Wang takes rocket round to TQ AOC
JJ Wang is top qualifier in Shanghai having topped the final round in qualifying in what were quicker track conditions as heavy rain outside lowered the track temperature and increased humidity. The only driver to manage a 31 lap run all weekend, he also set a new fastest lap on his way to the top spot. Ronald Volker will start 2nd, having also improved his time despite a heavy hit against the barriers early in the race tweaked his car. Naoto Matsukura takes 3rd with a solid run that saw him break into the 9 second lap times, leap frogging a disappointed Jilles Groskamp who also made a mistake and will now start from fourth on the grid.
Running new tires, he was surprised that they were faster and following rival Volker’s crash in the first minutes he decided to push and go for the time knowing that as long as Ronald was behind him, he would finish on top. Still believing that old tires are quicker even in these conditions, he expects the A-mains to be very interesting on a track that is very difficult to pass on, joking that ‘maybe Volker can make it passed’.
‘I hate rocket round’ was Volker’s reaction to losing the TQ in the final qualifier, the AOC choosing to use the fastest single qualifier instead of qualifying points. Blaming himself for the tap on the straight that left his car badly tweaked, he said it took him some time to adapt to the car but despite this he still improved his time and also managed a fastest lap of 9.883. Trying to put some pressure on JJ later in the qualifier he was not close enough to affect the outcome and deny him his TQ. Saying ‘the rain didn’t help as the track improved too much’ he vowed to fight back in the mains.
Current World Champion Naoto Matsukura said a change to harder springs left his car much improved, now having good corner speed he is still looking for more steering from his Tamiya prototype. Going into the final qualifier knowing he needed to improve he didn’t risk running new tires, instead opting for an old set, he felt he was slowed by a recovering Groskamp who he finally caught up to the back off at the end of the 5 minutes. Happy to improve position he predicts a super close final. In 1/12th scale, a crash resulting in a damaged front tire meant he takes the top spot on the grid using his Q1 time. Testing different GXX tires in each run he says he will go back to his Q1 choice for the finals.
A frustrated Groskamp simply said ‘I threw it away’, having spun out at the end of the straight around the 1 minute mark. Losing a second just there, his car continued to lose pace as the run went on and believes that perhaps new tires would have been better as the traction improved. Not a fan of rocket round qualifying, and with the track difficult to pass on, he said to give away 3rd place was ‘a shame’. Similar to Matsukura, the Infinity driver now has a brand new set of tires for the finals and should the conditions remain the same, this could prove to be an advantage.
A very happy Jan Ratheisky was content that the changes he made prior to the 3rd qualifier had improved his car a lot and he will now leave his Xray the same for the mains. Set to start from 5th, using his Q2 time, the ETS Champion also used Q3 to run a new shell, having been peer pressured by fellow racers on Facebook to get rid of the old beat up shell he was using. Running in 3 other classes, 13.5 blinky, 13.5 boosted and Formula he used Q3 to further improve his TQ times in touring car, his Q1 time being quick enough for pole position in Formula. Working with Ales Dobnikar from LRP, Jan has also been using his run to try different gearing and timing in the stock classes with boosted getting particular attention, with Jan never having never raced this class prior to coming to China.
Set to start behind Ratheisky in Stock 13.5 blinky is Nicholas Koh, the 11 year old ending qualifying 3 seconds clear of 3rd place Max Park. In boosted Gavin Kwok will start 2nd, with ARC boss Jones Chu set to start the triple mains from 3rd. In the great looking VTA class the pole position went to Erik Koh from Sean Wang and Ben Lai but the real battle will be between 7th and 8th starters Rick Wang and Scotty Ernst.
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