Significant win for Volker in Round 6 at RROC
Defending Reedy Race Champion Ronald Volker claimed a significant win at the Tamiya Raceway as the 18th running of the event reached the halfway mark. The Yokomo driver, having started from the back of the grid, claimed only his second win as points leader Marc Rheinard, who started in the same race from 3rd on the grid, finished only 5th. Round 6 of 12 would be about repeat winners with Tamiya’s Christopher Krapp and Xray’s Alexander Hagberg adding to yesterday’s wins.
Having been frustrated at his starting position for today’s action, the German lining up towards the back for 3 of his 4 races, Volker said the win was ‘very satisfying’. Making up places on the first run through the sweeper, contact between Rheinard and Mike Haynes in the chicane would leave the ETS champion second at the end of lap 1. With former team-mate Naoto Matsukura leading, Volker again setting the fastest lap said he knew he had the faster car and with time on his side he just drove patiently behind the World Champion. On lap 6 the waiting game paid off as the Japanese Tamiya driver jumped the track’s famous kink allowing Volker through at the next corner for a lead he would extend and hold to the end.
Commenting on what has been his worst finish so far, 5th, Rheinard said ‘hopefully that will be one of my dropped rounds’. Commenting on the first lap incident that dropped him down to 7th, the multiple World Champion said Haynes, who started from P2, got out of shape and he had no chance to avoid him. Working his way back up to third placed Andy Moore, he said the HB driver was ‘really slow’ resulting in contact at the sweeper. Having to wait on the fellow former World Champion, Rheinard would make further contact with Moore whose PRO-5 got caught on the boards losing him 4-seconds as he again waited.
Winning the opening race of the round after Juho Levanen rolled his Associated having led for 7 laps, Krapp said while he was happy to get the win he was more happy that his Tamiya was good again. In Round 5, yesterday’s double race winner had a big off during the warm-up and he struggled finishing 6th. Finding afterwards the car had a broken chassis plus other key parts, he said his mechanic did a great job rebuilding the car and while it took a few laps to feel the car was ok after that it was ‘super good to drive’ and he goes into the second half of the event in a confident mood.
Asked about his win, Hagberg said ‘I got lucky in the end’ referring to fellow Swede Viktor Wilck rolling out of the lead with 4-laps to go. With Wilck pulling off the pass of the day yesterday on Hagberg, the Xray driver said he ‘got distracted by the huge wreck’ on the main straight, Canadian Andrew Hardmann collecting an out of shape Charlee Phutiyotin, and this was enough to let Wilck by. With his T4 ‘working better today’, he said he was able to keep with the Serpent driver. Hoping things ‘stay as lucky for the rest of the day’ he added that ‘for this race you need it’. Wilck said once he got passed Hagberg he got too relaxed and just tried to cruise close to the curbing to keep him behind but over did it and got too tight causing his S411 to roll. Happy with how is car is performing he said second was ‘still good points’. Having led for 8-laps under pressure from Hagberg, ARC’s Steven Weiss would, unlike Cahrlie P, survive getting out of shape on the straight but would relinquish the lead as a result to finish 3rd.
View the event image gallery here.
