Video – Qualifying Action Rd3
Q3 Update
Yannic Prumper is almost certain to be the Top Qualifier at the final round of the Yokomo Euro Touring Series in Austria after the young German posted his second TQ run at the Traiskirchen track in Q3 ahead of the Xray of Alexander Hagberg and his Yokomo team-mate Hayato Matsuzaki in a qualifier that saw many suffer with traction roll.
Finishing 2/10th up on Hagberg, Prumper rolled his Thunder Power backed BD5 through the sweeper at the end of the straight but unlike team-mate Ronald Volker he managed to survive the incident. Prumper said the roll, which cost him a 21 lap run, was his own mistake as he just took the corner too fast. Defending Champion Volker, who was much happier with his BD5 after a change of shock set-up, roll his BD5 slightly later in the sweeper and sliding on it roof into the barriers lost its LRP battery ending his run. Currently sitting fourth in the qualification ranking Volker said his team-mates pace was playing into his hands as it would deny his three title rivals the extra bonus point it offers.
Finally completing a full 5-minute run Matsuzaki, like Prumper, managed to survive a roll. Catching a corner dot the former 2WD Buggy World Champion lost around 3 seconds but said he was just happy to take ‘big’ points for the round but added with two non finishes in the earlier qualifiers the pressure is very much on for the final heat. Needing a top result the Japanese driver, who could not capitalise on fresh tyres in Q1 and Q2, said he doesn’t know whether to take the gamble of running fresh tyres or to save them in the hope that he can secure a place in the A-Main using old tyres.
One driver who will use his second set of tyres in the final qualifier in the hope of boosting his grid position is Christopher Krapp. The factory Kyosho driver said while it might be coming a little late his Orion powered TF6 is working really well now and the German was able to produce his fastest 5-minute run in Q3 and his best point haul with fourth in the round.
Setting the fifth fastest time Andy Moore ran another ‘safe’ round but said he was maybe too cautious in the beginning and this cost him a potential Top 3 time. Team-mate Atsushi Hara traction rolled his TCX and said he had no choice this time round but to pull up as it was undrivable. Like Matsuzaki, Hara has only one finish to his credit, a 9th in Q2, and so he too needs to pull off a strong final run if he is to line up on the grid for the main event tomorrow.
Q2 top qualifier Viktor Wilck said changes to his Tamiya had improved it a lot on used tyres but a roll in the infield that saw his car cross onto the main straight lost him 6 seconds ending any hope of a strong run and he ended up 15th. It wasn’t a good round for the TRF squad with Marc Rheinard suffering a roll on the opening lap, the lost time leaving him 11th fastest while Elliot Harper had what looked like being a solid run ended when he got hit by another car.
In the Xray Pro Stock class title contender Oliver Franke TQ’d the penultimate qualifier ahead Denmark’s Morten Iversen and Q1 pace setter Tony Streit. While Q3 was the best qualifying run from standings leader Zdenko Kunak the Xray driver, and double race winner, is clearly struggling for pace on this an important weekend.
Ride Modified Q3 Top 10 times
1. Yannic Prümper (DE) – Yokmo/Thunder Power – 20/5:00.652
2. Alexander Hagberg (SE) – Xray/ORCA – 20/5:00.838
3. Hayato Matsuzaki (JP) – Yokomo/Reedy – 20/5:02.037
4. Christopher Krapp (DE) – Kyosho/Orion – 20/5:02.228
5. Andy Moore (GB) – HB/Hobbywing – 20/5:02.293
6. Freddy Sudhoff (DE) – Awesomatix/LRP – 20/5:04.093
7. Magnus Vässmar (SE) – Xray/Thunder Power – 20/5:04.173
8. Martin Hudy (SK) – Xray/LRP – 20/5:04.213
9. Zdenko Kunak (SK) – Xray/LRP – 20/5:05.791
10.Jakob Zundel (AT) – Awesomatix – 20/5:06.104
Xray Pro-Stock Q3 Top 10 times
1. Oliver Franke (DE) – HB – 19/5:09.797
2. Morten Iversen (DK) – Awesomatix – 19 5:10.549
3. Tony Streit (DE) – Xray – 19/5:10.823
4. Marek Cerny (CZ) – Yokomo – 19/5:11.264
5. Philipp Neudinger (AT) – Awesomatix – 19/5:11.606
6. Zdenko Kunak (SK) – Xray – 19/5:13.496
7. Martin Hofer (DE) – Schumacher – 19/5:13.676
8. Dominic Vogl (AT) – Awesomatix – 19/5:13.898
9. Philip Tschupp (CH) – TOP – 19/5:14.296
10.Felix Wiessmann (DE) – Yokomo – 19/5:14.309
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Wilck pips Prumper to take Q2
Tamiya Racing Factory’s Viktor Wilck has taken the second round of qualifying at the season finale of the 2011/12 Yokomo Euro Touring Series in Austria by just 58/1000ths of a second over Q1 top qualifier Yannic Prumper. Having pulled up early after traction rolling his Thunder Power equipped TRF417 in Q1 yesterday, Wilck had the benefit of fresh tyres for this morning’s heat and while pleased to TQ the round the Swede said all been equal in terms of tyres Prumper is in a different league this weekend. With Team Xray’s Alexander Hagberg using his second allocated set of controlled Ride R32 tyres to set the third fastest time, Prumper’s second fastest time was all the more impressive given the young German’s tyres had already produced a 21 lap TQ run.
Describing his run as safe, Reedy Race Champion Wilck said his car was ‘not nice to drive’ with it being very edgy. Asked what set-up changes he can make to improve the car for the remaining two qualifiers, he replied that having tried a few ideas in practice yesterday that did not work he was starting to run out of things to change adding that he expects it is going to be a tough afternoon here at Traiskirchen. Team-mate Marc Rheinard, who set the 5th fastest time on used tyres, said a number of set-up changes to try and make the car less edgy didn’t work and actually resulted in him suffering with lack of steering. While his car is better on new tyres the World Champion said he thinks there is little to be gained in terms of overall starting position and it would be more beneficial to save his second set of tyres for tomorrow’s finals.
Prumper said on used tyres his Thunder Power equipped Yokomo was more difficult to drive but considering how close he was able to run against Wilck on fresh tyres he was very happy with his pace. Preferring to adjust his driving to the feeling of the car on used tyres the former ETS race winner said he will run the same set-up for Q3. Team-mate and defending champion Ronald Volker took fourth in Q2 with a run he described as ‘OK’. The German ace said his LRP powered BD5 is super consistent but lacks overall pace. Looking to retain the car’s stability but find more steering he will try some small changes for Q3. One of the drivers to pull up early in Q1 to save tyres Yokomo’s Hayato Matsuzaki couldn’t capitalise, traction rolling his Reedy powered BD5 on the second lap before again pulling in to save his rubber.
Taking the gamble to run his second set of tyres in Q2, Hagberg said his ORCA powered T3 was still getting onto two wheels through the corners but he managed to complete a mistake free run. With a more stable car on used tyres the Polish ETS race winner is hopeful that for Q3 the majority of drivers will be on used rubber giving him the chance to add to his third place points from Q2.
The fourth of the title contenders, Kyosho’s Christopher Krapp was much happier with his Orion powered TF6 compared with yesterday. Running on used tyres the Gran Canaria winner was able to better is Q1 time while most of the front runners went slower. Having made a host of set-up changes he said he now has a good feeling with the car and he is confident that with a few more small adjustments and a different tyre management he should be a lot more competitive for the final two heats.
Having done just four laps in Q1, Team HB’s Atsushi Hara couldn’t make the most of the tyres as he once again traction rolled but opting to continue he set the 9th fastest time. Team-mate Andy Moore who was second fastest in Q1 did not even complete a lap after he lost the pin from his left rear drive shaft on the opening lap.
In the Xray Pro stock class out going champion Martin Hofer took his Schumacher to the fastest time ahead of the Awesomatix’s of Philipp Neudinger and Morten Iversen. Title contenders Oliver Franke and Zdenko Kunak set the 4th and 10th fastest time respectively.
Ride Modified Q2 Top 10 times
1. Viktor Wilck (SE) – Tamiya/Thunder Power – 20/5:00.614
2. Yannic Prümper (DE) – Yokmo/Thunder Power – 20/5:00.672
3. Alexander Hagberg (SE) – Xray/ORCA – 20/5:01.392
4. Ronald Völker (DE) – Yokomo/LRP – 20/5:02.611
5. Marc Rheinard (DE) – Tamiya/Speed Passion – 20/5:03.535
6. Christopher Krapp (DE) – Kyosho/Orion – 20/5:04.149
7. Magnus Vässmar (SE) – Xray/Thunder Power – 20/5:05.979
8. Martin Hudy (SK) – Xray/LRP – 20/5:06.253
9. Atsushi Hara (TH) – HB/Reedy – 20/5:06.556
10.Freddy Sudhoff (DE) – Awesomatix/LRP – 20/5:08.360
Xray Pro-Stock Q2 Top 10 times
1. Martin Hofer (DE) – Schumacher – 19/5:10.999
2. Philipp Neudinger (AT) – Awesomatix – 19 5:11.693
3. Morten Iversen (DK) – Awesomatix – 19 5:12.209
4. Oliver Franke (DE) – HB – 19/5:12.260
5. Marek Cerny (CZ) – Yokomo – 19/5:13.921
6. Tony Streit (DE) – Xray – 19/5:15.162
7. Denis Zuykov (RU) – Awesomatix – 19/5:16.044
8. Markus Kreder (DE) – Yokomo – 19/5:16.346
9. Jens Kroger (DE) – Kyosho – 19/5:20.708
10.Zdenko Kunak (SK) – Xray – 18/5:00.091
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Prumper TQs opening qualifier at ETS finale
Yannic Prumper produced a blistering opening qualifier at the season finale of the Yokomo Euro Touring Series in Austria to top Q1 by a massive four seconds over the HB of Andy Moore with defending champion Ronald Volker the only other driver to manage 21 laps of the Traiskirchen track to record the third fastest time. Changing to a heavier shock oil in his Thunder Power equipped BD5 for the first of the four qualifiers, the young German was clearly delighted with how the car handled in the cooler conditions. Finding it a little difficult over the first 2-minutes of the 5-minute run from then on it was very easy to drive and had ‘minimum traction roll’. Impressing onlookers with the authority he stamped on Q1 over the World class field, Prumper said afterwards with the car working so well he has no plans to make any changes ahead of tomorrow morning’s Q2.
Describing Prümper as being in a different league, former World Champion Moore was pleased with second saying he just focused on driving safe and for that approach his Hobbywing powered TCX felt pretty good. With a good points hall from the round the British Champion said he can push harder in his next run but said in order to do this he will need to improve his set-up. While new team-mate Shin Adachi took 8th in the round, Atsushi Hara pulled up after he traction rolled on his fourth lap. One of the greats of the sport, Hara admitted he was trying a little too hard but having had no problems at that section of the track in practice said he was surprised to roll there. With practically new tyres for Q2 Hara is hoping he can register a good run in the morning but he was not the only one to pull up after early mistakes, both Tamiya’s Viktor Wilck and Yokomo’s Hayato Matsuzaki also having the advance of better tyres for Q2.
Having found his LRP powered BD5 difficult to drive from the start Volker said he reverted to going for a clean run which paid dividends as he took third and was fastest of the four title contenders. Losing some time having to let team-mate Prumper through, the only double race winner of the season said they have no choice for tomorrow but to try a different set-up as he struggled in the infield with understeer.
Just missing out on a 21-lap run, factory Xray driver Alexander Hagberg was content with his run to fourth as he always knew he would be at a disadvantage on new tyres. With his ORCA powered T3 stronger on used tyres the Swede hopes this will allow him to capitalise tomorrow when all drivers are on worn rubber. Team-mate and fellow countryman, Magnus Vassmar said his car was much better than it had been in practice but added there is still room for improvement. One of the stars of qualifying at the Polish ETS encounter where he TQ’d a round, he set the sixth fastest time just behind Marc Rheinard and ahead of Kyosho’s title hopeful Christopher Krapp.
Rheinard, who currently leads the points standing thanks to his TQ & win at the previous race, said his car was not nice to drive resulting in him flipping the Speed Passion powered TRF417. Having set the pace in practice, the World Champion who will go for a unprecedented three world titles in a row later this month, said he found the track for Q1 a lot more grippy but expecting the track to be warmer for Q2 doesn’t plan any set-up changes as he was pretty happy with his car in such conditions early today.
In the Xray Pro-Stock class Austrian driver Philipp Neudinger drove the best 5-minutes of his life only to have the time disallowed for his ratio being below the allowed 4.50 for the control Speed Passion speedo and motor class. Driving an Awesomatix, Neudinger followed the gearing ratios contained in the manual of the unique Russian designed car but when manually calculated at post race tech inspection it was discovered those figures in the manual had been rounded up and he was infact running 4.979. Although he believed Neudinger had not intentionally tried to break the minimum 4.50 ratio rule, race director said Scotty Ernst said the rule was was in place in the super close class and he had no choice but to disallow the time. This gave Xray driver Tony Streit the TQ for the round. Having struggled in practice the German found his car was tweaked but having time to complete a full rebuild before qualifying he said the car is now very competitive and he is very confident for the remaining three rounds of heats.
Championship leader Zdenko Kunak had a terrible opening heat, the factory Xray driver struggling on new tyres and managed only the 25th fastest time. Also competing in Modified where he posted the ninth fastest time, the talented Slovak racer said he has a good set-up for used tyres and he should be OK for tomorrow’s qualifiers. Title rival Olver Franke also had poor opening heat managing only the 7th fastest time after rolling his HB.
In the Speed Passion Formula class San Marino driver Andrea Selva set the pace ahead of Simone Leonardi and promising young Polish racer Bartlomiej Zambrzycki.
Ride Modified Q1 Top 10 times
1. Yannic Prümper (DE) – Yokmo/Thunder Power – 21/5:10.158
2. Andy Moore (GB) – HB/Hobbywing – 21/5:14.216
3. Ronald Völker (DE) – Yokomo/LRP – 21/5:14.668
4. Alexander Hagberg (SE) – Xray/ORCA – 20/5:00.130
5. Marc Rheinard (DE) – Tamiya/Speed Passion – 20/5:00.990
6. Magnus Vässmar (SE) – Xray/Thunder Power – 20/5:03.811
7. Christopher Krapp (DE) – Kyosho/Orion – 20/5:05.169
8 Shin Adachi (JP) – HB/Reedy – 20/5:05.470
9. Zdenko Kunak (SK) – Xray/LRP – 20/5:05.615
10.Martin Hudy (SK) – Hudy/LRP – 20/5:06.431
Xray Pro-Stock Q1 Top 10 times
1. Tony Streit (DE) – Xray – 19/5:10.456
2. Bernhard Bopp (DE) – HB – 19/5:11.756
3. Dominic Vogl (AT) – Awesomatix – 19/5:11.845
4. Morten Iversen (DK) – Awesomatix – 19 5:13.488
5. Martin Hofer (DE) – Schumacher – 19/5:14.001
6. Martin Wilfinger (AT) – Serpent – 19/5:15.003
7. Oliver Franke (DE) – HB – 19/5:15.186
8. Marek Cerny (CZ) – Yokomo – 18/5:00.194
9. Radek Flek (CZ) – Yokomo – 18/5:00.381
10.Felix Wiessmann (DE) – Yokomo – 18/5:01.093
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Rheinard tops practice in Austria
Marc Rheinard is the top seed for qualifying at the sixth & final round of the Yokomo Euro Touring Series in Austria the Tamiya driver took his Speed Passion powered TRF417 around the track in Traiskirchen in the fastest three consecutive laps ahead of the Yokomo’s of Hayato Matsuzaki and Ronald Volker, the latter traction rolling his LRP powered BD5 before he could improve on his CP1 topping pace.
Running a fresh set of Ride tyres in CP2, Rheinard said his car was a lot better than in CP1, when he ran used tyres, but added that he could still do with more steering especially at the hairpin. Looking for a safe opening qualifier the World Champion said he will not risk changing anything for this evening’s Q1, the start to which was delayed after a heavy rain shower and gusting winds resulted in the sweeper at the end of the main straight getting wet on the outside line as the wind drove the rain in under the open ended roof structure of the unique venue. Following the rain there has also been a major change in the track temperature and humidity which many of the top drivers believe with make for a tricky first qualifier due to the cooler conditions.
Hayato put his improvement in time down to better driving and is hopeful of Q1 as he too plans to leave the set-up on his BD5 as is. Questioned about the possibility of high traction the Japanese ace said that having tested at the track last night he is confident they have a set-up should the conditions change significantly over the next hour to warrant a set-up change. Team-mate Volker managed only two fast laps before his car flipped and went crashing into the barriers backwards resulting in the wing mounting point on the bodyshell being damaged forcing him to pull up. The defending champion, who has TQ’d three of this year’s ETS events, said he will make a few small changes to his set-up for Q1 to try make the car just a little less aggressive.
Improving his time but not his 4th position, Yannic Prumper said the change to plastic shock caps on his Thunder Power equipped Yokomo did the opposite to what he expected, making it more aggressive. Proving to be faster the young German will continue with the plastic caps but will change to a thicker oil for his opening heat.
Reverting to the Protoform Speed 6 body in CP2 along with running a softer shock oil on his HB TCX Atsushi Hara improved to fifth fastest. Overall better than in CP1 when he ran the LTC-R shell he said his TCX was fast but inconsistent with the car still a little too aggressive. Team-mate Andy Moore, who didn’t post a time in the first controlled practice, said he just drove safe laps in the final practice which was good enough for the British ace to set the 7th fastest time ensuring he is in the top heat for qualifying. Not sure how his car will perform over a 5-minute run Moore said he hopes that the rain that got onto the sweeper wont have effected it too much as that was one place his TCX felt pretty good.
Starting in between the Hot Bodies of Hara and Moore will be Reedy Race Champion Viktor Wilck. Third fastest in CP1, the Swede said after the strong opening run that he had a few ideas he planned to try in final practice but they didn’t work and with his car very aggressive to drive he was unable to improve his time dropping to sixth overall in the seeding. The third member of the TRF squad, Elliot Harper had a tough practice ending up 21st of the 76 Modified runners. Describing his car as ‘like driving a 50 pence piece’ (a seven sided UK coin) the World Championship podium finisher said he does not really know what direction to take with his set-up.
For first time ETS title contenders Alexander Hagberg and Christopher Krapp CP2 didn’t see an improvement in time with the pair dropping down the order to 8th and 13th respectively. Hagberg said while they have a good car on used tyres they still need to find a set-up that allows them to get the best from new tyres. With most of the top runners finding improvement from running a heavier shock set-up Krapp decided to go that route for CP2 but the Gran Canaria winner said it was even worse that the set-up he ran earlier. The German now plans to completely change his TF6-SP for Q1 by running a narrower from end and more rear toe-in along with going back to softer shocks.
In the Xray Pro Stock class reigning champion Martin Hofer bettered Marek Cerny’s CP1 to take the top seeding for qualifying ahead of the Czech driver. The winner of two race this season, championship standings leader Zdenko Kunak managed to improve his time taking his Xray from seventh to third and more psychologically importantly ahead of his only rival for the title Oliver Franke who was fourth fastest.
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Volker fastest in first controlled practice
In very hot and humid conditions at Traiskirchen, Austria, Ronald Volker set the pace in the first of the two controlled practice runs that will determine the seeding for qualifying at the title deciding round of the 2011/12 Yokomo Euro Touring Series. The defending champion, who is one of four drivers in the battle for the overall title, set a pace of 44.667 over three laps ahead of new Yokomo team-mate Hayato Matsuzaki on 44.826 with Tamiya’s Viktor Wilck third on 45.017.
Having had a weekend he would rather forget at the penultimate round in Apeldoorn, where he ended up qualifying down in the E final, Volker was pleased with his early pace at the roof covered asphalt venue but added that the high traction could made running a clean five minutes very difficult. Feeling the track has much more traction than when the unique venue hosted the European Championships, the German said this had made the track very tricky with there being a very fine line between having the amount of steering you want or ending up on your roof.
Having made his ETS debut at the previous round where he finished 14th, former 2WD Offroad World Champion Matsuzaki was happy with his early practice on what he described as a ‘difficult’ track due to its wide variety of corners. Pleased with the feeling of his Reedy powered BD5, the Japanese racer said his focus for the moment is on improving his driving which could be better. Yokomo’s other star driver Yannic Prumper, who changed chassis between the morning’s two free practice runs and the first controlled practice was much happier with his pace, the German saying the second car had much more steering than the first chassis he ran. Setting the fourth fastest time just 3/1000ths faster than Alexander Hagberg, the German plans to switch shock caps for CP2 to the plastic version with the hole which he said should made the car a little easier to drive.
The second fastest of the title contenders with 5th in CP1, Team Xray’s Hagberg who like Volker had a disastrous weekend at the preceding round of the ETS said his ORCA powered T3 2012 was a lot better suited to the Thomas Pumpler designed track and felt ‘not so bad’. The Swede, who described the layout as being more like what you would normally have at an indoor carpet event, said getting the car ready for qualifying was going to be all about the small details.
Completing the Top 6 former World Champion Atsushi Hara switched from a Protoform Speed 6 bodyshell to an LTC-R which he said while it gave his HB TCX more steering and the feeling of better corners speed it was slower in laps times. The Japanese ace, who has been spending a lot of time in Europe recently as part of his World Championship preparations, said he must decide whether to run the Speed 6 with a more aggressive setting or continue with the LTC-R but with a slightly less aggressive set-up having maybe changed the set-up too much for CP1 in his search for better corner speed. Team-mate Andy Moore only managed 2 laps after he traction rolled his Hobbywing TCX which slid into the track barrier resulting in a broken servo horn.
The other two Ride Modified title contenders Marc Rheinard and Christopher Krapp set the 7th and 10th fastest times respectively. The current standings leader, Rheinard said he ran used tyres and there was a ‘huge’ difference compared to fresh rubber. The winner of Round 5, the reigning World Champion said his Tamiya feels good and so when everyone is on the same tyres he is confident he has the pace to match Volker.
Kyosho’s Krapp said he is struggling a little for pace and is not really sure why. While his Orion powered TF6 is very consistent he said it lacks overall speed. Having tried softer shocks to try improve it, which would normally work in theses conditions, he said having walked around the pits and talk to some of his rivals a harder shock seems to be the way to go and so he will try this for CP2.
In the Xray Pro Stock class Gran Canaria winner Marek Cerny was fastest for Team Yokomo ahead the title contending HB of Oliver Franke while standings leader Zdenko Kunak posted only the 7th fastest time behind the Schumacher of out going champion Martin Hofer.
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Four manufacturers chase ETS title at season finale in Austria
The stage is set for the most exciting title battle in the history of the ETS with four drivers representing four different manufacturers in with a chance of becoming the 2011/12 Yokomo Euro Touring Series Champions at this weekend’s (6-8th July) season finale in Traiskirchen, Austria. Having enjoyed it’s most successful season to-date with close on 700 drivers set to register points in the World famous electric touring car series, the fifth running of the championship has also produced its most competitive year of racing with four different drivers taking to the top step of the podium in the premiere Ride Modified class. Kyosho’s Christopher Krapp and Xray’s Alexander Hagberg both claimed their first ever ETS wins putting them in the position of going head to head with Team Yokomo’s defending Champion Ronald Volker and Tamiya’s former Champion Marc Rheinard for the prestigious title at the sixth & final round.
A new addition to the ETS calendar, Traiskirchen is the perfect venue for such an exciting climax to the season with the roof covered asphalt track ensuring that the current unsettled European weather can play no part in deciding whether the elusive ETS Modified Champions roll of honour remains at just three names (Jilles Groskamp, Rheinard & Volker) or gets the addition of a fourth worthy Champion. The Top 4 in the standings are seperated by just 7-points with a maximum of 156 points up for grabs so its very much still all to play for and as was witnessed at the preceeding round in Apeldoorn, where Rheinard rescued his campaign by taking the TQ and win, anything can happen in racing with Volker and Hagberg both failing to make the A-Main at the Dutch event.
While the focus of the weekend will be on the title battle, there will be a number of drivers among the World Class entry of over 200 racers who with no championship to worry about will be looking to make their own mark, this being the last major international touring car race before the World Championships that take place in the Netherlands at the end of the month. Having finished sixth at Round 5, his first ETS outing this season, former World Champion & ETS race winner Atsushi Hara will be hoping for a more competitive outing in Austria as will Team HB team-mates Andy Moore and Shin Adachi.
Having topped a round of qualifying to line up third on the grid in Apeldoorn, Serpent’s Marc Fisher will be looking to build on that performance this weekend and bring home some silverware for his small team. Also looking to convert his unquestionable raw talent in to a victory will be Volker’s Yokomo team-mate Yannic Prumper. Prumper finished runner up to Rheinard at Traiskirchen last year when it hosted the European Championships and the young German must be close to ending his 3-year victory drought.
In the Xray Pro Stock class, which has also produced four different winners this season, the title will too be decided in Austria in a duel between Xray’s Zdenko Kunák and Team HB driver Oliver Franke. A new addition to the ETS this year the Formula class, for 1:10 2WD Formula 1 cars which like Pro Stock use a controlled Speed Passion speedo/motor combo, is wide open with no less than five drivers in with a chance of becoming the inaugural champion.
While those in contention for a title will be holding off on any celebrations until Sunday evening, for the rest of the competitors they will be able to celebrate the successful conclusion of Season No.5 of Uwe Rheinard and Scotty Ernst’s Euro Touring Series with the now traditional end of season party planned for Saturday night at the track. With the organisation of the Traiskirchen ETS encounter being headed up by top Austrian touring car racer Thomas Pumpler with help from former European Electric Offroad Champion Peter Pinsch, the weekend is sure to be of a very high standard something that racers have now come to expect from ETS events.
Round 6 of the Yokomo Euro Touring Series will be covered live throughout the weekend on Red RC where you can follow how the title battle unfolds over the three day event.
Tamiya secure 1-2-3 at Dutch ETS
For the first time since Andernach in 2009, the fifth round of the Yokomo Euro Touring Series in the Netherlands was to be an all Tamiya podium with Marc Rheinard claiming his first win of the season ahead of team-mates Viktor Wilck and Jilles Groskamp. Having made the call to run two of the three A-Mains on Saturday night directly after qualifying due to the forecast giving rain for Sunday, it was to prove a smart decision by the ETS organisers as racers woke to a very wet morning in Apeldoorn. With results from two dry legs to work from the result was declared on best result and fastest time giving Top Qualifier & Leg 2 winner Rheinard the win over the first A-Main winner Wilck with second in Leg 2 securing the former back to back champion Groskamp the final step on the podium. The win, and the tough weekend experienced by defending champion Ronald Volker, puts Rheinard in contention for the title with the season finale in Austria in a months time set to be a showdown between Yokomo, Tamiya, Kyosho and Xray for the title.
Attracting what was easily the Euro Touring Series’ highest caliber of world class drivers to the Dutch event, endorsing the high regard in which the series is held internationally, the weekend was a difficult one for Volker and Yokomo. The dominator of the opening two races of season No.5, he experienced his worst every ETS event in Apeldoorn managing to complete only a single round of qualifying after experiencing tyres issues in Q1, a speedo shut down in Q2 and a stripped spur gear in Q4 leaving him 7th on the grid for the E Final. Credit to Volker, despite a weekend he will want to forget he raced his final, putting a great show and pulling off some rather impressive passing maneuvers that entertained the larger that normal amount of onlookers an E-Main normally gets.
For Xray the event gave them a full on experience of the highs and the lows of racing. Having enjoyed their first ever ETS victory thanks to a great drive from Alexander Hagberg at the preceding round in Poland and the celebrations that go with that success, the team failed to get a single car onto the A-Main grid in the Netherlands. Managing only one decent qualifying run when he set the fourth fastest time in Q2, Hagberg was the best placed Xray lining up 5th on the grid in the B Final.
In Pro Stock just 16/100th decided the final result between Top Qualifier & Leg 1 winner Tony Streit and Leg 2 winner Vasco Christiaanse, the latter finally securing his and Kyosho’s first ETS win in the class having previously been twice a race Top Qualifier. As in the Ride Modified class it was not a good weekend for the defending Champion. Starting off well with his Schumacher topping Friday’s practice and topping the opening round of qualifying, Martin Hofer’s weekend then went down hill with the German eventually classified 7th one place ahead of Xray’s Zdenko Kunak. The Slovak driver has enjoyed a really strong 2011/12 season, winning in Germany and Poland, but in Apeldoorn he struggled to find that form.
Ride Modified A-Main Overall Result
1. Marc Rheinard (DE) – Tamiya/Speed Passion – 1 pt
2. Viktor Wilck (SE) – Tamiya/Thunder Power – 1
3. Jilles Groskamp (NL) – Tamiya/Orion – 2
4. Yannic Prümper (DE) – Yokomo/Thunder Power – 3
5. Christopher Krapp (DE) – Kyosho/Orion – 3
6. Atsushi Hara (TH) – Team HB/Reedy – 4
7. Marc Fischer (DE) – Serpent/Speed Passion – 5
8. Cyril N’diaye (FR) – Yokomo/LRP – 5
9. Andy Moore (GB) – HB/Hobbywing – 6
10.Shin Adachi (JP) – Team HB/Reedy – 7
Xray Pro-Stock A-Main Overall Result
1. Vasco Christiaanse (NL) – Kyosho – 1 pt
2. Tony Streit (DE) – Xray – 1
3. Rob Janssen (NL) – Tamiya – 2
4. Marek Cerny (CZ) – Yokomo – 3
5. Bart Wubben (NL) – Xray – 4
6. Oliver Franke (DE) – Hot Bodies – 5
7. Martin Hofer (DE) – Schumacher – 5
8. Zdenko Kunak (SK) – Xray – 6
9. Remi Callens (FR) – Xray – 7
10.Ivan Laptev (RU) – Awesomatix – 8
View the complete event results here.
View the event image gallery here.
