Euro Touring Series

February 6, 2016

Chassis Focus – Lucas Urbain

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Chassis – VBC Wildfire D08
Motor – Muchmore Fleta 5.5T
ESC – Muchmore Fleta Pro
Batteries – Silverback 6300mAh
Tires – Volante (handout)
Radio/Servo – Sanwa
Bodyshell – Protoform LTC-R
Remarks – French team driver Lucas Urbain is at his first ETS outing with the newly released Wildfire D08. The car features new bulkheads, a new motor mount, a new chassis design and a different plastic compound. Lucas is driving an example that sports a pre-production aluminium chassis and prototype lower shock towers and shorter shocks.

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February 6, 2016

Rheinard takes Q3 as Xray reign self destructs

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Marc Rheinard took a somewhat surprise TQ in the penultimate round of qualifying at the Yokomo Euro Touring Series in Germany. Having struggled with sixth in the opening two qualifiers, the Tamiya took a close run TQ over his arch rival Ronald Volker but only after the Xray reign self destructed when Bruno Coelho rolled while poised to secure the overall TQ and then Alexander Hagberg crashed as a result of a rear belt failure. In the end Rheinard would snatch the TQ by 0.182 of second, with Akio Sobue completing the Top 3.

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‘Hard work’ was how Rheinard summed up his TQ round, the German missing out on a 23-lap run by just over 4/10ths. Making changes to his Muchmore powered TRF419, the championship leader said the car ‘was better but still can flip easy’. ‘For sure an improvement’ he added the ‘chicane was the biggest problem’. Admitting that ‘if Xray didn’t break they would still be top’, last year’s event Top Qualifier and race winner said he was driving on the edge every lap because compared to Hrotovice, where he won the season opener, the grip is much higher. Looking to make the car easier to drive he will mke further sert-up changes for the final qualifier.

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Giving his reaction to Q3, Volker said ‘It was a solid second but there was more to get’. The 5-time reigning Champion continued ‘as the Xrays crashed I would like to have got ahead of Marc. I was pushing super hard while behind him but then slightly tapped the boards and that cost me the few tenths I needed’. Having got his car ‘easier to drive through some corners’ he said they still need to find a bit more pace and if not he is ‘probably only start fourth’. For the final qualifier he said he hopes they can ‘get rid of some understeer without making the car edgy’.

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Having dominated proceeding since the 2-minute practice last night after the carpet change, Coelho took full responsibility for his mistake on lap 13 of 22 that left him with a P16. ‘I touched the curb coming onto the straight and that was the TQ done for me’. Dropping to last in the top heat, he would then go on to post the fastest lap of the race with his first pole position on carpet looking like only a formality with Rheinard needing to TQ the final heat with a 23 lap in under 5:12.421. Dominating this event two years ago, Hagberg was clearly frustrated at losing out on a TQ run keen to highlight his crash on the straight was caused by ‘something (breaking) on the car’. The car’s designer Martin Hudy would later confirm the rear belt had broken on the Swede’s car.

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Sobue said his P3 was a good result but the Japanese National Champion was not very happy with his Tamiya. Making a shock change, the 22-year-old ETS podium finisher said it left him with too much rear traction. Happy with his car in Q2 he will revert back to that shock set-up along with a few tweaks to the current chassis set up. For compatriot Naoto Matsukura an error on the main straight while on a strong run means the World Champion’s ETS carpet debut will not see him lining up on the A-Main grid. Pulling a wheel off his TRF419, his best of the three qualifiers is a 29th in Q1.

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Fourth fastest would be Viljami Kutvonen, the Awesomatix driver saying the run was ‘not perfect’ as he suffered a body tuck on the third lap. Having Rheinard behind him then for three & a half minutes, he would hit a curb and had to let the 4-time World Champion go. The Finn said without this he could have been in the mix. Reducing the rear toe-in on his A800, he said it was better but he plans further tweaks for Q4. With the points very close he said his target for the final qualifier is a Top 3 run to give him the best starting position possible.

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Elliott Harper would be next up taking his Schumacher Mi5 Evo to the fifth fastest time. 10th in Q1, the British National Champion and Round 1 A-Finalist said ‘I could drive around that time’ adding the run was ‘nothing special, I just kept it on the track’. Having struggled with traction roll in the opening two qualifiers, the World Championship podium finisher said while the car was better he still needs to fine tune the set-up for the last one to make it easier to drive.

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With his senior team-mates crashing out it would be Dionys Stadler who was the best Xray for the round with a P6. Changing from a Mazda Speed 6 to an LTC-R bodyshell, the 19-year-old said this gave him more speed in the corners with him adding the car was ‘perfect’. Getting his ETS Season off to a very strong start in Czech where he finished 6th, the German will leave his T4 unchanged for the final qualifier as he aims for another A-Main start. Behind him, team-mates Marco Kaufmann & Olly Jefferies posted the 7th & 8th fastest times respectively with Yokomo’s Yannic Prumper and VBC’s Lucas Urbain completing the Top 10.

View complete event results here.

View the event image gallery here.

February 6, 2016

Chassis Focus – Oliver Bultynck

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Chassis – Roche Rapide Formula 1
Motor – Hobbywing (handout)
ESC – Hobbywing (handout)
Batteries – LRP 4300mAh “Stock Spec”
Tires – Ride (handout)
Radio/Servo – Futaba
Bodyshell – Protoform F15
Remarks – Top Belgian driver and Formula class front runner Oliver Bultynck is another driver debuting a new car here in Muelheim-Kaerlich, running the brand new Rapide Formula 1 from Hong-Kong based company Roche. The design features a floating servo mount and a very narrow chassis with plastic mounts for the links. Front camber and caster are adjustable by changing or rotating the upper plate, while the rear roll centre is adjustable simply by adding or removing shims on the axle support.

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February 6, 2016

Coelho again in Q2

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The second round of qualifying at the Yokomo Euro Touring Series in Germany was a repeat of Q1 as Xray again topped the time sheets with Bruno Coelho fastest ahead of team-mate Alexander Hagberg. Behind the Xrays it was Yokomo who provided the greatest challenge with Yannic Prumper completing the Top 3 ahead of reigning Champion Ronald Volker. For championship leader and 2015 event winner Marc Rheinard, the round would again only net a P6 with the German needing to turn things around for the final two qualifiers.

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Getting his T4 up on two wheels at the beginning of the heat when he hit the curbing, Coelho said he was ‘a little lucky not to flip’ but other than that it was a ‘good run’. Posting the fastest lap on his way to the only 23-lap run, the Portuguese said small changes made to his set-up after Q1 left it ‘almost the same’. While the car was again ‘really good’, as highlighted by his one & a half second advantage over Hagberg, for Q3 he said ‘we will try a few more things for the next one’.

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Not happy with his driving in Q1, Hagberg described the second qualifier as ‘very good’. Although he would make a mistake on lap 5, saying ‘I guess I was trying too hard’, he was particularly happy that he was able to recover the 1-second lost. With his lap times dropping off towards the end of the 5-minutes, the 2014 event winner will make some changes to his T4 set-up to try and find more pace at the end.

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Describing his BD7 as ‘super good at the beginning’, Prumper said ‘I could keep up with the Xrays but then they were just gone’. Losing steering over the run, the German said his car was ‘too soft’ leading to ‘no corner speed’ and for Q3 he will change his shock set-up.

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‘Frustrated’ was how Prumper’s team-mate Volker summed up his Q2. A two time winner in Muelheim-Kaerlich, the German said he was in the fight for a P2 but then spun his LRP powered BD7 with 3-laps to go. Admitting to ‘being a bit off the pace to Xray’, he said to get second would have been a good result. Changing his set-up for the heat, he said while they improved the car ‘so did the others’. Feeling they are still in the hunt against Xray he will make further set-up changes for the penultimate qualifier.

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Feeling he had good pace in the opening qualifier but spinning his Awesomatix three times on his way to a P10, a chassis change would see Viljami Kutvonen set the fifth fastest time in Q2. Starting out with a carbon chassis on his A800 he said switching to aluminium made the car ‘much better’. Happy with how quickly he has been able to find a ‘good base set-up’ given the 2-minutes of practice drivers got in the good carpet, he said he will now tweak this to try and get more steering.

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Traction rolling on his warm-up laps, Rheinard said he had ‘too much grip’. Having changed car for Q2, he said the roll lead him to drive a conservative heat but still he managed to crash hitting the board at the end of the straight which caused his servo to move. Running in front of Prumper on the timing screens for a time, he will try harder swaybars for the third qualifier. Behind Rheinard, his TRF team-mate Akio Sobue set the 7th fastest time followed by the Serpent of Viktor Wilck, Xray’s
Dionys Stadler and the Schumacher of British National Champion Elliott Harper.

View complete event results here.

View the event image gallery here.

February 6, 2016

Pit Focus – Alexander Hagberg

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Team: Xray
Neighbours: Martin Hudy (front), Dyonis Stadler (left)
Charger: ProSpec R
Tools: Hudy
Setup Tools: Hudy Setup System, Prolevel RC tweak board, Tworks tweak stick, Hudy downstop gauge
Car Stand: Hudy
Lipo Bag: Hudy
Transport Bag: Hudy
Features: CA Glue/Activator, Hudy pit lamp, Zero outdrives grease, ORCA program card, Sony Xperia Z3, Hudy tools bag, Moleskine notebook, Hudy fibre tape, Hiro Seiko parts tray, Balisto cereal (chocolate) bar, a random pinion.

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February 6, 2016

Chassis Focus – Juho Levanen

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Chassis – Associated TC7
Motor – Reedy Sonic 4.5T
ESC – Reedy 410R
Batteries – Reedy 6000mAh
Tires – Volante (handout)
Radio/Servo – Sanwa
Bodyshell – Protoform LTC-R
Remarks – Finnish AE factory driver Juho Levanen is debuting the all new TC7 from the American company, the car having being completely re-designed with only the diffs and the driveshafts being the same as in the TC6. As for option parts, Juho is using an aluminium chassis and front double joint driveshafts.

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February 6, 2016

Chassis Focus – Bruno Coelho

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Chassis – Xray T4 ’16
Motor – Hobbywing Xerun 4.5T
ESC – Hobbywing XR10 Pro
Batteries – EZ Power 6200mAh
Tires – Volante (handout)
Radio/Servo – Sanwa
Bodyshell – MonTech Silvy
Remarks – After topping the times during practice, Xray factory driver Bruno Coelho took Q1 running the ’16 version of the T4. His car is equipped with an aluminium steering system, low friction belts and a front brass suspension mount which add 8 grams to the very front end of the car. He is also using a new aluminium chassis that features cuts in the central section to allow for a better flex.

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February 6, 2016

Coelho heads Xray 1-2 in Q1

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Bruno Coelho led an Xray 1-2 this morning at the Yokomo Euro Touring Series in Germany, TQ’ing the opening qualifier ahead of team-mate Alexander Hagberg. Having topped the times in practice yesterday, the Round 1 podium finisher would be 1.3-sec faster than Hagberg with reigning ETS Champion Ronald Volker completing the Top 3 a further 1.3-sec off the pace. Winner of the Muelheim-Kaerlich encounter last year, Marc Rheinard would post only the 6th fastest time with his World Champion TRF team-mate Naoto Matsukura, who was second in practice, retiring from the qualifier with a bad handling car.

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‘Everything was good, no mistakes. I just tried to drive a safe round and I think it was good’, was Coelho’s reaction to his TQ run. |Describing his Hobbywing powered T4 as ‘really good’, the 22-year-old added it was ‘missing a little steering in slow corners’ and he will make a small set-up change ‘to improve this point’ for Q2.

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Winner of the event two years ago with a dominant performance, Hagberg said, ‘I wasn’t driving too well and had two mistakes. Without these I think it could have been a TQ run’. Despite setting the fastest lap of the qualifier, the Swede also felt his ORCA powered T4 was a little lacking in corner speed. Having changed his set-up when drivers were faced with running on the ‘old carpet’, he said when the new carpet was laid down while he changed the set-up he ‘didn’t go completely back’ to the set-up he ran in pre-event testing at the Hudy Arena and he will for Q2 and go with harder shock springs.

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Tapping the boards at the end of the straight and suffering ‘a surprise traction roll’ four laps later, Volker said considering this ‘finishing 3rd was OK’. Feeling he only had the potential to get a P2 even with a clean round, the Yokomo driver said ‘we need to find something that give me a better feeling with the car if we are to catch Bruno’. Not winning the season opener for the first time in his 5-year reign as the ETS Champion, Rheinard beating him in Hrotovice, Volker said ‘Marc ended up behind me so it could have been a worse start to qualifying but hopefully in Q2 we can challenge for a TQ run’.

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Top Tamiya for the round, Akio Sobue would post the 4th fastest time. The reigning Japanese Champion, who enjoyed a podium finish in Austria last season, said other than a ‘small mistake’ it was a ‘good’ run. His first carpet ETS outing, the 22-year-old said on the new carpet he likes the track layout but looking for more steering from his TRF419 he will make a small change as he continues to get a proper feel for the carpet, having only had 2-minutes practice on the good carpet yesterday. Team-mate Matsukura, whom he beat to the 2015 Japanese National title, said his Tamiya had ‘maximum high traction’ and he ‘couldn’t drive it’. Saying ‘I need understeer’, he will change to a harder shock set-up and lower the upper arms.

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‘Solid’ was how Yannic Prumper summed up his P5 time. The Yokomo driver, who has been on the podium at the German round for the last three years, said he drove ‘too aggressive at the start’ and with his BD7 ‘a little tricky at the chicane’ this resulted in two mistakes. As he ‘got used to the car being loose’ he said he was able to put in a solid run but planning a set-up change he is hopeful of a stronger showing second time round.

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‘That was not what I hoped for’ was Rheinard’s reaction to a disappointing Q1, the championship leader adding his car was ‘just not fast enough and difficult to drive’. Leading away the heat and having to open up for Volker, Coelho and Hagberg, he said with the ‘pace just not there’ he will switch car for Q2. With Tamiya Racing Factory team-manager Takayuki Kono bringing a new car from Japan for the event Rheinard, who ran his Hrotovice winning car in Q1, said, ‘this has some of Kono’s own ideas on it so I will try this’. Behind Rheinard Olly Jefferies, who made his ETS A-Main debut at Round 1, would set the 7th fastest time followed by Xray team-mate Marco Kaufmann with the VBC of Lucas Urbain and Awesomatix of Viljami Kutvonen rounding out the Top 10.

View complete event results here.

View the event image gallery here.