Volker wins A1 at Apeldoorn
Ronald Volker has won the opening A1 at the Yokomo Euro Touring Series in Apeldoorn. Starting from second on the grid, the Yokomo driver was handed the lead when Top Qualifier Bruno Coelho suffered a spin as the result of a body tuck. While the Xray driver would later run over the curbing to release the body it tucked again and he eventually crossed the line 7th. With Christopher Krapp also moving up a spot as a result of Coelho’s problems to finish second, the big mover of the race was Naoto Matsukura. Starting 7th he would complete the Top 3 ahead of Yannic Prumper.
‘This was a good one’, was Volker’s reaction to the win. He continued, ‘I tried to stay with him at the start but he made it easy having a body tuck after a few laps’. With both drivers fastest laps showing Coelho having a 2/10ths of a second advantage, Volker said, ‘I am looking for a bit more steering so will make a change for A2 but otherwise I will try to fight for the overall win after that win’.
Describing A1 as a ‘silent race’, Krapp said, ‘Bruno had some problem and I could go by and I had the same pace as Ronald so I just drove around to the end’. The Yokomo driver continued, ‘I felt I lost a bit of steering in the end so I will make changes for that for A2. I hope some more drama happens’.
‘I just drove, I couldn’t overtake but the others made mistakes’, was how Matsukura explained how he moved up 4 positions. The Infinity driver said, ‘the car is good. I change a little from the last qualifier. Yesterday it had maximum drop after 2-minutes but today it is good’. Asked if he felt a podium was on the cards, he replied, ‘it is difficult to overtake on this track so I hope for more mistakes from the other guys’.
Asked about his issues, Coelho said, ‘the body tucked going down the straight. I didn’t hit anything’. Rubbing the rear tyre he said this made the car difficult to drive and while he tried to free it by running over the curbs it did come out but he ended up spinning and it again tucked.
In Formula it was Olivier Bultynck would took the win from 4th on the grid ahead of the Infinity of Jitse Miedema. It was a terrible start for Top Qualifier Simon Lauter and he completed the first lap in 6th but the Tamiya driver would manage to work his way back up to 3rd by the finish. Benefiting from that bad start, Jan Ratheisky lead for the opening few laps but challenged for the lead he ended up in the grass eventually finishing 5th. In Pro Stock, Ratheisky had a much easier race leading tone to tone to win ahead of Max Mächler, the Awesomatix driver keeping his fellow countryman on his toes. In the 40+ Masters class, Top Qualifier Beni Stutz had contact with Christian Drießle early on and ended up on the grass allowing Ozer Yürüm to go to the front from where he cruised to the win ahead of Mario Wittemeier and Frank Baggen.
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Chassis Focus – Michal Orlowski
Chassis – Schumacher Mi6 Evo
Motor – LRP X22 4.5
ESC – LRP Flow X
Batteries – LRP Graphene 2 HV Lipo 6400
Tires – Volante (handout)
Radio/Servo – Sanwa/Sanwa
Bodyshell – Montech Racer Lightweight (racing on track)
Remarks – Making his first ETS appearance this season, Michal is running Schumacher’s Mi6 Evo which is fitted with a new pre production version of an upcoming optional shock set-up the UK company will offer. To be known as ‘Ultra Short Shocks’, this comprises of new shock towers front and rear and new short big bore shocks. This new set-up gives a better CG and better dampening characteristics. Other interesting things on Michal’s car are the use of Schumacher 1:12 track rods which Schumacher designer Andy Murray says have a nicer fit when using titanium balls plus they are lighter. The other key item on the car is the 46mm wide front pivot box which also sits lower in the car.
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Coelho on pole at ETS Netherlands
Bruno Coelho will start on pole for tomorrow’s Yokomo Euro Touring Series fifth round at Apeldoorn, the Xray driver’s fourth TQ of the season moving him to within touching distance of his third consecutive ETS title. Having convincingly set the pace in controlled practice yesterday, Coelho got the day of to the perfect start by taking the opening qualifier but he couldn’t keep his car on the track in Q2 & 3. This allowed Ronald Volker to TQ the second and Christopher Krapp to top Q3 meaning it would all come down to the fourth & final qualifier. Initially it was Volker who set the pace but Naoto Matsukura now had a quick car going to the top of the timing screens but all the time Coelho was getting into his rhythm conscious he couldn’t afford another roll. While Volker would push him hard, in the end Coelho’s earlier form was back and he completed the 5-minutes well clear with Nicholas Lee coming through for a P2 run ahead of Matsukura and Volker, who will line up 2nd tomorrow. In what has been a strong weekend for Yokomo, Christopher Krapp will start 3rd with team-mate Yannick Prumper fourth. With Coelho’s TQ eliminating team-mate Alexander Hagberg from the title fight, now only Marc Rheinard remains but he must win tomorrow which is looking like a tall order from 5th on the grid.
Reacting to his TQ, this weekend his first time to the famed Dutch track, Coelho said, ‘I knew the car was good and if I drive it more careful I can make first. I flipped in the second qualifier and in the third one it was not really my fault, the car traction rolled. I also had back luck when coming off the grass because I touched Lucas (Urbain). I had no chance to do anything but it was my fault and I apologised to him for that’. Looking to tomorrow, the Portuguese ace is quietly confident he can wrap up the championship with his 13th ETS career win. He said, ‘If the track is like today I will try to manage the race. The car worked well and I like the track layout but the weather can change and there is also the wind. So we’ll have to wait and see’.
Volker said, ‘The set-up didn’t worked as well as expected but I think if it had the tyre strategy would have paid off.’ The World Champion added, ‘We will have to make changes for A1 to try and get extra steering to have at least a chance of the win’. Very much undertaking the role of team leader at Yokomo following changes within the team, he said, ‘I am super happy for our team. Not only have we the most cars in the final with 4 drivers on the grid but we are lining up 2, 3, 4 and 6th’. Asked about the possibilities to overtake he replied, ‘it is difficult to pass because it’s a high speed track so you have force mistakes from each other’.
‘I pretty happy that on used tyres I was only 1-second off Ronald on new tyres’, was Krapp’s reaction after Q4, the former race winner secured his 3rd place on the grid with a P4 in Q2 and TQ in Q3. He added, ‘I am pretty happy with third on the grid and I hope I can make the podium’. Managing to finish second at ETS Spain from fourth on the grid, he echoed his team-mate Volker’s thoughts on his team performance this weekend saying, ‘I am super happy how the team has done because it shows all our team work pays off’.
While he struggled with ‘zero traction’ in Q4 something he said could be down to him not adjusting his set-up for used tyres, Prumper along with all A-Main drivers having 3 new sets of tyres ruling out any tyre tactics he said, ‘I think we all have a good chance tomorrow’. Equalling his best qualifying of the season and a huge improvement on his starting position at the previous two asphalt encounters, he added, ‘the track is not good for overtaking but hopefully everyone can move up one position’, a scenario that would make it an all Yokomo podium.
‘For old tyres it was not bad’ was a much happier looking Rheinard’s thoughts on Q4, the Infinity driver able to improve his 7th from Q2 with a P5. A three time ETS winner at Apeldoorn, he continued, ‘luckily we went the right direction with set-up and the car is now quite good. I would like to be starting higher but getting ahead of Yannic would have the best I could do, anyway I am happy to have a car that works again’. On his chances to mix it at the front in the finals, he said, ‘It is hard from 5th but Bruno is making many mistakes this weekend so we will see’.
In Pro Stock it will be Jan Ratheisky who starts on pole while in Formula Simon Lauter is the Top Qualifier after producing his third TQ run of the day in the final qualifier. Behind Ratheisky it will be Max Mächler who carries the No.2 with fellow Awesomatix driver Olivier Bultynck and Tim Benson lining up behind. For Tamiya driver Lauter, he is going to have Ratheisky behind him with Jitse Miedema third and Bultynck fourth. Long time ETS competitors Beni Stutz can finally call himself an ETS Top Qualifier after the Swiss Infinity driver secured pole for the 40+ Masters class. Christian Drießle will start second while championship leader Thomas Oehler will have to try and work his way through from 7th.
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Chassis Focus – Martin Hofer
Chassis – Yokomo BD8 2018
Motor – Muchmore (handout)
ESC – Muchmore (handout)
Batteries – Muchmore 8200
Tires – Volante (handout)
Radio/Servo – Sanwa/Savox
Bodyshell –Protoform Type S Pro-Lite
Remarks – Yokomo’s lead challenger in the Pro Stock class, Martin’s car features Yokomo’s optional wishbones. The car is also fitted with AME’s backbone, Axion bearings and Racing Performance screws. The other notable thing on the car is the flipped steering which the former champion said ‘gives the corner speed needed for stock racing’.
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Krapp tops Q3 at ETS Netherlands
Christopher Krapp has become the third different driver to top qualifying at ETS Netherlands, the Yokomo driver hitting the top in the third & penultimate round at the Apeldoorn track. With top seed Bruno Coelho once again making an error, this time on his second lap, Krapp would set the pace eventually finishing half a second up on a much improved Marc Rheinard, the Infinity driver having seeded in the second fastest heat. Behind, Yannic Prumper would complete the Top 3 as team-mate Ronald Volker, who took the previous qualifier, opted to save his third set of allocated tyres for the final qualifier. On used tyres Volker would finish well down the order but he goes in the deciding qualifier leading a Yokomo 1,2,3 at the top of the provisional grid standings. After trouble in the first two qualifiers, Viktor Wilck would return to his seeding form and post a P4 for the round ahead of Marco Kaufmann and ETS returnee Michal Orlowski.
‘I’m extremely happy to score a TQ round after a long time’, was Krapp’s reaction to topping the round. The former ETS race winner and runner-up at ETS Madrid earlier this season, added, ‘my car was awesome. I had a bit of luck Bruno had a drama, but anyway I don’t care, I was able to take a TQ’. He continued, ‘It was warmer that time and these conditions suit our car better. In the cold I am still struggling but when it is warm I can push more so I hope it stays warm. We are holding the Top 3 places on the grid and hopefully we can stay up there in the last qualifier’.
Rheinard joked, ‘I just arrived’. Having struggled to find a car set-up, the rain delay yesterday not helping his cause, he said, ‘we are still working on the car. Every run we changed the car completely, big changes, but I think now we found the right direction. In the beginning I was fighting just to make the A-Main but we are improving every run and right now I am fifth with a 7th and 2nd. I have no new tyres left but I will try to improve on the 7th’.
‘Actually the car was good but I made shit’, was how Prumper summed up Q3. The multiple ETS race winner said, ‘I lost too much time in the last three laps. I went wide and in the end I was 1/10th behind Marc. The car is good I just need to improve my own performance. Pitting next to him Volker said, ‘I was on used tyres so I didn’t expect Top 5 but mixing my two sets of used tyres my car felt tweaked’.
Wilck was pleased with his run saying, ‘At least I finished one’. Suffering a roll coming onto the main straight half way through the opening qualifier, the Serpent driver then suffered a belt failure after two laps in Q2. The Swede said, ‘I hope for a clean last one. The tyres (from Q2) should be fine for the last one’. In terms of his car he is still suffering from the car starting out fast but then slowing towards the end. In need of a good result from the final qualifier he said, ‘I think I have to leave it the same because I have to have one more result’.
With his P5 putting him in contention for the hotly contested final spot on the A-Main, Kaufmann said, ‘I’m 11th but I still have one set of tyres left’. The Xray driver added, ‘there are a lot of guys fighting for the last place in the A-Main and I hope not to be BQ like in Madrid’. On his car the German said, ‘It is a little too stable so maybe I will make it a little more loose. It is super close but I am losing time at the start of the run’.
Have not raced ETS this year due to his studies along with a full Euro Offroad Series programme, double EOS champion Orlowski said, ‘I am trying to get back into the groove of touring car but the car has felt good all weekend’. The Schumacher driver continued, ‘I think I got a bad set of tyres for Q1 because the car was completely different but then for Q2 & 3 it was good the same as yesterday’. Suffering a roll over on his P6 run, asked if he felt he had a chance of making the A-Main he replied, ‘I have no more new tyres so I have to run used now’. Behind Orlowski, Jilles Groskamp would set the 7th fastest time.
In the Xray Pro Stock class, Q3 also produced a third different TQ driver will Olivier Bultynck topping the times for Awesomatix ahead of team-mate & Q1 winner Max Mächler. After taking Q2, Jan Rathiesky could only manage 5th. The Scorpion Power System Formula class would produce the first double TQ with Simon Lauter again putting his Tamiya on the top ahead of the Infinity of Jitse Miedema with the big Norwegian Helge Johannessen completing his first Top 3 run.
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Volker TQs 2nd qualifier as Coelho suffers early error
Ronald Volker has TQ’d the second round of qualifying at the Yokomo Euro Touring Series in the Netherlands. The Yokomo driver topped the times after a close fight with Freddy Südhoff, the two Germans separated by 4/10ths of a second. Having taken Q1 in convincing style, it was again Bruno Coelho who set the early pace but on his third lap he suffered an error on the curbing that cost him 4 & a half seconds that would leave him with a P10 at the end of the 5-minutes. While Coelho had a bad round, for team-mate Alexander Hagberg Q2 would be a turning moment for the Swede as he completed the Top 3 from the second fastest heat. With Yannic Prumper, 3rd in Q1, another to make an error when he rolled coming onto the front straight, it was Christopher Krapp who was the next best Yokomo with the fourth fastest time but his pace was over a second off that of his team-mate’s TQ pace. Behind him ETS Andernach runner-up Naoto Matsukura was another big improvement coming in as the fastest Infinity for the round in P5 ahead of Nicholas Lee.
‘I’m of course happy to get the TQ that round and now I already have two good results in the bag’, was Volker’s reaction after the race, the World Champion not hiding the fact the TQ was only possible due to Coelho’s error. He continued, ‘we made some changes to the geometry which helped a bit the overall steering but we need to find some more to get better pace’.
Südhoff said, ‘that was quite a good one. I went back to my set-up from practice yesterday and I was more connected to the car now’. The Awesomatix driver continued, ‘I had two small moments when I overshot the corner a little bit and that might have cost me the time to Ronald. I will keep the car the same and concentrate on my driving but have to see what the weather makes and if we can have more qualifying’.
‘We went a different direction (with set-up) now and it is better for my driving style’, was how Hagberg explained his improvement adding ‘It is a bit better but we still need to find more pace’. The Swede continued, ‘The car was too difficult to drive yesterday which is different to how it worked at the warm-up race. Now we have made the car more stable and safer so it seems better. We just need to fine tune it now’.
Commenting on his P4, Krapp said, ‘It was a good qualifier, a solid result, but I am struggling with set-up because of the weather. I am missing 1 to 2 seconds to Ronald and Freddy’. He continued, ‘I am trying to get rear grip so to be able to push more. There was a big difference between the first and the second qualifier, there was more grip but it is still slippery’. The German concluded, ‘It is difficult to calculate which way to go but I am going one way and I hope it is the right way’.
Only 10th fastest in seeding and 8th in Q1, Matsukura was happy with his P5. Having been running his car with ARS, he removed it for Q2 which he said has ‘made it easier to drive’. He added he also have a better standard set-up for when running the car without ARS. Still the Japanese driver said while it is ‘now not too bad it is still not perfect’ with him reporting the car starts to understeer after 2-minutes but the former World Champion concluded, ‘I am happy I got good points in the last one’.
Lee summed up his second qualifying attempt as ‘pretty good’. The Singapore driver said, ‘In Q1 the car wasn’t good so I changed to a harder oil in the diff and it made a big difference’. He continued, ‘still I need to find more. I lose a lot to the others over the first three laps I think there is not a lot I can do, I am running a stiffer chassis than them (his Yokomo team-mates).
In Pro Stock and Formula it was Jan Ratheisky who topped the second of the four rounds of qualifying. Having sat out Q1 in Pro Stock to save tyres, the Xray driver’s gamble paid off and he got a TQ run ahead of the Awesomatix of Tim Benson and Infinity of Dominic Vogl. After an early error, Q1 pace setter Max Mächler opted to pull up to save his tyres. In the Scorpion Power Systems Formula class, Ratheisky was quickest from Olivier Bultynck’s Shepherd with the Tamiya of Simon Lauter, who took Q1, completing the Top 3 ahead of Jitse Miedema’s Infinity prototype.
View complete event results here.
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Chassis Focus – Jitse Miedema
Chassis – Infinity IF11 (Prototype)
Motor – Scorpion Power System (handout)
ESC – Scorpion Power System (handout)
Batteries – GensAce RS High Voltage 5500
Tires – Volante (handout)
Radio/Servo – Sanwa/SRT
Bodyshell – Xray
Remarks – A home race for Jitse, he is running what Infinity are still calling the prototype of their first entry in to the Formula market – the IF11. He is running the car with a number of the optionals that will be released for the car, him suggesting the kit will be in production ‘at the end of Summer’. The main optional is the top arms. In the kit, the arms will be full carbon but he is using a turnbuckle version for greater adjustment but pointed out the downside of these are that if you hit anything ‘it will bend a lot’.
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