Euro Touring Series

March 18, 2011

Hagberg remains pace setter

Alexander Hagberg continues to set the pace on Day 1 of the fourth round of the Euro Touring Series with the Xray driver topping the penultimate practice run by 8/100ths over Tamiya’s Elliot Harper. The Swede had little to say after the round but having obviously found a set-up for the Legionowo track quite quickly he plans to run an unchanged car in the final run of the day.

Elliot Harper

Harper was clearly happy with his pace and said it was very encouraging to be so close to the top the time sheets. The British teenager traction rolled his TRF417 off the track during the 5-minute run and said he needed to be careful on that one corner but everywhere else the car was good.

Yannic Prumper

Yannic Prumper was third fastest with his Yokomo the German teenager saying a switch to LRP additive had improved the car slightly. Team Associated’s Juho Levanen made it four different manufacturers in the Top 4 after a change to heavier shock oil made his TC6 easy to driver and resulted in more steering.

Sweden’s Magnus Vassmar put in a very strong performance to set the fifth fastest time ahead of Ronald Volker. Volker said his Yokomo was better than earlier but the improvement was not as big as that made by his rivals. The German will run stiffer dampening in the final practice and will, like most of the top runners with the exception of Hagberg, run a fresh set of tyres.

Martin Lissau set the seventh fastest time followed by Andy Moore, who didnt get the desired effect from a change of springs, with Xray’s Martin Hudy and new German Team Associated signing Dennis Fadtke making up the Top 10.

Oliver Franke

In Pro Stock Oliver Franke put his Hot Bodies at the top of the time sheets ahead of the Schumacher of series leader Martin Hofer. Slovak driver Zdenko Kunak again set the third fastest time with his Xray followed by Rene Klockner, Awesomatix team leader Ivan Laptev and two time former ETS Top Qualifier Vasco Christiaanse driving a Kyosho.

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March 18, 2011

Hagberg sets early practice pace in Poland

Arena Legionwo

The Yokomo Euro Touring Series has arrived in Poland for round 4 of the 2010/11 Series and setting the early pace in the impressive new Arena Legionwo building is Team Xray’s Alexander Hagberg. With three rounds of free practice complete, the 21-year-old Swede heads championship leader Ronald Volker by an impressive margin of over 1/10th of a second while the next three drivers are separated by just 2/1000ths.

Alexander Hagberg

Hagberg was upbeat about his LRP powered T3’11 and is confident that as the traction on the fresh carpet comes up his car will work even better. Happy with his base set-up he plans to make a small roll centre change for P4 which together with final practice run of the day will determine the heat seeding for tomorrow’s four qualifiers.

The man who has dominated the opening three rounds of the ETS, Volker said he has not yet got his Yokomo to his liking. Changes made ahead of the third practice improved his BD5WX but the German is having to back off slightly as the car wants to traction roll. With the same set-up on the car he plans to just glue up the tyre walls for P4 which he feels should help him get on the pace with Hagberg.

Andy Moore

TITC winner Moore was just one thousandth of a second off Volker with fellow countryman Elliot Harper a further 1000th behind him. The Hot Bodies driver said he was surprise by his own pace as his TCX did not feel very good to drive. Finding the car very loose he said he was ‘hanging on to it to get a good lap’. Putting it down to his set-up being too soft he will stiffen up the car for his next run. In contrast to Moore, Team Associated’s Juho Levanen said his TC6 felt good and he was surprised by his lack of pace on the time sheets.

The only member of the Tamiya Racing Factory squad here in Poland due to the Cactus Classic off road race in the US where Marc Rheinard and Viktor Wilck are competing, Elliot Harper was pleased with his morning. Having endured a tough ETS encounter in Austria where he and Wilck both ended up in the B-Main, the British teenager says he has a good base setting for the track. Having done a days testing back home in preparation for this weekend he said his TRF417 has good corner speed and he just needs to make some small changes to improve the balance.

Martin Lissau

Setting the sixth fastest time behind Yokomo’s Yannic Prumper was Martin Lissau. The Danish driver made his ETS debut in the Czech Republic and finished on the Pro Stock podium with a Tamiya but here in Legionwo he is running an Awesomatix, the Russian designed car hitting the headlines at last the ETS race when Ivan Laptev made the A-Main in both Pro Stock & Modified. Former 1:5 World Champion Lissau has already enjoyed success with the A700 having won first time out with it two weeks ago at a Danish National. On a deal to race in the remainder of the ETS, he said the car is working well but hopes the fitting of new prototype parts for P4, which he only received today from the car’s designer, will see further improvements.

Martin Hofer

In Pro Stock Martin Hofer set the pace from Oliver Franke. Hofer, who claimed his first ETS win last time out, said luckily his Schumacher was easy to drive as he got no sleep last night. Unable to get out of University til 7 last night the German had to drive to the race and drove through the night covering 1148km to arrive at the track just in time this morning for practice. Franke said while his Hot Bodies felt good he thinks there is still more to come from improving the set-up. Xray driver Zdenko Kunak set the third fastest time.

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February 13, 2011

Volker & Hofer win in Austria

Ronald Volker leaves the first ever Austrian ETS encounter with his 100% winning record still firmly intact collecting yet another Yokomo Euro Touring Series winning trophy. The Yokomo lead driver wrapped up his third victory of the 2010/11 Series with wins from pole in the opening two legs of the A-Main in St.Polten and was on target for a clean sweep until his pinion came undone in the last minute of third final while holding a comfortable lead. This left Andy Moore to take the leg and with it his first international podium finish for some time. Having struggled in Leg 2, the former World Champion did a complete set-up change on his Moorespeed powered Hot Bodies which improved the car’s steering considerably allowing him to fend off intense pressure from Tamiya’s Marc Rheinard who completed the podium for the series’ first ever Indoor asphalt event.

Yannic Prumper & Andy Moore

Yannic Prumper’s chances of joining team-mate Volker on the podium disappeared when on lap 3 the reinvigorated teenager caught a dot coming onto the straight sending the Moorespeed powered BD5 rolling off the track. A previous ETS race winner, Prumper still leaves Austria with his best result of the season finishing fourth overall.

The big story of the event was the impressive performance by Ivan Laptev and the Russian designed Awesomatix chassis. Finishing third in the final race of the day, Laptev took a very impressive 5th overall in both the Xenon Modified and the Xray Pro Stock classes. The achievements of the car’s unique design received a round of applause from onlookers when Rheinard drove a few laps with the car directly after the third A-main.

Volker & Hofer win in Austria

Juho Levanen completed the Top 6 for Team Associated with team-mate Keven Hebert finishing ninth on his ETS debut. The Canadian said he really enjoyed the quality of racing and the atmosphere of the event but hopes next time he can challenge for at least a podium finish.

Pro Stock top 10

In Pro Stock Martin Hofer got his new Schumacher deal off to the best possible start by taking his and the British manufacturer’s first Euro Touring Series victory. Starting from pole, the German backed up his Leg 2 win with a hard fought victory in the third to claim the top step on the podium ahead of Oliver Franke and Tony Streit.

Xenon Modified Overall Result
1. Ronald Volker (DE) – Yokomo/LRP – 2
2. Andy Moore (GB) – Hot Bodies/Moorespeed – 4
3. Marc Rheinard (DE) – Tamiya/Speed Passion – 4
4. Yannic Prümper (DE) – Yokomo/Speed Passion – 5
5. Ivan Laptev (RU) – Awesomatix/Speed Passion – 7
6. Juho Levanen (FI)– Associated/Reedy – 8
7. Michal Bok (CZ) – Yokomo/Speed Passion – 13
8. Martin Hudy (SK) – Xray/LRP – 14
9. Keven Herbert (CA) – Associated/Reedy – 14
10.David Ehrbar (DE) – Xray/Speed Passion – 18

Xray Pro Stock Overall Result
1. Martin Hofer (DE) – Schumacher – 2
2. Oliver Franke (DE) – Hot Bodies – 3
3. Tony Streit (DE) – Xray – 4
4. Radek Flek (CZ) – Yokomo – 6
5. Ivan Laptev (RU) – Awesomatix – 7
6. Philip Tschupp (CH) – TOP – 11
7. Dai Sakaguchi – Tamiya – 11
8. Marco Kaufmann (DE) – Xray – 12
9. Sandro Kuriger (CH) – Tamiya – 18
10.Michael Koch (DE) – Hot Bodies – 18

Full results can be found here.

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February 13, 2011

Volker gets his Hat Trick

Ronald Volker has claimed a hat trick of Euro Touring Series victories by wrapping up the overall win for Round 3 of the series with another dominant performance in Leg 2 of the A-Mains here in St.Polten, Austria. The Team Yokomo driver took an even bigger winning margin than in Leg 1 to head home Marc Rheinard and Yannic Prumper. The European Champion said after his win in the Czech Republic he expected the switch from running on carpet to asphalt would take away Team Yokomo’s advantage but if anything they looked even stronger here in St.Polten with three cars making the A-Main. With the possibility of a Yokomo 1-2, Volker will run the third A-Main to try help his young team-mate Prumper to at least make the podium by denying rival teams taking the maximum points for the last race of the day.

Marc Rheinard

Held up by an off the pace Andy Moore, who started ahead of him on the grid, Rheinard saw his ETS title defense all but disappear today. By the time the Tamiya driver got passed Moore’s Hot Bodies, Volker had already checked out. A frustrating weekend for the TRF squad, Rheinard has finished second overall to Volker in both Kastellaun and Hrotovice but even that position is under threat with his former junior team-mate Prumper back on the form that got the German talent noticed. Prumper has been quick to the acknowledge the support of Volker, the pair working really well together despite the absence of Yokomo set-up guru Umino.

Team Associated

Having saved his second set of tyres for the second A-main Team Associated’s Juho Levanen used the fresh rubber to claim fourth. The Finnish driver, who has been joined this weekend by Canadian team-mate Keven Hebert, said the TC6 feels good and that their lack of outright pace is down to additive, or lack of access to the right stuff.

Finishing fifth, just ahead of the people’s champion of this event Ivan Laptev, Moore said his car felt like it was broken but on inspection everything looks in order. Having looked so strong on day 1 of the event TQ’ing the opening round of qualifying the British driver is considering running his 1st set of tyres in the hope of curing the mysterious handling issues.

Pro Stock A-Main

The second leg of the Pro Stock A-Main was a much better race than Leg 1. Getting his start right this time round Martin Hofer took his Schumacher to a comfortable 3-seconds winning margin over a great battle for second. While Hofer got the start right Ivan Laptev had what looked like an action replay of Leg 1. Finding himself once again at the tail of the field at the end of the first lap the Russian made a stunning recover getting his Awesomatix up on to the bumper of Franke’s Hot Bodies setting the fastest lap on the way. Trying everything he could to get passed the German, the Russian could not find a way past and had to sette for third putting him out of contention for the overall win today.

Xenon Modified A-main Leg 2 results
1. Ronald Völker – Yokomo BD5 – 20L 5:09.744
2. Marc Rheinard – Tamiya TRF417 – 20L 5:13.133
3. Yannic Prümper – Yokomo BD5 – 20L 5:14.354
4. Juho Levanen – Associated TC6 – 20L 5:15.710
5. Andy Moore – Hot Bodies TCX – 19L 5:02.253
6. Ivan Laptev – Awesomatix A700 – 19L 5:02.468
7. Michal Bok – Yokomo BD5 – 19L 5:03.387
8. Martin Hudy – Xray T3′11 – 19L 5:05.340
9. Keven Herbert – Associated TC6 – 19L 5:07.612
10.David Ehrbar – Xray T3′11 – 19L 5:09.326

Xray Pro Stock A-main Leg 2 results
1. Martin Hofer – Schumacher Mi4cx – 19L 5:10.140
2. Oliver Franke – Hot Bodies TCX – 19L 5:13.387
3. Ivan Laptev – Awesomatix A700 – 19L 5:13.627
4. Tony Streit – Xray T3′11 – 19L 5:14.007
5. Philip Tschupp – TOP Photon – 19L 5:14.687
6. Radek Flek – Yokomo DB5 – 19L 5:16.720
7. Marco Kaufmann – Xray T3′11 – 18L 5:07.370
8. Dai Sakaguchi – Tamiya TRF417 – 18L 5:09.519
9. Michael Koch – Hot Bodies TCX – 18L 5:11.989
10.Sandro Kuriger – Tamiya TRF417 – 5L 1:40.581

Full results can be found here.

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February 13, 2011

Volker heads Yokomo 1-2 in opening final

Ronald Volker

Ronald Volker cruised to an easy victory in the opening leg of the A-Mains here in Austria heading home team-mate Yannic Prumper for a Yokomo 1-2. On target for a hat trick of Euro Touring Series wins, the German led from start to finish with Prumper being the only driver to provide him with any reason for concern. The opening lap saw the No.2 car of Andy Moore get out of shape which delayed Marc Rheinard allowing Prumper to move up to the second spot. Setting the fastest lap of the race, the 17-year-old looked as though he was going to challenge his team-mate for the lead as he closed the gap but a number of untidy laps in the second half of the race allowed Volker to extend his lead and take the win by over 2.5 seconds.

Andy Moore

Third went to Andy Moore but only after the demise of Rheinard. The current World Champion got past the 2006 World Champion’s Hot Bodies early on but it was to be in vain as the gear diff in the rear of his Tamiya TRF417 broke on lap 8 forcing him to retire. Having expected his car work well on fresh rubber, Moore said it was horrible and he was lucky to get third from the race.

After a frustrating opening Pro-Stock A-Main, Ivan Laptev was very happy with his fourth place finish in Modified. The Awesomatix driver was expecting a tough race as he had already run his second set of tyres in qualifying but the A700 was not disadvantaged much by the lack of fresh rubber as he was able to hold off the TC6 of Associated team driver Juho Levanen. Martin Hudy was the best placed Xray coming home 6th followed by Canadian Keven Hebert.

Viktor Wilck

In terms of entertainment the B Final was a great example of good close racing. With some big names on the grid it was TRF team driver Elliot Harper who took the win from factory Kyosho driver & Top Qualifier Christopher Krapp who was unable to fend off a great challenge from Viktor Wilck.

Oliver Franke

The Pro Stock A-Main was not a good example of top level racing with the race full of incident right from the start. Top Qualifier Martin Hofer ran wide at the first corner and was put on his roof by second place start Tony Streit with Laptev also getting caught up in the incident and beaching his Awesomatix on the track barrier. This left the pair at the tail of the field but as they battled their way back to the front they were hampered by more incidents including Hofer hitting Laptev on two occasions as he tried to make a pass on the main straight. In the end, fifth place starter Oliver Franke took the win with his Hot Bodies TCX from Streit’s Xray and the Yokomo of Radek Flek. Hofer’s battered looking Schumacher eventually finished fourth after a close battle with Dai Sakaguchi with Laptev ending up 7th despite setting the fastest lap of the race.

Xenon Modified A-main Leg 1 results
1. Ronald Völker – Yokomo BD5 – 20L 5:07.994
2. Yannic Prümper – Yokomo BD5 – 20L 5:10.595
3. Andy Moore – Hot Bodies TCX – 20L 5:15.406
4. Ivan Laptev – Awesomatix A700 – 19L 5:00.891
5. Juho Levanen – Associated TC6 – 19L 5:01.471
6. Martin Hudy – Xray T3’11 – 19L 5:02.624
7. Keven Herbert – Associated TC6 – 19L 5:03.179
8. Michal Bok – Yokomo BD5 – 19L 5:04.976
9. David Ehrbar – Xray T3’11 – 19L 5:11.370
10.Marc Rheinard – Tamiya TRF417 – 8L 2:01.827

Xray Pro Stock A-main Leg 1 results
1. Oliver Franke – Hot Bodies TCX – 19L 5:12.852
2. Tony Streit – Xray T3’11 – 19L 5:13.994
3. Radek Flek – Yokomo DB5 – 18L 5:02.810
4. Martin Hofer – Schumacher Mi4cx – 18L 5:07.901
5. Dai Sakaguchi – Tamiya TRF417 – 18L 5:08.083
6. Philip Tschupp – TOP Photon – 18L 5:09.087
7. Ivan Laptev – Awesomatix A700 – 18L 5:11.434
8. Marco Kaufmann – Xray T3’11 – 18L 5:11.641
9. Michael Koch – Hot Bodies TCX – 6L 1:39.519
10.Sandro Kuriger – Tamiya TRF417 – 2L 0:50.400

Full results can be found here.

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February 12, 2011

Q3 Update

Ronald Volker

Ronald Volker produced his fastest qualifying run to top the penultimate round of heats here in St.Polten, Austria, putting him on target to maintain his perfect record in the 2010/11 ETS. The Yokomo driver said he was much more comfortable with his car this time round after prepping his tyres differently. His BD5 had a lot more steering and the rear end was also more stable following the changing. The only driver who can now deny Volker pole position for tomorrow’s finals is Andy Moore who set the pace in the opening qualifier. The British ace was fourth fastest on this occasion but his Q1 time is the fastest off the weekend so far meaning if he was to top the final qualifier this evening he would take his first ETS pole on tie break. Having changed the front springs on his Hot Bodies, Moore said it made little difference. Happy with the car in the middle part of the run the 2006 World Champion said there are four different things he would like to try ahead of the finals but with only one run left he does not know which one to choose.

Marc Rheinard

Marc Rheinard enjoyed his best run in terms of placing as he set the second fastest time. The German said trying the tyre prep used at the World Championships had helped a little but he is still too far off mounting any serious challenge for a win here tomorrow as his Tamiya is just not fast enough. Ivan Laptev is ejoying one of his best ever events and continues to make a big impression with the Awesomatix setting the third fastest time despite a number of small driver errors during the run.

Daniele Ielasi

One of the happiest drivers at the end of Q3 was former 1:10 Nitro World Champion Daniele Ielasi. Driving a Yokomo, the Italian who is working very closely with Volker and now getting to grips with the BD5. Setting the 11th fastest time just behind Kyosho team driver Christopher Krapp, Ielasi is on target to make the B final but more importantly for him is ahead of his great 1:8 Onroad nitro rival Robert Pietsch who was 17th for Q3. Good friends off the track, the pair are clearly both really enjoying the ETS experience even with the lack of engine noise.

In Pro-Stock Martin Hofer took another TQ run with his Schumacher becoming the only car so far to make a 19-lap run. The German thinks he can go even faster in the final qualifier and will change the rear hubs on his Mi4CX so he can run a shorter camber link which should give him more on power steering. Tony Streit enjoyed his best round taking his Xray to the second fastest time. Setting the fastest lap Swiss driver Sandro Kuriger’s Tamiya was third. Q1 top qualifier Laptev could only manage 4th. In the Speed Passion Hobby class Oliver Günther, winner in Kastellaun, wrapped up pole position with his third TQ run of the event.

Xenon Modified Qualification Ranking after Q3
1. Ronald Völker (DE) – 310 – 3:155, 2:155 [1:153]
2. Andy Moore (GB) – 306 – 1:155, 3:151 [2:150]
3. Marc Rheinard (DE) – 305 – 3:153, 1:152 [2:152]
4. David Ehrbar (DE) – 302 – 2:153, 3:149 [1:147]
5. Yannic Prümper (DE) – 301 – 2:151, 3:150 [1:149]
6. Juho Levanen (FI) – 299 – 1:151, 3:148 [2:146]
7. Keven Herbert (CA) – 298 – 1:150, 2:148 [3:143]
8. Ivan Laptev (RU) – 297 – 3:152, 2:145 [1:136]
9. Martin Hudy (SK) – 295 – 2:149, 3:146 [1:145]
10. Michal Bok (CZ) – 295 – 1:148, 3:147 [2:147]

Xray Pro-Stock Qualification Ranking after Q3
1. Martin Hofer (DE) – 310 – 3:155, 2:155 [1:141]
2. Ivan Laptev (RU) – 308 – 1:155, 2:153 [3:151]
3. Tony Streit (DE) – 306 – 3:153, 1:153 [2:152]
4. Sandro Kuriger (CH) – 302 – 3:152, 2:150 [1:149]
5. Oliver Franke (DE) – 301 – 2:151, 3:150 [1:115]
6. Radek Flek (CZ) – 300 – 1:152, 2:148 [3:145]
7. Marco Kaufmann (DE) – 300 – 1:151, 3:149 [2:147]
8. Michael Koch (DE) – 299 – 1:150, 2:149 [3:146]
9. Philip Tschupp (CH) – 296 – 3:148, 1:148 [2:146]
10.Dai Sakaguchi (DE) – 290 – 3:147, 2:143 [1:117]

Full results can be found here.

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February 12, 2011

Volker fastest in Q2

Ronald Volker

Ronald Volker has TQ’d the second qualifier for the Austrian round of the Yokomo Euro Touring Series topping the time sheets from David Ehrbar and Marc Rheinard. The Yokomo/LRP driver said a change to the Protoform LTC-R bodyshell gave his BD5 more steering but he didn’t make the most of it, making too many small mistake during the five minute run. Chasing his third consecutive overall TQ honours, the European Champion thinks with the LTC-R his set-up is good and any extra pace will come from how he prepares his tyres. Volker’s Yokomo team-mate Yannic Prumper also made a switch to the LTC-R which resulted in a big improvement for the German teenager. Setting the fourth fastest time Prumper was not happy with Associated’s Juho Levanen, who was 9th fastest, feeling the Finn had held up him up and cost him a Top 3 time.

David Ehrbar

Ehrbar, who ran a TQ round last season in Heemstede, said his Xray has been fast all weekend but this was the first time he managed to be precise with his driving. The German, who finished 7th overall in last season’s ETS standings, set the fastest lap for Q2 being the only driver to run a sub 16 second lap.

Marc Rheinard

Reigning Xenon Modified Champion Marc Rheinard said they are running out of things to try after setting the third fastest time well off the pace of his big rival Volker. The TRF team are unable to get their cars to turn in with set-up changes making little or no difference. Rheinard said as a last resort they will try the same tyre treatment used at last year’s World Championship when he took the win and Elliot Harper joined him on the podium.

Having TQ’d the opening round of qualifying Hot Bodies Andy Moore set the fifth fastest time in Q2 after changing the rear camber links. The former World and European Champion said the changes made the car push along with making the back of his Moorespeed powered TCX very loose. Reverting to the set-up on the rear of the car back to that used in Q1 he will try something different with the front shocks.

Martin Hudy completed the Top 6. The factory Xray driver said sixth was an OK result considering how his car felt. Having run his second T3’11 in the morning’s free practice session and been happy with the handling he adjusted the toe for more steering but in the qualifer it left him with no traction. Over in the Team Associated pits, team drivers Keven Hebert, who was 7th fastest, and Levanen put their lack luster performance down to a bad choice of set-up.

Martin Hofer

In the Xray Pro-Stock class Schumacher’s new signing Martin Hofer TQ’d the round from Q1 pace setter Ivan Laptev. Only 14th fastest yesterday, Hofer ran the same set-up on his Mi4CX but cleaned up his driving allowing him to top the times by over one second. The German will try a harder front spring for the next qualifier as he tries to improve his corner speed. Laptev is also looking for better corner speed from his Awesomatrix and will stiffen the unique damping on the A700. Tony Streit was third fastest with his Xray ahead of ETS race winner Oliver Franke.

Xenon Modified Qualifying – Top 10 times for Round 2
1. Völker Ronald (DE) – 19L 5:09.681 [Yokomo/LRP]
2. Ehrbar David (DE) – 19L 5:11.251 [Xray/Speed Passion]
3. Rheinard Marc (DE) – 19L 5:11.555 [Tamiya/Speed Passion]
4. Prümper Yannic (DE) – 19L 5:12.041 [Yokomo/Speed Passion]
5. Moore Andy (GB) – 19L 5:12.826 [Hot Bodies/Moorespeed]
6. Hudy Martin (SK) – 19L 5:13.148 [Xray/LRP]
7. Herbert Keven (CA) – 19L 5:13.384 [Associated/LRP]
8. Bok Michal (CZ) – 19L 5:13.769 [Yokomo/Speed Passion]
9. Levanen Juho (FI) – 19L 5:14.004 [Associated/LRP]
10.Ivan Laptev (RU) – 19L 5:14.261 [Awesomatix/Speed Passion]

Xray Pro-Stock Qualifying – Top 10 times Round 2
1. Martin Hofer (DE) – 18L 5:00.574 [Schumacher]
2. Laptev Ivan (RU) – 18L 5:01.865 [Awesomatix]
3. Streit Tony (DE) – 18L 5:02.501 [Xray]
4. Oliver Franke (DE) – 18L 5:05.669 [Hot Bodies]
5. Kuriger Sandro (CH) – 18L 5:05.855 [Tamiya]
6. MichaelKoch (DE) – 18L 5:06.265 [Hot Bodies]
7. Flek Radek (CZ) – 18L 5:06.975 [Yokomo]
8. Kaufmann Marco (DE) – 18L 5:08.014 [Xray]
9. Tschupp Philip (CH) – 18L 5:08.017 [TOP]
10.Wiessmann Felix (CH) – 18L 5:08.633 [Hot Bodies]

Full results can be found here.

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February 11, 2011

Volker ends practice top of the pile

Ronald Volker continues his domination of the Xenon Modified class in the Yokomo Euro Touring Series and once again topped the first order of business with the fastest three consecutive laps in free practice meaning he will start No.1 in the top group for qualifying. The Team Yokomo driver failed to improve on his FP3 time after a switch from Protoform’s Speed 6 shell to the P32 made the car fast but nervous resulting in him spinning out, two heavy impacts from pursuing cars causing the spur gear to strip.

Keven Hebert

Taking second in the ranking is ETS debutant Keven Hebert who set the fastest lap of the entire practice in the final run, taking his Reedy powered Associated TC6 around the track in 15.822 seconds. The Canadian set an identical average for three consecutive laps with former World Champion Andy Moore who is looking very competitive here on the asphalt track. Hebert said adding rear camber had improved his car but he would still like to still find a little more steering however he plans to play it safe for the opening qualifier and leave the car as it is.

Andy Moore

Understeer is a common complaint from drivers today with some struggling more than others. Moore tried the Ride Legacy B4 body to give him more steering but said he wasn’t sure if it was the new tyres or the shell change that made his Hot Bodies TCX slightly better. The best we have seen the British perform so far this season he plans to stick with it for the opening qualifier which takes place later this evening.

Just 3/1000ths off Hebert & Moore in the final practice Juho Levanen ends up fourth fastest, the Associated driver pleased with how things have gone so far. Running a totally different shock set-up to team-mate Hebert the former multiple European Champion plans to improve his TC6 by running less rear toe.

Marc Rheinard

Defending ETS Champion Marc Rheinard had his best run in the last practice but the Tamiya Racing Factory driver is really struggling with understeer. The German ace, who must beat Volker this weekend to keep his title defense hopes alive, said his TRF417 was marginally better in FP4 for cruising but once he tries to push for a time it suffers chronic understeer.

The big surprise in St.Polten has been Ivan Laptev driving the unique Awesomatix chassis. Sixth fastest in Modified and second fastest in the Xray Pro-Stock class the Russian said his plan is to just drive a clean opening round of qualifying and work from there but in terms of the car he is very happy with his set-up.

In the battle between 1:8 nitro onroad stars Robert Pietsch and Daniele Ielasi is too close to call with Pietsch having a 5/100th advantage with them claiming 19 & 20th respectively in the final practice ranking.

Martin Hofer

In Pro Stock Martin Hofer and Schumacher’s newly formed partnership has enjoyed a great start with the combination topping the practice ranking from Laptev and Oliver Franke.

Full results can be found here.

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