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.

View our event image gallery here.

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.

View our event image gallery here.

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.

View our event image gallery here.

Another TQ run puts Volker on target for pole in France

Team Yokomo’s Ronald Volker is proving to be very much the man to beat here at the European Championships in France after backing up his fastest time in the opening qualifier with another TQ run in Q2, albeit in a slightly slower time.  The German, who is looking to regain the title he won in France in 2007, set the pace over the Tamiya’s of Elliot Harper, Jilles Groskamp and Viktor Wilck, and putting himself in a strong position to wrap up pole for Sunday’s final.  After the run Volker said despite not changing anything on his BD5 it was a little loose for the run but he still managed a new fastest lap for qualifying, recording a 19.796. Asked if he planned any changes for the morning the German said he would wait til the morning to see how the weather plays out with rain being the most common prediction here in the pits.

Changing the camber links on his TRF416, Harper said his car was still easy to drive with the change making no noticeable difference.   Improving his time by 2/10th, the 17-year-old believes that his car is good enough to match Volker’s Yokomo and that the difference will have to come through his driving.  Groskamp echoed that view.  The defending Champion, who didn’t get to do any pre-event practice in Aniche, said he is still learning that track and his lack of consistency is where he is losing out.  Happy with his car, the Dutch Pro believes if he can get into a good rhythm tomorrow he should be able to challenge Volker for the overall TQ honours which he took on his way to winning his first ever European title last year in Luxembourg.  The other two members of the Tamiya Racing Factory remain unhappy with their cars.  Changing back to the set-up he ran in practice Wilck set the fourth fastest time but is far from comfortable with his car.  Marc Rheinard crashed in Q2 and tried to rejoin but said his tyres were ruined by the large amount of dust offline.

Yannick Pruemper enjoyed his best run setting the 5th fastest time but once again the German teenager made a mistake.  Behind him Loic Jasmin was again fastest of the French drivers despite being hit by Rheinard as he tried to rejoin the track after his off.  Costing him around 1 second in time the incident didn’t cost Jasmin a placing.  Having raised the central bulk head on his Tamiya the French Champion said the car had more traction and better steering following the change.  Finishing just 6/10th adrift with the seventh fastest time was fellow countryman Cyril N’Diaye.  Running LRP electrics in his Tamiya, N’Diaye said his car is perfect and he just needs to push more as a driver.

Eight and ninth fastest for the round were German pairing Steven Weiss and Marc Fisher.  Small set-up changes had improved Weiss’s Yokomo and the former Euros Top Qualifier is happy he now has something to build on for tomorrow when he plans to change tyre additive.  Factory Corally driver Fisher said a change from Trinity Tyre Tweak to Marc Rheinard additive had made his car better over the full 5-minutes but he was annoyed by the driving of fellow countryman Freddy Sudhoff after the pair clashed despite the Hot Bodies driver being a lap down on the field.  Completing the Top 10 was French driver Jérôme Carpentier while Losi star Lucas Urbain recorded his first full run to set the 11th fastest time.

Qualifying resumes in the morning when hopefully we will be able to continue with four dry rounds of heats.

Qualifying standings after 2 rounds
1. Ronald Volker (DE) – 0pts (Yokomo/LRP)
2. Jilles Groskamp (NL) – 5pts (Tamiya/Team Orion)
3. Elliott Harper (GB) – 5pts (Tamiya/Speed Passion)
4. Victor Wilck (SE) – 9pts (Tamiya/Speed Passion)
5. Yannick Pruemper (DE) – 13pts (Yokomo/Speed Passion)
6. Loïc Jasmin (FR) – 13pts (Tamiya/Team Orion)
7. Cyril N’Diaye (FR) – 16pts (Tamiya/LRP)
8. Andy Moore (GB) – 19pts (Hot Bodies/Nosram)
9. Steven Weiss (DE) – 20pts (Yokomo/LRP)
10.Marc Fisher (DE) – 26pts (Corally/GM)

Full results can be found here.

View our event image gallery here.