Euro Touring Series

October 30, 2011

Volker pulls off perfect start to ETS title defence

Ronald Völker

Team Yokomo’s lead driver Ronald Volker pulled off the perfect weekend to claim an early victory at the opening round of the 2011/12 Yokomo Euro Touring Series in Mülheim-Kärlich, Germany. Starting from pole, the German ace backed up his win of the first A-Main with an even more dominant performance in the second to secure the overall win. Able to sit out the third and final Main of the day, Volker’s performance which saw him top the time sheets for every round of practice and qualifying has put pressure firmly on his rivals to find something before the fifth season of the ETS moves on to Italy in January for Round 2 of 6.

Although the winning margin of the second A-Main was smaller than race 1, Volker controlled the race from the start this time. Pushing harder over the opening laps he said once Rheinard made a mistake on lap 8 of 24 he was able to run a controlled race. Admitting to a lapse of concentration on the final lap that saw him get his BD5 WXi up on two wheels, he said he was delighted to kick off his title defence in the same way he got his successful 2010/11 campaign underway. The winner of the opening three race last season, he said could not have expected a better weekend and although not sure what to expect at Round 2 as its is an all new event on the calendar he is really looking forward to moving onto the next round which is also on carpet.

Rheinard

Recovering from his roll Rheinard once again took a frustrating second behind his great rival. The World Champion said in testing on carpet his Speed Passion Tamiya TRF417x has felt really good but in race conditions it is no match for Volker’s Yokomo. Putting much of the champions domination down to Umino Yukijiro who has travelled from Japan to provide technical support, Rheinard said he hopes he can convince Tamiya to send chief designer Kiyo Suzuki to Italy so they can try halt Volker and Yokomo in their quest to defend the title they took away from Tamiya last season. Although Viktor Wilck set the fastest lap of the second A-Main, he too struggled to keep the car on four wheels dropping from second to sixth in the race.

Alexander Hagberg

After a tough first Main, Team Xray’s Alexander Hagberg enjoyed a good clean race to finish third. The Swede said while he benefited from others mistakes his new T3 2012 felt fast and with Volker sitting out the third leg the race for second overall is still wide open. Planning to run a harder front shock to reduce his steering he said he hopes he just gets a second chance at having a clean race. Making it four different brands of cars in the top four Kyosho’s Christopher Krapp repeated his Leg 1 result to again finish fourth from sixth on the grid.

With his Hot Bodies working much better this time round, Andy Moore was looking good for second until he got out of shape first allowing Rheinard passed before getting swallowed up by the pack when he got hit later in the lap causing his body to tuck. The British Champion lost 4 seconds as a result and in the end finished 9th.

Oliver Franke

In Pro Stock the overall winner of the season opener will go down to the final leg after Oliver Franke took a narrow win over champion Martin Hofer. Top Qualifier & winner of the opening leg, Zdenko Kunák led the race until lap 7 when he ran over a dot and got out of shape to get swallowed up and hit a number of times by the pursuing pack. Out of contention for a string finish, the Xray team driver pulled up. The result means three drivers, Kunák, Franke and Hofer, have a chance taking overall victory with a win in the final leg.

Ride Modified Leg 2 results
1. Ronald Völker (DE) – Yokomo/LRP – 24L 5:02.814
2. Marc Rheinard (DE) – Tamiya/Speed Passion – 24L 5:03.951
3. Alexander Hagberg – Xray/LRP – 24L 5:05.604
4. Christopher Krapp (DE) – Kyosho/Orion – 24L 5:06.244
5. Yannic Prümper (DE) – Yokomo/Thunder Power – 24L 5:08.942
6. Viktor Wilck (SE) – Tamiya/Thunder Power – 24L 5:09.114
7. Dominik Fleischmann (DE) – Hot Bodies/LRP – 24L 5:09.247
8. Zdenko Kunák (SK) – Xray/LRP – 24L 5:10.255
9. Andy Moore (GB) – Hot Bodies/HPI Flux – 24L 5:11.154
10.Freddy Südhoff (DE) – Hot Bodies/LRP – 24L 5:12.639

Xray Pro Stock Leg 2 results
1. Oliver Franke (DE) – Hot Bodies – 23L 5:11.388
2. Martin Hofer (DE) – Schumacher – 23L 5:11.958
3. Tony Streit (DE) – Xray – 23L 5:13.014
4. Philipp Hagnauer (CH) – Yokomo – 22L 5:02.407
5. Daniel Wohlgemuth (DE) – Tamiya – 22L 5:02.938
6. Carsten Madsen (DK) – Awesomatix – 22L 5:04.786
7. Ivan Laptev (RU) – Awesomatix – 22L 5:05.364
8. Michael Spiering (DE) – TOP – 22L 5:06.198
9. Steffen Leinburger (DE) – Xray – 21L 4:53.379
10.Zdenko Kunák (SK) – Xray – 7L 1:30.943

View complete race results here.

View the event image gallery here.

October 30, 2011

Video – Mod & Pro Stock A-main Leg 1

October 30, 2011

Volker dominates first A-Main

Ronald Volker

Reigning Yokomo Euro Touring Series champion Ronald Volker looks set to be on target to make the perfect start to his title defence with the Top Qualifier dominating the opening A-Main in Mülheim-Kärlich, Germany. Setting the fastest lap of the 5-minute encounter, the factory Yokomo driver took the win by over 5 seconds from the Tamiya’s of Marc Rheinard and Viktor Wilck who both struggled to match his pace.

Only in the opening few laps did it ever look like Volker might have a race on his hands but once the German found his rhythm he just checked out forcing his rivals into mistakes as they were forced to push their cars to the limit to try stay in contention. Volker said afterwards he felt a little pressure ahead of the first race and drove too carefully for the opening laps as a result allowing Rheinard to run on his tail, the World Champion making contact with the No.1 Yokomo at the start of the third lap. Getting his confidence with his LRP powered BD5 WXi, which he will leave the same for the second A-Main, he said once he started to push he could see his rival Rheinard couldn’t match his pace and he knew he had control of the race.

Volker dominates first ETS A-Main

Rheinard said his TRF417x had the ‘worst combination’ of handling with it pushing, lacking corner speed and also traction rolling. An 8-time ETS race winner the former champion said he had to steer the car using the throttle. Suffering an unexplainable spin out, which Wilck repeated a few laps later at the same spot on the track, Rheinard said it been a frustrating8 weekend as on asphalt they have a great car but carpet is proving extremely difficult. With half of the six ETS rounds on carpet he said the team must find a solution if they are to have any chance of retaking the title they held for the first three season of the ETS.

Christopher Krapp

Starting from sixth on the grid factory Kyosho driver Christopher Krapp finished fourth but felt 2nd was possible. After struggling with his Orion powered TF6 for the opening laps Krapp said the car came good and he was able to close in to Wilck but in his quest to find a way past the Swede he made a mistake. A World finalist, Krapp feels with better tyre prep finishing on the podium this evening is on the cards.

Dominic Fleischmann

Best placed Hot Bodies was Dominic Fleischmann who took his LRP powered TCX to fifth ahead of the best placed Xray of Zdenko Kunák who started 10th in the grid. Starting fourth on the grid Andy Moore summed up his race as ‘One to forget’. The British Champion said his HPI Flux powered TCX was loose off the line and then wanted to be up on two wheels. His lack of pace was to cause an early pile up as the much faster No.5 Xray of Alexander Hagberg had to check up to avoid the slower Hot Bodies and in turn got hit from behind. Hagberg eventually finished 7th, one place ahead of Moore.

Zdenko Kunák

In the Xray Pro stock A-Main Zdenko Kunák converted his first ever ETS TQ into a win in the first A-Main seeing off pressure from the Hot Bodies of Oliver Franke. Kunák looked to have the race in the bag early on but Franke started to close the gap and under pressure the Xray driver made a mistake on lap 17 of 23 to allow the German to get to get on his bumper. With four laps to go Franke then had a moment of his own allowing the 18-year-old Slovak to take the win by 9/10ths of a second. Starting from fifth on the grid reigning Champion Martin Hofer came through to take third despite a spring change on his Schumacher leaving him with very little steering.

Ride Modified Leg 1 results
1. Ronald Völker (DE) – Yokomo/LRP – 25L 5:13.257
2. Marc Rheinard (DE) – Tamiya/Speed Passion – 24L 5:05.586
3. Viktor Wilck (SE) – Tamiya/Thunder Power – 24L 5:06.630
4. Christopher Krapp (DE) – Kyosho/Orion – 24L 5:07.151
5. Dominik Fleischmann (DE) – Hot Bodies/LRP – 24L 5:08.573
6. Zdenko Kunák (SK) – Xray/LRP – 24L 5:12.181
7. Alexander Hagberg – Xray/LRP – 24L 5:12.953
8. Andy Moore (GB) – Hot Bodies/HPI Flux – 24L 5:14.952
9. Yannic Prümper (DE) – Yokomo/Thunder Power – 23L 4:55.532
10.Freddy Südhoff (DE) – Hot Bodies/LRP – 23L 5:11.543

Xray Pro Stock Leg 1 results
1. Zdenko Kunák (SK) – Xray – 23L 5:08.591
2. Oliver Franke (DE) – Hot Bodies – 23L 5:09.476
3. Martin Hofer (DE) – Schumacher – 23L 5:13.014
4. Ivan Laptev (RU) – Awesomatix – 23L 5:14.168
5. Tony Streit (DE) – Xray – 22L 5:01.294
6. Steffen Leinburger (DE) – Xray – 22L 5:06.134
7. Daniel Wohlgemuth (DE) – Tamiya – 22L 5:06.134
8. Carsten Madsen (DK) – Awesomatix – 22L 5:06.825
9. Philipp Hagnauer (CH) – Yokomo – 22L 5:07.066
10.Michael Spiering (DE) – TOP – 22L 5:10.537

View complete race results here.

View the event image gallery here.

October 29, 2011

Video – Modified qualifying action

October 29, 2011

Kunák TQs Pro-Stock

Zdenko Kunák

Team Xray’s Zdenko Kunák claimed his first ever TQ in the Euro Touring Series when he ran the fastest 5-minutes of the weekend in the fourth & final round of qualifying this evening in Germany to put his T3 2012 on pole for tomorrow’s Pro-Stock A-Main. Pushed hard by the Awesomatix of Carsten Madsen, the Slovak driver took the round by just 6/10th of a second from the Dane to deny former race winner Oliver Franke from claiming his first TQ in the series.

A regular at ETS events, in which he competes in both the Xray Pro Stock and Ride Modified classes, Kunák was delighted at clinching his first TQ honour but says he expects a tough race tomorrow with Oliver Franke. Admitting that starting from pole position adds a little pressure he said he hopes to be able to take advantage of having a clean track in front of him.

The 18-year-old looked like he might pull off a surprise double in the final round of qualifying as he set the early pace in the top heat of Modified. Setting the pace he was to get it wrong on his sixth lap losing 7 seconds but thanks to strong runs in Q1 & Q3 he makes both A-Mains starting the Ride Modified A-Main from 10th.

Grid

While Ronald Volker wrapped up the overall TQ honours for the premier class in the third round of qualifying, Q4 would determine the order of the 9 drivers who would start behind the reigning champion. Despite a quick roll at the first corner on his opening lap, Volker made it four out of four. Having used the run to try a different set-up on his Yokomo the German said his car was ‘dialed’ and he could push it really hard allowing him to run a new fastest lap of 12.773. Catching his team-mate Yannic Prümper in the run, he said he opted not to pass him as he knew a good run was more important to the teenager.

Prümper set the third fastest time of the round which saw him scrape into the A-Main. Finishing on the same points as Kunák he will start 9th tomorrow. Having run Volker’s set-up in Q3 and found it not aggressive enough for his driving style, the former race winner decided to run it again as it made for a very safe car and that gamble was to pay off. Starting from the back of the grid and with little to lose by taking risks Prümper said he will switch back to a more aggressive set-up for tomorrow.

Andy Moore

Setting the second fastest time of the closing qualifier Andy Moore was much happier with his Hot Bodies. Running less rear toe on the HPI Flux powered TCX he said it resulted in a huge improvement in how he could take the first corner at the end of the main straight although just like Volker the British Champion also had a quick roll there on his first lap which he said was just down to driver error. Admitting he is still some way off the pace of Volker and Rheinard he said he has his eye on a podium finish for tomorrow when he will start fourth behind Viktor Wilck. Hot Bodies are the best represented brand in the final with Freddy Südhoff and Dominik Fleischmann securing 7th & 8th respectively on the grid.

Behind Moore, Alexander Hagberg is the best placed Xray on the grid lining up in what is sure to be a disappointing fifth position for the determined Swede. Completing the Top 6, Christopher Krapp carries all the hope of Kyosho.

Ride Modified A-Main Grid
1. Ronald Völker (DE) – Yokomo/LRP – 310
2. Marc Rheinard (DE) – Tamiya/Speed Passion – 306
3. Viktor Wilck (SE) – Tamiya/Thunder Power – 304
4. Andy Moore (GB) – Hot Bodies/HPI Flux – 303
5. Alexander Hagberg – Xray/LRP – 303
6. Christopher Krapp (DE) – Kyosho/Orion – 302
7. Freddy Südhoff (DE) – Hot Bodies/LRP – 299
8. Dominik Fleischmann (DE) – Hot Bodies/LRP – 299
9. Yannic Prümper (DE) – Yokomo/Thunder Power – 298
10.Zdenko Kunák (SK) – Xray/LRP – 298

Xray Pro-Stock A-Main Grid
1. Zdenko Kunák (SK) – Xray – 310
2. Oliver Franke (DE) – Hot Bodies – 310
3. Carsten Madsen (DK) – Awesomatix – 305
4. Ivan Laptev (RU) – Awesomatix – 305
5. Martin Hofer (DE) – Schumacher – 303
6. Tony Streit (DE) – Xray – 302
7. Steffen Leinburger (DE) – Xray – 299
8. Daniel Wohlgemuth (DE) – Tamiya – 299
9. Philipp Hagnauer (CH) – Yokomo – 294
10.Michael Spiering (DE) – TOP – 293

View complete race results here.

View the event image gallery here.

October 29, 2011

Volker is Top Qualifier for ETS season opener

Team Yokomo’s Ronald Volker is Top Qualifier for the opening round of the 2011/12 Yokomo Euro Touring Series. Having TQ’d the opening two qualifiers in Germany, the reigning champion laid claim to his sixth ETS pole position when he topped Q3 with a new fastest time. The German once again outpaced the Tamiya of Marc Rheinard with Xray’s Alexander Hagberg enjoying his best round to set the third fastest time.

Having changed the set-up of his front shocks for the penultimate qualifier in order to improve corner speed, Volker said his BD5 WXi was better but nearer to the edge and on lap 19 of 23 he found that edge losing over a second when he suffered a roll. The loss of time resulted in the German missing out on the first 24 lap of the weekend. Delighted to be starting his title defense from pole position tomorrow he said he will use the last round of qualifying this evening to try a different set-up which he described as ‘risky’.

Naoto & Yannic

Currently the only Yokomo driver in the final, Volker’s team-mates need to pull something out of the bag in Q4. Switching to the same set-up as his team-mate Naoto Matsukura was a lot happier with his car and set an almost identical lap time to that of Volkers fastest lap of the event but a couple of mistakes meant the IIC Champion was only 15th for the round. Yannic Prümper also tried Volker’s set-up but it didn’t suit the German teenager’s driving style as the car was not aggressive enough and he was only 9th.

Rheinard

Runner-up to Volker in all three qualifier’s Rheinard said he still does not have a good feeling with his Tamiya TRF417x. Having changed springs for Q3 he said it made little difference. Not sure what direction to take the driver with the most ETS wins to his credit said he will try different shiming of the ackermann for Q4 that was suggested to him by Matsukura as he has run out of ideas of his own to try.

Behind the top 3, Kyosho’s Christopher Krapp and Hot Bodies’ Dominik Fleischmann both put in their best runs setting the fourth and fifth fastest times respectively while Andy Moore completed the Top 6.

Oliver Franke

In Pro Stock Hot Bodies driver Oliver Franke again set the pace taking the round from the Awesomatix pairing of Ivan Laptev and Denmark’s Carsten Madsen. Champion Martin Hofer saw his run ruined when he caught a corner dot on his the second lap resulting in him getting stuck against the track barrier and losing over 4 seconds. Currently only 6th in the overall qualification ranking the German really needs a good final qualifier if he is to have any chance of starting off his title defence with a win tomorrow. Fifth for the round Zdenko Kunák’s opening TQ run is still the fastest five minute time so it is still all to play for in the final qualifier with both drivers still seeking their first ever ETS TQ honour.

View complete race results here.

View the event image gallery here.

October 29, 2011

Q2 Update

Ronald Volker

Day 2 of the opening race of the 2011/12 Yokomo European Touring Series has got underway with the second round of qualifying with Ronald Volker continuing to set the pace as he improved on his Q1 time from last night to once again head the Tamiya Racing Factory team-mates Marc Rheinard and Viktor Wilck.

Knocking 1.5 seconds off his opening qualifying run, Volker said other than one moment when his LRP powered BD5 WXi got up on the two wheels it was another clean run. Feeling he was lacking a little corner speed compared with yesterday the reigning Champion plans to make some small set-up changes for Q3. With two TQ runs in the bag the German ace was more concerned for his team-mates who struggled badly with traction roll this morning. Running different set-ups to Volker both Naoto Matsukura and Yannic Prümper will try his set-up for their next run.

Viktor Wilck

Crashing on his penultimate lap, Rheinard said even without losing the 1.5 seconds he was struggling to match Volker’s pace. Putting the speed of his rival down to the expertise of the Yokomo drivers engineer Umino Yukijiro, Rheinard said his own car feels easy to drive giving you the confidence to push hard but then suddenly gets edgy and very inconsistent. Admitting he is not really sure what to change to cure the problem the World Champion will switch from Tamiya springs to a set of his own MR33 brand springs for Q3. Wilck, who switched from running a geardiff in Q1 to a spool, said the change made little difference and his Thunder Power equipped TRF417x still had no steering and it was only a clean run that allowed him to take third for the round some 5 seconds adrift of Volker.

Annoyed with his driving in the opening qualifying Team Xray’s Alexander Hagberg was much happier with his fourth fastest time in Q2. Loosing some time after a coming together with team-mate Zdenko Kunák, the Swede said he drove a lot more consistent and although this felt slow the times were ‘OK’. Looking for a more aggressive car he will try a different set-up for his next run. Fastest Xray in the opening qualifier in which he was fifth, Kunák could only manage 17th for the round.

Andy Moore

Although fifth for the round, a big improvement on yesterday’s performance, former World Champion Andy Moore said he was still way off the pace on a track which he said is not particularly difficult. Having changed his shock set-up for the run the factory Hot Bodies driver said it was better but he still needs to find more steering. Running HPI Flux Pro electrics in his TCX he will try a different additive for Q3. HB team-mate Freddy Sudhoff, who is happier with his car having switched to the same set-up as Dominic Fleischmann set the seventh fastest time just behind the Kyosho of Christopher Krapp.

Oliver Franke

In the Xray Pro-Stock class, in which their are 166 competitors, former race winner Oliver Franke TQ’d the second qualifier by just 11/100ths from Zdenko Kunák who took Q1. Franke said he made his Hot Bodies more flexible for his second run and while it didn’t make it faster it made it easier to drive. The German said he is not sure whether to change his set-up for Q3 to try make the car faster or continue with the safe set-up he has now.

Champion of the Xray Pro Stock class Schumacher driver Martin Hofer, who was only 8th fastest in the opening heat, changed the bump steer on his car which he said solved his problem at one particular corner where he was struggling with traction roll. The German said he is still lacking pace but having made the car easier to drive his confidence is much better today. Last season’s Dutch ETS race winner John Bruins took fourth for the round.

View complete race results here.

View the event image gallery here.

October 28, 2011

Perfect start to campaign for Volker

Ronald Volker

Team Yokomo’s Ronald Volker has got his 2011/12 Yokomo Euro Touring Series campaign off to the best start possible by backing up his pace in practice with a TQ run in the opening round of qualifying in Germany tonight. The defending champion took the first of the four scheduled qualifiers by 2/10th of a second from Tamiya’s Marc Rheinard with Viktor Wilck third.

Volker, who won the opening three rounds of last season’s ETS en-route to the title, said he made a slightly over cautious start to his Q1 run losing him some time early on to Rheinard. Once settled into his rhythm the German said he was very comfortable with his LRP powered BD5 WXi and started to pushed harder and once aware of his 3/10th advantage over Rheinard said he focused on keeping the remainder of the run clean.

Top Mod heat

Rheinard, who pulled off an impressive save when his car got up on two wheels, said his TRF417x was easier to drive following a switch to a heavier shock oil after final practice. Despite setting the fastest lap the World Champion said he needs to find more steering. TRF team-mate Wilck ran a gear diff in the front of his car which he said made for better handling in the second half of the run but he too was also suffering with the front end pushing, the Swede plans to switch back to a spool for Q2 tomorrow morning.

Christopher Krapp

‘Much better than last season on carpet’ was how Team Kyosho’s Christopher Krapp responded to his run to the fourth fastest time. The German said he has never been good at the 3-consecutive-lap timing used in practice but felt going into qualifying that his Shin edition TF6 had the potential for a good time over 5-minutes. Having changed diff oil and shock springs for the first qualifying run he said the car had a little understeer but he thinks a change of bodyshell should cure this and he is feeling good about the three remaining rounds of qualifying tomorrow.

Zdenko Kunak

For 18-year-old Zdenko Kunák it was a very successful first day in German as he TQ’d the first round of Pro Stock qualifying and set an impressive fifth fastest time in the competitive Ride Modified field. The top Xray driver in Modified he said a small mistake cost him a potential top three time but he was very happy with fifth and he hopes he can continue his form tomorrow in both classes. Xray team-mate Alexander Hagberg, who was second fastest in practice, was upset with himself for making what he called two stupid mistakes. Very happy with his T3 2012 he said he pushed too hard resulting in the two rolls that dropped him to 8th fastest behind the two Hot Bodies of Dominik Fleischmann and Freddy Südhoff.

For reiging Pro Stock Champion Martin Hofer the day was not as successful as that of Volker. The Schumacher driver, who was complimentary of Kunák’s driving today, is struggling with traction roll on just one particular corner of the track and ended Q1 only 8th fastest. Behind Kunák, Oliver Franke set the second fastest time with Awesomatix team driver Ivan Laptev third.

View complete race results here.

View the event image gallery here.