Kilic closer but another TQ run for Ongaro

While a repeat of the opening qualifier result, Q2 at the Philippine Masters saw Mugen Seiki’s Burak Kilic get a lot closer to Team Associated’s Davide Ongaro.  With a 1-second buffer over the Manila race first timer in Q1, the defending back to back winner of Asia’s biggest annual 1:8 Offroad race had just 4/10ths in hand over Kilic in the second round, the later saying afterwards traffic had cost him a the chance of the TQ.  Summing up his run Ongaro reported the wind was causing him some issues but added ‘wind is part of the game and you can do nothing.  For the rest (of the run) it was good’.  On his performance Kilic said, ‘It was really good but just held me up from making the TQ.  I mean it was the same for Davide he also had many traffic but we made a good race’.  While the original schedule for Friday’s action was just two qualifiers, the event famous driver’s banquet taking place this evening in the capital city, the threat of rain tomorrow means drivers will go at it one more time today with a third round of qualifying.  While up front things looked, again the Top 2 the only drivers to cover 9-laps, the second round produced some notable improvements from Naoto Matsukra and Pekko Iivonan who posted the 3rd and 4th fastest times ahead of Ryan Lutz.  Having had a Top 3 in Q1, Sworkz diver Mattia Polito could only manage P7, the Italian reporting he had a complete lack of traction this time round.

Asked about his new improved form this round Matsukura said, ‘We are making progress.  We improved both the car and the driver.’  The Infinity driver continued, ‘It was a good run with almost no mistakes.  We changed the downstops, so I am almost the same set-up as Kouki (Kato) and the car was more stable, it has a little more understeer now, but overall better.’  He would also change tyres for the run going for an almost new set of Hotrace Sahara tyres feeling the track today is a little more loose.  With his car feeling it had more understeer he said the plan is to make a change to try and rectify this.

Explaining his P4 run Iivonan said, ‘I went with more toe in in the rear and the car was actually better, easier to drive’.  P8 in Q1, he explained that run included a small mistake which dropped him down the order, for Q3 he said he will change some small things to try to make the car better adding ‘the last one was definitely a good run and has given me confidence in the car and slightly more rear grip off power would be good.’  The Finnish Mayako driver’s first time attending the Philippine Masters, the 22-year-old said, ‘I like the track, the layout is super nice and flowing but the grip is high’.

Backing up his P4 in Q1 with a P5, Lutz described the run with, ‘It was decent.’   The Kyosho driver continued, ‘I just didn’t quite have the steering I needed so my changes took away a little too much steering I think.  A little easier to drive but not as fast as I wanted.’  I’ll dial in a touch more steering and see how it goes.