Day 1 of 1:12 Worlds just a formality for Matsukura
Team Yokomo’s Naoto Matsukura stamped his authority on the opening day of the 1:12 World Championships in the Netherlands, the reigning champion topping the time sheets in controlled practice with the only 39-lap run of the day. Making today’s practice look like just a formality in his quest to securing a third consecutive World title, the closest challenger to the Japanese star was his Yokomo touring car team-mate Ronald Volker, while a strong final practice saw a big improvement from 2010 European Champion Juho Levänen who ended the day third fastest.
Setting the fastest run time and a new outright fastest lap of 12.202 in the first of the two controlled practices, Matsukura couldn’t improve on his pace in the final 8-minute run as a change of set-up left his Yokomo difficult to drive and lacking steering. Suffering a number of heavy crashes, that left the front end of his bodyshell featuring a number of extra holes, he eventually pulled up just before the 7-minute mark. Despite this, the 18-year-old said he is very confident for tomorrow’s qualifying as reverting back to his CP1 set-up will give him a car that is quick and which he is also comfortable with driving.
Volker, who backed up his 8:02.694 in CP1 with a 8:02.883 in CP2 said his LRP powered Associated R5 was a little more difficult to drive second time round after he tried a different tyre compound. Feeling there is potential to better his current pace the German ace said it was a matter of finding the limit at which the car’s improved speed is out weighed by it becoming too difficult to drive and making the risk of crashing too high for any advantage to be gained.
Having made just small gradual set-up adjustments over the day factory Associated driver Levänen said his Reedy powered R5 got better every run. The Finn, who was runner up at the 2008 Worlds, described the car as being decent in the last run but added he should be able to improve it further tomorrow. Having sourced sets of the same JFT tyres that Matsukura and Volker have been using he hopes this will further help him to reduce the gap.
Ending the day fourth fastest, within his CP1 time, was Jilles Groskamp. The Dutch ace said his Onpoint Racing chassis was better in CP2 after changes gave him more steering, but more difficult to drive, a mistake costing him almost 5-seconds meaning he failed to improve his overall pace. Knocking over a 1/10th off his best lap time in CP2, he said he will leave his set-up unchanged for the opening qualifier and try instead to adjust his driving to the better cope with the extra steering.
Having not featured in free practice, new CRC signing Marc Rheinard found good form in the first controlled practice to break into the Top 10 for the first time with the 5th fastest time ahead of British National Champion Olly Jefferies who enjoyed a clean run in CP2. Having started the day with a single cell speedo the former European Champion switch to a regular Speed Passion speedo for the controlled practice which he said was more to his liking. Running the new narrow chassis which CRC are debuting at the Worlds, the German said switching the battery position from running the length of the car to mounting it across the chassis made it more comfortable to drive. Trying a harder tyre in CP2 he said it was the wrong direction to take as it made the car very twitchy and he will revert back to the compound he ran earlier. His first 1:12 race since the last Worlds 2-year-old ago in Germany, Rheinard said one of the most important things in qualifying is going to be getting in a clean error free run.
Having featured strongly in four rounds of free practice, reigning European Champion Simo Ahoniemi could only manage 11th in controlled practice just in front of Team Associated’s Rick Hohwart. The CRC team driver said he tried different tyres in both controlled runs and the car was not nice to drive but the Finn is confident that by switching back to the tyre selection he used to top FP4 he should be at the sharp end of the times sheets for the opening qualifier.
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