Hagberg wins chaotic Leg 2
Team Xray’s Alexander Hagberg has won what has to have been the most chaotic race in the history of the Euro Touring Series with the level of tension among the main contenders in the pits requiring a chainsaw to cut through it. After a change of weather saw cars sliding around in Leg 1, conditions were back to normal for Leg 2 and initially the race started well with Top Qualifier Marc Rheinard leading the way from Yannic Prumper and Ronald Volker, but on lap 4 the Yokomo pair clashed in what was the first of a number of incidents that have tempers running extremely high in Austria. One of the few happy faces in the pits at the end of the race, Hagberg took the win from fellow Swede Viktor Wilck with Martin Hudy, who started 9th completing the Top 3, with all three drivers admitting afterwards that they had got lucky by staying out of trouble.
Hagberg, who qualified 6th, said he was battling with Wilck and all of a sudden found himself leading the race as everyone starting hitting one another. Admitting he was ‘very lucky’ to get the result he said he was ‘of course happy’ to take it as a win is win. Wilck who would finish 1.3 seconds behind his fellow countryman, said he lost time at the start as he couldn’t find a way passed Hagberg’s Xray which he said in the early part of the race was slower than his Tamiya, the handling of which he said having struggled with it in qualifying ‘was not so bad’. In the end the Gran Canaria winner said he ‘for sure got lucky’ but added that his prediction for Leg 3 is a repeat of the chaos.
Trying to get Rheinard’s view of the race, the German needing the win this weekend to keep his title hopes alive, he was clearly not in any mood for talking about it just replying ‘no comment’ as he returned to the pits after marshalling the following race. Rheinard lead the race for 15-laps hounded by HB’s Andy Moore in what was a thrilling display of driving by the two former World Champions but Moore would make contact with the Tamiya resulting in the pair dropping down the field as the race really took a turn for the worse and all hell broke loose. Two laps later a multi car pile up would see Rheinard walk off the drivers stand, his car still sitting in the middle of the track.
Running a very competitive third and in touch with the leaders for a time, Serpent’s Marc Fischer was clearly irrate about Volker’s driving. Making his opinion of the incident very clear to Race Director Scotty Ernst and Race Referee Frans Heinsbroek, the German felt the Yokomo driver drove straight into him flipping his S411 and ending his challenge for the win. Mechanic for Prumper, Toni Rheinard was another who was less than happy with Volker’s driving saying that he should have been given a Stop & Go penalty for his early contact with his team-mate.
While a clean closely fought race would have been the preferred outcome, the result of the Leg 2 does set the stage for a thrilling climax to the penultimate round of the ETS with this race having more potential race winners that any other closing race that has gone before it.
The second A-Main of Xray Pro Stock, which ran before the chaotic Ride Modified Main, was a thrilling but thankfully clean race. Starting from pole position Marek Cerny kept his head under extremely pressure from the very fast Awesomatix’ of Viljami Kutvonen and Dominic Vogl. Starting from the number 2 position Kutvonen was practical glued to Cerny’s Xray the pair running at one stage side by side down the main straight but an error by the Finnish talent on lap 14 of 19 would see the end of his challenge. While Kutvonen was now out of the running, his error dropping him back to 5th, Cerny had little time to relax as 16-year-old Vogl took over the Awesomatix challenge running all over the back of the Czech driver. Unfortunately things got too close with Vogl hitting the T4 but the Austrian waited allowing Cerny to retake the lead with four laps to go which he would not relinquish. Winner of the opening Leg Martin Hofer completed the Top 3 setting the stage for a four way show down in the third & final Main later this evening. Cerny, who was told by Martin Hudy after the race that he drove better underpressure than when he was out on his own, said he really enjoyed the battle with Kutvonen describing him as a very fair driver. Asked about the pending third Main, Cerny, who has already won two rounds this season, said it was going to be the hardest race he has ever driven.
In the Speed Passion Formula class Top Qualifier Jan Asmer took the win over Leg 1 victor Roman Pichler meaning the overall winner of all three class will be decided in the closing races of the weekend.
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