Easy A1 win for Orlowski as Coelho crashes out
Michal Orlowski has won the opening A-Main at the TITC, Schumacher’s defending Champion getting the win a lot easier than expected as main challenger Bruno Coelho crashed out on the first full lap. Starting from second, Coelho piled the pressure on the Top Qualifier on the opening lap but on the first full speed entry into the sweeper at the end of straight, the cars having lined up for the start a lap earlier on the straight, he came in too tight launching his Infinity over the kerb and into the outside. Breaking a corner off the car, his A1 challenge was done much to the disappointment of the crowd lined-up around the track. While Orlowski gapped the field, the pressure now off the Polish driver, the attention was on the battle for second, Akio Sobue and Simon Lauter gapping 5th place starter Marc Rheinard. While Lauter looked like he might have something to mount a serious challenge on Sobue’s Axon over the final laps of the race, a number of small mistakes mean’t the Awesomatix driver couldn’t get close enough to attempt a pass. With Rheinard finishing 4th it was Viktor Wilck who was the top Infinity in P5 while Xray’s Jun Sawada rounded out the Top 6. In Open Brushless it was also an easy win for Top Qualifier Lukas Ellerbrock, his effort made easier by early contact behind him between Oliver Bultynck and Natthawat Rungcharat. With RC Maker’s Shimazaki Shinya taking up second he would later crash out allowing Rungcharat’s Xray through to second with Bultynck’s Awesomatix getting 3rd.
Reacting to straight forward win, Orlowski said, ‘I was confident about my pace but for sure after Bruno’s mistake that was one less car on the track but the car felt really good and I could just drive around, try stay off the curb, and don’t take any risks on the sweeper and stay in front.’ He added, ‘The felt maybe a little too conservative on the front sidewall glue, maybe I did that a little too much, so probably a little less for the second one, and apart from that we will try repeat the win again.’
Asked about his error, having yesterday made is intentions clear that he would be giving his all to try and find a way passed Orlowski, the World Champion, who was piling on the pressure on the leader, replied, ‘the car was very good at the beginning and on the warm-up lap, so for the half lap I did it felt pretty good and I tried to gain some advantage at the end of the straight. I turned a little bit too hard there, touched the curb and went into the barrier. I f##ked it up.’ Looking to A2 and asked if he felt he had the car to take the challenge to Orlowski he said, ‘I don’t know in 5-minute but at least in the beginning the car felt good so we will see what we can do.’
‘I got lucky because Bruno crashed. I didn’t overtake but I am happy with 2nd’, was Sobue thoughts on A1. He continued, ‘My car is super easy in these conditions and easy to keep in the racing line but Michal is a bit faster so I need more pace for the 5-minutes’. Twice a winner of the TITC, on what he might change to find that speed he replied, ‘I am thinking what we can try because I don’t really know what the track condition will be like for A2’ – there being a 4-hour wait between A1 and A2. Asked about the late challenge from Lauter, he said, ‘he did put me under a bit of pressure but I knew I was OK because he is a nice guy.’
A driver rising to the occasion this weekend and very pleased with his opening race, Lauter said, ‘That was a good one’. The German continued, ‘I immediate felt my car was great in the opening lap and saw that I pulled a little gap on Marc which helps because you can get a little bit more confident and more attacking to the front.’ The 2024 TITC Open Brushless winner added, ‘At the end of the run my car is incredible compared to Akio because I had more pace. But pushing more, I did more small mistakes and all that stuff but I’ll take this P3 for sure because I still think there will be another carnage in front so it is important to be there in the right position at the right final and right now I feel very confident.’
