Euro Touring Series

November 29, 2009

Rheinard secures Budapest victory

Marc Rheinard is the winner of the Hungarian round of the 2009/10 Euro Touring Series after the World Champion backed up his win in the opening leg of the A-Main with another convincing victory in the second here in Budapest. With Top Qualifier Ronald Volker again struggling to keep his Yokomo on four wheels, Rheinard found a way through at the end of lap four and once in front stamped his authority on the race. Setting a new fastest lap for the event of 12.200 the German headed home Teemu Leino with Volker recovering to claim third.

After a super clean start which saw the entire field get safely round the opening lap, lap 2 would see the demise of ETS Round 1 winner Viktor Wilck. Running third the Swede’s Tamiya got tipped in the rear by Leino’s Xray at the first corner sending it crashing into the barriers forcing him to retire a couple of corners later with a broken car. The big battle of the race was for third between Volker, Andy Moore, Elliot Harper and Yannic Prumper. Moore managed to get to the front of the group when the World Championship runner up got up on two wheels, but the pass was reversed when the British ace himself got a huge amount of day light under his Cyclone allowing Volker back through. In the end Volker did enough to hold on for third followed home by Moore who pulled off a number of great saves while up on two wheels. After the race Volker said he was lost as to why his car was so on edge having changed nothing since his TQ run this morning that secured him pole. Rheinard has opted to sit out the final leg of the final allowing Leino, Wilck and Volker to have a straight fight for the runners up spot.

Umino

In Pro Stock Yukijiro Umino completely turned things around by going from finishing last in Leg 1 to winning the second of the three A-Mains. The Japanese driver was helped when Stocker came undone while lapping traffic but he was still very happy to bag a win on his ETS debut. Admitting that Stocker was the class of the field, the Yokomo employee is hoping he can get another good result and secure a place on the podium. Hungary’s Gabor Forrai continued his strong showing on home soil with third for the Leg.

Modified A-main Leg 2 results
1. Rheinard Marc – 25 laps in 5:04.485
2. Leino Teemu – 25 laps in 5:04.847
3. Völker Ronald – 25 laps in 5:10.642
4. Moore Andy – 25 laps in 5:11.151
5. Harper Elliott – 25 laps in 5:11.456
6 Prümper Yannic – 25 laps in 5:11.951
7. Hudy Martin – 24 laps in 5:00.433
8. Lein Sebastian – 24 laps in 5:02.377
9. Kunák Zdenko – 24 laps in 5:03.122
10.Wilck Viktor – 3 laps in 0:27.618

Pro Stock A-main Leg 2 results
1. Umino Yukijiro – 24 laps in 5:14.262
2. Stocker Alexander – 24 laps in 5:14.503
3. Forrai Gabor – 23 laps in 5:02.832
4. Faur Cristian – 23 laps in 5:05.346
5. Rajki Balint – 23 laps in 5:08.832
6. Juhász Viktor – 23 laps in 5:09.989
7. Miko Peter – 23 laps in 5:11.765
8. Orlowski Blazej – 23 laps in 5:12.716
9. Kunák Zdenko – 23 laps in 5:12.727
10.Ashton Chris – 9 laps in 2:01.099

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November 29, 2009

Rheinard wins first A-Main

Marc Rheinard has won the first A-Main here in Budapest, heading home a Tamiya 1-2 after pole sitter Ronald Volker rolled out of contention on the second lap. Volker’s Yokomo led off the line with Rheinard’s Tamiya right behind but caught a dot on lap 2 that sent the LRP powered BD5 into a roll. Despite landing rubber side down the German dropped to fourth and next time round hit trouble again at the same section which ended his challenge. Up front World Champion Rheinard held the lead over his Tamiya team-mate Viktor Wilck, who set the fastest lap, to win by 2 seconds with Teemu Leino securing third a further 3 seconds adrift. Having just made it into the A-Main thanks to a strong last qualifier Yannic Prumper continued his improved form today to finish 5th behind Elliot Harper.

In Pro Stock Alexander Stocker easily converted his pole position start into victory crossing the finish line over half a lap up on second placed Gabor Forrai. In the early part of the race Yukijiro Umino looked like he might challenge Stocker, getting the jump on Forrai’s Tamiya, but the Yokomo driver made a mistake on lap four which put him out of contention. Further mistakes saw the former Japanese Champion finish last. Defending ETS Champion and last year’s winner here at the Dabas-Diego Sports Centre, Balint Raijki finished third with his Hot Bodies Cyclone. Biggest mover of the race was Schumacher’s Chris Ashton who came from last on the grid to take 5th.

Modified A-main Leg 1 results
1. Rheinard Marc – 25 laps in 5:01.962
2. Wilck Viktor – 25 laps in 5:04.029
3. Leino Teemu – 25 laps in 5:07.119
4. Harper Elliott – 25 laps in 5:10.534
5. Prümper Yannic – 25 laps in 5:12.025
6. Lein Sebastian – 25 laps in 5:12.585
7. Hudy Martin – 24 laps in 5:00.643
8. Kunák Zdenko – 24 laps in 5:07.916
9. Moore Andy – 21 laps in 4:19.254
10.Völker Ronald – 21 laps in 4:34.212

Pro Stock A-main Leg 1 results
1. Stocker Alexander – 24 laps in 5:04.849
2. Forrai Gabor – 24 laps in 5:12.868
3. Rajki Balint – 24 laps in 5:13.395
4. Kunák Zdenko – 23 laps in 5:01.845
5. Ashton Chris – 23 laps in 5:02.550
6. Faur Cristian – 23 laps in 5:03.190
7. Orlowski Blazej – 23 laps in 5:11.119
8. Miko Peter – 22 laps in 5:03.496
9. Juhász Viktor – 22 laps in 5:05.945
10.Umino Yukijiro – 22 laps in 5:06.688

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November 29, 2009

Volker & Yokomo claim first ETS pole

Team Yokomo’s Ronald Volker will start on pole for Round 2 of the Xenon Racing backed Euro Touring Series after producing a blistering run in the final qualifier here in Budapest, Hungary. The German became the only driver to make 25 laps with a time of 5:12.338 and set a new fastest lap for the event taking his Yokomo BD5 around the large carpet track in 12.265. The new speed came thanks to Yokomo’s own R&D man Yukijiro Umino who, having tried a new set-up on his own car in Pro Stock, then transferred it to his team driver’s car. Volker said the changes made the car feel slower than in the previous rounds but it was a lot more stable allowing him get the time in. Having TQ’d the opening round of qualifying the result gives the recently crowned Japanese National Champion both his and Yokomo’s first ETS TQ honours.

Yannic Prumper

Second fastest in Q4 was Yannic Prumper who pulled out a great drive to lift himself onto the back of the grid at the expense of Team Associated’s Juho Levanen who takes the unenviable BQ honours. Having struggled with traction roll throughout qualifying, Prumper ran Marc Rheinard’s T car, his race chassis from the European Championship in Luxembourg, and was finally able to complete his first clean run. The protege of Toni Rheinard, the young German will now revert back to his own TRF416 which Toni has fully rebuilt this morning and now features the belts moved to the opposite side of the chassis.

Martin Hudy set the third fastest time after opting for a safe set-up on his Xray T3. The Slovak driver who finished on the podium here last year, said the car had a lot of push but it was stable and this allowed him to drive a clean run and record his fastest time. Starting from 7th on the grid, Hudy will revert to his earlier on edge set-up for the first of the three A-Mains.

Fastest Heat

For the Tamiya Racing Factory pairing of Marc Rheinard and Viktor Wilck, both of whom were in contention for the overall TQ honours, Q4 didn’t go to plan. Rheinard pulled up early to save his tyres for the finals when a mistake cost him any hope of topping the round while Wilck broke his car with a spectacular roll that saw him clear half the track. Rheinard will start from second on the grid followed by Wilck, with Teemu Leino securing fourth position ahead of Xray team-mate Elliot Harper. 2006 World Champion Andy Moore, who found himself on the back of the B-Main grid in Kastellaun, completes the Top 6 on the grid for Hot Bodies.

Yukijiro Umino

In Pro Stock Japan’s Yukijiro Umino TQ’d the final qualifier but Alexander Stocker had done enough yesterday to secure his second consecutive ETS TQ honours. Umino, who says he is really enjoying his first ETS outing, will line up 3rd on the grid with his Yokomo behind local driver Gabor Forrai and is pretty confident he can challenge for the win. Having TQ’d the first round of qualifying, Forrai hopes he can finish on the podium but said his main focus is finishing first of the local drivers as this race is a counting round of the Hungarian National Championship.

Modified A-main grid
1. Völker Ronald (DE) – Yokomo/LRP
2. Rheinard Marc (DE) – Tamiya/Speedpassion
3. Wilck Viktor (SE) – Tamiya/Speedpassion
4. Leino Teemu (FI) – Xray/Team Orion
5. Harper Elliott (GB) – Xray/Nosram
6. Moore Andy (GB) – Hot Bodies/Team Orion
7. Hudy Martin (SK) – Xray/LRP
8. Kunák Zdenko (SK) – Xray/LRP
9. Lein Sebastian (DE) – Tamiya/Speedpassion
10. Prümper Yannic (DE) – Tamiya/Speedpassion

Pro Stock A-main grid
1. Stocker Alexander (DE) – Hot Bodies
2. Forrai Gabor (HU) – Tamiya
3. Umino Yukijiro (JP) – Yokomo
4. Kunák Zdenko (SK) – Xray
5. Faur Cristian (RO) – Serpent
6. Miko Peter (HU) – Hot Bodies
7. Rajki Balint (HU) – Hot Bodies
8. Orlowski Blazej (PL) – Tamiya
9. Juhász Viktor (HU) – Losi
10. Ashton Chris (GB) – Schumacher

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November 28, 2009

Rheinard holds overnight TQ in Hungary

Marc Rheinard is the overnight TQ holder here in Budapest, Hungary, after the World Champion took maximum points in the penultimate round of qualifying for Round 2 of the Xenon Racing backed Euro Touring Series. Setting a new fastest time and just missing out on breaking into the first 25 lap run of the event, the German reversed the order of Q2 to head home his Tamiya Racing Factory team-mate Viktor Wilck with a time of 24L/5:00.301. Rheinard’s first clean run of the day, he said his 416X was easier to drive allowing him to also set a new fastest lap for the large indoor track with a 12.322. Wilck said his car was suffering with a little understeer but nothing too major.

Ronald Volker continues to be the only real serious threat so far to the Tamiya team, taking his Yokomo to another Top 3 time. The former European Champion said he is loosing time to his rivals in the tight corners but feels with a little more steering on his BD5 he can challenge for the overall TQ honours in the morning’s fourth and final qualifier.

Fourth fastest in Q3 was Teemu Leino followed by Andy Moore and Elliot Harper. Adding to his second fastest time in Q1 the Finn is the top placed Xray in the overnight qualification rankings, just ahead of team-mate Elliot Harper who was sixth in the third round of heats behind Hot Bodies driver Andy Moore.

Alexander Stocker

In Pro Stock Alexander Stocker once again was the only driver to record 23 laps, describing his Hot Bodies’ handling around the track as being like a ‘carving ski’ through snow. The German, who was the inaugural ETS Pro Stock Champion and who currently leads the 2009/10 standings, hasn’t yet secured the TQ but it is hard to bet against his car carrying the No.1 in tomorrow’s A-Main. Local driver Gabor Forrai is the only man who can challenge Stocker for that honour but could only manage a distant third in Q3. Second fastest was 16-year-old Slovak driver Zdenko Kunak. The Xray driver believes he was on for topping the time sheets until he suffered radio glitches.

Modified top 6 standings after round 3
1. Marc Rheinard (DE) – Tamiya/Speedpassion – 308pts
2. Wilck Viktor (SE) – Tamiya/Speedpassion – 308pts
3. Völker Ronald (DE) – Yokomo/LRP – 307pts
4. Leino Teemu (FI) – Xray/Team Orion – 304pts
5. Harper Elliott (GB) – Xray/Nosram – 303pts
6. Moore Andy (GB) – Hot Bodies/Team Orion – 301pts

Pro Stock top 6 standings after round 3
1. Stocker Alexander (DE) – Hot Bodies – 310pts
2. Forrai Gabor (HU) – Tamiya – 308pts
3. Kunák Zdenko (SK) – Xray – 305pts
4. Faur Cristian (RO) – Serpent – 302pts
5. Rajki Balint (HU) – Hot Bodies – 300pts
6. Umino Yukijiro (JP) – Yokomo – 300pts

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November 28, 2009

Wilck tops second qualifier

After posting only the seventh fastest time in the opening qualifier here in Hungary, ETS championship leader Viktor Wilck has bounced back to top Q2 with a new fastest run of 24L/5:05.938. The Tamiya/Speedpassion driver swapped times with his team-mate Marc Rheinard throughout the 5-minutes but three laps from the end the German lost over 4-seconds when he made a mistake and was hit by the two following cars. Behind the Tamiya pairing Ronald Volker took his LRP powered Yokomo BD5 to third, unable to better his Q1 TQ run time.

Running no anti-drive on his TRF416X and gluing the sidewalls of the controlled Xenon tyres for the second round of heats, Wilck described his run as much better and ‘almost clean’ with one small mistake half way through costing him around 2-seconds. Rheinard said both his driving and his car were a lot better this time round and this allowed him to push for a TQ run before his late mistake.

Wilck tops second qualifier

Elliot Harper was another who was on a potential TQ run but the World Finalist got taken out by Zdenek Hamak who was rejoining the track after an off. The incident cost Harper seven seconds but the Xray team driver still managed to take his Nosram powered T3 to fourth, just ahead of fellow countryman Andy Moore. The factory Hot Bodies driver made a ‘stupid’ mistake on lap three that cost him four seconds but did a ‘ridiculous’ repeat of it next time round loosing another four seconds. Once into his groove however Moore laid down some quick times and overall feels he is making progress with the set-up on the Team Orion powered Cyclone.

David Ehrbar

Czech Grand Prix winner David Ehrbar completed the Top 6 after making major changes to the set-up on his Xray T3. Happy with his run, the German privateer was more enthusiastic about his super fast 12.391 lap time, the fastest we have seen yet here at the Dabas-Diego Sports Centre. Ehrbar who runs a GM speedo and Speedpassion motor, said he will leave the car identical for the final run of the day.

Elsewhere Chris Grainger who was sixth in Q1 had a DNF after making a mistake that knocked a steering link off his Schumacher. The British Champion said the car was really good but he got carried away and caught a corner dot which sent the Mi4 into a major roll ending his run.

Alexander Stocker

In Pro Stock Alexander Stocker managed to stay within the track bounds to TQ the round ahead of Q1 pace setter Gabor Forrai. Stocker described the run as ‘easy’ with his Hot Bodies producing the first and, so far, only 23 lap time. Running a Serpent S400 Cristian Faur set an impressive time to go third fastest with Polish driver Blazej Orlowski fourth ahead of defending champion Balint Rajki.

Modified top 6 standings after round 2
1. Völker Ronald (DE) – Yokomo/LRP – 307pts
2. Wilck Viktor (SE) – Tamiya/Speedpassion – 303pts
3. Harper Elliott (GB) – Xray/Nosram – 303pts
4. Moore Andy (GB) – Hot Bodies/Team Orion – 301pts
5. Leino Teemu (FI) – Xray/Team Orion298pts
6. Kunák Zdenko (SK) – Xray/LRP – 297pts

Pro Stock top 6 standings after round 2
1. Stocker Alexander (DE) – Hot Bodies – 308pts
2. Forrai Gabor (HU) – Tamiya – 308pts
3. Faur Cristian (RO) – Serpent – 301pts
4. Rajki Balint (HU) – Hot Bodies – 301pts
5. Kunák Zdenko (SK) – Xray – 299pts
6. Orlowski Blazej (PL) – Tamiya – 297pts

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November 28, 2009

Volker takes opening qualifier

Yokomo team driver Ronald Volker has TQ’d the opening round of qualifying here in Budapest where the Top 4 drivers were separated by just 1.7 seconds. The German ace, who opted to run the prototype LiPo chassis BD5, said he wasn’t the fastest on track but keeping the run clean had given him the valuable maximum points for the round as he topped the time sheets by 2/10ths from Xray’s Teemu Leino. Leino reported his T3 as having a little push but was OK with second, having also taken a cautious approach to his driving.

Elliot Harper was on for a potential TQ run but said he over did things and rolled himself off the track. The quick British racer will try softer shocks for the next round but overall was happy to open his account with a Top 3 time. The only other driver to make a 24-lap run, Andy Moore was upbeat after kicking off qualifying with the fourth fastest time. The former World Champion said his Hot Bodies Cyclone was working much better now than in Kastellaun.

Zdenko Kunak

Young Slovak driver Zdenko Kunak took his Xray to an impressive fifth fastest ahead of Chris Grainger’s Schumacher. Grainger said his Mi4LP was really hard work for the first three laps but then suddenly felt good, something he has put down to a lack of warm-up laps and the length of time he is applying tyre additive for. Championship leader Viktor Wilck could only manage the seventh fastest time. The Swede said his Tamiya TRF416X was good at the beginning of the run but then developed bad traction roll causing him to go over a number of times. Associated’s Juho Levanen was unhappy with his first run ending up only 8th fastest followed by Xray’s Martin Hudy and Martin Hofer who made it two Yokomo’s in the Top 10. For current World Champion Marc Rheinard it was a disastrous start as he ended up 21st but the German did set the fastest lap with a 12.425. The factory Tamiya/Speedpassion driver said his car was good but trying to drive carefully resulted in him making many mistakes.

Gabor Forrai

In Pro Stock, local driver Gabor Forrai topped the times with his Tamiya from former champion & Kastellaun winner Alexander Stocker. Stocker was on for a TQ run but as he put it himself ‘decided to go to tech inspection early’, referring to his costly 5 second off that saw his Hot Bodies end up under the table in the technical inspection area. Fast in Modified, it was also a productive first round of qualifying for Kunak in Pro Stock as he posted the third fastest time.

For defending champion Balint Raijki the round only netted the fourth fastest time after he rolled his Hot Bodies a number of times. The Hungarian says he needs to drive more carefully and is confident he can better his good friend Forrai in the next run. Japan’s Yukijiro Umino, making his ETS debut, took his Yokomo to fifth with Romania’s Cristian Faur completing the Top 6.

Modified top 6 after Round 1
1. Völker Ronald (DE) – Yokomo/LRP – 24 5:09.311
2. Leino Teemu (FI) – Xray/Team Orion – 24 5:09.584
3. Harper Elliott (GB) – Xray/Nosram – 24 5:10.749
4. Moore Andy (GB) – Hot Bodies/Team Orion – 24 5:11.073
5. Kunák Zdenko (SK) – Xray/LRP – 23 5:00.221
6. Grainger Chris (GB) – Schumacher/GM – 23 5:00.571

Pro Stock top 6 after Round 1
1. Forrai Gabor (HU) – Tamiya – 22 5:01.227
2. Stocker Alexander (DE) – Hot Bodies – 22 5:03.521
3. Kunák Zdenko (SK) – Xray – 22 5:03.943
4. Rajki Balint (HU) – Hot Bodies – 22 5:04.404
5. Umino Yukijiro (JP) – Yokomo – 22 5:04.479
6. Faur Cristian (RO) – Serpent – 22 5:07.197

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November 28, 2009

Drivers settle-in in Budapest

Budapest Track

It was an early start for drivers competing in the second of the Xenon Racing Euro Touring Series with the bus leaving the official event hotel at 06:55. Containing some of the best touring car drivers in the world it was a rather quiet trip in the 70-seater double deck coach especially within the Schumacher team who got only 3.5 hours sleep after their flight was delayed 2 hours resulting in them getting to the hotel at 02:30 this morning.

Yukijiro Umino

The only 2-day event on the 2009/10 calendar, today opened with three rounds of practice for the 160 competitors from 16 Nations which includes Japanese driver Yukijiro Umino. The former Japanese National Champion, who works in the R&D department of Yokomo, is here as part of the team supporting German ace Ronald Volker but is also competing in Pro Stock and he looked very fast in practice.

Viktor Wilck

The winner of the opening race at Kastellaun, championship leader Viktor Wilck is having his first run with the latest Tamiya touring car offering the TRF416X. The Swede said the new car feels good on the high speed track but in the second practice christened the new chassis with its first big crash when he collected the stranded Hot Bodies of Andy Moore whose battery pack had fallen out. Moore missed the majority of the run and said he is yet to find out if he has solved the problem that saw him struggle in Germany.

Runner up at the first round Volker said he is feeling very confident ahead of qualifying and says he likes the fast flowing track that the host club have built. The German ran two cars in each of the practice runs as he back to back tested a new LiPo chassis for the BD5 that the engineers from Yokomo have brought over from Japan.

Juho Levanen is without Associated team-mate Christer Andersson who was a last minute withdrawal from the entry but the Finn is pleased with how his TC5R went this morning. The former European Champion likes the track layout a lot more than that of Kastellaun is hoping he can at least make the podium tomorrow evening.

One team that was on the podium here in Hungary last year was Xray and all three of their drivers are happy with how the T3 chassis went in practice. Martin Hudy, who finished 3rd here last time, said the track feels nice to drive and he is hopeful of running some good times in qualifying. Teemu Leino echoed his comments and welcomed the fast track design saying it added variety to the series. Elliot Harper who is competing in only his second ETS event described the track as ‘completely different’ but the Englishman is happy with his intial set-up.

Chris Grainger

Despite the lack of sleep last night the Schumacher team, who are making their ETS debut here, are happy with how the practice went. Team leader Chris Grainger, who has won an impressive 5 British National titles on tarmac, is not a big fan of carpet racing but was complimentary of the venue and track. Running the new Mi4LP he said it was working well but was a little worried about the grip levels coming up as the car already creates a lot of mechanic grip. Chris Ashton is carrying the British manufacturers hopes in the Pro Stock class.

So with practice complete it is now down to the serious business of qualifying with 3 of the four rounds, 2 of which count, making up the rest of today’s schedule.

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November 26, 2009

Drivers hungry for Euro Touring Series victory in Budapest

Europe’s best electric touring car drivers will descend on the beautiful city of Budapest this weekend (28/29 Nov) when the Hungarian capital plays host to Round 2 of the Xenon Racing backed Euro Touring Series. Claiming his first ETS win last month at the 2009/10 season opener in Kastellaun, Germany, Sweden’s Viktor Wilck heads the quality international entry for the 2-day event that has attracted over 160 competitors from across Europe.

Championship leader Wilck is making his first visit to the Hungarian event, the biggest indoor track on the ETS calendar, and faces strong opposition with all the leading manufacturer teams in attendance. Within his own Tamiya Racing Factory team, winners of the event last year, he will have to contend with current World Champion Marc Rheinard. The German finished third at his home event and will be determined to be closer to the pace of his team-mate this time round.

Riding high on his Japanese Nationals victory earlier this month, German ace Ronald Volker will also make the trip to Budapest. The factory Yokomo driver is always a potential race winner and will be looking to go one better than in Kastellaun where he finished on the second step of the podium.

After a strong showing in Germany that saw him take his TC5R to a TQ run in the third qualifier, Finland’s Juho Levanen will be looking to build on that performance for Team Associated. The former European Champion will have the benefit of being joined by team-mate Christer Andersson who won last month’s Indoor European Championship Warm Up race in Finland.

Having debuted their new T3 chassis at the series opener, getting fours of the new cars into the A-Main, the Xray team head to the Dabas-Diego Sports Centre with Teemu Leino, Martin Hudy and their young British charger Elliot Harper. Hudy claimed a podium finish at the event last year but with a stronger team presence this time round the Slovak manufacturer will be looking to notch up its first ETS Modified victory.

A welcome addition to the Euro Touring Series this weekend is the entry of the official Schumacher team. Heading the debut of the British manufacturer is five times British Champion Chris Grainger who will drive their latest Mi4 chassis. Hot Bodies will be present with 2006 World Champion Andy Moore who had a difficult start to his ETS campaign but the Englishman is confident he’ll be back mixing it at the front this weekend.

In Pro Stock this is the home event of defending Champion Balint Rajki. The Hungarian driver was forced to miss the opening round in Germany as he became a father with the arrival of twins. The winner here last year, the Hot Bodies driver will be keen to repeat that success as he makes his return to the series.