The first two rounds of qualifying here in Luxembourg are completed. As everybody expected, the racing was intense, close, and thrilling through all classes. Let`s find out who scored the best results on Friday afternoon on the very demanding and spectacular Mini Circuit “Ville de Luxembourg”.
Matrix Modified
Ballistic Urbain ahead of the field in Luxembourg
Q1 – The first Matrix Modified qualifier was a close one. Lucas Urbain (Awesomatix) started first into the heat after he was fastest in seeding practice. Lucas was leading the race all the time in front of Ronald Völker (Mugen Seiki) and Marc Rheinard. Lucas looked very comfortable out there while Völker and Rheinard had to push very hard to follow him as close as possible. Lucas Urbain drove a 17.063 lap time – the fastest we have ever seen here on track at a 1:10 scale electric race. He mentioned before the run, that also nobody had ever laid down an 18-lap run during a racing event. Now, the job is done as the top 4 (!) all made it into lap 18.
In the end, Urbain took the win from Völker by 0.56 seconds with Rheinard in third position. Yannic Prümper took P4 for Yokomo while Remí Callens had a great run with his Mugen Seiki car to take P5 in the opening qualifier of the Matrix Modified class.
Q2 – Lucas Urbain continued where he stopped in Q1 – leading and winning the heat! Lucas was on fire with his A800MMX and took the win with another (even faster) 18 lap run. Marc Rheinard took second place while Ronald Völker stopped his Mugen Seiki car after flipping it on a curb in the fast chicane in front of the driver stand. Until this happened, the positions between Marc and Ronald changed a lot of times and they had a close fight for second with Yannic Prümper also being in the mix. The top 5 finishing order was Lucas Urbain (Awesomatix), Marc Rheinard (Awesomatix), Yannic Prümper (Yokomo), Jan Ratheisky (Xray), and Loic Jasmin (Yokomo). Robert Pietsch had some tough luck as he also was on a top 4 run before he had to stop his car with some electronical issues.
With 2 out of 2 it was a perfect day for Urbain and our media team talked to him on Friday evening:
What a day! I was fastest in free practice, controlled practice, and I won the first two rounds of qualifying. I didn`t even expect that but for sure I am very confident and happy now. My car was not perfect in Q1 and I had to drive very cautious, but in Q2 I was very confident when I noticed that I already had a small gap after the first three laps. I tried to manage the gap to the end and it worked out even as Marc had a great pace too.
Lucas Urbain (FR) Awesomatix, Orca
Asked about his day, Marc Rheinard (second on Friday evening) told us right after Q2:
I lost a bit of time in the opening laps of Q1 and had to take third for the round. The second round was a lot better and I was able to drive the fastest lap of the race as well. Lucas is very fast here, but tomorrow I will try everything to get myself into the position to fight for the win in the Finals. My Awesomatix worked fine and I am also happy with the feeling of the Orca power in my car.
Marc Rheinard (DE) Awesomatix/Orca
Third overall on Friday, Ronald Völker had the following statement for us:
I had a solid first qualifier and scored good points with P2. The second run didnt went to my plans. I had to push hard to try to catch Lucas (Urbain), but it was a little too much and I flipped in the fast chicane in the infield section. My LRP powered Mugen car was a little “too good” in the first lap and started to understeer afterwards. I will discuss that with the team and we will make some small adjustments for tomorrows remaining qualifiers.
Ronald Völker (DE) Mugen Seiki/LRP
Link to the Results on MyRCM: https://www.myrcm.ch/myrcm/report/de/65827/294570?key=202
Awesomatix ProStock
TQ runs from Lauter and Bultynck on Friday afternoon
Q1 – The first round of Awesomatix Pro Stock qualifying went to favour of Simon Lauter and his Awesomatix A800MMX. But it was not an easy win for Simon as Louis Kretschmer and top seed Olivier Bultynck had been on a very similar pace during the entire run. In the beginning, Louis Kretschmer was leading the race (fastest lap of the heat 19.341) and it took a while until Simon`s name was popping off on top of the board. When the drivers finished the race, the top three had been separated by 0.149 of a second only. It was high class Pro Stock racing here in Luxembourg – exactly what everybody expected. Frederik Mikkelsen and Max Mächler completed the top 5 before the first non Awesomatix racer Lars Hoppe finished in 6th place.
Q2 – Olivier Bultynck (Awesomatix) was able to strike back in the second round of Awesomatix Pro Stock qualifying. He was fighting hard for this win on track against his teammates Simon Lauter and Louis Kretschmer, but in the end, he was able to bring home a very important TQ run. With Lauter`s time from Q1 being slightly faster, he is sitting in first position overnight in front of Bultynck, Kretschmer, Mikkelsen, and Libar. The decision for the Tq and all A-Main spots will come down to Q3 ad Q4 on Saturday morning!
Link to the Results on MyRCM: https://www.myrcm.ch/myrcm/report/de/65827/294571?key=202
Hobbywing Frontwheel
Strong Friday from Schulz as he got two TQ runs to his favour
Q1 – Stefan Schulz took Q1 of the Hobbywing Frontwheel class on Friday afternoon. He had a perfect run with his Xray car and had an advantage of 1.7 seconds as he crossed the scoring and timing loop after 5 minutes. Behind Schulz, it was a three-horse race between Jacques Libar, Roman Borschel and Sören Sparbier as they took second, third, and fourth place. Steven Olsen posted the fifth fastest time but was some seconds behind the leading drivers. Stefan Schulz also posted the fastest lap of the heat (24.225) and was very happy with his first qualifier.
Q2 – It was again Stefan Schulz who was the fastest driver on track. Jacques Libar took another second place, but he was not able to fight for the win as the gap to Schulz was far too big with 3.5 seconds. Behind Schulz and Libar, a much-improved Steven Olsen (Awesomatix A800FX Evo) had a solid run to third place overall. Sören Sparbier and Torsten Baggendorf finished in the top 5 of the second qualifier as well. Stefan Schulz is now only one heat win away from sealing the overall pole position here at the Mini Circuit “Ville de Luxembourg” and that will be his target for tomorrow morning`s Q3 of the Hobbywing Frontwheel class.
Link to the Results on MyRCM: https://www.myrcm.ch/myrcm/report/de/65827/294568?key=202
Orca 17.5 Stock
Reile TQ`s first round of Orca 17.5 Stock qualifying as Q2 got shifted to Saturday morning
Q1 – In the first round of qualifying, Dominik Reile was able to take full advantage of a clear track in front of him. Reile was able to open a gap of 2.5 seconds over the rest of the field and was in a world of his own in Q1. Joshua Winkler and Jasmin Donath had the same overall runtime (which is extremely rare) which meant them both getting the points for second position in Q1. Kevin Schmid and Niclas Storm rounded out the top 5 in a very close first qualifier.
Q2 – Round 2 of qualifying in the Orca 17.5T Stock class will take place on Saturday morning!
Link to the Results on MyRCM: https://www.myrcm.ch/myrcm/report/de/65827/294565?key=202
ToniSport 40+ Masters
Stankowitz and Mateo both scoring a TQ run on Friday in Luxembourg
Q1 – We saw a very close opening round of 40+ Masters qualifying between top seed Toni Mateo and Manuel Stankowitz. In the end, Manuel Stankowitz was able to TQ the first heat with a gap of .03 seconds from Toni Mateo. Mirco Thalheimer was also in the mix for the win in this round, posted the fastest lap of the heat, and crosser the line in third place. Michel Zierlod and Joe Streff took 4th and 5th for the round.
Q2 – After Toni Mateo had to deal with a second place in Q1 behind Manuel Stankowitz, he was able to improve by one position in Q2 to take the win for the round. Ulrich Dinger and Thomas Wegmann had a great run as well as they took second and third place ahead of Mirco Thalheimer in fourth place. Ronald Arts and Joe Streff finished fifth and sixth for the round with their times coming from the second fastest qualifying group.
Link to the Results on MyRCM: https://www.myrcm.ch/myrcm/report/de/65827/294566?key=202
Scorpion Formula
Ratheisky overnight TQ at ETS Luxembourg after a perfect Friday
Q1 – Jan Ratheisky (Xray) took a very close opening round of Formula qualifying ahead of Andreas Stiebler (Schumacher) and Luka Jovicic (Libar Engineering). The trio was battling it out during the entire 5 minutes and Ratheisky was the lucky guy winning the heat 0.25 seconds ahead of Stiebler with Jovicic another second back. Michal Wojcik and Robert Kampehl took a fourth and fifth place in the first qualifier.
Q2 – The second round of qualifying was a copy of the first one – with the overall runtimes being some seconds faster compared to Q1. Jan Ratheisky took the win in front of Luka Jovicic and Andreas Stiebler and is our overnight TQ at ETS Rd4. But as a famous racer once said: “TQ overnight – no delight”.
Jan needs one more perfect run to seal the pole position with his Xray car and he will aim for that tomorrow morning in Q3 of the Scorpion Formula class. Michal Wojcik and Gergö Valent completed the top 5 here on Friday evening in Luxembourg.
Link to the Results on MyRCM: https://www.myrcm.ch/myrcm/report/de/65827/294567?key=202
After a great Friday, we are more than excited for the upcoming Q3 and Q4 on Saturday. Who will be on pole position for the finals? Don`t miss anything and follow our LIVE section and our coverage here on our website!
