January 7, 2018

Prumper wins A2 from Rheinard

Yannic Prumper has won the second A-Main at the DHI Cup, the Yokomo driver taking full advantage of a bad first lap from his team-mate and Top Qualifier Ronald Volker. Off the start Volker would run wide in the first corner allowing the second place starting Prumper to go to the front but things got worse as chaos broke out in the pack with Volker being given a Stop & Go penalty.  All this played into the hands of Prumper who quickly found himself with huge advantage but once Marc Rheinard got up to speed that lead was greatly reduced with it looking like the Infinity driver had the legs to beat his fellow German.  It wasn’t to be however as a mistake by Rheinard on the penultimate lap allowed Prumper hang on for the win.  Benefiting from the first lap dramas, Viktor Wilck would complete the Top 3 just holding off Elliott Harper.

‘I was lucky at the start’ said Prumper, adding, ‘Ronald had oversteer in the first corner and then in the 2nd corner flipped and crashed everyone. It was a perfect start for me’. He continued, ‘I took it easy because I had such a big gap but then Rheinard came after me.  I didn’t have the same pace as A1 but luckily he made a mistake and I could hold on for the win’.  With everything to be decided in A3, Prumper is confident he can get the speed back in his car by running ‘less rear toe in’ concluding, ‘it should be fine again’.

‘Its all open in A3’ was Rheinard’s view after A2.  The Infinity driver continued, ‘there was chaos at the start. Ronald spun out and then at the next left jumped the boards and there was a mess.  My body tucked and was rubbing at the front and causing a crazy noise. I had no steering. After that I just tried to get the best out of it and tried to catch Yannic but I ran out of time.  I was on his tail but then had a mistake coming onto the straight.’

Asked what had happened at the first corner, Volker replied, ‘this time I ran out of luck’.  Chasing an 8th DHI Cup title, the German said, ‘I swapped to my second set of tyres and went very wide in the first corner. I had way more oversteer than I expected and the next corner it was completely loose so to get out of the way I jumped the board but the referee called a Stop & Go which ended my race’.  Setting the fastest lap of the race, the World Champion said, ‘the decision to change to those tyre was correct as the car was better after 2-laps but for the next one I need to do extra warm up laps’.

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January 7, 2018

Volker hangs on to win A1

Having dominated qualifying Ronald Volker had to work a lot harder for victory in the opening A-Main at the DHI Cup, the Yokomo driver only just hanging on for the win as challenges from both Yannic Prumper and Marc Rheinard ended with them each suffering rolls. In the end Volker would cross the line over a second clear of Rheinard, but the Infinity driver had the fastest car on track and looked a much more threatening proposition than he had in qualifying, his two rolls costing him over 3-seconds.  Recovering from an early roll, that allowed Rheinard through, Elliott Harper would complete the Top 3 ahead of Viktor Wilck, with Prumper opting to pull up and save his tyres after rolling his Yokomo a second time.

‘I got very very lucky in A1’, was Volker’s reaction after the race. The World Champion said, ‘I had a total lack of balance.  No rear grip and too much front grip. I had oversteer in all the corners. I jumped the chicane and gave myself a body tuck. Luckily Yannic, Elliott and Marc struggled behind me otherwise I would not have won that main’.  Having switched back to the progressive springs set-up he ran in Q3 for the finals, he said, ‘the track changed so that set-up was off.  For A2 I will change the shock set-up and make a tyre change’.

Rheinard summed up A1 by saying, ‘the speed was there but its still hard to drive. It is not grippy enough overall’.  A two time DHI Cup Champion, he continued, ‘Ronald was not as quick as in qualifying, and if I had qualified second it could have been a different result.  I got lucky at the start when Elliott crashed and then when Yannic rolled I could catch Ronald but I made a mistake and rolled. He then had a mistake and I could catch him again but my car hit the bump and rolled’.  Looking to A2 Rheinard said, ‘I will just drive my own race again and see’.

‘It was a bit harder for everyone to drive’, was Harper’s view on A1.  The Schumacher driver continued, ‘I traction rolled which let Marc by and after that I drove more conservative. If I had pushed more maybe I would have got Marc back but it was still a good result’.  For A2, the British driver plans ‘a few changes to stop the flipping’ and allow him get a better start.

View the complete event results here.

View our event image gallery here.