‘Iceman’ Kutvonen takes convincing DHI Cup win
Viljami ‘Iceman’ Kutvonen has won the prestigious season opening DHI Cup. Just scraping into the top heat for qualifying having only managed the 10th fastest time in seeding practice, the Awesomatix driver turned around what started off looking like a difficult weekend at Danish event to take a perfectly executed win. Only his second major international race win, his first being the 2014 LRP Masters, the Finn got things figured out when it was needed taking the final two qualifiers to secure the overall TQ ahead of 7-time reigning champion Ronald Volker. From pole, he would make light work of his rivals to win A1 with conviction over Volker. Needing to repeat that performance for the win at an event he has twice been runner-up, that is exactly what Kutvonen did to claim the top step on the podium. Behind the popular winner, having been denied a second run of 3-consecutive DHI Cup wins, Volker would finish second with Yokomo team-mate Naoki Akiyama, 6th last year on his first visit to Odense, getting his 2017 season of to a strong start by completing the podium.
‘It was what I wanted and its the best way to start the new year’ was how Kutvonen summed up the win many would say he was overdue. He added, ‘It feels even more special as I just made it into the top heat but for the last two heats found it when I needed too’. Having opened the current Euro Touring Series season with second place, his best result on carpet, he said today’s result ‘shows we are on top and I will fight for the win at the next ETS’. Running his LRP powered A800 with a number of new parts from the pending A800X kit release he concluded, ‘with the new chassis it will be even better’.
Winning A3 with ease, reflecting on the weekend Volker said, ‘Once the race was gone after A2 I had the best feeling with the car in A3 but it was too late’. The World Champion continued, ‘Obviously I am bit disappointed but Viljami did a great job in the mains and there was not much I could do better’. Acknowledging his team-mate Akiyama’s third place, he said, ‘I am happy for Naoki made the podium, he is getting better and better every time I meet him, but from my end we have a bit to do to ensure we can finish out the winter season more competitively. I will do two more carpet races the next two weeks with the goal of being competitive for the next ETS’.
Claiming his first European podium finish, equalling his best international result of 3rd at the IIC in Las Vegas last October, Akiyama declared himself ‘very happy’ with the result. The Yokomo protege added his recent international races experiences are paying fruition and he hopes to continue this weekend’s form at the second round of the Euro Touring Series having made the A-Main at the season opener.
One of the longest attending drivers of the DHI Cup, enjoying numerous podium finishes, this being his 13th time to race the event that has been running for 17-years, Hagberg said ‘obviously we struggled this weekend’. He added ‘we did improve the car for A3 and I was running second but rolled it over, 4th was not what I wanted but it could have been worse’. Summing up why he never threatened for the win this weekend, the Xray driver replied, ‘in general the car was a little hard to drive so I was not comfortable’. Behind Hagberg, after having a good battle with the Swede, Freddy Sudhoff would finish fifth ahead of former winner Viktor Wilck, the Serpent driver struggling to feature this time round.
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