Significant win for Volker in Round 6 at RROC

Defending Reedy Race Champion Ronald Volker claimed a significant win at the Tamiya Raceway as the 18th running of the event reached the halfway mark. The Yokomo driver, having started from the back of the grid, claimed only his second win as points leader Marc Rheinard, who started in the same race from 3rd on the grid, finished only 5th.  Round 6 of 12 would be about repeat winners with Tamiya’s Christopher Krapp and Xray’s Alexander Hagberg adding to yesterday’s wins.

Having been frustrated at his starting position for today’s action, the German lining up towards the back for 3 of his 4 races, Volker said the win was ‘very satisfying’.  Making up places on the first run through the sweeper, contact between Rheinard and Mike Haynes in the chicane would leave the ETS champion second at the end of lap 1.  With former team-mate Naoto Matsukura leading, Volker again setting the fastest lap said he knew he had the faster car and with time on his side he just drove patiently behind the World Champion.  On lap 6 the waiting game paid off as the Japanese Tamiya driver jumped the track’s famous kink allowing Volker through at the next corner for a lead he would extend and hold to the end.

Commenting on what has been his worst finish so far, 5th, Rheinard said ‘hopefully that will be one of my dropped rounds’. Commenting on the first lap incident that dropped him down to 7th, the multiple World Champion said Haynes, who started from P2, got out of shape and he had no chance to avoid him. Working his way back up to third placed Andy Moore, he said the HB driver was ‘really slow’ resulting in contact at the sweeper.  Having to wait on the fellow former World Champion, Rheinard would make further contact with Moore whose PRO-5 got caught on the boards losing him 4-seconds as he again waited.

Winning the opening race of the round after Juho Levanen rolled his Associated having led for 7 laps, Krapp said while he was happy to get the win he was more happy that his Tamiya was good again.  In Round 5, yesterday’s double race winner had a big off during the warm-up and he struggled finishing 6th.  Finding afterwards the car had a broken chassis plus other key parts, he said his mechanic did a great job rebuilding the car and while it took a few laps to feel the car was ok after that it was ‘super good to drive’ and he goes into the second half of the event in a confident mood.

Asked about his win, Hagberg said ‘I got lucky in the end’ referring to fellow Swede Viktor Wilck rolling out of the lead with 4-laps to go.  With Wilck pulling off the pass of the day yesterday on Hagberg, the Xray driver said he ‘got distracted by the huge wreck’ on the main straight, Canadian Andrew Hardmann collecting an out of shape Charlee Phutiyotin, and this was enough to let Wilck by.  With his T4 ‘working better today’, he said he was able to keep with the Serpent driver. Hoping things ‘stay as lucky for the rest of the day’ he added that ‘for this race you need it’.  Wilck said once he got passed Hagberg he got too relaxed and just tried to cruise close to the curbing to keep him behind but over did it and got too tight causing his S411 to roll.  Happy with how is car is performing he said second was ‘still good points’.  Having led for 8-laps under pressure from Hagberg, ARC’s Steven Weiss would, unlike Cahrlie P, survive getting out of shape on the straight but would relinquish the lead as a result to finish 3rd.

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Day 2 opens at RROC with wins for Rheinard, Vejrak and Matsukura

A cold start to the second day of racing at the Reedy Race of Champions in California, it was overnight points leader Marc Rheinard who got proceedings underway at Tamiya Raceway with his fourth win from five races. Winner of two encounters yesterday, Meen Vejrak would bring his tally to three with a very easy win in Race 2 over Nicolas Lee and defending champion Ronald Volker.  After a tough opening day that left him sitting 14th in the points, World Champion Naoto Matsukura registered his first win but declared the victory over Juho Levanen a ‘lucky’ one.

Pushed hard by Xray’s Alexander Hagberg in the latter half of the race, the pair having started on the front row, Rheinard said ‘because it’s way colder the car didn’t feel good’.  With the front biting and the rear loose, the 4-time champion said he tried to keep it safe and not push too hard. Set to start round 6 from 3rd behind Matsukura with Volker 8th on the grid, he said he would ‘drive with his brain a little bit’ adding he’d ‘be happy with a 2nd or 3rd’.

Starting on the outside of the front row alongside Team Associated’s Rick Hohwart, Vejrak said he ‘got a lucky start’ and once in front he was able to control the race with a ‘safe drive’.  Third in the overnight standings, the Yokomo driver said while it was a ‘good start to the day’ his BD7 had too much steering and was loose on the rear making it tricky to drive.  Hoping the weather warms up for the second of the day’s four races he said closer to the Round 6 he will decide whether to make a set-up change or not.

Running in the same race as Vejrak, team-mate Volker was frustrated with his starting draws for today’s action.  Starting from 8th on the grid, the same place he will start again in the next round, he managed to finish third behind Nicolas Lee. Having only looked at his starting order for Day 2 on arriving at the track this morning he said all he can hope for today is Top 3 finishes adding ‘hopefully that will be enough for a final podium placing’.  With starting from the back of the grid, he starts Round 7 from 9th, he said the racing is already difficult enough with his arch rival Rheinard having much better starting positions.  The German, who set the fastest lap of the round by a considerable margin, said with over half the event still to run ‘anything can happen’ and he would just take it round by round.

Matsukura said he only won because 1:8 Offroad World Champion Ty Tessmann rolled his HB 5-laps into the race while leading.  Although he was able to drive the rest of the race ‘easy’ to take the win he said compared to his key rivals he is not competitive and for Round 6 he will switch to a different car.

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