Matrix Modified
Rheinard takes opening qualifier at Chuck`s Raceway
The first round of qualifying in the Matrix Modified class saw Awesomatix lead driver Marc Rheinard taking the win. After being top seed, Marc started ahead of Bruno Coelho (Xray) who looked a bit faster and took over the lead on the timing after a couple of laps. With Ronald Völker (Mugen Seiki) and Marco Kaufmann (Xray) dropping back directly in lap one after both lost some traction in the right part of the track, Michele Manzo (Awesomatix)moved up to third place and had a fantastic run. Coelho was leading the field until he made a mistake in ap 11 where he lost almost 2 seconds of time. Rheinard was leading again, and Manzo was running second as Coelho, Völker and Kaufmann tried to recover from their trouble until the end of the run. Coelho laid down some hot laps and was able to finish in second position behind Rheinard while Michele Manzo booked a super strong third place for himself. Ronald Völker crossed the line in 4th place and Christopher Krapp completed the top 5.
Marc Rheinard had the following words for our media team after Q1:
I had a safe and clean run and after the mistake from Bruno I just tried to control the gap to Michele and the others behind me. My Orca powered Awesomatix car felt good in Q1 and my mechanic Pumpi who is working on my car this weekend is doing an excellent job! My goal for tomorrow is to have another clean and fast run to fight for the TQ. Great job by the whole Awesomatix team with five cars in the top 10!
Marc Rheinard, Awesomatix/Orca
Link to the Results on MyRCM: https://www.myrcm.ch/myrcm/report/de/60651/276942?key=202
Xray ProStock
Duchet recovers from average practice and takes Q1
Xray`s Alexandre Duchet took the first round of ProStock qualifying here at ETS RD4 in Neumünster. After only setting the 7th fastest time in the seeding practice he was able to make his way through the field to win ahead of Simon Lauter (Awesomatix). Simon was leading the race in the first minutes but in the end, he came short to Duchet by 0.4 seconds. Max Mächler (Awesomatix) posted the fastest lap of the heat and finished third with Jan Ratheisky (Xray) and Lukas Ellerbrock (Xray) rounding out the top 5.
Alexandre Duchet was really happy with his qualifying run here on Friday evening:
During practice we tried a lot of stuff on the car which sometimes worked well and sometimes not. Now we found a good balance and the car feels ready to race. It was not easy to stay calm starting from P7, but I had a clean run and was able to take the win. I think that the other rounds tomorrow will be even more intense but starting from the front in Q2 will help me for sure. Finally, I want to compliment the great track here at the ETS and I also would like to thank Martin Hudy for doing most of the work on my car!
Alexandre Duchet, Xray/Orca
Link to the Results on MyRCM: https://www.myrcm.ch/myrcm/report/de/60651/276946?key=202
Hobbywing Frontwheel
Fritschler takes a close Q1 from Schulz
Marvin Fritschler was the man of the first qualifying round in the Hobbywing Frontwheel class. After being a surprise in seeding practice for most of the FWD drivers he didn`t look back in Q1 and drove to the win. Stefan Schulz tried everything he can to hunt him down but he had to settle for second just 0.3 seconds behind Fritschler. Steven Olsen, the main championship contender of Stefan Schulz, finished third in front of Jonas Völker and Kevin Sparbier who completed the top 5.
Round 1 TQ Marvin Fritschler talked to our media team after his great run:
As I am normally running 1:8 scale nitro buggy I was not expecting to be in contention for the top spots here at my first ever ETS race. But my car felt really good here on track and I was able to resist the pressure from Stefan Schulz who was chasing me for the entire run. As I know about the pace of my car with the new FWD tires right now, I will do everything to stay on top. Driving here at the ETS is great and I enjoy it a lot!
Marvin Fritschler
Link to the Results on MyRCM: https://www.myrcm.ch/myrcm/report/de/60651/276941?key=202
Orca 17.5 Stock
Bemmerl takes Q1 in Neumünster
Thomas Bemmerl took advantage of his first starting position and used the clean track in front of him to secure himself a TQ run for a perfect start into the weekend. Dominik Reile, Daniel Pöhlmann, Dominik Ruf, Jan Gehrig. Dominik Ruf was in a very close fight with Bemmerl during the entire run but due a bad last lap in traffic, Dominik Ruf lost 3.3 seconds. This handed the win over to Thomas Bemmerl and it looks like it will be very hard for everybody to stop him this weekend.
Some moments after his TQ run we talked to Thomas Bemmerl:
My car was not feeling perfect in the first laps on the new set of tires, so I needed to concentrate myself a lot to not make any mistake. I only heard from the announcer that Dominik and I had a close battle on the timing sheet. Just some moments before the end of the run he (Dominik Ruf) had some trouble, and I could take the win. I am happy about this good start into qualifying, but I expect a lot of pressure from the others in Q2.
Thomas Bemmerl
Link to the Results on MyRCM: https://www.myrcm.ch/myrcm/report/de/60651/276944?key=202
ToniSport 40+ Masters
Q1 at Chuck`s Raceway goes to Mateo
Toni Mateo from Gran Canaria took the opening round of qualifying in the ToniSport 40+ Masters class on Friday afternoon. Toni was able to open up a small gap to the entire field and he also had the fastest lap of the race (13.684). Top seed Caspar Morgen came short by 2.1 seconds but was able to take second for the round in front of Ulrich Dinger in third spot. Mirco Thalheimer and Thorsten Baggendorf completed the top 5.
Toni Mateo told us about his run:
I took it easy and tried to make no mistakes. This is always kind of my strategy for Q1, and it worked out fine in the end. My car feels good, but I will make one setup change to get a little more steering for the tight corners. As I need one more run like this, I will just try to copy my first qualifying run!
Toni Mateo
Link to the Results on MyRCM: https://www.myrcm.ch/myrcm/report/de/60651/276945?key=202
Scorpion Formula
Ratheisky TQ`s the first round
Jan Ratheisky – the reigning ETS F1 champion – took the win in the first round of qualifying at ETS RD4 in Neumünster. René Kölbel finished in second place and Sören Sparbier crossed the line in the third position. As Ratheisky and Kölbel are looking quicker compared to the rest of the field, we expect a two-horse race for pole position between both. Sören Sparbier is leading the rest of the pack at the moment, and he will try his very best to close the gap to the leaders!
Link to the Results on MyRCM: https://www.myrcm.ch/myrcm/report/de/60651/276943?key=202
