The first two rounds of qualifying here in Austria are in the books. Race control decided to run two complete rounds of qualifying on Friday because of rain in the weather forecast for Saturday morning. To have the best possible chance to run all heats in dry and good conditions, this decision was the right one for sure. As everybody expected, the racing was intense, close, and thrilling through all classes. Let`s find out who scored the best results on Friday evening at the MAV Aigen-Schlägl.
Matrix Modified
Yokomo`s Krapp takes Q1 while Axon`s Sobue wins Q2 and is overnight TQ at ETS RD2 in Aigen-Schlägl
Q1 – Christopher Krapp took the opening round of Matrix Modified qualifying here in Aigen-Schlägl. While his Yokomo teammates Yannic Prümper and Loic Jasmin not being able to race this weekend, it was all about Chrissi Krapp to show what the new BD11 can do on a different track as Apeldoorn. And Krapp and the BD11 delivered in Q1. Christopher drove flawless and took the first qualifier with 0.3 seconds ahead of Awesomatix factory driver Marc Rheinard.
Ronald Völker (Mugen Seiki) finisher in third position, another 0.153 seconds behind Rheinard. Völker posted the fastest lap of the race (16.025) and top seed Akio Sobue had the second fastest laptime on his favour (16.067) as he finished fourth overall for the round. Lucas Urbain scored a solid fifth place with his Awesomatix A800MMX.
Our media team talked to a very exhausted RD1 TQ Christopher Krapp directly after the heat:
Wow, that was a hell of a race. It was super warm on the driver stand and it was so demanding to stay focussed on these hot conditions. In the first couple of laps, I struggled a little bit with the feeling of my car but once I noticed that it is really fast on pace, I got comfortable with it and was able to push a lot. In the end I heard that I was right in the mix for the win, and I could see that I came a little closer to Ronald who was driving in front of me. In the end, I am super happy about the result in the first qualifier, and I hope that I can keep up this great pace with my Yokomo BD11.
Christopher Krapp (DE), Yokomo/Racing Performer
Q2 – The second round of qualifying was the show of Akio Sobue, Marc Rheinard and Marco Kaufmann. Christopher Krapp (Yokomo), who took an impressive win in Q1 was missing a bit of pace and had to open for Rheinard (Awesomatix)on track after some laps. Behind them on track (visual), Akio Sobue was on a mission and was on top of the board after the first minute of the race. The distance between him and Marc Rheinard was very close all the time as they battled it out until the finish line with the better end (0.3 seconds) for Japanese Axon driver Sobue. Marco Kaufmann (Xray) had an amazing run to third place for the round and was super happy after the race.
Akio Sobue is now leading the pack overnight in the Matrix Modified class with Christopher Krapp in second, and Marc Rheinard in third position. Marco Kaufmann is fourth and Ronald Völker fifth.
ETS reporter Patrick Beck talked to Akio Sobue about his day and especially about his strong run in Q2:
It was not easy to drive as the track was super-hot. In these conditions, it is hard to push and look after the tires in the same moment. We made some small changes to our Axon TC10/2 to adapt it to the track conditions here in Aigen and it seems to work very well. Also, the Orca power is fantastic and helps me to go fast. Tomorrow I try to post another TQ run as I really want to fight for the win this weekend!
Akio Sobue (JP), Axon, Orca
Link to the Results on MyRCM: https://www.myrcm.ch/myrcm/report/de/63772/287279?key=202
Awesomatix ProStock
Mächler is overnight TQ after winning Q2 while Lauter and Mikkelsen are 2nd and 3rd
Q1 – The first round of Awesomatix Pro Stock qualifying saw Simon Lauter posting the fastest overall runtime with his A800MMX. It was a real nail biter as Max Mächler was leading the race most of the time until we entered the last minute of the heat. Simon Lauter closed the gap tenth by tenth and took the win by only 0.016 seconds from Mächler – what a race! Frederik Mikkelsen had a great run to P3, and Alex Kunkler and Olivier Bultynck completed the top 5.
Q2 – The second round was almost as exciting as the first was – with the better ending for Max Mächler and his Awesomatix A800MMX. Mächler took the win with 0.4 seconds from Frederik Mikkelsen, while Tim Benson finished third. Round 1 TQ Simon Lauter lost a lot of time in lap number 10 and dropped all the way down to ninth place for the heat. Awesomatix driver Alex Kunkler (4th) and Xray`s Stefan Schulz completed the top 5 in Q2 of the Awesomatix Pro Stock class.
With his Q2 time being 2.7 seconds faster than Lauters TQ time from Q1, Max Mächler is the leader in the Pro Stock class here in Aigen on Friday evening and earns the “overnight TQ honours”. Something which must feel really nice and satisfying ahead of a very competitive Saturday for sure.
Max Mächler had the following words for us after Q2:
My day, and especially the day for our complete Awesomatix team, was very good. I am happy that I was able to challenge Simon (Lauter) again as he is a sensational good driver. For tomorrow I will go “All-In” again and then we will see where I will line up for the finals. The track is great, the whole event as well, and that is the most important thing for our great sport!
Max Mächler (DE), Awesomatix, Sunpadow
Link to the Results on MyRCM: https://www.myrcm.ch/myrcm/report/de/63772/288610?key=202
Hobbywing Frontwheel
Dominant Schulz leading FWD after two rounds of qualifying
Q1 – Stefan Schulz was able to TQ RD1 of qualifying in the Hobbywing Frontwheel class. He had a perfect run and was pretty much driving his own race out front. Schulz also posted the hot lap of the race with a 22.003 leaving all the others way behind. Awesomatix A800FX driver Steven Olsen (hot lap 22.229) crossed the line in second place and was four seconds behind Schulz – something that we haven`t seen for a while in the FWD class. Toni Rheinard had a solid run to P3 with his Awesomatix A800FX (hot lap 22.412) and Kevin Sparbier (Mugen Seiki) and Ulrich Dinger (Awesomatix) completed the top 5 in the first qualifier.
Q2 – In the second round of qualifying, we saw almost the same race: Xray driver Stefan Schulz started first out of the gate and took the win with a gap of 4.5 seconds over Robin van Gog. A dominant show from the reigning FWD champion in today`s two rounds of qualifying. Kevin Sparbier, Ulrich Dinger, and Jacques Libar completed the top five for the round.
In the overall ranking list, we see double TQ Stefan Schulz leading after day 1 in front of Steven Olsen, Robin van Gog, Kevin Sparbier and Ulrich Dinger. We had a quick chat with Stefan Schulz at his Marshall position under the burning sun here in Aigen-Schlägl and asked him about his dominant performance:
In practice, I was not 100% happy with the handling of my car. But as soon as I had the set of racing tires on my car it was much better. I used some balancing clay to get the set of tires balanced as good as possible and that was a good move, I think. I am also running the Blitz YRS body shell which I have a better feeling with here on the track. It is not really faster compared to the Gorilla which I normally use, but I just have a better feeling while pushing the car around the track with the YRS. With two TQ runs in the bag I am looking forward to another great day of racing tomorrow!
Stefan Schulz (DE), Xray, Gens Ace
Link to the Results on MyRCM: https://www.myrcm.ch/myrcm/report/de/63772/287277?key=202
Orca 17.5 Stock
Dominik Reile is the overnight TQ after taking Q1 and Q2 from Pöhlmann and Donath
In the first round of Orca 17.5 Stock qualifying saw Dominik Reile laying down the fastest overall run. Top Sees Daniel Pöhlmann finished second in Q1 ahead of fast girl Jasmin Donath in third. It was a close first qualifier where Reile also posted the fastest lap of the round (19.615). Daniel Pöhlmann finished the run one second behind Reile and had the second fastest lap to his favour (19.731).
Q2 – In Q2, Dominik Reile was on a mission again and took the round again from Daniel Pöhlmann who booked another second place. Behind the leading duo of Reile and Pöhlmann, it was again Jasmin Donath with another strong third place for the round. With two third places out of the first two rounds of qualifying, Jasmin has booked the A-Main for a second time in a row now and she will have a happy evening for sure. Henrik Heitsch and Wolfgang Swoboda finished fourth and fifth for the round.
The overnight rankings are showing Dominik Reile in front of Daniel Pöhlmann, Jasmin Donath, Henrik Heitsch and Joshua Winkler now with a clear advantage for Reile who is only one heat win away from sealing the overall TQ here in Aigen. Asked about his day he told us:
First of all, I like to say that the track here in Aigen is even better for 17.5 Stock racing than it looked like on the pictures which I saw before. I really like the feeling which you have on track with the elevation changes and curbs. It is important to get into the rhythm here from lap number one to make sure that you don`t overshoot the downhill corners. Today went really well for me and my goal is to seal the overall TQ with another heat win tomorrow morning.
Dominik Reile (DE), Awesomatix
Link to the Results on MyRCM: https://www.myrcm.ch/myrcm/report/de/63772/287274?key=202
ToniSport 40+ Masters
Thalheimer wins Q1 while Mateo fights back in Q2 to take overnight TQ honours
Q1 – In the ToniSport 40+ Masters class we saw Xray`s Mirco Thalheimer taking the opening round of qualifying in a super-close race from Mugen Seiki driver Thomas Oehler. Toni Mateo finished third, with Werner Schmitzer and Flavio Paladin completing the top 5. The top 5 crossed the line within 2 seconds showing once again that the ToniSport 40+ Masters class is super competitive here at the ETS.
Q2 – The second round then saw Mirco Thalheimer struggling a little in the opening laps of the heat. The same problem had Thomas Oehler as well who dropped back in the beginning too. Meanwhile it was Toni Mateo from Gran Canaria taking the lead which he never lost until the end of the run. He took the win in Q2 with 0.6 seconds ahead of Manuel Stankowitz and Flavio Paladin.
With Mateo having a third place from Q1 and the TQ from the second round, he is sitting in P1 overnight with Mirco Thalheimer (TQ and 4th) in second and Manuel Stankowitz in third. Toni Mateo told our race reporter after Q2:
I had a clean run in the last round and used my second set of new tires as well. With rain on the forecast for tomorrow, I am sure it was the right decision to do so. The facility here is nice and the track also. I normally prefer more technical tracks, but this one is also very good. I expect some very close remaining qualifiers tomorrow and the most important thing is to avoid any mistakes as it is almost impossible to recover afterwards.
Toni Mateo (ES), Awesomatix
Link to the Results on MyRCM: https://www.myrcm.ch/myrcm/report/de/63772/287275?key=202
Scorpion Formula
Stiebler is the man to beat in Formula after two strong TQ runs
Q1 – Andreas Stiebler (Schumacher) took RD1 of qualifying mid-day and was running strong. His gap over second placed René Kölbel (Xray) was at 3.1 seconds which is quite a lot in a five-minute run at the ETS. Behind Stiebler and Kölbel, Robin van Gog finished third right ahead of Luka Jovicic and Robert Kampehl.
Q2 – The second round saw Stiebler taking another win with his Icon 2 Formula car from Schumacher. The gap to René Kölbel was 3.1 seconds again and it seems like Stiebler is the top favourite for pole position now. Second placed René Kölbel had a little more pressure as he had to defend second place against Robin van Gog and Herbert Weber. Luka Jovicic finished fifth in Q2 of the Scorpion Formula class.
We had the chance to talk to overnight TQ Andreas Stiebler in the ETS media center:
Beside the crazy hot weather conditions, my day was very close to perfection. I had two good runs with my Schumacher car, and I hope that I can continue like this tomorrow. The car felt good on track and as I have never been TQ or at least a race winner at the ETS, I will try my best to achieve something good in the next two days. Fingers crossed!
Andreas Stiebler (AT), Schumacher
Link to the Results on MyRCM: https://www.myrcm.ch/myrcm/report/de/63772/287276?key=202
Now, all racers are hoping for dry weather conditions on Saturday morning where Q3 and Q4 is scheduled. The forecast was not ideal, but sometimes the luck is on the racer`s side and the bad weather just passes by on a different corridor!
On our website you will not miss anything as you can find our livestream options in the “LIVE” section. To get quickly to the results of all classes simply navigate to the “RESULTS” area on our landing page.
