Hara is Top Qualifier in the Netherlands

Team HB’s Atsushi Hara is Top Qualifier for the 2012 Electric Touring Car World Championship after the Japanese ace posted a TQ run in a controversial final round of qualifying this evening at the MACH in the Netherlands. With rain arriving during Q5, the round was stopped and subsequently cancelled following a meeting of IFMAR’s international jury.  With the track wet, the sixth & final round of was officially declared wet and the controlled wet tyre for the event was issued to drivers. With the rain having stopped the track started to dry over the course of the round and in the second heat from the top the majority of drivers, including Hara, were able to run dry tyres.  With just the top heat remaining the rain returned just as the cars where placed on the grid and persevering with the slippery condition using his second set of dry tyres it was Xray’s Paul Lemieux topped the group but with a time that was 2 laps off Hara’s time from 8 minutes earlier.

Immediately after the round had finished the result was protested with IFMAR receiving six written protests to have the round cancelled on the grounds of the changes of conditions during its running.  After some lengthy meetings the protests were rejected and it was declared that round six was to stand with the best three counting, giving Hara the TQ ahead of Ronald Volker, who’s team lodged a protest to have Q6 dropped and the best 2 of 4 to count.

Delighted to be Top Qualifier, Hara was quick to admit it was a lucky result but said he did give 110% in his final heat as he wasn’t to know that it would rain during the top group’s run.  Expecting a tough race he said he his plan is just to give his best and see what the outcome is.  The winner of the first ever Electric Touring Car World Championships in 2000, Hara is one of the greatest ambassadors of the sport and a victory tomorrow 12 years on from having won the World title would be hugely popular.

For defending champion Marc Rheinard, who has been very vocal during these championships over the running of the event, said while he would start fourth on the grid whether they counted 2 or 3 rounds he disagreed with the decision to let Q6 count.  Admitting he will have his work cut out tomorrow to try and claim a third consecutive title he thinks it could all come down to tyres with drivers getting one new set of tyres which must be used in all three legs.  Of the three World Champions competing at this the 7th running of the Worlds, the only other winner Surikarn Chaidajsuriya absent to the pending arrival of a new baby, all three have made the final with Andy Moore, who like Hara missed the cut 2-years ago in Germany, lining up ninth.

Top 10 qualifiers
1. Atsushi Hara (JP) – 460 (HB/Reedy)
2. Ronald Völker (DE) – 459 (Yokomo/LRP)
3. Jilles Groskamp (NL) – 458 (Tamiya/Orion)
4. Marc Rheinard (DE) – 449 (Tamiya/Speedpassion)
5. Viktor Wilck (SE) – 449 (Tamiya/Thunder Power)
6. Naoto Matsukura (JP) – 447 (Yokomo/Nosram)
7. Christopher Krapp (DE) – 445 (Kyosho/Orion)
8. Loïc Jasmin (FR) – 444 (Yokomo/LRP)
9. Andy Moore (GB) – 443 (HB/Hobbywing)
10.Chris Grainger (GB) – 443 (Schumacher/GM)

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Matsukura tops Q3

It was very much a Japanese affair in the third round of qualifying at the Touring Car World Championship as newly crowned 3-time 1:12 World Champion Naoto Matsukura set the pace ahead of Yokomo team-mate Hayato Matsuzaki and Team HB’s Atsushi Hara.  The top five times for the round were set using new tyres with Q1 & 2 pace setter Ronald Volker the best of the drivers using old tyres, the German setting the sixth fastest time.

The first driver to have held the Touring Car World title, Hara’s run suffered a bad last lap.  Suffering from a magnetic problem in his motor which reduced his braking power he said Matsukura was very fast and that made him push a little to hard to try keep pace with him and he messed up when he tried to carry too much speed through the sweeper. Behind the Japanese ace and one place ahead of 2006 World Champion Andy Moore, Yannic Prumper was top European setting the fourth fastest time despite two mistakes.  Having in fact used his second set of allocated tyres in Q2, the German used his 5-lap old Q1 tyres in the third round.

Putting on his remaining set of new tyres Viktor Wilck was on target to TQ the round but cut a corner too much in the infield which send his Thunder Power equipped Tamiya on to it roof and sliding into the grass. Needing to be marshaled the Swede lost 4.5 seconds and ended up a frustrated 7th one spot ahead of team-mate Jilles Groskamp.  Groskamp, along with defending champion Marc Rheinard are the only two potential contenders for the 7th Touring Car World title who have new tyres left and so should feature strongly when they do opt to run them. Rheinard, who was only 17th for the round, said on the third run with the same tyres the car is just loose everywhere and while he still has the chance of a TQ run due to having new tyres he believes should the finals go to the third leg it is going to be very difficult to actually race.

Winner of the Pre Worlds race at the MACH, American Team Xray driver Paul Lemieux said he is happy with his pace despite sitting 11th currently in the ranking list. Due to the tyre games being played he said things look a little worse than they are, but still to use his second set of tyres he is confident he is in with a chance of making the main event but he added that he is out of it in terms of going for the win.

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Q2 Update

Ronald Volker backed up his opening qualifying performance with another TQ run in Q2, the Yokomo driver’s gamble to use his second set of allocated tyres paying dividends as he secured another maximum points ahead of a surprise second fastest 5-minute run from Finnish driver Viljami Kutvonen who too had the benefit of running new tyres.  Best of the drivers on used tyres was Tamiya’s Jilles Groskamp who finished almost 6 seconds off Volker’s pace to take third for the round.

Volker said after his run that the plan was always to run new tyres in Q2 if they took the opening round so as to benefit from his No.1 starting order.  Had they saved the tyres for a later run he said they ran the risk of having to pass cars that may get to start ahead of him risking him not getting the best advantage of fresh rubber.

Only his second World Championships, Finnish National Champion Kutvonen was very happy with his heat saying after some small changes his LRP powered Awesomatix was easy to drive. Running in Group 11 of 14, the 20-year-old must now run the remaining four heats on used tyres but having been comfortable with the A700 in practice yesterday on old tyres he will leave the set-up the same for Q3.

Having only completed 5-laps in Q1, Yannic Prumper made the most of his partly used tyres to set the fourth fastest time but the ETS race winner had the pace for second.  Starting last due to his retirement from this morning’s run the computer announced the run was finished and so the German slowed but due to his late start he was in fact still on his last lap.  As a result he lost 4 seconds as he completed a 21.788 second final lap.

Juho Levanen, who is running one heat earlier, also had a problem with the automated computer announcement.  Having sat out his first run, the factory Associated driver posted a 24 second final lap but still managed to take fifth for the round.  The former European Champion said his TC6 is working OK but with the team having done a lot less pre-event testing the result was just a case of good tactics rather than outright pace.

Another to sit out Q1 was former multiple British National Champion Chris Grainger, his new tyres allowing him to take his Schumacher around in the 7th fastest time just behind Viktor Wilck, who was on old tyres, and ahead of Kyosho’s Christopher Krapp.  Defending Champion Marc Rheinard managed only the 9th fastest time just in front of Naoto Matsukura.

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