Another TQ run for Groskamp

Jilles Groskamp has claimed his second TQ run of the day with the Tamiya driver setting the fastest five-minute run of the day in the penultimate round of qualifying here in Burgdorf.  The Dutch ace was on target for the first 25 laps of the World Championship but made a mistake mid way through the run but still ended up fastest from his team mate Elliot Harper with a 24 lap run in 5:02.072.

Running new tyres Groskamp described his car as ‘absolutely amazing’ saying it was super easy to drive.  Needing to TQ the round in order to keep the battle with team-mate Marc Rheinard for overall TQ honours, the Orion backed driver said he was very pleased’ with his run despite the his off.  Needing a top 2 finish in the final round he is very confident about his chances having proven earlier in the day he is very quick on used tyres.  Will all the leading drivers, with the exception of Hayato Matsuzaki, believed to have already used up their allocation of three new sets of tyres the final qualifier should prove a more even playing field.

Having made mistakes in each of his earlier outings Harper said he managed to stay out of trouble to record his best run.  Also running a fresh set of tyres, the British teenager said he had to push really hard over the last three laps to keep ahead of Xray’s Paul Lemieux but the extra effort paid off as he beat the American by 16/100ths.

Having missed out on the A-Main last time round in Thailand US Champion Lemieux secured his place in the final by setting the third fastest time in Q5. Running a very thin prototype chassis on his T3, he said the car was tweaked which made it feel very loose on left turns.

The big surprise of the penultimate round of heats was French driver Lucas Urbain.  A finalist at the European Championships last year he took the fourth fastest time at the controls of a Losi JSX-R. Having created a new upper deck for the car his regular batteries were not approved for the Worlds.  Due to the size of the batteries he could use he had to revert back to the original kit top deck. For Q4 Urbain, who is making his Worlds debut, managed to source new approved batteries allowing him to refit his self designed top deck. With fresh rubber for Q5 and a change of additive he produced a stunning run raising a few eyebrows around the paddock.

Top Yokomo once again was Hayato Matsuzaki the Japanese ace clocking the fifth fastest time. Team-mate and Q3 top qualifier Ronald Volker failed to capitalise on his final set of fresh rubber as he struggled with the set-up on his BD5.  Completing the Top 6 and leading the Team Associated challenge was Finland’s Juho Levanen.

Top 10 Qualifying times for Round 5
1. Jilles Groskamp (Tamiya TRF416) – 24/5:02.072
2. Elliot Harper (Tamiya TRF416) – 24/5:03.285
3. Paul Lemieux (Xray T3) – 24/5:03.513
4. Lucas Urbain (Losi JSX-R) – 24/5:03.854
5. Hayato Matsuzaki (Yokomo BD5) – 24/5:03.927
6. Juho Levanen (Team Associated TC6) – 24/5:04.087
7. Alexander Hagberg (Xray T3) – 24/5:04.183
8. Marc Fischer (Corally Prototype) – 24/5:06.733
9. Andy Moore (Hot Bodies TCX) – 24/5:07.168
10.Cristopher Krapp (Kyosho TF6) – 24/5:07.183

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