Volker cruises to Leg 1 victory

Ronald Volker has taken an easy win in the opening leg of a rain effected European Championship Final here in France which saw the Top 3 finish in the same order as they started. Just as the mechanics cleared the grid rain started to fall with the Race Director making a call for a 5-minute delay to the start but this proved unpopular with the drivers and the decision was quickly reversed. With the race underway the rain increased making the conditions tricky but by around lap 8 the shower had passed and the track was starting to dry.

Volker said while the opening laps were very tricky but once the track started to dry his Yokomo was really good and he was able to control the pace out front. Setting the fastest lap of the race he eventually took a commanding victory over Elliot Harper. The British teenager said he tried to push as much as he could but was unable to do anything about catching the German. The Tamiya driver said the opening laps were tough as he didn’t know how much power to use with traction levels varying each corner. Chasing his first European title Elliot said it is going to be tough to deny Volker his second title but he plans to give it his all in Leg 2 when hopefully conditions will be dry.

Completing the top 3 Viktor Wilck said after seeing Jilles Groskamp spin behind him in the tricky conditions on lap 2 he took it easy, maybe too easy. Finishing 7 seconds behind his TRF/Speedpassion team-mate Harper he said in the dry his TRF416 felt good but overall he just didn’t have the speed to match the Top 2. Finishing sixth, having started fourth, defending champion Groskamp didn’t have a good race. Spinning out on his own accord he then lost further time when he ran into the back of the Team Yokomo of Junior Champion Yannic Prumper.

The big mover of the race was Team Associated’s Juho Levanen who finished fourth. The two times former Champion said on the opening lap it was like some of the drivers had never driven in the wet before as he was able to pass them with ease. Pressured by former World & European Champion Andy Moore in the closing stages of the race, the Finn said he was driving cautiously but was able to make his TC6 wide enough to keep the factory Hot Bodies driver behind. On the opening lap Moore got spun out by Marc Rheinard as the field bunched up. While the World Champion waited and gave position back, Moore felt without the incident he could have been on for a strong result as the set-up on his TCX was really good for the conditions.

The incident also ended any chance of a decent result for Rheinard and the last classified finisher in 9th position. The only retirement of the race was French Champion Loic Jasmin who was pushed from behind as the field started lap three. Hitting the barriers his raced ended on the spot as his Tamiya was broken.

A-main Leg 1 results
1. Ronald Volker – 15 Laps in 5:20.693
2. Elliott Harper – 14 Laps in 5:01.564
3. Victor Wilck – 14 Laps in 5:08.074
4. Juho Levanen – 14 Laps in 5:10.229
5. Andy Moore – 14 Laps in 5:10.706
6. Jilles Groskamp – 14 Laps in 5:15.300
7. Yannick Pruemper – 14 Laps in 5:16.028
8. Marc Fischer – 14 Laps in 5:16.679
9. Marc Rheinard – 14 Laps in 5:17.312
10.Loïc Jasmin – 2 Laps in 0:51.331

Full results can be found here.

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Harper TQ’s controversial final qualifier

Tamiya Racing Factory’s Elliot Harper has TQ’d the final round of qualifying at the EFRA European Touring Car Championships in France but there was some controversy surrounding Q6.  A protest, fronted by Marc Rheinard, was made following the round regarding the use of unmarked tyres, during what was officially declared a wet round.  After 40 minutes of discussion between officials it was ruled that the protest was received outside the permitted time in which a protest can be made. Under the rules all tyres dry or wet need to be marked but in this case drivers ran unmarked tyres without any penalty.  Rheinard said his protest was not a direct protest but was made to highlight rules not being adhered to.  In the rules regarding the running of the European Championships it is stated that 5 rounds of qualifying will take place with the best two to count, but organisers ran 6 with three to count leaving the tyre allocation at 5 sets.  We understand a protest was made yesterday morning by the British team regarding the unusual format but this was over ruled.

While the debate on the running of this event is set to continue into the night and beyond, the outcome is that qualifying will be based on the best 3 of the 6 qualifiers meaning Harper will line up behind Volker who had already wrapped up pole position in Q5.  Asked if he can challenge the German for the win around the very technical track, the British teenager summed it up by saying ‘it is going to be hard to make a pass but on the other side it is also very easy to make a mistake.’  While mounting a challenge on Volker is Harper’s aim for the finals he must also be conscious of those starting behind with his TRF team-mates Viktor Wilck and defending Champion Jilles Groskamp lining up 3rd & 4th respectively.

Half the field in this year’s final is made up of former European Champions.  Fourth fastest in Q6, 2006 Champion Andy Moore will line up his Hot Bodies 5th on the grid, just in front of 2008 Champion Marc Rheinard, while 2002 & 2003 Champion Juho Levanen lines up 9th as the sole Team Associated.  Qualifying 7th on the grid, Yannick Pruemper has successfully defended his European Junior Championship title as he is the only driver aged 16-year-old or younger to make the main.  Hoping to give the locals reason to celebrate tomorrow Loic Jasmin is the only Frenchman in the A-Main with his Tamiya securing 8th.  Making it five different manufacturers in the final Marc Fischer takes the last spot on the grid with his factory Corally. A big surprise in terms of the grid is that there are no Xray cars in the main event.

Final qualifying standings
1. Ronald Volker (DE) – 0pts (Yokomo/LRP)
2. Elliott Harper (GB) – 5pts (Tamiya/Speed Passion)
3. Victor Wilck (SE) – 6pts (Tamiya/Speed Passion)
4. Jilles Groskamp (NL) – 7pts (Tamiya/Team Orion)
5. Andy Moore (GB) – 10pts (Hot Bodies/Nosram)
6. Marc Rheinard (DE) – 11pts (Tamiya/Speed Passion)
7. Yannick Pruemper (DE) – 12pts (Yokomo/Speed Passion)
8. Loïc Jasmin (FR) – 19pts (Tamiya/Team Orion)
9. Juho Levanen (FIN) – 23pts (Associated/LRP)
10.Marc Fischer (DE) – 27pts (Corally/GM)

Full results can be found here.

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Volker is Top Qualifier in France

Team Yokomo’s Ronald Volker will start the 2010 European Championship finals tomorrow from pole position after he topped the penultimate round of qualifying here at the Circuit Léo Lagrange securing himself the overall Top Qualifier honours.  The winner of the European Indoor Championship, a title he won earlier in the year from pole, the German said he was very happy to secure the number 1 starting position on a track which is going to prove difficult to pass on.  Talking about Q5, the 2007 Champion said the run was more difficult as the track was very dirty due to the wind that has picked up and brought with it the forecasted rain which just started to fall as the final round of qualifying got underway.  Volker was happy with his car despite the track conditions and that was reflected in his time as he became the only driver to post a second 16-lap run.

Marc Rheinard said he did not drive well but the German still managed to set the second fastest time moving himself up the fifth overall in the qualification ranking.  Describing the track as ‘maximum dusty’, the Tamiya driver posted the fastest lap for the round but this has done little to improve the three time World Champions view of the circuit. Over a second & a half adrift of Rheinard was defending Champion Jilles Groskamp but the Tamiya/Orion team driver said third for the round was only due to the fact that faster drivers crashed.  Switching to a larger spur and pinion so as he could move the motor more forward in his TRF416, Groskamp said it did not give him the desired change of making the car more balance but instead produced understeer.  Having TQ’d the penultimate round of qualifying Viktor Wilck was unable to repeat that performance.  With the battery in each car being checked before each heat the Swede’s voltage was found to be too high.  Discharging it to below the permitted maximum he was late to the starting grid and had to start from the 10 position.  Trying to pass a slower on the opening lap they touched ending any chance of a repeat TQ run.

Teenagers Yannick Prumper and Elliot Harper set the 5th & 6th times respectively but neither were happy with their run.  Prumper ended his run on his roof and his Yokomo was collected by the car of Olivier Bultynck, but luckily nothing broke but the German is busy checking if it is tweaked.  Despite reverting to the Speed 6 body, Harper said his Tamiya had a complete lack of traction and is at a loss as to why this is.

Team Associated’s Juho Levanen posted his best run with 8th, the Finn saying he is finally starting to get to grips with the track.  Admitting he made a mistake of running old tyres in Q4, he said new tyres had made his TC6 good again and the run could have been faster but he got held up by a slower driver.  The Top 10 was completed by the Tamiya of Thomas Pumpler, Belgian National Champion Olivier Bultynck driving a Corally and former Euros Top Qualifier Steven Weiss.

Qualifying standings after 5 rounds
1. Ronald Volker (DE) – 0pts (Yokomo/LRP)
2. Victor Wilck (SE) – 6pts (Tamiya/Speed Passion)
3. Jilles Groskamp (NL) – 8pts (Tamiya/Team Orion)
4. Elliott Harper (GB) – 8pts (Tamiya/Speed Passion)
5. Marc Rheinard (DE) – 11pts (Tamiya/Speed Passion)
6. Andy Moore (GB) – 11pts (Hot Bodies/Nosram)
7. Yannick Pruemper (DE) – 14pts (Yokomo/Speed Passion)
8. Loïc Jasmin (FR) – 21pts (Tamiya/Team Orion)
9. Marc Fischer (DE) – 27pts (Corally/GM)
10.Steven Weiss (DE) – 27pts (Yokomo/LRP)

Full results can be found here.

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Wilck fastest in Q4

Tamiya’s Viktor Wilck has topped the fourth round of qualifying here Aniche, France, helped by the fact that Ronald Volker ran used tyres. A slower round than Q3, which saw Volker record 16 laps, the Swede managed only 15 laps, admitting that the TQ was down to that fact that the provisional pole sitter ran one of 5 allocated sets of tyres for a second time. Volker said on the used rubber his Yokomo was very loose for the first part of the run and he had to let the Tamiya drivers by but by the end of the run he was able to close back in.

Setting the second fastest time was Hot Bodies’ Andy Moore. Originally planning on changing rear shock positions to improve steering on his TCX, he ended up changing from steel to plastic outdrives on the front spool which he said improved the car in particular giving it more slow speed steering. Adding second to his earlier 4th and 5th fastest times the former World Champion said with a place in the final now pretty much assured he plans to try some more radical set-up changes for the remaining two rounds of qualifying.

Having not featured in early qualifying, Marc Rheinard final managed to record a competitive run but the World Champion said this was only due to the fact that he completed an incident free run. The Tamiya/Speedpassion driver is still far from happy with his TRF416 which he said has very bad understeer. Team-mate Jilles Groskamp set the fastest lap for the round but managing only 5th he said ‘it’s just me’. The Dutch driver is happy with his car but not with his driving saying inconsistent laps are costing him too much time. Having been in the Top 3 for in the previous rounds Elliot Harper struggled with his Tamiya after a switch to an LTC-R body for Q4. Sideways through the corners, the World Championship podium finisher said the Protoform shell, which Wilck is using successfully here, did not suit the set-up he is running and he will revert back to the Speed 6.

Fourth fastest was Yannick Prumper. The Team Yokomo driver raised the droop on his BD5 which improved it over the start of the run but after a minute and a half he once again struggled with understeer. He hopes a change of timing for his tyre prep will cure the problem for the penultimate qualifier.

Having been outside the Top 10 up to now Team Associated and Xray finally posted a decent round. Olly Jefferies had his best round setting the 6th fastest time with his prototype TC6 while team-mate Juho Levanen ended up 9th. Both drivers put their improvements down to cleaner runs, former two time champion Levanen felt his car wasn’t as good this time round but said he managed to get around without hitting anything. Jefferies said he found a better balance between pushing too hard and driving too cautious, the end result being a faster average lap and his quickest 5-minute time so far.

Alexander Hagberg, who posted the 7th fastest time, said his time was down to improvements both to his LRP powered T3 and in his driving but the Swede said the package is still not perfect.  Putting in his best run Austrian Tamiya driver Thomas Pumpler completed the Top 10.

Qualifying standings after 4 rounds
1. Ronald Volker (DE) – 0pts (Yokomo/LRP)
2. Victor Wilck (SE) – 6pts (Tamiya/Speed Passion)
3. Elliott Harper (GB) – 8pts (Tamiya/Speed Passion)
4. Jilles Groskamp (NL) – 9pts (Tamiya/Team Orion)
5. Andy Moore (GB) – 11pts (Hot Bodies/Nosram)
6. Yannick Pruemper (DE) – 15pts (Yokomo/Speed Passion)
7. Loïc Jasmin (FR) – 21pts (Tamiya/Team Orion)
8. Marc Fischer (DE) – 27pts (Corally/GM)
9. Olly Jefferies (GB) – 29pts (Associated/LRP)
10.Steven Weiss (DE) – 29pts (Yokomo/LRP)

Full results can be found here.

View our event image gallery here.

Volker continues domination in France

Ronald Volker’s domination of the 2010 European Touring Car Championship continues on the second day of qualifying with the Team Yokomo driver topping Q3 in a new fastest time as the Top 3 for the round broke into the 16 laps.  Recording 16-laps in 5:17.156, the German said his car was loose in the beginning of the run, something he feels may be due to removing the tyre warmers too early as after a few laps his LRP powered BD5 feels ready good.

Recording the second fastest time and the fastest lap for the round, Viktor Wilck was slightly more content with his car after adjustments to the rear wing gave his Speed Passion powered Tamiya more steering.  Despite putting in his best run so far the Swede is not happy saying the gap to Volker is still far too big.  Also suffering with his car being loose at the start of the run Wilck plans to warm his tyres for longer next time out.

TRF team-mates Elliot Harper and Jilles Groskamp took 3rd and fourth fastest respectively, both having headed Volker in the first half of the run.  The only other driver to make 16 laps, Harper said after 2-minutes he starts to lose around 1/10th of a second a lap to Volker although the car doesn’t feel any slower.  With three good results now to his credit the British teenager plans to use the remaining three qualifiers to test and try to close the gap to Volker.  Having run a Speed 6 bodyshell Harper plans to switch to an LTC-R for Q4.  Groskamp said he has to drive better admitting he lost concentration in the middle of the run.  The defending Champion will start Q4 behind Volker, Wilck and Harper and believes this could play to his advantage as he can chase them down rather than have to worry about their position behind him.  Team leader Marc Rheinard’s event isn’t getting any better the World Champion crashing again in the round and didn’t finish.

Having thought he had a bad set of tyres in yesterday’s second round of qualifying, Andy Moore later discovered that the problem was in fact a faulty tyre warmer cup.  With new cups fitted this morning, the factory Hot Bodies driver was back at the sharp end of the time sheets setting the fifth fastest time. Describing his run as solid, the 2006 Champion said he was surprised by his pace.  With his TCX pushing a little he plans to move the rear shock position to get more steering.

Yannick Pruemper said his Yokomo developed bad understeer in the later part of the run but the German teenager was still able to set the sixth fastest time.  Looking to defend his European Junior title here tomorrow, he plans to try heavier shock oil in Q4.  Team-mate Steven Weiss set the ninth fastest time and although his car is better overall he continues to struggle to get it to be fast over the opening laps.

Team Corally’s Marc Fisher enjoyed his best run so far but the German said he is having to drive with caution to stop the rear end getting loose.  The German said tyre preparation is critical on this technical track, but even with that 100% he feels that Volker, Groskamp and Harper are going to be very hard to catch.  Once again Loic Jasmin was the best of the French competitors taking his Team Orion powered Tamiya to the eight fastest time with 2009 Finalist Lucas Urbain breaking into the Top 10 for the first time with his Losi.

Outside the Top 10 Olly Jefferies was the best of the Associated drivers recording the 12th fastest time while Manuel Henriet was fastest Schumacher in 16th three places ahead of the quickest Xray for the round driven by Martin Hudy.

Qualifying standings after 3 rounds
1. Ronald Volker (DE) – 0pts (Yokomo/LRP)
2. Elliott Harper (GB) – 8pts (Tamiya/Speed Passion)
3. Jilles Groskamp (NL) – 9pts (Tamiya/Team Orion)
4. Victor Wilck (SE) – 11pts (Tamiya/Speed Passion)
5. Yannick Preumper (DE) – 19pts (Tamiya/Speed Passion)
6. Loïc Jasmin (FR) – 21pts (Tamiya/Team Orion)
7. Andy Moore (GB) – 24pts (Hot Bodies/Nosram)
8. Steven Weiss (DE) – 29pts (Yokomo/LRP)
9. Cyril N’Diaye (F) – 30pts (Tamiya/LRP)
10.Marc Fisher (DE) – 33pts (Corally/GM)

Full results can be found here.

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