Volker sets early practice pace around challenging Andernach track
2010/11 Yokomo Euro Touring Series champion elect Ronald Volker has got the season finale off to a strong start at Andernach topping the first controlled practice ahead of outgoing champion Marc Rheinard. Having grown to over double the size of the 125 entries that attended the inaugural ETS race at Andernach four years ago, the record world class entry are finding this the most challenging event yet at the German track as, unlike the previous three visits, this weekend’s racing is being run in an anti-clockwise direction.
Having endured his worst result of the season when he finished 6th at Apeldoorn in the Netherlands last month, Volker said the new track layout is a lot more challenging with the middle section very hard to get right. Trying two different Yokomo BD5 WX chassis’ that ran very slight set-up changes between them in CP1, the German said he was happy with the first car but feels the second maybe be better but could not prove that as high winds during the second half of his run blew sand from the nearby volleyball courts on to the track causing a big drop in lap times.
Rheinard, for whom this is his home event, welcomed the change to the track layout but said today’s wind means low traction, resulting in his Tamiya TRF417 feeling loose. TRF team-mate Viktor Wilck, who was third fastest, said his car had a good balance but admitted that getting the track right was really difficult.
Making his third visit to the ETS at Andernach former Touring Car and 1:8 Offroad World Champion Atsushi Hara was fourth fastest. The Hot Bodies star said his TCX is not far off being un-driveable over the first three laps but thereafter feels pretty good. Team-mate Andy Moore, who was 12th fastest, echoed the same problem with his TCX with the pair believing they have more work to do with their preparation of the controlled tyres.
Top Qualifier in the Netherlands when he made his first ETS appearance of the season, two time ETS Champion Jilles Groskamp took his Tamiya to the fifth fastest time saying the ‘bunch’ of chassis changes he made after free practice was the right direction to take. Describing the Andernach track as ‘completely’ different to Apeldoorn where a diff failure cost him the overall win, Groskamp said Andernach has never been a successful track for him but he prefers the anti-clockwise direction.
Factory Kyosho driver Christopher Krapp was happy to take his TF6 to the sixth fastest time having struggled a little in free practice. The German said he has a lot of experience of the track but only in the normal clockwise direction. Describing it as good to drive the World finalist said its a lot more difficult. Running a front gear diff in the car for the first time he said it made it much better through the big sweeper despite the low traction. Looking for more rear traction he will try a different tyre prep for CP2.
Fastest of the large factory Xray team present for the season finale is US star Paul Lemieux. The straight talking American, who has brought along Jim Skinner of his electronics supplier Thunder Power along for support, said he doesn’t think he is going to shock the world this weekend but was encouraged by his driving in CP1 saying it was the first battery that he got to terms with the ‘very difficult’ layout. A finalist on his previous two ETS outings at Andernach Lemieux’s focus now is to figure out the right tyre prep.
In the Xray Pro Stock class Kyosho driver Jens Kröger was fastest ahead of Martin Hofer’s Schumacher with French ace Cyril N’diaye, better known for racing in the Xenon modified class, third. Having enjoyed a great ETS debut for Team Yokomo in Apeldoorn where he finished fourth in Mod, N’diaye has taken on the challenge of both classes this weekend.
Originally planning to run two rounds of qualifying this evening a power failure, caused by a switch failure in the local electricity suppliers junction box outside of the track, resulted in a delay of over an hour and a half. Due to the loss of time Race Director Scotty Ernst has made the decision to run two run the two rounds of qualifying for the Hobby and Pro Stock classes but will move Q2 for Modified to tomorrow morning.
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