Euro Touring Series

January 30, 2010

Wohlgemuth again in Q2

Daniel Wohlgemuth

Daniel Wohlgemuth claimed his second TQ run of the day in Pro Stock taking his LRP powered Hot Bodies around the long technical track here in Hrotovice in a new fastest time of 16 laps in 5:14.837. The German again made a mistake when he caught a dot and rolled coming on the main straight which cost him 2 seconds. Running harder spring for Q2 the car felt better and he plans to leave it the same for his next run focusing instead on producing an incident free run.

Jiri Mara

Second fastest was local driver Jiri Mara. Driving an Xray T3, Mara is more used to racing off road here in his home country but put in an impressive run outpacing some of Europe’s top Pro Stock drivers. With nerves getting the better of him in the opening qualifier, in which he ended up 4th, the 17-year-old said he was more relaxed in Q2 and running the same set-up on his T3 he was able to produce the better time. Third fastest was Serpent driver Martin Schmidt. The German’s S400 was working a lot better after a number of set-up change between runs allowed him to reduce his time by 3-seconds.

Alexander Stocker could only manage fourth after he made a number of mistakes. The Pro Stock ace said he needs to stay clear of the dots and keep the car rubber side down. Champion Balint Raijiki managed his first 16 lap run but the Hungarian is still someway of the pace of Wohlgemuth. Czech driver Jakub Plechac completed the Top 3 at the controls of his Hot Bodies.

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January 30, 2010

Wilck opens day 2 with TQ run

ETS championship leader Viktor Wilck has opened Day 2 of the Czech Republic encounter with a TQ run after recording a new fastest time of 16 laps in 5:04.088. The Swede topped the second round of Modified qualifying, reversing the order of yesterday’s opening heat when Rheinard set the pace. The TRF driver said his run was clean and that he was helped by Rheinard and Juho Levanen, who was third fastest, running side by side in the top heat. Rheinard said his car was a little loose but that bad driving by him was a bigger problem, a roll on his second lap costing him over a second.

Juho Levanen described his run to third as pretty good despite his upgraded TC5 feeling a little loose. The Finnish ace had to let Rheinard past twice during the run and said this cost him a little time. Planning to lower the droop to make the car roll more, Levanen feels if he can get the set-up to where he thinks it can be, then he can mix it with the Tamiyas.

Andy Moore enjoyed another strong run to record the fourth fastest time. The British driver had been running a TQ pace for the early part of the heat but unlike yesterday when the car started off average and improved in the latter part, his Hot Bodies started off good but started to push in the second half. The former World Champion plans to try softer springs and to move the shock positions for Q3 in the hope of getting his Team Orion motored Cyclone TC to roll more.

Olly Jefferies

Another Associated putting in a good run was that of British Team driver Olly Jefferies. Running a very similar package to Levanen he said he was surprised at his time as the car didn’t feel that good on the track. Jefferies went for a stiffer rear spring this morning which he thinks is causing his tyres to overheat in the latter part of the 5 minute run.

Completing the Top 6 was Elliot Harper. The TRF team’s newest member is still struggling to get a good set-up on his Speed Passion powered 416X that suits the lower than expected grip levels. The teenager now plans to switch to his UK car for Q3 which he said has worked well back home on low grip track conditions.

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January 30, 2010

Wohlgemuth fastest in first Pro Stocker Qualifier

Day 2 of the Xenon Racing backed Euro Touring Series Round 3 here in the Czech Republic kicked off with the opening round of qualifying for the Pro Stock class with Daniel Wohlgemuth setting the pace from Alexander Stocker. Running a time of 16 laps in 5:16.347 the German outpaced his fellow countryman by .5 of a second but said the run could have been quicker if he hadn’t had a costly roll. Wohlgemuth has switched to a Hot Bodies chassis and LRP SXX Stock Spec speedo for this race and is working closely with Stocker who has so far dominated the class in both the ETS and at the recent DHI Cup with the combination.

Schumacher Racing’s Chris Ashton set the third fastest time for the opening heat. The British driver, who made the A-Main on his ETS debut last time out in Budapest, said he managed to keep his GM Racing powered Mi4LP off the dots for a clean run and he hopes he can build on his good start in the remaining four qualifiers today. Defending Pro Stock Champion Balint Raijki didn’t have a good opening round managing only the 7th fastest time.

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January 29, 2010

Rheinard tops opening Czech qualifier

Marc Rheinard has TQ’d the opening round of qualifying here in the Czech Republic. The World Champion set the pace from Tamiya team-mate Viktor Wilck who was 1.6 seconds off his 16 laps in 5:04.492 run. Having complained that his car felt tweaked in practice, the German moved the battery pack back to its original kit position for the first of the five qualifiers resulting in a much better car. Although happy to bag the maximum 155 points, Rheinard said he needs to improve the car further as it remains very loose under power. Making a number of mistakes during his run to the second fastest time, Wilck said his car was drivable but not perfect. The Swede said he hopes traction improves tomorrow as such conditions would suit his TRF416X.

Behind the Tamiya pairing it was Juho Levanen who was the closest challenger with a run of 16 laps in 5:07.686. The Finn switched to a heavier oil in the rear shocks of his TC5 but it resulted in the back end becoming very loose. With the handling compromised he said he was forced to drive a safe run and it paid off. The Finn is very confident he can improve the car and challenge for a TQ run in the four remaining heats tomorrow.

Rheinard tops opening Czech qualifier

It was an encouraging start to the weekend for former World Champion Andy Moore as he recorded the fourth fastest time. The factory Hot Bodies driver said his Cyclone TC is working surprisingly well. Feeling average for the first 2-minutes of the run he said it really came good in the last 2-minutes. The Englishman said he wants to try some changes for Q2 but will not decide on what adjustments to make until the morning.

Martin Hudy made it four different brands of cars in the Top 5 as he took his Xray T3 to fifth fastest time ahead of former team-mate Elliot Harper. Harper said he didn’t drive well in the first heat and that going with a harder shock oil had also made his TRF416X hard to drive. The British teenager, who only got four hours sleep last night, says the car has a lot of potential but he wont decide on how to get that out of the car until he’s had a decent nights sleep.

Having surprised everyone in practice with his stunning pace Zdenek Hamak could only manage 11th fastest in the first round of qualifying. The Czech driver changed to a heavier oil in the rear of his Xray T3 which made the rear of the car very unstable. With his fastest lap of 18.519 still standing, Hamak plans to return his car to the set-up used to record that time.

Tomorrow’s action gets underway with the opening round of qualifying for the huge Pro Stock entry here in Hrotovice.

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January 29, 2010

Czech surprise as Hamak tops practice

Practice for the third round of the Xenon Racing backed Euro Touring Series has come to a close and the field of world class drivers here in the Czech Republic are all asking the question ‘who is he?’. They are referring to local driver Zdenek Hamak who put in a blistering pace with his LRP powered Xray T3 to top the super pole practice round and set an outright fastest lap. Recording an 18.519 lap, Hamak is over 1/10th of a second fastest than World and European finalist Elliot Harper who is fastest of the factory drivers. While the big names are stunned by the pace of the 3-time Czech National Champion there is no one more surprised with the times than Hamak himself. Delighted with the attention he is getting as a result of his super fast times he was quick to point out its only practice and racing will be a very different affair. Overall it was a good final practice for the Xray team with factory driver Martin Hudy ending up fifth fastest over three consecutive laps followed by up and coming talent Zdenko Kunak.

Harper described his final practice run as pretty good but said it wasn’t perfect. Making his debut for the World Champion TRF squad, the British teenager has been making a strong impression, outpacing both his more experienced team-mates. Finding his Speedpassion powered 416X rolling around a little too much he will run a heavier oil for the first qualifier which takes place this evening. Marc Rheinard was next up in the ranking but the World Champion said his car is handling like it’s tweaked. Straight on the set-up board the car does not feel right and now the German is preparing the car he ran earlier in the morning for the first round of qualifying.

Andy Moore and Olly Jefferies

Juho Levanen set the fourth fastest time with his much improved TC5. Running a set of his race marked Xenon tyres for a third time the Finn feels they are getting better with each run and plans to use the same set again for Q1. Elsewhere ETS standings leader Viktor Wilck ended up only ninth after a middle pulley broke early on in the run. Behind him Hot Bodies’ Andy Moore completed the Top 10 followed by fellow countrymen Olly Jefferies and Chris Grainger. In the Daniele Ielasi camp there seems to be a disagreement as to why he could only manage 41st in the super pole run. The Italian said his driving style is loosing him a lot of time as he is getting on the power too early causing the back end to step out. His mechanic Toni Rheinard believes the problem is not with the driver but with the car set-up however they both agree that they have a lot of time to find.

Rene Klockner

In Pro Stock there was no real surprise at the top of the time sheets as Alexander Stocker topped Super Pole. Averaging a 19.358, the German would have placed 12 in the Modified ranking with his impressive pace. After struggling with his Hot Bodies in early practice, the winner of the opening two rounds of the 2009/2010 season completely changed his set-up which allowed him to drive a more tidy race line. Behind the master of the 13.5 class it was great to see 15-year-old Rene Klockner set the second fastest time. The Tamiya driver who is running the new Speed Passion GT 2.1 Pro Stock speedo was very happy with his run. Ivan Laptev was third fastest. The Russian driver said his Tamiya was very good in the infield but was lacking top end speed compared to his rivals. For tomorrow morning’s first Pro Stock qualifier Laptev plans to switch from his LRP SPX Stock Spec speedo to the same Speed Passion unit which Klockner has used to good effect. Defending ETS Champion Balint Raijki completed the Top 4. A change to softer shock oil and new bodyshell improved his Cyclone TC from earlier although the front of the body was rubbing during the run.

The opening round of qualifying for Modified is now underway and will bring Day 1 of the ETS’s first visit to the Czech Republic to a close.

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January 29, 2010

Drivers full of praise for Czech track

Round 3 of the Euro Touring Series is underway here in the Czech Republic and there is nothing but praise coming from the top drivers for the track that has been created by race host Michal Bok and his crew. Drivers are enjoying the challenge of the long and technical track, 19-seconds being the current benchmark lap time.

Making his international debut for the Tamiya Racing Factory team it is young Elliot Harper who is setting the early pace in practice. The British driver says the track is really nice and has a good flow to it. Still making small adjustments to his set-up, Harper said overall he is pleased with his car on used tyres but on a fresh set of Xenon tyres both he and his team-mates are struggling. ETS Championship leader Viktor Wilck described his early runs as only OK and is hoping that as the traction comes up he can find a better set-up on his TRF416X and avoid a repeat of his poor performance at the recent DHI Cup. World Champion Marc Rheinard made similar comments about his car but was very complimentary of the track layout.

Marc Rheinard with Daniele Ielasi

It may have taken him an eventful 15 hours from the time he left his home in Italy till he arrived in Hrotovice but Nitro Touring Car World Champion Daniele Ielasi is here and settling into to his one off Toni Sport drive. Just moments before his flight from Malpensa Airport was due to take-off yesterday morning Ielasi’s plane filled with smoke following an engine fire. Finally getting airborne 8-hours later, in a new plane, Ielasi made it to Vienna from where he joined fellow racers for what was supposed to be a 2 hour journey that ended up taking three hours due to the snowy conditions here in the Czech Republic. Being run this weekend by Toni Rheinard who has equipped him with a Tamiya chassis and Speedpassion electrics, the Italian says he is still trying to adjust to his driving style to suit the carpet surface and the power deliver of the electric motor, which a lot more responsive that the nitro power he is used too.

Juho Levanen

Having now got the same set-up as that of DHI Cup sensation and Top Qualifier Christer Andersson, factory Team Associated driver Juho Levanen is really happy with his TC5. The Finn described the track as ‘awesome’ and is feeling confident of a good showing this weekend. Working alongside him in the pits is Associated UK team driver Olly Jefferies. Making his first appearance at an ETS race, Jefferies tried Levanen’s set-up but found it too aggressive for his driving style but he feels he has a good idea of what direction to take in terms of set-up for the next practice.

Schumacher Racing are very upbeat following the opening practice rounds. Chris Grainger and Chris Ashton are both very happy with their Mi4LP chassis. Ashton made the ProStock A-Main in Budapest and is hoping to better that result here this weekend. The man to beat in ProStock, Alexander Stocker, hasn’t had a good start to the day and admitted he is really struggling with the set-up on his Hot Bodies.

Elsewhere Team Xray’s Martin Hudy has ran the first few practices with the same set-up he used to make the A-Main at the DHI Cup earlier this month. The Slovak driver said he wants to wait for the traction to come up before he goes making adjustments to his T3 chassis. Hot Bodies factory driver Andy Moore described his start to the day as pretty decent and say he hopes he can maintain that form for the rest of the weekend.

Drivers still have one more round of practice in which to get their cars dialed in, with the Modified and Hobby classes ending today with the opening round of qualifying. For the huge Prostock entry they will have to wait till the morning for their first qualifier.

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January 28, 2010

World Champions go head to head as ETS makes first visit to Czech Republic

Touring Car World Champions go head to head ETS makes first visit to Czech Republic

The third round of the 2009/2010 Euro Touring Series travels for the first time to the Czech Republic this weekend where almost 200 drivers from around the world will descend on the town of Hrotovice in the south of the country. While current electric Touring Car World Champion Marc Rheinard is no stranger to competing in the Xenon Racing backed series, this weekend the German will go head to head with the nitro Touring Car World title holder Daniele Ielasi.

The Italian’s participation in the 3-day event has come about after he met up with Marc’s brother Toni at the Italian Grand Prix back in December. Racing an old car he had borrowed from a friend, Ielasi made the A-Main impressing Toni enough for him to offer the man behind IDM engines the use of a Tamiya/Speedpassion combination for the Czech event. Keen to see how he would compare against his electric equivalent when using the same equipment Ielasi jumped at the offer.

In the championship it is Viktor Wilck who leads the way holding a slender one point championship lead over his Tamiya team-mate Rheinard. The Swede, who dominated Round 1 in Kastellaun from pole position, finished third in Budapest where Rheinard won but will be hoping to reverse that result this weekend and extend his lead in the standings.

Once again there will be a large team presence this weekend. Juho Levanen heads the challenge for Team Associated and will be joined by British team driver Olly Jefferies who makes his first ETS appearance. 2006 World Champion Andy Moore is in attendance for Hot Bodies, while Martin Hudy represents the Xray factory who took second last time out with Teemu Leino. Having made their official team debut in the ETS at Round 2, Schumacher Racing are back for more with 5 times British Champion Chris Grainger. Other big names set to do battle in the A-Main include talented youngsters Yannic Prümper and Elliot Harper. This will be Harper’s first international outing since his switch from Xray to Tamiya at the end of last season. Former factory Kyosho driver Steen Graversen will make the trip from Denmark and having enjoyed a very strong run to
fifth at the DHI Cup with his privately entered Tamiya will be one to watch.

One very interesting entry is Kiyo Suzuki, the man responsible for designing Tamiya’s very successful TRF416. Kiyo, is due in Europe for the Toy Fair in Germany the week after the race and is coming a few days early so that he can make his ETS debut. Kiyo is best known for being Marc Rheinard’s pitman at the World and European Championships but will now race against him in the Modified class.

In the 13.5T Pro Stock class a massive 120 drivers are entered setting the stage for action packed racing. There is really only one man they must aim to beat and that is German ace Alexander Stocker. The Hot Bodies driver won the opening two rounds and won the DHI Cup at his first ever attempt earlier this month. After a disappointing outing at his home race where he finished fourth defending Champion Balint Rajki will be looking to get his campaign back on track.

Round three of the Xenon Racing Euro Touring Series, which is also supported by Speedpassion, gets underway with practice on Friday and the event can be followed throughout the weekend on RedRC.net who will be in Hrotovice to report live on all the action.

November 29, 2009

Leino takes runner up spot with Leg 3 win

Modified class top 3

With Marc Rheinard securing overall victory in Budapest after Leg 2 of the A-Main and opting to sit out the final race of the day it was Xray’s Teemu Leino who took the win in Leg 3 to claim the runners up spot for the Hungarian round of the Xenon Racing backed Euro Touring Series. Starting from 4th on the grid, Leino was given his break on the very first lap when an impatient Viktor Wilck tried a move on Top Qualifier Ronald Volker at the final corner. Sending the Yokomo into a roll this allowed the Finn to pass them both and once in front he ran the perfect race as chaos broke loose behind.

Another attempt by Wilck to pass Volker resulted in the Kastellaun winner losing two places while further into the race Volker traction rolled out of second spot. Xray’s new T3 chassis now looked like it was on for a 1-2-3 finish in the Leg but it wasn’t to be. Unfortunately for 16-year-old Zdenko Kunak, who was putting in one of the drives of his life, he made contact in the infield with an out of shape Elliot Harper that sent the Slovak’s car rolling out on to the straight. Waiting for a marshal at the side of the track to put his car back in the infield he was collected by Sebastian Lein’s Tamiya, putting both cars out of the race. Kunak was clearly gutted to see his race end so cruelly but after such a strong showing the youngster will get his big day soon.

Ronald Volker

At the finish it was Volker who took second, four seconds adrift of Leino, with Wilck third. Ending the day on exactly the same points, the ETS Round 1 winner was given the final podium placing thanks to his faster race time in the opening Leg. Rheinard’s win and Wilck’s third means the Tamiya Racing Factory team-mates will go to the next race in the Czech Republic sharing the championship lead.

Prp Stock Top 3

In Pro Stock it was all still to play for in the 3rd Leg of the A-Main with Top Qualifier Alexander Stocker and Yukijiro Umino having a win apiece but the No.1 car was the class of the field once again. Leaving the field behind Stocker did show he is still human making a mistake just as he entered his final lap. Losing 3 seconds, this allowed Umino’s Yokomo to close right up but the German remained calm and held on to claim the win and his second consecutive overall ETS victory. Upholding local honours, Gabor Forrai finished third ahead of defending champion Balint Rajki to stand on the third step of the podium.

Modified final standings
1. Rheinard Marc (DE) – 2pts [1:1, 2:1 [3:10]]
2. Leino Teemu (FI) – 3pts [3:1, 2:2 [1:3]]
3. Wilck Viktor (SE) – 5pts [1:2, 3:3 [2:10]]
4. Völker Ronald (DE) – 5pts [3:2, 2:3 [1:10]]
5. Harper Elliott (GB) – 9pts [1:4, 2:5 [3:6]]
6. Prümper Yannic (DE) – 10pts [1:5, 3:5 [2:6]]
7. Hudy Martin (SK) – 11pts [3:4, 2:7 [1:7]]
8. Moore Andy (GB) – 13pts [2:4, 1:9 [3:9]]
9. Lein Sebastian (DE) – 14pts [1:6, 2:8 [3:8]]
10.Kunák Zdenko (SK) – 5pts [3:7, 1:8 [2:9]]

Pro Stock final standings
1. Stocker Alexander (DE) – 2pts [1:1, 3:1 [2:2]]
2. Umino Yukijiro (JP) – 3pts [2:1, 3:2 [1:10]]
3. Forrai Gabor (HU) – 5pts [1:2, 2:3 [3:5]]
4. Rajki Balint (HU) – 6pts [1:3, 3:3 [2:5]]
5. Faur Cristian (RO) – 8pts [3:4, 2:4 [1:6]]
6. Kunák Zdenko (SK) – 10pts [1:4, 3:6 [2:9]]
7. Miko Peter (HU) – 14pts [2:7, 3:7 [1:8]]
8. Ashton Chris (GB) – 15pts [1:5, 2:10 [3:10]]
9. Juhász Viktor (HU) – 15pts [2:6, 1:9 [3:9]]
10.Orlowski Blazej (PL) – 15pts [1:7, 2:8 [3:8]]

View the full results from all classes here.

An event that saw the entry double from last year to 160 drivers from 16 countries, the organisers here in Hungary were once again excellent hosts. With a short break now to enjoy Christmas the next round of the Euro Touring Series, which is also supported by Speedpassion, will venture into new territory when the Czech Republic will be invaded by some of the best touring car drivers in the world on January 29-31. We hope you can join us then.

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