Video – Modified, Pro Stock & Formula A2
Rheinard takes comfortable A2 win
Having had an A1 win snatched off him by Ronald Volker at the end of the final lap last night, Top Qualifier Marc Rheinard claimed a comfortable win in the second A-Main of the Yokomo Euro Tourig Series season opener in the Czech Republic. Leading from start to finish, a late charge from Volker would reducing Rheinard’s winning margin to half a second, the Tamiya driver was never under real pressure as on Volker and Coelho took turns at rolling. With the Top 3 breaking clear of the pack, Volker would as the race entered the second half roll out of the 3-car train promoting Coelho to second. That position change would only last a lap as Coelho would also roll his Xray handing the place back to the Yokomo driver, causing them to spread out and while Volker would take over a second out of Rheinard’s ending the race with three 12-second laps, the order remained unchanged with Coelho finishing 1.8-seconds back from Volker.
‘It started close until they rolled. I would be happy to have a race like this one more time today’, was Rheinard’s reaction to the win which sets the stage for showdown in A3 between two of touring car’s longest standing rivalries. Suffering ‘one bobble’ which let his pursuers close within striking distance, he said after Volker and then Coelho made their own mistakes he was ‘just cruising’. Having suffered a roll in A1 which he himself said cost him the win, the 4-time World Champion said ‘the last few laps I was just making sure I didn’t roll again’. The former champion, whose winning 2009/2010 season included his last victory of the Hrotovice event, said his ‘car was pretty easy to drive’ and he would leave it unchanged for the deciding race including running the same set of Volante tyres. A3 is set to be the 8th run of the weekend on the same set.
Having adjusted his tyre prep after suffering a very loose car at the start of A1, Volker said this resulted in an improved BD7 2016. Describing the rear grip as ‘better than all previous runs’ he continued while ‘still not very easy to drive, it was at least predictable’. Putting his roll down to catching a corner dot, he said after that all he could do was try to reduce the gap and with second in A2 securing him at least second overall he said it was going to end up ‘not too bad of a weekend’. Winner of this event during each season in which he has reigned over the ETS, the 12-time ETS race winner said track conditions have been a lot lower than they expected and that was something they needed to work on getting the car suited to for Round 2 in Germany in February.
‘Quite OK but not perfect’ was how Coelho summed up his A2 performance. The Portuguese ace said the first few laps were difficult, something he was putting down to the tyres as the cars sat on the grid for a time while the Top 10 drivers were introduced. After that his T4 ‘was good’ adding hopefully in A3 the race starts quicker. Asked about his roll, he also said he ‘touched the curbs’. Starting 4th team-mate Alexander Hagberg found himself 6th after just a few corners. Last year’s race runner-up, he would managed to get back passed Dionys Stadler but couldn’t do anything about Yannic Prumper, the 2014 podium finisher holding on for fourth by half a second.
While the first Season#9 winner of the Volante Modified class will be decided in A3, Jan Ratheisky didn’t want to wait that long backing up last night’s Formula and Pro Stock A1 wins with another in A2 to kick off the 2015/16 season in perfect fashion. Having also claimed the bonus championship point for being Top Qualifier for both classes, the reigning Formula Champion took an easy A2 win ahead of Christian Donath. In Pro Stock, the Xray driver would again be put to work hard for the win by his team-mate and reigning champion Marek Cerny. With no contact this time round, the German held on as Cerny threw his T4 through the chicane on the final dash to the finish. Doing the double is a repeat of Ratheisky’s, then known as Amser, entry in the ETS record books as being the first and still only driver to win two classes in a single ETS weekend.
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Chassis Focus – Tobias Schuster
Chassis – TOP Racing F1X
Motor – Hobbywing (handout)
ESC –Hobbywing (handout)
Batteries – Orion 4500 mah
Tires – Ride (handout)
Radio/Servo – Sanwa/Savox
Bodyshell – MonTech F14
Remarks – German driver Tobias Schuster is running the latest version of the Japanese formula car here at the ETS Season#9 opener. The main new features on the project are a whole new front end, a new top deck which features an additional post to adjust the flex and a new servo mount that allows for Ackermann and bump-steer adjustments.
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Video – Modified, Pro Stock & Formula A1
Volker snatches last lap win from Rheinard
Ronald Volker snatched a thrilling last lap win in the opening A-Main of the Yokomo Euro Touring Series season opener in the Czech Republic. Starting second behind Marc Rheinard, the Yokomo driver would recover from a slow start to the race and helped by an uncharacteristic roll from the Top Qualifier force a pass on the 4-time World Champion in the final hairpin that sent onlookers crazy. With just the chicane to negotiate, Volker would win by 0.339 of a second from Rheinard, the Tamiya driver clearly dejected by his rivals overtake. Running a somewhat lonely race Alexander Hagberg completed the Top 3 followed by Xray team-mate Bruno Coelho who he got by when the Portuguese driver made a mistake 8 laps into the 23-lap encounter.
‘I couldn’t be happier. I have never celebrated a single A-Main win more than this’ was how Volker summed up the race. The meaning of the win for the new BD7 2016 was none more clear than the reaction of its designer & engineer to Volker Yukijiro Umino whose jump for joy could very well have secured him qualification for the high jump at the 2016 Olympics. Commenting on his slow start to the race which gave Rheinard a healthy early lead with the race looking like a foregone conclusion, the reigning Champion said ‘I struggled with the rear of the car in the early minutes’. With the lack of rear grip obvious to onlookers, he continued ‘I have to give credit to Bruno for his very fare driving over the first few laps’. With Coelho’s mistake giving Volker and his improving car the opportunity to try to close the 1.5-second gap to Rheinard he said as he pushed hard setting the only 12-second lap of the race and ‘suddenly Marc made a mistake and (he) was close enough to put pressure on him’. With the car getting more predictable and feeling his car was quicker in the right section of the track he said the gap to Hagberg was also big enough ‘to give the pass a shot and it paid off’. With a night to sleep on and enjoy his A1 win, he said for A2 tomorrow they need to discuss tyre prep so as to have a better opening pace.
Looking like he got the break he wanted as a struggling Volker held up Coelho, a dejected Rheinard said ‘I lost the race myself with the roll on the straight, this was enough to let him catch me’. On the move itself, Rheinard who having also TQ’d this race last year but ended up 4th in the final result, said ‘I went into the last corner too safe trying to bring home the win’. Still somewhat stunned by the pass, he said his TRF419 got a little loose but was still drivable pointing out again that he was solely to blame for throwing away the win.
Hagberg was not happy with his race to 3rd. The frustrated Swede said ‘I had no traction so I had no chance to challenge the others’. Coelho, who hinted his patience behind Volker was more a fear of being taken out by the by tail happy Yokomo, said like Rheinard that he ruined his own race with a mistake. Behind Coelho, Dionys Stadler would finish fifth benefitting from the retirement of Yannic Prumper who had been battling with Coelho for fourth.
The opening A-Main of Pro Stock and Formula would see Top Qualifier Jan Ratheisky take the wins but the German was made work hard for them both. In the Serpent Formula encounter, the Champion appeared to have checked out but he too rolled his Xray coming into the main straight. Although he was already closing in this would set the stage for VBC team driver Olivier Bultynck to get right with Ratheisky with them interlocking wheels as they battled it out but Bultynck came off worst on the penultimate lap to finish second 6/10ths back.
The Xray Pro Stock race produced a great battle between Top Qualifier Ratheisky and reigning champion Marek Cerny, the Xray team-mates going at it until contact at 1-minute to go turned the race on its head. With Cerny having to wait on Ratheisky following his failed pass, the Czech driver would get consumed by the pack ending up 8th while ARC driver Helge Johannessen took second just ahead of Spanish Yokomo driver Toni Mateo who came through from 10th on the grid.
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Euro Touring Series Rd1 – Saturday Action
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Rheinard on pole for ETS Season opener
Marc Rheinard will start the A-Main at the opening round of the Yokomo Euro Touring Series in the Czech Republic from pole position. The Tamiya driver claimed the overall TQ despite Ronald Volker putting in a second TQ run in the final qualifier. With the fastest time of the four rounds which was set in Q3, this would give Rheinard the tie breaker and secure him his first pole since Round 2 last season in Muelheim-Kaerlich. Starting behind the long standing German rivals will be Bruno Coelho, the Xray driver having been on target to top the final heat and secure second on the grid until he rolled as the heat entered the final 2-minutes. Runner-up behind Volker in Hrotovice last year, Alexander Hagberg starts 4th with 2014 podium finisher Yannic Prumper completing the top half of the grid.
With his TQ coming to little last year as he finished 4th, Rheinard is determined to opening his 2015/2016 ETS campaign with a win. Having changed to his second set of tyres for the final qualifier, he said the fresher set which only ran one round of practice did not have as good a pace as the first set. Planning to switch back to first set, A1 being their sixth run, he said this should give him back the steering he was missing in Q4. Asked about the finals, the championship’s most winning driver replied that while Volker is fast, ‘Bruno was pretty fast in the last one (qualifier)’, hoping this plays to advantage if Coelho can mount a challenge on Volker allowing him to break clear at the front.
Have changed to his second set of tyres a round earlier than Rheinard, Volker said going back to his first set of tyres had made his new BD7 2016 more like it was in Q1 with him able to lay down the fastest lap. Also making a shock set-up change to make the rear more stable, an issue he complained of even after TQing the opening heat, he said it did improve things leaving him unsure what to change for A1. Running on Rheinard’s bumper during the final heat, he said ‘even without Marc blocking me for a few laps I probably wouldn’t have been fast enough to beat his Q3 time’. Also acknowlegding Coelho’s performance saying he ‘showed great pace in the last qualiifier’, Volker said ‘it won’t be easy in the sandwich between them (Rheinard & Coelho)’ but he would still ‘try to go for the win’.
Not sure how he flipped his T4 in the last qualifier but thinking he has touched the dot, Coelho again said his car was ‘perfect’. Only 6/1000ths off Volker’s fastest lap, the winner of the final two rounds of last ETS season said ‘I like finals more than qualifying’. Making his carpet racing debut at this event last year qualifying 8th and finishing 6th he continued, ‘I could finish 1st or 10th but my car is really good so I am ready to fight for the win’.
With his final qualifier ruined on the second lap when he made a mistake at the chicane, Hagberg said he didn’t like a set-up change he made for the run and will revert back. Unable to get used to feeling the changes brought about, the Swede wasn’t comfortable driving the car. Feeling with the old set back on the car it will be good enough to run with the three starting ahead of him he will ‘take it easy and see what happens up front’ adding ‘I hope there is the possibility to overtake’.
Making ‘a lot of changes’ to the set-up on his Yokomo, Prumper said they made it ‘a bit more difficult (to drive) but faster’. From 5th on the grid he said a good result was going to be difficult but added ‘let’s see what happens’. Asked if he would make any changes for A1, his mechanic Toni Rheinard responded that they would be using the finals as practice for February’s second Round in Germany and would be trying different things each leg. Behind Prumper, Dionys Stadler will start an impressive 6th after putting in a great final qualifier in which he was fourth fastest from Schumacher’s Michal Orlowski. Unfortunately for Orlowski he would lose out on the final spot on the grid on a tie break with hotly tipped pre race contender Viljami Kutvonen who is giving the Awesomatix A800 its ETS debut.
For the Serpent Formula and Xray Pro Stock A-Mains it is the same driver that will start up front, Jan Ratheisky. The Formula Champion wrapped up the overall TQ for that class by setting the pace for a third time in the final qualifier. Behind last year’s race winner, the Q1 topping Xray of Dutch driver Jitse Miedema starts second followed by Christian Donath and former multiple Pro Stock Champion Alexander Stocker. Last year’s ETS Luxembourg winner Olivier Bultynck completes the front half of the grid. In Pro Stock defending champion Marek Cerny finally topped the times at his home event to secure second on the grid ahead of Q3 winner Tom Krägefski, who as the only person who could deny Ratheisky the overall TQ was 3rd fastest in the deciding qualifier.
View the complete event results here.
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Chassis Focus – Keven Hebert
Chassis – Associated RC10 TC6
Motor – Reedy Sonic 4.5T
ESC – Reedy
Batteries – Reedy 5000 mah
Tires – Volante (handout)
Radio/Servo – Futaba
Bodyshell – Protoform LTC-R
Remarks – Canadian driver Keven Hebert is in attendance here in Hrotovice running an interesting Hybrid version of the American made car which features the suspension parts, the shocks and part of the steering system that will equip the newly announced TC7. Having not received the rest of the car in time for the event he is still using the layout and transmission from the TC6. With Associated not producing an aluminium chassis for the TC6, he is using an Avid one, and the only other option parts used are a titanium screws set and the front double joint driveshafts
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