using the new parts with regular parts on the car.

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July 19, 2013

Volker tops first time practice

Ronald Volker

Ronald Volker has made his intentions very clear at the season finale of the Yokomo Euro Touring Series at the amazing Hudy Racing Arena in Slovakia, the Yokomo driver topping the first timed practice by a massive 4/10th over 3-consecutive laps from team-mate Yannic Prumper with title rival Marc Rheinard over a second off Volker’s blistering pace in 3rd. With Volker and Rheinard here to battle it out to become champion of this the sixth season of the ETS, the scenarios are simple. For Rheinard to deny Volker a third consecutive title, he must win anything less and irrespective of where his fellow German finishes on Sunday the title stays with Yokomo. Should qualifying go the way of Volker, securing him the bonus championship point for TQ honours, and even if Rheinard can pass him for the win then second would still be enough for Volker to defend his title so ultimately the pressure is on the Tamiya driver.

Marc

Having been content with his pace yesterday in open practice, today the first of two time practice runs left Rheinard clearly stunned by Yokomo’s pace. ‘I don’t know where he makes up the time’ was how Rheinard summed up Volker’s pace. Running a fastest lap which is 4/10th fastest than Rheinard’s best, the former 3-time World Champion said having thought they were in touch with the Yokomos yesterday, today ‘the gap is huge’ and he has no idea what he can do to find the pace.

Ronald Volker

While Rheinard had a certain look of defeat on his face after the first time practice, Volker had a quiet air of confidence about him. Having yet to win an outdoor ETS race in the series 33 race history, Volker summed up his run with ‘we’re doing well’. Describing the track as ‘the perfect track for racing Mod Touring Car’, he added that there was ‘no better place to host the ETS Finale’. Having found a ‘good set-up’ in yesterday’s open practice he said the balance of his BD7 is perfect. Happy with the performance of the car in the hot midday conditions he said for the final practice he will run the car as is but with the opening two qualifiers set to take place later this evening he said they will probably have to make a change to suit the cooler conditions.

Prumper

Describing the track as ‘amazing to drive’ adding that he really likes the technical layout, Prumper said his BD7 was really difficult for the first 2-laps something he is putting down to the particular set of handout Ride tyres he ran. After 4 laps the 19-year-old said the car was really good and other than freshening up the shocks and diff he will stay the same for the second timed practice, the best of the two counting for a reseed of the drivers for qualifying.

Wilck

The only other driver apart from the two title contenders to win a race this season, Vikor Wilck set the fourth fastest time. The Tamiya Racing Factory driver tried a different additive which he said on the hotter track was no better than what he ran in the morning’s open practice run. The Swede said at the beginning of the run this TRF417 feels ‘actually OK’ but then thee tyres go off causing the car to develop understeer. Asked what he plans to try for his next run the Gran Canaria winner said the ‘Yokomos were way too strong’ adding that ‘even if they improve the car he’s not sure its going to be enough to close such a gap’.

Andy Moore

Having ‘essentially wasted a day yesterday’ due to a problem with a prototype Sanwa radio he was using, HB’s Andy Moore was very happy to post the 5th fastest time. Having had his regular Sanwa radio shipped from the UK overnight, the 2006 World Champion said today he feels like he is at the races and back on the same page as everyone else. Generally happy with his TCXX he said he will use the final practice to try a few small changes which he hopes will bring him that bit closer to the lead pace.

Alexander Hagberg

Completing the Top 6 was Alexander Hagberg. Team Xray’s lead driver said he is struggling a little. Knowing the track better than most, this being Xray’s development track, the Swede said his T4 feels good to drive but on the time sheets it’s too slow. Feeling that the car is maybe too easy to drive he said for the next practice he will run a different suspension geometry. Team-mate Marco Kaufmann took his example of the T4 to the 8th fastest time just behind the Tamiya of Thomas Pumpler. The 19-year-old is happy with the consistency of his car but looking to find a little more corner speed he will adjust the front anti-dive for his next practice.

Marc Fischer

Serpent’s Marc Fischer took his S411 to the ninth fastest time, the German describing his performance as ‘so so’. He said his car is good after 2-minutes but he needs to get it to work right from start adding that his rivals pace from the first lap is ‘awesome’. Feeling that his problem is tyre additive he said the difficult part is deciding which one is the best one to use.

Cerny

In the Xray Pro stock class Marek Cerny set the pace from Danish driver Mike Gosvig with Dominic Vogl third. The Czech driver who leads the championship standing, and barring all but a disaster should be become champion of the series biggest class on Sunday, described his Xray T4 as ‘perfect’.

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July 18, 2013

Track Focus – Hudy Racing Arena

Thurs-Track-4

Name – Hudy Racing Arena
Club – Private Track
Country – Slovakia
Location – Trencin (120 km North East of Bratislava)
Direction – Anti-clockwise
Surface – Asphalt
No. of ETS Races hosted – 0

The greatest R/C venue in the World, there is simply no other way to describe the Hudy Racing Arena in Slovakia. Built in 2006 on the grounds of a former soccer stadium, the massive 25,000 square metre facility also includes the factory of both Xray, the only true r/c car manufacturer in Europe, and Hudy but it is the Arena which dominates the grounds. Hosting its first international event this weekend as it plays host to the season finale of the Yokomo Euro Touring Series, the complex houses three tracks and from the moment racers drive in the main gate they can’t but be immediately impressed by what they see before them.

For the ETS it is the outdoor asphalt track that is being used while indoors there is another asphalt track and a carpet offroad track which this weekend had been cleared to make space for extra pitting area for the near 250 entries. In typical Hudy fashion everything about the Arena has been meticulously thought out with the first word out of every driver this morning being ‘amazing’. In terms of racing on the track, Tamiya’s Marc Rheinard said it is really nice but to go fast is quite hard due to the high speed chicane and end of the straight, which isn’t actually straight, making the breaking point difficult to get right each time.

Thurs-Pits-3

Used mainly as a development track by Xray along with hosting Xray Challenge races, the Arena is open every Wednesday to the public for practice although the number of racers in the surrounding area is not particularly high. While the complex is already impressive it is set for further development with the addition of a cover dirt offroad track which Juraj Hudy said will be similar to the Padova track in Italy. This addition is expected to start construction later this year and is set to be ready to host its first race next year.

Thurs-JurajHudyOrig-1

The story behind how Juraj Hudy and the journey his company took to his current location is very interesting. Located about 100 metres behind the Arena is a little row of garages on a back street where Juraj rented Unit No.1 in 1989 when communism ended in what was then known as Czechoslovakia. From there he started making parts for slot cars which he sold mainly to the United States through a friend of his who had emigrated there. Building up to two employees in the small unit, as he started to make drive shafts for Serpent, both these workers are still with the company which today employs 80 people. While working for yourself in communist times was not allowed, Juraj used to make 1:8 Onroad cars in his flat before he officially became self employed producing about 10 of these hand built cars a year. Out growing the ‘shed’ they then moved to a bigger unit in the town of Trencin which in turn they out grew as they expanded their product line which now includes the FX Engine brand. In the now ultra high-tech factory, the original machine which he started out with in Unit No.1 is still in use in amongst the computer controlled CNC machines.

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June 16, 2013

Rheinard wins, title to be decided at Hudy Arena

Marc

Marc Rheinard has won the penultimate round of the Yokomo Euro Touring Series ahead of Ronald Volker meaning that the two great rivals will battle it out for the overall title at the season finale at the Hudy Arena in Slovakia next month. After the chaos of Leg 2, the closing race in Traiskirchen was a much calmer affair with Top Qualifier Rheinard seeing off the close attention of Yokomo drivers Yannic Prumper and Volker to take the leg and the overall win which he needed to keep his title hopes alive.

Winning Car

Delighted to back up his Round 4 win and collect his second maximium points haul of the season, his TQ for the race earning him an extra bonus point, the former World Champion said while the first two Mains didn’t go to plan the final outcome was what he came here looking for. Irate after the happenings in Leg 2 and not wanting to comment on the race at the time, Rheinard said the incident combined with the pressure of the only result that would do being the win, emotions ran very high. He said going ‘from a safe win to a DNF in a couple of seconds’, after being hit by Andy Moore, was hugely frustrating and while his reaction at the time was full of emotion once he went away had a drink and cleared his head he could refocus on the job in hand. With Andy Moore apologizing for the incident, Rheinard said he knew the British ace didn’t hit him intentionally and it is all behind them now joking that he will be happy to drink a beer with the HB driver but ‘he can buy the first one’. Commenting on the final outcome of the weekend, the Top 3 all finishing on equal points, Rheinard said it would have ‘of course been better if Volker had finished third’, but the main thing is the championship battle goes to Slovakia.

Volker

Volker said he was disappointed at not being able to win the event and wrap up the championship as ‘they clearly had the pace and most of the time were faster than Marc (Rheinard)’. Starting from 3rd on the grid, a traction roll in Q1 was costly for the German, he said winning was always going to be difficult although the opening A-Main showed it was not impossible. While he would have much rather be leaving Austria with a third consecutive ETS title, the reigning European Champion said the championship being decided in Slovakia will create great interest in the race and he is looking forward to the showdown.

LRSun-PrumperCar

Prumper, who came into the event with an outside chance of the title that is now gone, said considering how the weekend started out and how his car ran in practice the result was ‘OK’ for him. Last year’s winner, when the ETS made its first visit to the unique Traiskirchen venue, the 19-year-old said he struggled a little at the start of the third leg with understeer but as the race went on his Much More powered BD7 improved and he was able to close right in on Rheinard but he said the risks were too high to try and make a pass with both Volker and Moore very close behind him. His third podium finish of the season, Prumper said he was more determined than ever to go for the win at the next race.

LRSun-HagbergShell

Missing out on the podium was Leg 2 winner Alexander Hagberg, the factory Xray driver finishing fourth ahead of fellow Swede Viktor Wilck who broke in the final A-Main. A race winner last season, Hagberg had a reasonable weekend in Austria considering the last few ETS races but with Round 6 at a track he knows extremely well due to it being where Xray develops its cars he will be one to watch. Although he only finished 6th, despite taking 4th in Legs 1 & 3, many onlookers commented on how well Moore drove this weekend. The 2006 World Champion intially struggled in practice but made a big step forward after making a significant discovery as to how he sets up his TCXX.

PS Top 3

In the Xray Pro Stock class the third A-Main saw the biggest class in the ETS put on another great race which was won by the Awesomatix of 16-year-old Dominic Vogl. A hugely popular race win, unfortunately for the Austrian his winning time was 2/10ths of a second too slow and it was Xray’s Marek Cerny, who was only fourth in the leg, who took the overall win. His third win of the season, the Czech driver was delighted with the win after his terrible run at Apeldoorn. Although he moves closer to the title, defending Champion Zdenko Kunak’s chances of retaining the title coming to an end in Austria after a tough event, Cerny still needs to do well at the season finale but should he win it will be the perfect place to win his first title. Former Champion Martin Hofer and his Schumacher completed the podium.

F1 Top 10

The Speed Passion Formula class saw Roman Pichler again get the better of Top Qualifier Jan Asmer in Leg 3 to claim the win and his second overall victory of the season. However for Asmer second on the podium ahead of current champion Herbert Weber was enough to secure the Serpent driver the overall 2012/13 ETS title.

View the complete event results here.

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June 16, 2013

A-Main Overall/Leg 3 Results

Ride Modified A-Main Overall Result
1. Marc Rheinard (DE) – Tamiya – 4 pts
2. Ronald Völker (DE) – Yokomo – 4
3. Yannic Prümper (DE) – Yokomo – 4
4. Alexander Hagberg (SE) – Xray – 6
5. Viktor Wilck (SE) – Tamiya – 8
6. Andy Moore (GB) – HB – 8
7. Martin Hudy (SK) – Xray – 9
8. Marc Fischer (DE) – Serpent – 11
9. Magnus Vässmar (SE) – Xray – 12
10.Freddy Südhoff (DE) – Awesomatix – 14

Ride Modified A-Main Leg 3 Result
1.(1) Marc Rheinard (DE) – Tamiya – 21/5:14.830
2.(2) Yannic Prümper (DE) – Yokomo – 20/5:00.023
3.(3) Ronald Völker (DE) – Yokomo – 20/5:00.155
4.(4) Andy Moore (GB) – HB – 20/5:00.449
5.(6) Alexander Hagberg (SE) – Xray – 20/5:05.203
6.(9) Martin Hudy (SK) – Xray – 20/5:06.752
7.(5) Marc Fischer (DE) – Serpent – 20/5:07.511
8.(10)Magnus Vässmar (SE) – Xray – 20/5:07.989
9.(8) Freddy Südhoff (DE) – Awesomatix – 20/5:13.302
10.(7)Viktor Wilck (SE) – Tamiya – 15/3:56.869

Xray Pro Stock A-Main Overall Result
1. Marek Cerny (CZ) – Xray – 3 pts
2. Dominic Vogl (AT) – Awesomatix – 3
3. Martin Hofer (DE) – Schumacher – 4
4. Viljami Kutvonen (FI) – Awesomatix – 5
5. Valetin Hettrich (DE) – Xray – 7
6. Henrik Heitsch (DE) – ARC – 9
7. Jan Asmer (DE) – Serpent – 12
8. David Nemcek (SK) – Xray – 14
9. Oliver Franke (DE) – HB – 15
10.Tobias Vogel (DE) – Xray – 16

Xray Pro Stock A-Main Leg 3 Result
1.(3) Dominic Vogl (AT) – Awesomatix – 19/5:15.592
2.(2) Viljami Kutvonen (FI) – Awesomatix – 19/5:15.734
3.(6) Valetin Hettrich (DE) – Xray – 18/5:00.141
4.(1) Marek Cerny (CZ) – Xray – 18/5:02.630
5.(8) Henrik Heitsch (DE) – ARC – 18/5:06.414
6.(10)Jan Asmer (DE) – Serpent – 18/5:07.217
7.(9) David Nemcek (SK) – Xray – 18/5:08.553
8.(4) Martin Hofer (DE) – Schumacher – 18/5:08.772
9.(5) Tobias Vogel (DE) – Xray – 18/5:14.682
10.(7)Oliver Franke (DE) – HB – 18/5:14.844

June 16, 2013

Leg 2 Update – Volker’s view

Ronald

Having read our report and watched our video footage of the chaotic Leg 2 of the A-Main, Ronald Volker has come to us to give his views of the race. Commenting on the first incident with Yannic Prumper, he said with Prumper’s car totally stopped in the apex of the corner, last year’s winner checking up to avoid contact with Rheinard, he had no where to go and it was never his intention to hit his own team-mate. He added that he was at the same time also trying to defend from Andy Moore who was right on his bumper. Volker added while the incident was in no way intentional he would have accepted a ‘Stop & Go’ for the incident.

On his coming together with Marc Fischer he said it is clear from the video that his rival’s S411 was unsettled after jumping the corner and with the door open he tried to pass but Fischer move back across to block and that is how they ended up clashing. Volker said he can understand Fischer being upset but the incident was bad for both of them.

The final incident, which happened on the straight in the closing laps of the race, Volker took responsibility for. Running second and trying to catch Hagberg, Volker grip rolled coming onto the straight and said he didn’t pay enough attention when rejoining the track resulting in his spectacular crash which saw Rheinard’s Tamiya get airborne.