Another TQ run for Groskamp

Jilles Groskamp has claimed his second TQ run of the day with the Tamiya driver setting the fastest five-minute run of the day in the penultimate round of qualifying here in Burgdorf.  The Dutch ace was on target for the first 25 laps of the World Championship but made a mistake mid way through the run but still ended up fastest from his team mate Elliot Harper with a 24 lap run in 5:02.072.

Running new tyres Groskamp described his car as ‘absolutely amazing’ saying it was super easy to drive.  Needing to TQ the round in order to keep the battle with team-mate Marc Rheinard for overall TQ honours, the Orion backed driver said he was very pleased’ with his run despite the his off.  Needing a top 2 finish in the final round he is very confident about his chances having proven earlier in the day he is very quick on used tyres.  Will all the leading drivers, with the exception of Hayato Matsuzaki, believed to have already used up their allocation of three new sets of tyres the final qualifier should prove a more even playing field.

Having made mistakes in each of his earlier outings Harper said he managed to stay out of trouble to record his best run.  Also running a fresh set of tyres, the British teenager said he had to push really hard over the last three laps to keep ahead of Xray’s Paul Lemieux but the extra effort paid off as he beat the American by 16/100ths.

Having missed out on the A-Main last time round in Thailand US Champion Lemieux secured his place in the final by setting the third fastest time in Q5. Running a very thin prototype chassis on his T3, he said the car was tweaked which made it feel very loose on left turns.

The big surprise of the penultimate round of heats was French driver Lucas Urbain.  A finalist at the European Championships last year he took the fourth fastest time at the controls of a Losi JSX-R. Having created a new upper deck for the car his regular batteries were not approved for the Worlds.  Due to the size of the batteries he could use he had to revert back to the original kit top deck. For Q4 Urbain, who is making his Worlds debut, managed to source new approved batteries allowing him to refit his self designed top deck. With fresh rubber for Q5 and a change of additive he produced a stunning run raising a few eyebrows around the paddock.

Top Yokomo once again was Hayato Matsuzaki the Japanese ace clocking the fifth fastest time. Team-mate and Q3 top qualifier Ronald Volker failed to capitalise on his final set of fresh rubber as he struggled with the set-up on his BD5.  Completing the Top 6 and leading the Team Associated challenge was Finland’s Juho Levanen.

Top 10 Qualifying times for Round 5
1. Jilles Groskamp (Tamiya TRF416) – 24/5:02.072
2. Elliot Harper (Tamiya TRF416) – 24/5:03.285
3. Paul Lemieux (Xray T3) – 24/5:03.513
4. Lucas Urbain (Losi JSX-R) – 24/5:03.854
5. Hayato Matsuzaki (Yokomo BD5) – 24/5:03.927
6. Juho Levanen (Team Associated TC6) – 24/5:04.087
7. Alexander Hagberg (Xray T3) – 24/5:04.183
8. Marc Fischer (Corally Prototype) – 24/5:06.733
9. Andy Moore (Hot Bodies TCX) – 24/5:07.168
10.Cristopher Krapp (Kyosho TF6) – 24/5:07.183

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Wilck & Rheinard tie for TQ honours in Q4

Tamiya Racing Factory team-mates Viktor Wilck and Marc Rheinard have set identical fastest times in the fourth round of qualifying for the 2010 World Championships. Recording 24 laps in 5:05.029, Wilck had the edge over the defending Champion but on the last lap caught a curb which flipped his TRF416, costing the Swede over a second. The time means the pair will each get the maximum 155 points.

Backing up his second in Q3, Alexander Hagberg again ran a very fast pace with his Xray T3. Running in the second fastest heat group the Swedish driver recorded his fastest time so far.  Having not featured inside the Top 10 in the opening three qualifiers Team Yokomo’s Hayato Matsuzaki has found something, the Japanese former 2WD Off Road World Champion taking his BD5 around the small technical track in the fourth fastest time of the round.

He may be working in the shadow of his two former World Champion team-mates at Hot Bodies but new team signing Freddy Sudhoff is doing a superb job on his Worlds debut.  Changing his tyre preparation and additive for Q4 he set the team’s best qualifying run with the fifth fastest time.  Fastest of those on used tyres Jilles Groskamp completed the Top 6.

Top 10 Qualifying times for Round 4
1. Viktor Wilck (Tamiya TRF416) – 24/5:05.029
=  Marc Rheinard (Tamiya TRF416) – 24/5:05.029
3. Alexander Hagberg (Xray T3) – 24/5:05.381
4. Hayato Matsuzaki (Yokomo BD5) – 24/5:05.656
5. Freddy Sudhoff (Hot Bodies TCX) – 24/5:05.867
6. Jilles Groskamp (Tamiya TRF416) – 24/5:06.604
7. Elliot Harper (Tamiya TRF416) – 24/5:06.872
8. Cristopher Krapp (Kyosho TF6) – 24/5:07.366
9. Atsushi Hara (Hot Bodies TCX) – 24/5:07.524
10.Juho Levanen (Team Associated TC6) – 24/5:07.950

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Volker gets it done in Q3

With three rounds of qualifying completed here in Germany we now have three different drivers to produce a TQ run with Ronald Volker recording the fastest time in the 3rd round.  The German opted to run a fresh set of tyres while Rheinard and Groskamp were on used rubber.  Volker’s Yokomo took the maximum points from Alexander Hagberg, Christopher Krapp and a very impressive Groskamp.  Volker was really happy to finally get a good points tally but said he had to fight with his LRP powered BD5 for the entire run and came close to crashing on a number of occassions.

Xray’s Hagberg was also on fresh tyres but said switching back to the standard kit shock springs had made his T3 a lot better allowing him to run his best round.  Team-mate Paul Lemieux’s impressive morning runs came to end in Q3 as he found as he went to the grid that the steering servo in his T3 had been damaged in his ‘wreck’ on the last lap of the previous qualifier in which he took second.

Tipped pre-event to do well at Burgdorf, factory Kyosho/Orion driver Krapp said his car was brilliant.  Also running new tyres, German teenager said the difference between new and used is huge.  Finishing just 6/10th off Volker he said he felt he could have TQ’d the round but lost time when he had a moment trying to get passed the Associated of American Rick Howhart.

Top Qualifier in the opening round, Groskamp showed just how good a set-up he has on his Tamiya as he managed to get within 7/10ths of the fastest time for the round on used tyres.  The European Champion said his car is really good in the second half of the run when others drop off and is very happy with fourth which puts him in position for a Top 4 grid position in tomorrow final.  Despite running new tyres, team-mate Viktor Wilck couldn’t capitalise and could only manage a frustrating fifth, the Swede struggling with the balance of his TRF416.

Factory Corally driver Marc Fisher had a very strong run setting the seventh fastest time to seperated the Hot Bodies’ of former World Champions Andy Moore and Atsushi Hara.  Using his last set of fresh rubber Yokomo’s Yannic Prumper was ninth fastest followed by Juho Levanen who was best of the Team Associated squad.

Top 10 Qualifying times for Round 3
1. Ronald Völker (Yokomo BD5) – 24/5:06.708
2. Alexander Hagberg (Xray T3) – 24/5:06.907
3. Cristopher Krapp (Kyosho TF6) – 24/5:07.348
4. Jilles Groskamp (Tamiya TRF416) – 24/5:07.499
5. Viktor Wilck (Tamiya TRF416) – 24/5:07.628
6. Andy Moore (Hot Bodies TCX) – 24/5:08.243
7. Marc Fischer (Corally Prototype) – 24/5:08.415
8. Atsushi Hara (Hot Bodies TCX) – 24/5:08.717
9. Yannic Pruemper (Yokomo BD5) – 24/5:09.209
10.Juho Levanen (Team Associated TC6) – 24/5:09.826

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Rheinard tops 2nd Qualifier

Defending champion Marc Rheinard has TQ’d the second qualifier here at the Electric Touring Car Worlds bettering the pace set by his Tamiya team-mate Jilles Groskamp in the opening round.  The German took the round from Xray’s Paul Lemieux with Groskamp running the third fastest time.

Rheinard described his car as ‘way better’ after small set-up changes made it more consistent but their car is normally better suited to hot conditions anyway.  The German said the team’s main focus is the starting order of the heats to ensure the Tamiya drivers can get a clear track for the opening laps when the tyres are at their best.  The second qualifier felt more like a final as the drivers became bunched up and we witnessed a lot of jostling for track position.   Groskamp, who started the heat first, said he made a mistake trying to let Rheinard through as Lemieux was there also.  The Dutch ace was still however pleased with his top 3 run.

Lemieux, who got his Xray airborne on the last lap going as he came down the main straight, said his car is getting better with each run. The US Champion drove well for the first three minutes but said once he knew he was in with a chance of TQ’ing the round he started to get ragged at the controls of his Thunder Power RC backed T3.

Commenting on his run to the fourth fastest time Harper described his Speedpassion TRF416 as better but still lacking traction.  The British teenager, who was a Worlds Finalist last time round on his first attempt, said while fourth is good he needs more strong results but feels tyre tactics will come into play for the remaining four qualifiers.  Team-mate Viktor Wilck, Hot Bodies’ Atsushi Hara, Yokomo’s Ronald Volker and Associated’s Christer Andersson all ran 2nd run tyres but didn’t feature, Volker being the best of those running old rubber some 8 seconds off the pace.

Newly crowned back to back 1:12 World Champion Naoto Matsukara had his best run of the event setting the fifth fastest time from Yokomo team-mate Yannic Prumper.  The new found pace of the young Japanese talent came from a switchin to a gear diff in the rear of his Nosram powered BD5, something that allowed Prumper to run a top 3 time in the opening heat.  Prumper said his car didn’t feel good in the hotter conditions of the second run with understeer causing him problems.

Andy Moore was fastest of the Hot Bodies team with the seventh fastest time. The former World Champion described the run as steady despite his TCX having massive push.  The Englishman had a problem with his tyre warmers which reset to 100 degrees and said this over cooking was most like the cause of his handling issue.  Having pulled up after just 3 laps in round 1 Moore was able to use the same tyres and now still has two fresh set at his disposal.  Freddy Sudhoff made it two Hot Bodies in the Top 10, the German setting the 10th fastest time behind Austrian Tamiya driver Thomas Pumpler.

Japan’s Shin Adachi set the eight fastest time with the new TF6 while Team-mate Christopher Krapp, who was 6th fastest in the opening heat, was sidelined after stripping a spur gear.

Top 10 Qualifying times for Round 2
1. Marc Rheinard (Tamiya TRF416) – 24/5:04.712
2. Paul Lemieux (Xray T3) – 24/5:05.820
3. Jilles Groskamp (Tamiya TRF416) – 24/5:07.013
4. Elliot Harper (Tamiya TRF416) – 24/5:07.947
5. Naoto Matsukara (Yokomo BD5) – 24/5:08.963
6. Yannic Pruemper (Yokomo BD5) – 24/5:09.090
7. Andy Moore (Hot Bodies TCX) – 24/5:10.393
8. Shin Adachi (Kyosho TF6) – 24/5:11.232
9. Thomas Pumpler (Tamiya TRF416) – 24/5:12.125
10.Freddy Sudhoff (Hot Bodies TCX) – 24/5:12.603

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Groskamp TQs opening qualifier in Burgdorf

Jilles Groskamp has TQ’d the opening round of qualifying here at 2010 IFMAR Touring Car World Championships heading a Tamiya 1-2 from team-mate & defending World Champion Marc Rheinard.  The current European Champion took the round comfortably finishing 2.4 seconds ahead over the field, a gap that covers the difference between the next 8 driver for the round.  The Dutch ace described the run as ‘the perfect start’ but said over the opening laps his driving was not so perfect as he caught the curbs too many times.  With conditions extremely hot here today in Burgdorf the track is slower than yesterday’s practice but Groskamp said the balance of his Orion powered TRF416 remains really good and his set-up is not hard on the controlled LRP tyres. Tyres are the big talking point here with drivers allowed 3 sets for the 6 qualifiers.  With the tyres much faster on their first run a lot of tactics are expected from the bigger teams.

Rheinard said his Speed Passion powered TRF416 starts pretty good but suffers bad understeer by the end.  The German is running a very similar set-up to his team-mate but thinks Groskamp may be easier on the tyres at the beginning of the run allowing him to get a more consistent lap times over the full run.

Setting the third fastest time was new Yokomo signing Yannic Prumper.  The 16-year-old German didn’t really feature in yesterday’s practice but switching to a gear diff in the rear of his Speed Passion powered BD5 this morning has turned things around.  Prumper said the car now feels a lot easy to drive and he can carry more corner speed. Running a safe round he feels he may have been too cautious but encouraged by his position he plans to push much harder in the second qualifier.

Having ended the practice day just outside the Top 10, Paul Lemieux turned in the fourth fastest time for the opening qualifier and summed the performance by saying ‘Got to be happy with that’.  The RC America team driver, who is run an Xray T3 with a prototype chassis plate, said the car’s balance felt good and that the run was also the best he has driven at the event so far.

Ronald Volker was next up but the German was not happy with the handling of his factory Yokomo.  Switching back to the gear diff in the rear of his LRP powered BD5, the Warm-up race Top Qualifier was unable to get the same balance as his team-mate Prumper.

Kyosho’s Christopher Krapp set the sixth fastest time describing the run as ‘clean and safe’.  The young German said the track feels really slow today but the set-up on his Orion powered TF6 is perfect and the plan for the next qualifier is to push harder.  Krapp’s team-mate Shin Adachi pulled up early to save tyres after making a number of mistakes.

Fastest of the Team Associated factory squad is young Finnish driver Christer Andersson who made a radical set-up change to his new TC6.  Lacking corner speed yesterday the teenager said the car was much better today and although happy to start the day with the seventh fastest run he feels he could have pushed harder.  Another of the Associated team to record a Top 10 time was top British Championship front runner Olly Jefferies who set the 9th fastest time just 7/1000th behind TRF driver Viktor Wilck.  Xray’s Alexander Hagberg completed the Top 10.

Third fastest in yesterday’s practice, Hot Bodies Atsushi Hara didn’t have a good start to the day saying a switch of tyre additive was the wrong was to go as he ended up only 16th fastest hust behind new German team-mate Freddy Sudhoff.  Running the same additive team-mate Andy Moore pulled up early to save tyres.

Top 10 Qualification Ranking after Rnd 1
1. Jilles Groskamp (Tamiya TRF416) – 24/5:04.753 (155)
2. Marc Rheinard (Tamiya TRF416) – 24/5:07.145 (153)
3. Yannic Pruemper (Yokomo BD5) – 24/5:07.864 (152)
4. Paul Lemieux (Xray T3) – 24/5:08.454 (151)
5. Ronald Völker (Yokomo BD5) – 24/5:08.607 (150)
6. Christopher Krapp (Kyosho TF6) – 24/5:09.428 (149)
7. Christer Andersson (Team Associated TC6) – 24/5:09.483 (148)
8. Viktor Wilck (Tamiya TRF416) – 24/5:09.491 (147)
9. Olly Jeffries (Team Associated TC6) – 24/5:09.498 (146)
10.Alexander Hagberg (Xray T3) – 24/5:10.129 (145)

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