Leg 2 injects life into 1:12 Worlds
The 1:12 World Championships, which so far has been a rather dull affair, was given a much needed injection of excitement in the second A-Main after Andy Moore won the second A-Main ahead of CRC team-mate Marc Rheinard while Leg 1 winner Naoto Matsukura finished back in 7th. The result means that now all three drivers have a chance of being crowned the 16th World Champion of the 2WD pan car class.
Starting from pole position once again Matsukura’s Yokomo ran wide at the first corner but this time Ronald Volker took the opportunity to go down the inside however the pair touched. Sending the back to back defending Champion off the track before rejoining mid pack, the contact also slowed Volker allowing Rheinard to take the lead. A podium finisher on his last 1:12 outing, which was two years ago at the Worlds, Rheinard held the position but coming under intense pressure from Moore was eventually passed by the British ace just before the 5-minute mark as he was out dragged down the main straight. Once in front Moore pulled clear to take the win by over a second.
Moore was happy with his win but said afterwards that he maybe should have pushed harder as should the final result come down to a tie break Matsukura has the faster race time by 2.5 seconds. Showing great patience behind Rheinard, Moore said once he got passed his team-mate his focus was on driving safely to the finish as he knew his CRC team-mate would provide good cover from behind.
Rheinard, who said he can’t believe he is going into the final leg with a chance of the World title, described his CRC as ‘the pace car’. The two time European 1:12 Champion, who was clearly lacking straight line speed, said a suspected bad battery was the cause of the problem and hopes with a new one fitted for Leg 3 he might actually be able to race for a win.
Matsukura, who made his frustrations with Volker very clear after the race on the drivers rostrum, set the fastest lap of the race as he worked his way back to the front but in the end further incidents and a 2 second time penalty for jumping the last corner left him 7th behind Jilles Groskamp who had been running third for a time in the race.
A-Main Leg 2 Result
1. Andy Moore (GB) – CRC – 38/8:04.268
2. Marc Rheinard (DE) – CRC – 38/8:05.559
3. Alexander Hagberg (SE) – Xray – 38/8:06.486
4. Ronald Völker (DE) – Associated – 38/8:06.741
5. Simo Ahoniemi (FI) – CRC – 38/8:09.427
6. Jilles Groskamp (NL) – Onpoint – 38/8:10.560
7. Naoto Matsukura (JP) – Yokomo – 38/8:11.708
8. Hideo Kitazawa (JP) – Corally – 38/8:12.125
9. Elliot Harper (GB) – CRC – 38/8:14.949
10.Rick Hohwart (US) – Associated – 37/8:02.102
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