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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