Despite nervous start Orlowski takes Q1 at TITC
Despite by his own admission getting off to a nervous start, Schumacher’s Michal Orlowski has taken the opening round of qualifying at the TITC, the first of five rounds seeing a number of drivers taking turns at the top of the timing screens. In the end, having topped yesterday’s seeding, it was the defending Champion Orlowski who continues to lead the way at RC Addict securing the TQ run ahead of Bruno Coelho with Infinity team-mate Naoto Matsukura completing the Top 3. On the TQ pace for a time, Awesomatix’s Marc Rheinard opened his account with a 4th ahead of Akio Sobue, the Axon driver having a good run in the second fastest heat along with former TITC Open Brushless Champion Simon Lauter who would complete the Top 6 with his Awesomatix. In the Open Brushless Class it was the Awesomatix of Lukas Ellerbrock who topped the first round ahead of team-mate Olivier Bultynck with the Xpress of Top Seed Mongkolphan Lomrose managed only P6.
Summing up his TQ run, Orlowski said, ‘I was very nervous and didn’t have the best start but I could pull away in the middle and then just drive quite safe towards the end. The gap was close but the time doesn’t really matter because it will not be the fastest time overall so. The car was very easy to drive – maybe too easy to drive’. He continued, ‘I am way more settled now with a good score in Q1 and we’ll think if we want to change something on the car to get it a little better for the (Q2) conditions or just leave it and driver it.’
A solid run was how Coelho summed up his opening effort after he suffered a small bobble on the opening lap which he felt may have cost him the TQ. The 4-time TITC Champion, continued, ‘(after the bobble) I had to adjust a little my driving because the car was losing a little the rear over the run so I need to be careful to not throw it away but removing that I think the car was pretty fast’. With a hotter track to content with for Q2, the World Champion said, ‘its getting hotter & hotter so less traction which normal our car works good on hugh temperatures so we will see.’
A another whose name appeared at the tip of the time screen in Q1, Matsukura said, ‘I am so happy to be driving again with the top drivers’. He added, ‘my car was very good, in the beginning, and for the 5-minutes. I had no mistakes but I was a little bit nervous. In the beginning the feeling was very good but the traction felt a little low although the lap time was still OK.’ Expecting lower traction for Q2, the former World Champion said he still needs to consider what he might change for the run or whether to risk continuing with what he has. With drivers allowed 5-sets of tyres for qualifying, unlike Open Brushless which get four sets, tyre strategy doesn’t play into the outcome of qualifying.
‘It was a close one, everyone was leading at one point’, was how Rheinard summed up Q1. He continued, ‘I dropped a bit towards the end and I didn’t drive too good for the conditions towards the end. I could at least keep Bruno behind me on track so I didn’t have to open. I mean it is just a second between the Top 4 and I had one or two rough laps which was at least 6 or 7/10ths.’ On his car he said, ‘The car understeers too much so I just need to find more steering but the traction is going to change again so it is really difficult now to find the right set-up change. Overall the car is pretty OK.’ He concluded, ‘Position wise it was not a great start, 3rd would be better at least, but I mean its definitely a good start and it is good to see Naoto also doing good again, nice to see him back up at the top.’
Finding himself in the second fastest heat, 2 time TITC Champion Sobue explained, ‘I had some problems in seeding 2, seeding 1 the car was really good nit so much fastest in the beginning but the 5-minutes was very stable and car was consistent & easy to drive so I knew we could go well in qualifying.’ On his run to the 5th fastest time he said, ‘I tried the same set-up as Seeding 1 and the car very nice and easy but in the middle of the run I was passing Viktor (Wilck) and had a scare and started to drive too safe so I lost my lap time but again the pace came back. So Q2 I think I can driver better. I am happy with our start to the day.’
