Yokomo domination continues as Matsukura tops Q3
Yokomo continues to be the dominant force in qualifying at the 8th running of the electric Touring Car World Championships in Florida. Continuing the form of the opening two qualifiers again it was a Yokomo 1-2, with Naoto Matsukura posting a second TQ run ahead of Q2 pace setter Ronald Volker with the pair separated by just 1/10th of a second. A considerable three & a half seconds off, Marc Rheinard was again best of the rest with the Tamiya driver posting another third fastest time.
A slower pace than the opening round of the day, Matsukura said conditions in the hot Kissimmee conditions made for ‘difficult’ driving conditions. With the hot track loose and the ‘paint (curbs) particularly bad’ the 21-year-old said it was very easy to lose the car. Again setting the fastest lap of the round, he said after suffering a number of moments he decided it was best to switch to ‘safety mode’ and just try to complete a clean round.
‘Finishing 0.1 behind TQ is not the best feeling at all but I must admit he was just slightly faster’, was Volker’s reaction to his close fought round with his team-mate. ‘On the edge’ he said he couldn’t get any closer to Matsukura. With the overall feeling of his LRP powered BD7 improved he said he would still like to find a little more but added being ‘3-4 seconds ahead of the rest it was a complaint of a very high level of expectation’. With the battle for the TQ now clearly between him and Matsukura he said while he prefers the hot conditions and they are very equal in such conditions he knows once it cools down the advantage moves to his team-mate.
‘For some reason we are struggling in the hot conditions and we don’t know why’, was Rheinard’s explanation of the gap to the the Top 2. Complaining of ‘zero grip’, the German said ‘at least I still got a third, luckily’. Feeling maybe the shock oil in his Muchmore powered TRF419 is too light, he said they have to change something for the next run to try and close the gap.
Changing shock oil and the chassis stiffness of his Tamiya, Viktor Wilck said his car was a little better. Setting the 4th fastest time the Swede was a little frustrated by having to open up 3 times for Team Xray’s Bruno Coelho. Hoping to further improve in Q4 he said ‘in the hot we still have no chance of matching the Yokomos’.
Enjoying his best run Hayato Matsuzaki managed 5th. The 2010 World Championship runner-up said his Yokomo was better suited to hot conditions but added his smooth consistent driving was also a factor. Working his tyres less he said this gave him a stronger car towards the end of the 5-minutes over some of his rivals.
‘Slow and steady I guess’ was how Alexander Hagberg summed up his 6th for the round. The Xray driver said ‘everyone is on the limit and that was the limit for me’. Opting to leave his car unchanged for Q3 focusing on registering another solid run, the Swede said now they can start to play around with things to try and reduce the gap ahead of them.
Posting his first Top 10 run of the day with 8th, Kyosho’s Christopher Krapp said ‘one side I am happy and on the other I’m disappointed’. Running in a top 3 position, the multiple Worlds finalist said with two laps to go he pushed too hard having heard his position and he ended up over driving and losing positions. Fitting a new Orion Speedo/Motor combo to his as yet unnamed new Kyosho, the German said the ‘car felt really good and fast now’. Suffering a spin after touching the paint Atsushi Hara recorded another 9th while a mistake at the start & then traffic left Coelho to complete the Top 10.
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