Rivals close gap slightly to Volker in P3

While Ronald Volker continued to dominate the top of the time sheets on the opening day of the Reedy Race of Champions at Tamiya Raceway, on a quickening track the Yokomo driver’s rivals managed to reduce slightly the gap to the defending champion. With Volker improving his P2 pace by over 1.1-seconds, fellow German Chrstopher Krapp would shoot to second fastest at the end of P3, the newest Tamiya recruit getting to within less than half a second of the Yokomo ace. With Viktor Wilck, who was second fastest after P2, one of a number of drivers failing to improve on their times, Akio Sobue would move ahead of TRF team-mate Marc Rheinard to complete the Top 3.  Having broke cars in each of the opening two practices, World Champion Naoto Matsukura is classified 22nd of the 27 runners with one practice remaining but the Japanese driver is not concerned. Running two cars in P3, the Tamiya driver said the second car which had no transponder was very good and that the times are not reflective of his true pace.

Running two cars, one with old and the other with new tyres from controlled tyre provider Sweep, Volker said the balance of the car on old was good but the BD7 fitted with the new set felt edgy.  With drivers having to race new tyres and then that same set for the next race, the ETS champion said they needed to work on getting a set-up that is better balanced for new tyres.

‘Very happy’ with his improved pace Krapp said he was probably even closer to Volker’s pace as changing car in the run his second car, which had no transponder, felt faster. His first time to the track, he said while he still had a few overshoots he was starting to drive the track a lot better. Running new tyres on both cars he said the first two laps were very loose which was not good for the heads up racing and so for the final practice he will try a different tyre prep.

Going down in the rear diff oil and moving the front shocks in on the lower arm, Sobue said his Tamiya had better initial steering.  Second fastest to Volker in terms of outright fastest lap time, he said he wants to find more overall traction and so will make further tweaks to the set-up for the final practice.  Staying 4th fastest but improving his time by half a second, team-mate Rheinard said his TRF419 was ‘easy to drive but not crazy fast’.  ‘Consistent to drive’, the 4-time Reedy Race winner said ‘it isn’t about being fast, it’s about having a car that is easy to drive’ and he was happy with were he is at.

Setting the fifth fastest time, Meen Vejrak said ‘now my car is working’.  Having struggled with no rear traction in the opening two runs, the Thai driver said adding toe-in to the rear of his Yokomo was a big step forward but added they still have to further improve the set-up.

Another driver on his first visit to the Tamiya track, JJ Wang would make a big improvement in P3 to put his PRO-5 6th fastest.  The 17-year-old factory HB team driver said his first two packs were all about just learning the track.  With a good feel for the track for P3 he would run two cars for comparison with the stiffer car his preferred choice.  Having only run new tyres, for the final practice he plans to run both cars again but fitted with used tyres.

Improving to 7th, Keven Hebert said changes to his Associated TC6.2 were ‘pretty good’ but that the car was ‘now too stable’.  The Canadian plans to go back a little on the changes by taking out some of camber added to the rear.  Third fastest after P2, team-mate Rick Hohwart would drop to 11th as he failed to improve his early time.  While he managed to improve his brakes he said he needs to go more with the adjustment but with the track ‘so dirty’ offline that the tyres are done for the rest of the run he couldn’t pull off to make the adjustment over the 5-minutes.

Better known as one of the all time great electric offroad racers with 4 world titles to his credit, Ryan Cavalieri would set the 8th fastest time on his annual touring car outing.  The Associated star said his TC6.2, which is being set-up by Randy Caster, was ‘by far the best it’s been’ in P3.  Feeling he was ‘driving it a little too hard’ he said it was ‘super consistent’ and with the car better than last year he was upping his goal for the event.  Having set himself a Top 10 finish but ended up 11th last year he said he is confident he ‘can mix it up more this year’ and so has set himself a Top 7 result.

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Volker sets early pace at RROC

Ronald Volker set the early pace on the opening day of the 18th running of the Reedy International Touring Car Race of Champions.  Winner of the event on its return to the famous Tamiya Raceway last year, the Yokomo driver posted the fastest three consecutive laps of the opening two of the four scheduled rounds of practice.  A 27-car invitational field, the most competitive the race has seen since it was previously ran at the Californian track, it was Serpent’s Viktor Wilck who was closest to Volker’s pace albeit over half a second off.  An impressive run from Team Associated’s Rick Hohwart would see the touring car veteran completing the Top 3.

While the track proved to be considerably slower than last year, the German said he was very happy with his pace when compared to his rivals.  With the track improving a lot from the first to the second run, the sun only breaking through the clouds late in the morning, Volker would post a fastest lap of 12.365 him having managed 11-second laps last year.  Running two cars in each of the runs, he said overall both worked well adding that having to change car during last year due to a ‘massive crash’ on the straight it was good to know he had two good cars at his disposal.  With one car the same as that with which he took the win last year and the other ‘tuned differently’, the ETS champion said he liked the second car slightly more describing it as being ‘more responsive’.  Highlighting that this is the most competitive field for years, he said being fast was ‘not the only thing you have to have’ for the Reedy Race but it was a positive starting point.

Wilck was ‘happy enough’ with his early pace saying his S411 ‘felt pretty good’.  Describing the track as ‘very tricky’ and ‘need(ing) the perfect line’, for his next practice having run the standard kit shocks he will use the track time to test pre-productions version of an upcoming new shock release from Serpent.

‘Really good so far’, that was how Hohwart summed up his opening runs.  Happy with his TC6.2 the American said his main problem was with his braking.  Changing to an Airtronics M12 for the race he said the ‘brakes feel quite a bit different’.  Although he has set the same end points as his previous M11X radio the braking is ‘not enough’.  Knowing of an M11X at the Associated/Reedy head office, he has made a call to tell them to bring it to the track ‘just in case’.

Fourth fastest, Marc Rheinard described his early pace as ‘pretty ok’.  Testing two variations of his TRF419, he said he preferred the car with the softer chassis and now he will focus on fine tuning that car over the day’s final two practices.  Also back to back testing new versus used tyres, drivers having to race the same set of handout Sweep tyres for 2 races before getting a new set, he said while the new was a little faster the used was not that much different.

Star of the last round of the Euro Touring Series in Austria which was also a small track Japanese driver Akio Sobue would post the 5th fastest time.  The Tamiya Racing Factory driver, who is a fan of small tracks as they are similar to his home track of RC Paradise in Nagoya, said having run two different TRF419 he preferred the ‘softer car’. Fitted with a chassis that gives more flex and also running lighter diff oil, the 20-year-old said it gave more steering and traction. Planning to focus on that car for the remaining two practice runs, he said he will try to future tweak the set-up.

Sixth fastest Alexander Hagberg said his main focus was getting used to the track.  The first time the Xray driver has raced the track the Swede said ‘it’s more difficult to drive than it looks’.  Changing his T4 ‘a lot’ after the first round he said it was much better for the second run but his driving still had a lot of room for improvement.  Describing the corners as ‘easy to overshoot’, he believes in hot conditions overheating the tyres is going to be a problem and so conservative driving could have its benefits.

Setting the 7th fastest 3-consecutive laps and making his first trip to Tamiya Raceway, Christopher Krapp said the track fits his driving style with the low traction requiring it to be driven smooth.  Describing his Tamiya as ‘solid’, the German feels the biggest improvement is going to come from his driving. ‘Overshooting the corners a lot’, he said his plan for the rest of practice was to ‘work on that’. Fellow Tamiya driver Nicolas Lee would sit 8th after the first two rounds of practice.  The Singaporean driver said his TRF419 was ‘not so bad’ but seeking more overall traction he would try a different shock set-up for the third run.

Canadian Andrew Hardman would post the 9th fastest time just ahead of fellow countryman Keven Hebert.  The 16-year-old Yokomo driver described his BD7 as having ‘great balance’ and it was the driver who needed to get more dialled in. Having raced here for the first time last year he said most of that event was spent learning the track which he said ‘appears so simple but is the toughest track he has driven’.  Hebert said his Associated was ‘ok’ but 5-laps into the second run a shock blew out.

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Track Focus – Tamiya Raceway

Track Name – Tamiya Raceway
Country – USA
Location – Aliso Viejo, California
Surface – Asphalt
Direction – Anti-Clockwise
Previous Reedy Races hosted – 7

Combine what the World’s best touring drivers continually describe as their favourite track with their favourite race format and you have the Reedy International Race of Champions at the famous Tamiya Raceway in California.  Built next to the then American headquarters of Tamiya, the track opened in 1994 and hosted its first Reedy Race in 2002.  After a run of 6-years however a restructuring within Tamiya USA saw the entire site put up for sale with 2007 marking what was then thought to be the end of the road for the track and the hosting of the Reedy Race.  Luckily for racers, however, the new owners of the large former Tamiya building where Tamiya warehoused all its products had no interest in the track and it remained in the ownership of Tamiya USA whose offices are now 8-miles away in Irvine.

Following the building’s sale parking would become a new issue for the track and it wasn’t until last year with the clearing of an adjacent field that the Reedy Race’s return was possible. With the return to Tamiya Raceway combined with Scotty Ernst taking over the running of the event, 2014 saw a big revival of interest in the race that now remembers one of the sport’s great pioneers Mike Reedy.  Following on from last year’s successful return to its spiritual home, the event which this year celebrates its 18th continuous running has attracted its best quality of invite entry since its heydays.

Built in an area 170 ft wide by 70 ft deep, the first thing that hits you on seeing the track for the first time is how small it is but ask any of the drivers about this and it turns out to be irrelevant. They love it because of the opportunities it offers for overtaking, making it perfect for the 12 rounds of heads up racing that make up the Reedy Race schedule.  Having only raced on the Tamiya track once before the race had to find a new home but winning it on its return last year, Ronald Volker said the track is ‘perfect for heads up racing’, adding the ‘size and layout of the corners make for a few chances each lap to pass your rivals’.  The four time Euro Touring series Champion said having the straight in front of the drivers stand also adds an interesting element to the racing.   Commenting that the high curbing needed to be avoided, the German said the middle kink is the track’s key feature as risks through it can either help you gain time or send the car flying.  A four time winner of the event sharing the title of most crowned champion with Barry Baker, Marc Rheinard called the track ‘One of the best’. The Tamiya driver added ‘it’s small but nice’ and ‘even if it does have a few bumps, the layout is perfect for great racing’.

For the 12-months between Reedy Races, Tamiya use the track for marketing activities including the running of their Tamiya Championship Series. On a weekly basis every Saturday the track is opened to Tamiya customers to come and run their cars.  Every six weeks the track also runs a one day race event open to all brands of cars and later this year it will play host to the US National Championships.