Euro Touring Series

October 15, 2010

Volker sets practice pace

Yokomo’s Ronald Volker is the early pace setter at the opening round of the Yokomo Euro Touring Series taking his LRP powered Yokomo BD5 around the Kastellaun track in the three fastest consecutive laps by a considerable margin over defending champion Marc Rheinard. Recording a time of 10.060 compared with Rheinard’s 10.188, the European Indoor Champion has made little changes to his car in the opening three practice runs and plans to run the same set-up for the fourth and final run.

Rheinard described his Speed Passion powered TRF416, he will get the new TRF417 next month when he attends the Tamiya Fair event in Japan, as very inconsistent and said he is having to drive with great caution because if he steers to much the back end of the car steps out. In an attempt to cure the problem he plans to increase the toe in along with moving the rear shocks to a more upright position for the final practice.

Putting in an impressive performance setting the third fastest time is 17-year-old Adrian Berntsen. The current Norwegian and Indoor European Junior Champion is driving the new Xray T3 ’11 powered by LRP and has not touched the set-up from the opening practice run, waiting instead for the track to come to him and that plan is working well as he has outpaced the entire Xray factory line up of which Teemu Leino is the fastest in 10th.

Juho Levanen

Team Associated’s Juho Levanen described his new TC6 as very good as he set the fourth fastest time. The Finnish ace is another who has waited for the track to come to his car and believes that over a full five minutes his pace is even better and he is looking forward already to the opening round of qualifiers which will bring Day 1 of the event to a close. Last year’s winner Viktor Wilck is next up just ahead of team-mate Elliot Harper. The Swede’s Tamiya is easy to drive but at the cost of outright speed so a number of set-up changes are planned. Having found a large chunk of time in P3, Harper plans a number of changes to his TFR416 as he plays around with getting the car to his liking.

Lucas Urbain

Having build up a bit of following with Losi owners around the world, France’s Lucas Urbain once again continues to perform wonders with his aging JRX-S. Posting the 7th best 3-lap time in the high quality field he has had to do little in terms of set-up and the car is just getting better with each outing as the traction comes up. Having a lot of experience with the car on carpet he believes better is to come the higher the grip levels get. Just behind him by 1/1000th of a second is Andy Moore. The factory Hot Bodies driver is struggling with high speed rear stability on his Moore Speed powered TCX and is having to back off at through the sweeper at the end of the straight which is costing him time.

Eric Dankel

In the Xray Pro Stock class it is leading nitro racer Eric Dankel that heads the times with his Xray. The German said his new T3 ’11 was better than this morning’s opening two practices but plans to switch to a softer rear anti-roll bar as the car is loose for the opening part of the run. Just behind him is defending champion champion Alexander Stocker. The Hot Bodies driver also said his TCX is better than this morning but he is still ‘not satisfied’ with his set-up. Chasing his fourth consecutive Kastellaun win his TCX gets very loose when he pushes hard. Pitting next to him and next to him in the times is Martin Hofer. The German tried two different cars this morning and has opted for the car fitted with the new chassis plate which was used by Volker to win the outdoor Euros. Compared with the harder, original BD5 chassis plate, the new version gives the car better steering response. Making it four different cars at the top of the early Pro Stock time sheets it is Corally’s Rob Janssen. Despite his pace over three laps the Dutch racer is not happy with the consistency of the car and being his first big race on carpet he is unsure what changes to make.

Xenon Modified (Top 10 after P3)
1. Ronald Völker – Yokomo – 10.060
2. Marc Rheinard – Tamiya – 10.188
3. Adrian Berntsen – Xray – 10.268
4. Juho Levanen – Associated – 10.280
5. Viktor Wilck – Tamiya – 10.280
6. Elliot Harper – Tamiya – 10.305
7. Lucas Urbain – Losi – 10.311
8. Andy Moore – Hot Bodies – 10.312
9. Loic Jasmin – Tamiya – 10.360
10.Teemu Leino – XRAY – 10.360

Xray Pro-Stock (Top 10 after P3)
1. Eric Dankel – Xray – 10.710
2. Alexander Stocker – Hot Bodies – 10.752
3. Martin Hofer – Yokomo – 10.868
4. Rob Janssen – Corally – 10.908
5. René Klöckner – Tamiya – 10.944
6. Carsten Madsen – Tamiya – 10.958
7. Yukijiro Umino – Yokomo – 11.016
8. Tony Streit – Tamiya – 11.058
9. Daniel Wohlgemuth – Xray – 11.138
10.Felix Wiessmann – Tamiya – 11.162

View our event image gallery here.

October 15, 2010

Record entry gets Season 4 underway

The hall here in Kastellaun is a hive of activity with a record entry in attendance for the opening round of the 2010/11 ‘Yokomo Euro Touring Series’. Season four of what has become the largest electric touring car championship in the world has not just attracted the biggest entry in terms of numbers but also in the quality of the entry with a growing number of factory squads committed to the entire series.

Record entry gets Season 4 underway

Heading the entry here in Germany in the Xenon Modified class is defending champion Marc Rheinard. Having designed the track layout for this event, even the three time World Champion admits that this is set to be the toughest ETS encounter yet. Tamiya have been champions for the last three season and won here last year with Viktor Wilck. The Swede, who also took TQ honours 12 months ago, is aiming to repeat his only ETS win of the 2009/10 season but also agreed with his team-mate that the competition is greater this time round. Within their own squad the they will have to watch out for their young team-mate Elliot Harper who is making his debut at the Kastellaun event.

Ronald Volker

One of the biggest challenges to Tamiya’s domination comes from Yokomo. Having become the title sponsor of the series the Japanese company have been enjoying a run of success with Ronald Volker. Last year was only the German’s second carpet event with the BD5 and that was reflected in qualifying as he lined up 7th before going on to take a very impressive second splitting the Tamiya’s of Wilck and Rheinard. Now fully up to speed with the car on carpet having won both the DHI Cup and the EFRA Indoor Euros the European Champion is really looking forward to his weekend. Yokomo will also be strong contenders in Pro-Stock with Martin Hofer, runner-up here last year, and Yukijiro Umino who is here not just as Volker’s mechanic but also as a racer.

Teemu Leino

Another factory outfit signing up to a full ETS program is Xray. The Slovak company, who are a primary sponsor of the series and will have the Pro-Stock class named after them, are here with their new T3’11 chassis which will debut in the hands of Teemu Leino, Alexander Hagberg and Martin Hudy. Leino, who is just back from 1:8 Buggy testing in Thailand, said his first few runs are going to be used to re-adjust his driving back to onroad. Hagberg on the other hand is ready to get straight down to business, the fast Swede hasn’t raced since the 1:10 Nitro Euros in Gotenburg back in August but with a preference for carpet racing he is looking forward to the event and having tested the new car at home is confident of a good showing.

Andy Moore

Andy Moore and Freddy Sudhoff form the factory Hot Bodies line-up. Former World Champion Moore has been doing a lot of carpet testing with the TCX back in England which has been very productive but says the carpet used here is different but thinks that shouldn’t be too much of a problem once the traction comes up. Hot Bodies are the clear favourites for the victory in the Xray Pro-Stock class with Alexander Stocker. The defending champion and only driver to ever win here in Kastellaun this is only the German’s second race with the TCX chassis and his first on carpet.

The winner of the first ever Euro Touring series race here four years ago Juho Levanen is the sole entry for Team Associated. The Finnish ace has been doing a lot of carpet testing at home as he gets used to the new TC6. Although the car he is running is still a pre-production version, he expects his first production kit next week, he said he is pretty pleased with how that testing as gone, but this weekend will give him a true indication of where they are at with the car in terms of indoor set-up.

With 2009/10 Champion Michal Orlowski having graduated to Pro Stock the third of the ETS categories, the Speed Passion Hobby Class, is wide open this year. Today’s schedule will see four rounds of practice followed by the first of five rounds of qualifying. A reseed of the heats will be made based on each drivers best three consecutive laps from the 3rd and 4th practice runs when we should start to bring you news of where the various teams are in terms of pace.

View our event image gallery here.

July 30, 2010

Euro Touring Series announce 2010/2011 schedule

Although its less than two weeks since the climax of the 2009/2010 Euro Touring Series, the organisers of the hugely popular electric Touring Car Championship have already announced the schedule for season number 4. Coming off the back of an ultra successful third series, that saw almost 600 drivers register points, the ETS will once again be run over six rounds and visit five different countries. The only change for 2010/2011 is the return of the superb Apeldoorn track in the Netherlands to the calendar. Created by Scotty Ernst and Uwe Rheinard, the Euro Touring Series will kick off as normal in Kastellaun, Germany on October 15-17.

UPDATE: Due to problems securing the venue for round 3 in Budapest, Hungary, we have had to relocate this round. Taking place on the same date, the new venue will be in St. Pölten, Austria.

2010/2011 Euro Touring Series Calendar (UPDATED)
Round 1 – 15-17 October 2010 – Kastellaun, Germany
Round 2 – 26-28 November 2010 – Hrotovice, Czech Republic
Round 3 – 11-13 February 2011 – St. Pölten, Austria
Round 4 – 18-20 March 2011 – Warsaw, Poland
Round 5 – 10-12 June 2011 – Apeldoorn, The Netherlands
Round 6 – 8-10 July 2011 – Andernach, Germany

July 18, 2010

New Champion Rheinard takes victory at ETS season finale

Full results can be found here. View the event image gallery here a

As the podium presentations get underway here in Andernach, Germany, and the curtain comes down on a third successful Euro Touring Series season the big question being asked is can anyone beat Marc Rheinard. The German dominated the World Championships 2-weeks ago lifting his third World title and here at the sixth & final round of the Xenon Racing backed ETS the Tamiya star continued his rule over electric Touring Cars. Winning the third leg of the final from pole, Rheinard claimed his fourth win of the 2009/10 series and adds the overall title for the first time to his already enviable CV. Benefiting from being the only driver on fresh rubber, Rheinard took a relatively easy win over Ronald Volker and Atsushi Hara who joined him on the podium but in the opposite order.

A-main Stack

Finishing second to his great rival and friend, Hara was content with the result but admitted he was no match for Rheinard who he has in the past openly said is the greatest driver in the World. Having won Leg 2 of the final thanks to Viktor Wilck coming together with his Tamiya team-mate, Hara forced the result to go to the third leg but the former World Champion never posed a real threat to Rheinard repeating his win here 12 months ago. Making it three different brands of car on the podium, Volker was very happy with third overall. Starting 5th on the grid the factory Yokomo driver said his BD5 got better and better each final allowing him to record the fastest lap of the third leg.

Trophies

Wilck, the only driver to seriously challenge Rheinard for the ETS title, was disappointed to miss out on the podium in Andernach but was pleased to take his best placing in the championship and help the TRF squad to claim their third 1-2 finish in succession in the high profile championship. Finishing behind the Swede in today’s result, Yannic Prumper completed the Top 3 for the championship equalling his ranking from last year. Placing behind his former Tamiya team-mates, the 17-year-old who won a race last season said he was very happy with third saying the level of competition had gone up massively this season.

Pro Stock top 3

In Pro-Stock it took a tie break to decide the round six winner. Leg 3 produced the third different victor as Daniel Wohlgemuth won a very exciting race from local talent Michael Kiesewetter and Top Qualifier Alexander Stocker. Having won Leg 2 in a faster time the 21 year-old took a very popular overall win. Having finished 10th at his home race 12 months ago, Kiesewetter who was running an Xray T2 ‘009 has vowed now to contest the full 2010/11 series.

Champions

Although he made a bad set-up choice for the third leg of the final, Stocker was delighted to retake the Pro Stock title having become the inaugural ETS Champion here two years ago. For the second year Wohlgemuth, who won the Czech ETS round, had to do with being crowned Vice Champion but the German says he is now more determined than ever to lift the title and is already looking forward to season four which kicks off in Kastellaun on October 15-17. Completing the Top 3 in the standings after very calculated drives in Leg 1 & 2 of today’s final, Ivan Laptev was thrilled with his first full season of ETS competition. The Russian Tamiya driver said with his championship goal secured after A-Main number 2 he was really able to enjoy the final race of the day getting right in the thick of the action and challenging for the lead before eventually crossing the line in fourth.

Hobby Top 3

This season saw the introduction of the Hobby class to the Euro Touring Series calendar. Created to encourage the development of young drivers in the sport it has achieved exactly that with 8-year-old Michal Orlowski from Poland becoming the inaugural champion showing he is a true natural. Becoming the Vice-Champion, young German driver Lucas Fischer also showed he is one to watch for the future.

With the third edition of the Euro Touring Series complete the numbers do the talking for how successful the Scotty Ernst and Uwe Rheinard creation has been. The six races run in 5 different countries that made up the 2009/10 series attracted over 500 drivers and the season ended on a high attracting the biggest entry of all the 15 ETS races that have been run since its inception. Our hosts here in Andernach put on a first class show and the end of season party on Saturday and will be talked about for many months to come. Having had the privilige to cover every single ETS race, Red RC would to thank all the drivers for their support & friendship this season. A special thanks to the many companies who believed in the championship in particular the main sponsors Xenon Racing and Speed Passion. Roll on season number 4.

Modified Final result
1. Rheinard Marc (DE) – 2pts (Tamiya/Speed Passion)
2. Hara Atsushi (JP) – 4pts (Hot Bodies/Speed Passion)
3. Völker Ronald (DE) – 4pts (Yokomo/LRP)
4. Wilck Viktor (SE) – 7pts (Tamiya/Speed Passion
5. Prümper Yannic (DE) – 9pts (Yokomo/Speed Passion)
6. Krapp Christopher (DE) – 12pts (Kyosho/Team Orion)
7. Moore Andy (GB) – 12pts (Hot Bodies/Nosram)
8. Pumpler Thomas (AT) – 15pts (Tamiya/Speed Passion)
9. Hamak Zdenek (CZ) – 15pts (Xray/LRP)
10.Hofer Martin (DE) – 15pts (Yokomo/GM)

Pro Stock Final result
1. Kiesewetter Michael (DE) – 3pts (Xray)
2. Wohlgemuth Daniel (DE) – 3pts (Xray)
3. Stocker Alexander (DE) – 4pts (Yokomo)
4. Laptev Ivan (RU) – 7pts (Tamiya)
5. Streit Tony (DE) – 9pts (Hot Bodies)
6. Janssen Rob (NL) – 10pts (Corally)
7. Still Steffen (DE) – 12pts (Xray)
8. Tschupp Philip (CH) – 16pts (TOP)
9. Larsen Thomas (DK) – 17pts (Tamiya)
10.Klöckner René (DE) – 18pts (Tamiya)

Hobby class Final result
1. Orlowski Michal (PL) – 2pts
2. Günther Oliver (DE) – 4pts
3. Gattke Dirk (DE) – 4pts
4. Knudsen Peter (DK) – 7pts
5. Fischer Lucas (DE) – 7pts]
6. Mulder Eric (NL) – 9pts
7. Heinsbroek Frans (NL) – 12pts
8. Chlodzinski Blazej (PL) – 13pts
9. Rozycki Andrzej (PL) – 16pts
10. Bickendorf Markus (DE) – 17pts
11. Hummel Andreas (DE) – 17pts
12. Hummel Elena (DE) – 19pts

Full results can be found here.

View the event image gallery here. Full videos from all A-mains to follow

July 18, 2010

Hara takes Leg 2 victory

Atsushi Hara has taken victory in the second leg of the A-Main here at the ETS finale in Germany after Tamiya’s Marc Rheinard and Viktor Wilck clashed while battling for the lead. A much cleaner start to the race than we saw in Leg 1, saw Wilck pushing Rheinard but on lap 7 the Swede tried to get down the inside of the World Champion but flipped him over allowing Hara’s Hot Bodies to get out front. Landing rubber side down, Rheinard pushed hard to retake the lead but the Japanese ace had the benefit of new rubber. The German was to later give away second spot to Team Yokomo’s Ronald Volker went he put his Speed Passion backed TRF416 on its roof on the final lap.

After the race Hara said, ‘it was about time somebody other than Marc won, hopefully I can do it again in the third leg and get the overall victory’. Having used his last set of new tyres, Hara knows Rheinard has the advantage of fresh rubber for the final showdown, but the current 1:8 Off Road World Champion thinks using the rear tyres from his previous two sets of race tyres should be good enough to give him a chance of repeating his 2008 Andernach victory.

Michael Kiesewetter

The second Pro-Stock final also saw the Top Qualifier trip up with Alexander Stocker making an error of his own doing on lap 6 allowing local ace Michael Kiesewetter through to take the win. Starting third on the grid, Kiesewetter said new tyres transformed his Xray T2 ‘009 allowing him to first find a way passed Daniel Wohlgemuth and then close in on Stocker before he put his Yokomo off the road, the newly crowned Champion eventually finishing 6th. Having finished 10th overall here last year, Kiesewetter goes into Leg 3 confident he can reverse that result and become the fourth different ETS Pro-Stock winner this season.

A-Main Leg 2 Results
Modified
1.(3) Hara Ataushi – 17 laps in 5:00.758
2.(5) Völker Ronald – 17 laps in 5:02.481
3.(1) Rheinard Marc – 17 laps in 5:03.660
4.(6) Prümper Yannic – 17 laps in 5:05.497
5.(4) Krapp Christopher – 17 laps in 5:07.312
6.(8) Moore Andy – 17 laps in 5:10.271
7.(10)Hofer Martin – 17 laps in 5:15.297
8.(9) Hamak Zdenek – 17 laps 5:15.741
9.(2) Wilck Viktor – 15 laps in 5:14.178
10.(7)Pumpler Thomas – 6 laps in 1:49.094

Pro-Stock
1.(3) Kiesewetter Michael – 16 laps in 5:14.318
2.(2) Wohlgemuth Daniel – 16 laps in 5:15.743
3.(4) Streit Tony – 16 laps in 5:19.655
4.(7) Laptev Ivan – 16 laps in 5:20.677
5.(5) Janssen Rob – 15 laps in 5:01.197
6.(1) Stocker Alexander – 15 laps in 5:02.307
7.(8) Still Steffen – 15 laps in 5:03.115
8.(6) Tschupp Philip – 15 laps in 5:03.476
9.(9) Klöckner René – 15 laps in 5:04.726
10.(10)Larsen Thomas – 15 laps in 5:04.932

Full results can be found here.

View the event image gallery here and Live video stream here.

July 18, 2010

Champion elects win first A-Main

Starting from pole position Marc Rheinard and Alexander Stocker have won the opening leg of their respective A-Mains. The pair, who will be crowned champions of the third season of the Euro Touring Series here in Andernach irrespective of today’s result, led from start to finish.

Ronald Volker

In Modified the race was almost a repeat for Rheinard of the Mains at the World Championships in Burgdorf two weeks ago. Contact between Viktor Wilck and former World Champion Atsushi Hara gave the German an early break that the chasing pack would never close. The big benefactor of this was Team Yokomo’s Ronald Volker who finished second having started from the 5th spt. The former European Champion was happy to take the result considering he is really struggling with the balance of his BD5.

Wilck

Wilck recovered to finish third and showed he has the pace to take the challenge to his Tamiya team-mate if he can stay out of trouble at the start. The Swede set an identical best lap to Rheinard, the pair’s 18.041 laps being the fastest of the race. Finishing fourth Hara said his Hot Bodies TCX was really good but he just made too many mistakes and passing on the technical layout being used this weekend is very difficult.

For fourth place starter Christopher Krapp it was a disappointing race, his Kyosho only managing four laps. The Worlds finalist went out with a broken rear belt which he believes was the result of being hit from behind by another car. 2006 World Champion Andy Moore was another retirement with just one lap recorded. The British ace had some sort of radio problem at the start, his car failing to turn under braking after the short blast to the first corner. Running another lap the problem happened again at the same spot so he pulled up. Having already changed reciever having experienced the problem yesterday, Moore will now try a different servo and speedo for Leg 2.

Stocker

In Pro-Stock, Stocker took the win but only after he saw off challenges from Ivan Laptev and Daniel Wohlgemuth. Starting 7th Russian Laptev got a lucky start but showed he could run with Stocker setting a faster lap than the German but Wohlgemuth, who got a tagged at the start, was the man on the move. Getting passed Laptev, who said he drove with the championship in mind, the Xray driver set the fastest lap as he chased down Stocker but he ran out of laps finishing right on the bumper of the Yokomo as they crossed the line.

A-Main Leg 1 Results
Modified
1.(1) Rheinard Marc – 18 laps in 5:16.851
2.(5) Völker Ronald – 17 laps in 5:01.273
3.(2) Wilck Viktor – 17 laps in 5:03.314
4.(30 Hara Ataushi – 17 laps in 5:05.912
5.(6) Prümper Yannic – 17 laps in 5:05.927
6.(7) Pumpler Thomas – 17 laps in 5:10.095
7.(9) Hamak Zdenek – 17 laps in 5:14.102
8.(10)Hofer Martin – 17 laps in 5:16.678
9.(4) Krapp Christopher – 4 laps in 1:04.436
10.(8)Moore Andy – 1 lap in 0:30.246

Pro-Stock
1.(1) Stocker Alexander – 16 laps in 5:17.418
2.(2) Wohlgemuth Daniel – 16 laps in 5:17.447
3.(7) Laptev Ivan – 16 laps in 5:18.841
4.(3) Kiesewetter Michael – 16 laps in 5:20.230
5.(5) Janssen Rob – 16 laps in 5:20.522
6.(4) Streit Tony – 15 laps in 5:00.793
7.(10)Larsen Thomas – 15 laps in 5:07.812
8.(8) Still Steffen – 15 laps in 5:08.424
9.(9) Klöckner René – 15 laps in 5:11.807
10.(6)Tschupp Philip – 15 laps in 5:15.278

Full results can be found here.

View the event image gallery here and Live video stream here.

July 17, 2010

Rheinard takes Q4 & overall Andernach TQ honours

Euro Touring Series Champion elect Marc Rheinard is the Top Qualifier for the closing race of the 2009/2010 season after topping the final round of qualifying here this evening at his home track of Andernach. The three time World Champion set the first & only 17 second lap of the event on his way to taking the round by half a second from Tamiya team-mate Viktor Wilck. This left the pair tied on points but setting the fastest overall qualifying time in Q4 the German will start tomorrow’s finals from pole. Rheinard said his Speed Passion powered TRF416 was better at the start of the run than in the previous three qualifiers after he left his tyre warmers on for longer.

Wilck, who started on pole here last year, said his car was pretty good except for the right hand sweeper through which it suffers a little understeer. Unlike the World Championships at Burgdorf two weeks ago the Swede feels the racing tomorrow should be a lot closer as the track has more places in which he can safely try to find a way past Rheinard.

Atsushi Hara

Atsushi Hara, who was third fastest in the final qualifier, will line up third on grid and is looking forward to tomorrow’s finals. The pace setter in yesterday’s opening round of qualifying, Hara hasn’t changed the set-up on his Hot Bodies TCX all day saying it has been better than he’s been driving. Happy with his driving in the final run today the Japanese ace is confident he can take the fight to his great rival Rheinard and repeat his 2008 victory here having been denied the chance in Burgdorf where he failed to qualify for the A final.

Fastest in Q2, Kyosho’s Christopher Krapp will start fourth, having ended the day with his first 17 lapper which was good enough for the fifth fastest time for the round ahead of Xray’s Zdenek Hamak who secures 9th on the grid. Finishing ahead of Krapp on time in Q4, Team Yokomo’s Ronald Volker will start behind his fellow German in the three leg A-Main.

The rest of the grid is made up by 17-year-old Yannic Prumper (6th), Thomas Pumpler (7th), Andy Moore (8th) and Martin Hofer (10th). Hofer tied on points with fellow Yokomo driver Ryan Maker but the German had a best finish of 8th compared with the Australian’s 9th, who takes the BQ honours.

Modified A-Main Grid
1. Marc Rheinard (DE) – 308
2. Viktor Wilck (SE) – 308
3. Atsushi Hara (TH) – 307
4. Christopher Krapp (DE) – 305
5. Ronald Völker (DE) – 303
6. Yannic Prümper (DE) – 302
7. Thomas Pumpler (AT) – 301
8. Andy Moore Andy (GB) – 300
9. Zdenek Hamak (CZ) – 300
10.Martin Hofer (DE) – 293

Full results can be found here.

View the event image gallery here.

July 17, 2010

Wilck fastest in Q3

Viktor Wilck

Viktor Wilck has become the third different driver and brand of car to top qualifying here at the ETS finale in Germany. The third & penultimate round of heats saw the Swede head team-mate Marc Rheinard by 1.2 seconds to move into provisional pole for tomorrow’s A-Main ahead of this evening’s final qualifier. Switching to the same set-up that took Thomas Pumpler to the second fastest time in Q3, Wilck said the car was a little better but feels his Speed Passion TRF416 is tweaked, with it suffering understeer through right hand corners.

Switching from a Mazda Speed 6 to an LCT-R, World Champion Rheinard said his car was pretty good now and he backed this up by setting a new fastest lap of 18.039, beating the previous time set Atsushi Hara in Q1. Although quicker than his team-mate, the German gave away 1.5 seconds on the third lap when he missed his line through the chicane and got badly out of shape.

Ronald Volker

Switching additive Ronald Volker enjoyed his best round of qualifying setting the third fastest time. Back running a gear diff in his Yokomo BD5, which he says he is getting more comfortable with, the German still needs to find more time with understeer causing him problems on the long right hand sweeper. The former European Champion plans to run lighter shock oil for the final qualifier. Yokomo team-mate Yannic Prumper can not be accused of being inconsistent as he again set the fourth fastest time. The German teenager used shorter camber links and LRP tyre additive but will revert to his Q2 set-up saying the changes had made his Toni Sport supported BD5 easy to drive but slow. Another Yokomo backed driver to make the Top 10 was Martin Hofer. Going back to a ball diff for the round the German said the car was much more predictable allowing him to run his best and the seventh fastest time.

Xray backed Czech driver Zdenek Hamak was fifth fastest. Trying a different shock position and running a fresh set of rubber he said his LRP powered T3 was better but knowing he was on a good run he got nervous and made a mistake 4 laps from home which cost him 3 seconds.

Loic Jasmin

Running a Tamiya TRF416 with a soon to be release 2.3mm Smokem chassis plate Loic Jasmin completed the Top 6. The French Touring Car Champion said a new set of tyres had allowed him to break into the Top 10 for the first time but in the final minute one of the rear tyres tried to part company with the rim costing him a little time. Fastest in Q2, Kyosho’s Christopher Krapp recorded his best 5-minute run but it was only good enough for 8th on this occassion. Andy Moore and Australia’s Simon Nicholson rounded out the Top 10.

Daniel Wohlgemuth

In Pro Stock we finally saw a different name at the top of the time sheets as Czech ETS winner Daniel Wohlgemuth set the pace from fellow Xray driver Michael Kiesewetter. Top Russian driver Ivan Laptev was third fastest ahead of Q1 & Q2 top qualifier Alexander Stocker who had to0 many incidents during his run. While the Modified and Hobby qualifying will be decided this evening, Pro-Stock drivers will have to wait till the morning for their fourth and final chance at securing a top starting position in the finals.

Qualification Ranking
Modified after Round 3 of 4
1. Wilck Viktor (SE) – 307
2. Rheinard Marc (DE) – 306
3. Krapp Christopher (DE) – 302
4. Völker Ronald (DE) – 302
5. Prümper Yannic (DE) – 302
6. Pumpler Thomas (AT) – 301
7. Moore Andy (GB) – 300
8. Hamak Zdenek (CZ) – 300
9. Hara Ataushi (TH) – 297
10.Hofer Martin (DE) – 293
——————————————-
11.Maker Ryan (AU) – 293
12.Jasmin Loic (FR) – 291

Pro-Stock after Round 3 of 4
1. Stocker Alexander (DE) – 310
2. Wohlgemuth Daniel (DE) – 306
3. Kiesewetter Michael (DE) – 306
4. Streit Tony (DE) – 304
5. Tschupp Philip (CH) – 303
6. Laptev Ivan (RU) – 299
7. Klöckner René (DE) – 298
8. Larsen Thomas (DK) – 297
9. Madsen Carsten (DK) – 296
10.Janssen Rob (NL) – 293
——————————————-
11.Still Steffen (DE) – 292
12.Hagnauer Philipp (CH) – 290

Full results can be found here.

View the event image gallery here and Live video stream here.