Sudhoff hits the top in Q3 at ETS Netherlands
Having set the benchmark high with his pace in practice, top seed Freddy Sudhoff finally hit the top in qualifying at ETS Netherlands as he TQ’d the third round. The Awesomatix driver would be the only one to make 21-laps as the temperatures rose at the Apeldoorn track, the German’s gamble to not run new tyres in the morning’s Q2 not paying off. One used tyres for Q3, Bruno Coelho is the man on target to take the overall TQ due to his Q2 time which was over 5-seconds quicker and with the track going to be super hot again for the fourth and final qualifier it looks a big ask for Sudhoff to deny the champion from start on pole for the second year in succession. Behind Sudhoff, Christopher Krapp was second fastest from Alexander Hagberg and Nicolas Lee with Swiss driver Carl Friedrich Groessel surprising everyone with P6 for the round ahead of Marc Rheinard and Ronald Volker.
Reacting to his TQ run, Sudhoff explained, ‘It was a pretty good run with almost no mistakes but the gamble didn’t pay off because the track is super hot now’. The ETS Spain winner continued, ‘I hope I can stay second overall (on the grid) in the last one because from there I can fight with Bruno for the win’.
Summing up his effort, Krapp said, ‘I’m happy with second actually. The weather played our card. The car is still too stable but because of this I was able to push it harder in the hotter conditions’. Already looking to the final, the first of which will take place this evening and the second tomorrow morning, the Yokomo driver said, ‘tonight and the morning are going to be cooler for the A-Main and this is a disadvantage for me we need to work on improving the car for the cold, or lets say cooler condition because it is still going to be warm’.
Asked about his run Hagberg replied, ‘It was a clean run but I struggled a bit on the hotter track for traction’. Holding P4 on the grid with one qualifier to go, the Xray driver continued, ‘I will change the car for Q4 and try to go faster’.
Setting the fourth fastest time, Lee said, ‘the beginning started good but the car pushed a lot in the end’. The Singapore driver continued, ‘now I’m in the A-Main so I can make for changes. I have been safe with the set-up I am running so I think for the last one we will try something aggressive’.
Leading the Infinity challenge and holding 8th on the grid, Groskamp said, ‘I’m very happy to come back into the Top 10. I have been struggling at other ETS races. I know I know this track but the set-up is totally different with the weather’. The former World Champion continued, ‘I got 7th on old tyres (Q2) and 5th now on fresh tyres. We have a little more trouble with tyres overheating. I am testing more and more old parts against new prototype parts. I want to race well of course but I am using this race to test a lot. We are all struggling but I am happy with my own driving performance’.
Embarrassing some top drivers with his P6, Groessel put the performance down to an improved shock set-up on his Yokomo. The 17-year-old said that while his first lap was a little conservative after that the rest of the run was ‘really good’ and ‘really clean’. Looking to the final qualifier he said he my go further with the shock change he made but would review the temperature closer to the time.
In Pro Stock Awesomatix team manager Max Mächler became the third different driver to top a qualifier. The ETS Daun winner was fastest from Tobias Vogel and championship leader Simon Lauter with former ETS race winner Vasco Christiaanse fourth. In Formula it was a similar story as David Ehrbar TQ’d the round ahead of reigning champion Jan Ratheisky and Olivier Bultynck.
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