Volker & Groskamp complete podium in China

Ronald Volker has taken the runner up spot at the opening AOC in Shanghai, winning the 3rd A-main ahead of Jilles Groskamp. With JJ Wang wrapping up the overall win in A2, he sat out the final encounter and this meant Volker had clear track ahead of him at the start. Groskamp would take 2nd in the race, after another coming together with Naoto, for the final step on the podium while Jan Ratheisky once again took 3rd to end up 4th overall in Modified.

On the tone, Volker pushed hard to pull away and had a small gap, but a coming together between Matsukura and Groskamp left him with a larger gap. Pleased with 2nd overall he said it ‘could have been better but also a lot worse’. Complimenting the RCI V2 crew, Volker is now looking forward to the asphalt season, which will kick off at ETS Rd4 in mid May in Italy.

‘Good to be back on the podium’ was Jilles Groskamp’s reaction to A3. Ready to settle for 3rd in the race, when Matsukura got sideways in front of him they touched, the Japanese driver’s body tucking. Race director Scotty Ernst called for him to carry on and so the Infinity was promoted to 2nd. With traffic proving difficult on this tight track and Ronald being too far ahead, the 2012 World Champion focused on getting the car to the finish.

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