Two a piece as Orlowski TQ’s Q4 at ISTC Worlds

With two rounds of the qualifying remaining it is two a piece for the two key players at the 12th running of the IFMAR ISTC World Championship as Schumacher’s Michal Orlowski TQ’d Round 4.  The Polish driver who took the previous round as Q1 & 2 pace setter Bruno Coelho rolled his Xray, again capitalised on his arch rival struggling with the increasing traction levels.  With the defending back to back World Champion coming away with a P5, it was a resurgent Ronald Volker armed with Mugen Seiki’s brand new MTC3 who was best of the rest a second off Orlowski.  Opening Day 2 of qualifying with two DNF runs, a calculated & safe Q4 effort would see Marc Rheinard complete the Top 3 and collect valuable qual points.  After two rough opening qualifiers, Xray’s Alexander Hagberg added another P4 to his tally, the Swede 4/10th faster than his team-mate.  Running Serpent’s upcoming 2025 kit release, former Nitro Touring Car World Champion Dominic Greiner completed the Top 6 and hold eight overall in the qualifying ranking just behind Jacob Cruz, the youngster having bad Q4.

Asked how his Q4 run was, Orlowski replied, ‘It was good but the car is too easy now.  We made a small adjustment but I think small changes make a big difference on the track in the ever changing conditions.  Now the car was easier than in Q3 but still quite quick ad I could pressure Bruno and I know I didn’t get the fastest time but it is nice to start behind Bruno and put him under pressure than start in front.  The next round will be different again.  We always have ideas on what to do but it’s just a matter of risk management and trying to expect what the track will do.  I think our car is very strong when the grip gets higher where for them it is the opposite.  Also in the warmer conditions we are very strong where they aren’t strong in these conditions.  It changes the balance towards one car depending the temperature and track conditions.  I hope the grip keeps going up because my car is very easy to drive and I am never on two wheels where that is what they are struggling with.  It looks like the grip will be going up.’

Putting in the fastest lap time of Q4, a very pleased Volker said, ‘It started off a bit understeering, maybe I was a bit to slow on the warm-up lap, but suddenly I got more grip and confidence and I surprised myself I was able to hang on, this is something I haven’t felt all summer.  We suffered with pace since TITC but now thanks to Robert (Pietsch) for the new car we are able to come closer & closer to both Michal and Bruno.’  Asked if his confidence is growing with every run using the new car he replied, ‘We improved the car, we changed again something on the steering and I feel more & more comfortable.  I think this automatically leads to reducing the gap, both (Coelho & Orlowski) have really upped the bar so I surprised myself during the run that I was able to hang on and that is all credit to Robert as this wouldn’t be possible with him.’  Looking to the final qualifier of today as he sits third overall he said, ‘we hope we can stay P3 and keep on improving the car but overall it is a way better day than I expected.’

Reacting to his P3 run Rheinard, who is the ISTC World Championship’s most decorated driver, said, ‘I was just trying to get a result, so I didn’t take any risk so I kept it easy.  I don’t know where the limit of the car is to be honest so I just try not get close to it.  I think it wasn’t bad but I lost for sure a lot because of driving safe but at least I have an OK result so I just need one more but that is going to be difficult in the colder conditions now.’  The reigning European Champion added, ‘I think it is still a fight with the car on the track.  You can see also Bruno now is off the track many times.  It seems the Xray cars work good when it is cold and now in the heat they struggle more, and for us it is kind of the opposite.  I think no one knows exactly what to do.’

‘It was a pretty consistent run with no errors so decent points’, was how Hagberg summed up the round.  He continued, ‘We need to work a little bit on the car balance the next couple of rounds and try move up the order.  The car is pretty easy to drive now but I need to find a little more speed.’  Asked about his rough start to qualifying here in Bakersfield, the former 1:12 and Nitro Touring Car World Champion said, ‘I had a mistake in the first qualifier that set me back, had a roll, and the second one as well, now at least I have three results and I can afford to experiment more with the set-up and see where it brings us.  Consistency is good now we just need to find more speed.’

In the Spec Class, after a mistake in Q3, it was Simon Lauter who resumed business at the top of the time sheets with a third TQ run ahead of Xray drivers Jan Ratheisky and Matus Benetin.  Asked about the only glitch in his impressive performance at these World Championships, on the Q3 mistake Lauter said, ‘You could call it a glitch or you just also could call it a mistake.  I drove just slightly over the the curb and it was just enough to flick.  I think going even harder on the curb would have helped because then it would just jumped but like this it traction rolled but all good, it happens.’  The European Champion continued, ‘Q4 was important to come back, the car was perfect, it was also in Q3 because the change we did for Q3 worked quite well.  It was very important because I think this can be the fastest run but we will see what happens in the evening but I am happy’.  Asked about changing the car for the penultimate qualifying round this evening, the German said, ‘I don’t think we will change a lot because the car right now is super good, there is no need to take too many risks.’

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Q3 Update – Orlowski TQ’s as Coelho rolls out

Round 3 of qualifying at the ISTC Worlds in California saw Schumacher’s Michal Orlowski record his first TQ as arch rival Bruno Coelho DNF’d the round.  Once again the two Europeans laid down the early pace with Orlowski having a slight advantage before Coelho rolled his Xray on lap 10.  Pushing to try make back some of the lost time, the defending World Champion would make another mistake in the closing minute while holding 4th after which he opted to pull up.  Having felt his car was too easy to drive in Q2, Orlowski said changes made for Q3 had given him a faster car with which he is confident he can now take the battle to Coelho, but added they made the car very difficult to drive so they plan to make a ‘very small change for the fourth round to try and dial it back’.  Unable to repeat the 29-lap pace of the previous round, he said once Coelho rolled his focus switched to making sure to bring home the TQ.  Mugen Seiki’s Ronald Volker would record a P2 for the round ahead of Axon’s Akio Sobue with Xray’s Alexander Hagberg posting his best run so far to bag a P4.  Star of the these Worlds, Mugen’s Jacob Cruz backed up Q2 performance with another P5 ahead of Lucas Urbain, the French driver the best of the Awesomatix drivers as Marc Rheinard once again DNF’d.

In Spec, it was a similar story as Simon Lauter, fastest in the opening two qualifiers, got caught out by the tricky track conditions, ending up P6, allowing team-mate Max Mächler to post a TQ.  Starting qualifying with a P3 and going P2 in the second round, the reigning 1:12 World Champion is finding his way and confidence around the Finishline RC Raceway track.  Behind Mächler, seeded in the second fastest heat Craig Xavier made it another Awesomatix 1-2 with the Xray pairing of Matus Benetin and Jan Ratheisky running the P3 & 4 times.

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Coelho again in Q2 as young Cruz stars

Xray’s Bruno Coelho picked up where he left off yesterday to open Day 2 of qualifying at the IFMAR Electric Touring Car World Championship with another TQ run but it was Mugen Seiki’s Jacob Cruz whose performance was the highlight of the Q2, the up & coming talent posting the fourth fastest time.  The first of 4 rounds of qualifying on today’s schedule, Coelho and Michal Orlowski where once again the class of the Modified field with both drivers upping the 5-minute pace to register 29-lap runs, the pair separated by just half a second.  A run which would see Marc Rheinard hit the boards and break his Awesomatix while holding P3, it was the Mugen of Ronald Volker who completed the Top 3 ahead of his young team-mate Cruz.  As the ROAR National Champion, Awesomatix’s Sam Isaacs produced a strong run to the fifth fastest time ahead of the Axon of 2022 Worlds Podium finisher Akio Sobue.

Commenting on his second TQ run from as many rounds, Coelho said, ‘Another tough run, very difficult conditions out there, you see so many people flipping.  I think it is all about surviving the 5-minutes’.  The back to back defending World Champion continued, ‘Me and Michal were the best out there trying to survive on it, I think everyone has the exact same problem that the car is spinning out in the middle of the corner and trying to flip and we need to avoid it.  We are trying to work on that and find a solution.’  On the track conditions he said, ‘Every day the track is getting more traction.  We never had this conditions at the Warm-up here so I think it’s kind of new for everyone to work on it.’

Reacting the qualifier Orlowski felt they had made their car too easy to drive.  The Pole explained, ‘We made a change but I didn’t expect it to make the car that easy to drive so I think that the track also changed but that’s how it is here with the track changing every single round.  We are changing the car trying to make it quicker but when the track changes we have no clue if the change went the wrong direction or it was the track.’  He concluded with, ‘It is important we are always fighting at the top with Bruno.  I keep running clean runs so that is important for tomorrow.’

Volker summed up his run with, ‘It was an improvement but still it wasn’t a clean run.’  He explained, ‘I struggled a bit on the straight and almost lost it in the sweeper.  Then Marc was running behind me and I was close to open for him, I think I didn’t interfere his run, but I was just able to hang on and make a small gap before he made a mistake.  After that it was a clean run driving wise but the car had a bit of push, as we anticipated a bit more bite and made it a bit too safe so with that kind of complaint I am happy to get a third.’  The 2016 World Champion was clearly pleased with the team’s result saying, ‘I am pumped for Jacob, it’s absolutely amazing.  Nobody expected him, they are living the dream finishing 4th in a Worlds qualifier and it’s the best promotion for himself and our new MTC3’.  Asked about the tricky track conditions, Volker replied, ‘You know the track is changing, you anticipate it, but since it’s difficult some get it better, some get it less good, but that’s part of the game.’

A driver who has learned his trade on the tracks of California and who can call Finishline RC Raceway his home track, Cruz summed up Q2 as a ‘Very solid run’, adding ‘the car was great’.  He continued, ‘the car didn’t lift on the corners so I could drive it really hard and I was very comfortable with it and it was great to be competing with these guys.’  The 15-year-old’s first World Championship, his 16th birthday coming up on Sunday, asked how he is finding the limelight and mixing it with the best in the World, he said, ‘I’m trying to relax and not be too stressful up there, I think that really helps out. I’m just doing what I do and focusing on my own thing’.  With Modified Touring Car having seen few emerging talents in recent years, it now a decade since Coelho burst onto the international scene at the 2014 Worlds in Florida, Cruz’s strong showing here is an exciting boost for the category.  Running a similar set-up on the new MTC3 to that which his senior team-mate Volker is running, he said the new car is a ‘huge improvement’ on the previous car calling the difference ‘night and day’.

Running in the second fastest heat of Modified, on his Top 5 run Isaacs said, ‘The car is working really well now, I worked with the team and made some changes.  I had one roll that cost me about 2-seconds, other than that the car was good the whole time.’  Asked about his current set-up compared to what he originally came into the event with he said, ‘I am decently far off.  I have been just working with the guys to change the roll centre and lowered the ride height some, not too different but a little bit different that it made all the difference for the high grip here.’  Looking to Q3, the American driver plans to try ‘a small change’ and ‘try to make the car a little safer just to make sure I don’t roll it over on the curbs.  I’m happy with the car, its 90% there.’

In the Spec class it was also a repeat TQ from Simon Lauter who topped the round this time ahead of his Awesomatix team-mate Max Mächler with Xray’s Michael Gee third fastest.  The German said, ‘The track was super hard to drive right now but we managed very well to get a good team result with Max P2.  I think it was quite confident, there was a lot going on in the run but we managed to keep it cool and keep it on track for a perfect result’.  P3 in Q1 and now registering a P2, Mächler said,  ‘I made a least three car changes and they all went in the right direction and gave me a much better car in Q2 so I could end up second overall.  I’ve got a few things more to try going this direction which finally seem to work out.  I need to make the car more easy so I can send it, the goal is not to have too much steering because it tends to get flippy and edgy.’

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Coelho opens World title defence with Q1 TQ

Reigning World Champion Bruno Coelho has opened his Electric Touring Car World Championship title defence with a TQ run in the opening round of qualifying at Finishline RC Raceway in California.  Having set the pace in yesterday’s free practice, the Xray driver carried that form into the opening two seeding rounds but in SP3 a traction roll would mean he would be the fifth car to leave the line in Q1 as arch rival Michal Orlowski got to go first.  With the sun setting in Bakersfield, and temperatures dropping as the top heats went out on track, Q1 conditions would challenge all the drivers but chasing a third consecutive title it was Coelho who came out on top.  Ahead of him on the track but behind him on the time sheets Orlowski’s Schumacher would stop the clock 1.3-seconds off Coelho.  A further 1.7-seconds back Akio Sobue completed the the Top 3 for the first of the six rounds followed by Ronald Volker, Marc Rheinard and Alexander Hagberg.

Using one word to sum up Q1, Coelho described the run as ‘Difficult’.  He continued, ‘the conditions out there were crazy.  I think it was about adapting the car as fast as possible, I saw many people struggling and I think I immediately pass two people in front of me not because I was much faster than them but because they were struggling with the traction.  I was kind of lucky at the beginning to understand immediately the car and get fast.  The car was super fast but also very difficult to drive.’  The Portuguese driver who first made his name on the electric touring car scene at decade ago at the ISTC Worlds in Florida, continued, ‘The temperature we had now gave so much traction to the cars that set-up is completely different to what we run during the day and the problem is I don’t believe many people want to risk to change much the set-up for these conditions and instead opted to try control the car but it was very very hard out there.’  Looking to Day 3 of the event he said, ‘Tomorrow the track is supposed to be like all morning, less traction, so the car will be more round so even if you change the set-up now it will not work tomorrow morning we think.  Sometimes it is a little bit of lottery and you need to be a little bit lucky but it was it is.’

Giving his reaction after Q1, Orlowski said, ‘That was the worst my car has been today and unfortunately for the most important run of the day.  We made some changes and I think there are a few things I need to go back on from the previous rounds.  I said to my team all day that Bruno keeps crashing in practice but come qualifying he will have a perfect run.  He had a small mistake at the end but I lost a lot of time due to traffic in the middle so it would have been close but my car can be a lot better, I know what to do for tomorrow.’  Asked about the track conditions for Q1 he replied, ‘the track changes every round but they were tough conditions out there that time but I am happy to be fighting with Bruno for first because there is quite a gap behind us.’

‘I’m happy with third place and I get solid points’, was Sobue’s reaction to his opening qualifier.  Running a prototype of Axon’s next touring car kit release, he continued, ‘The track now was super difficult to drive.  At the beginning I was driving aggressive but after a few minutes I switch to more smooth driving but it was still difficult.’  Happy with his car in the hotter part of the day, the Warm-Up Race winner said he will leave his car unchanged for now and see what conditions the second Day of qualifying brings, 4 rounds on the schedule.

Asked how he felt Q1 went, Volker responded with, ‘Actually I was very unhappy with everything.’  The German explained, ‘I couldn’t get the potential out of the car so I was surprised I could somehow finish 4th because I struggled a lot with the conditions, they were tricky for everyone.  I’m super excited to see our car is amazing when you look how Jacob (Cruz) performs in running an A heat.  No one expected it, that’s one of the really positive things from the day.’  Asked more about his own Q1 performance, the 2016 World Champion said, ‘we didn’t get the package nailed for Q1 so therefore I can be happy to finish 4th because it didn’t feel like a P4.  There was a lot struggle for a lot of guys but I’ll take P4 and I think there is room to close up to the front.  I’m not sure how close we can get or if we can be right in the mix but we will see.’

With it 20-years since he won the first of his three ISTC World titles, that race also in the US, asked about his Q1 performance, Rheinard replied, ‘Horrible’.  The Awesomatix driver, who turned 38 today, explained, ‘the track changed so much and I think with our car the window is for just three runs a day maximum when the heat is a little bit up but when it is getting cold the car pushes and it just squared up in the middle of the corner, I don’t know what it is.  I think our car doesn’t really work in this conditions.’  Looking to tomorrow the reigning European Champion said, ‘It is the same as today, three runs probably in normal conditions and let’s call it the happy hour is going to be the same as today.  It was really hard because it was just a flight to keep it on the track, the worst it has been for the weekend.’

In the Spec class Awesomatix’s top seed Simon Lauter carried his form into qualifying.  The German would TQ the round by 3/10ths of a second over the Xray of Jan Ratheisky with 1:12 Spec World Champion Max Machler a distance third.  Summing up the second day of action at what is only the second Worlds for the Spec class, Lauer said, ‘It was a perfect day basically.  The morning practice was very low grip and we did not expect that but apart from this we topped every practice and the first qualifier.  The car was very good so all in all a super good day’.  On his Q1 performance he said, ‘I think it was not perfect from my side, the car was good but there is alway room for improvement.  On this track I think the secret is to find the correct mix between a fast car and an easy to drive car ’cause it will never be both.  You can see this watching the Modified guys as well because it is always snappy and very close to traction rolling and the main goal is to not make the car too easy to drive because then it will just be super slow.’  Asked more what he meant about the run not being perfect from his side, the back to back reigning European Champion and 2024 TITC winner explained, ‘I think it was a rather clean run, no big wobbles but sometimes with back markers you need to lift a little bit.  It’s very hard actually the time you pass someone to pull away from him even though he should be slower because that’s why you pass him it is still quite a challenge but I think it was a good qualifying, not perfect but I’m happy.’

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