Rheinard triumphs in Budapest

Rheinard triumphs in Budapest
Round 2 of the Xenon Racing backed Euro Touring
Series saw competitors decend on the beautiful
city of Budapest in Hungary over the weekend
of November 28/29. Hosting its first ETS race 12
months earlier, the growing popularity of the Series
was very clear to see second time round as the
entry the event doubled in size to 160 drivers from
16 countries.
Qualifying kicked off with Ronald Volker, fresh from
winning the Japanese Nationals, setting the pace
with his LRP powered Yokomo BD5 ahead of Xray
team leader Teemu Leino. The second qualifier
saw Kastellaun Top Qualifier & Winner Viktor Wilck
up the pace with his Tamiya going fastest ahead of
team-mate Marc Rheinard. The World Champion
then became the third different driver to TQ a round
with his Speed Passion powered TRF416X topping
the time sheets in Q3. This was enough to put the
German in the provisional TQ spot in the overnight
qualification ranking.
Sunday morning kicked off with the fourth and final
round of qualifying and
with full factory support
behind him in Budapest
Volker repaid his crew
by posting the only 25
lap run to secure both
his and Yokomo’s first
ever ETS TQ honours.
After a terrible Saturday
young Yannic Prumper
set the second fastest
time for Q4 to scrape
onto the back of the
A-Main grid bumping Team Associated’s Juho
Levanen back to pole for the B Final.
In the first A-Main pole sitter Volker rolled out of
contention on the second lap allowing Rheinard,
who started from second on the grid, to cruise to
victory with Wilck taking second and Leino third.
Volker once again struggled to keep four wheels on
the track in Leg 2 and on lap 4 Rheinard found his
way past his fellow countryman. Once in front the
German again pulled clear to claim the win and with
it the overall Budapest victory. Starting fourth on the
grid Leino was starting to get to grips with setting
up the new Xray T3
chassis and would
finish second in
the Leg with Volker
just holding off
Hot Bodies’ Andy
Moore for third.
With the overall win
in the bag Rheinard
opted to sit out the
third leg of the
Final. An impatient
Wilck tried a move
on Volker on the opening lap as they entered the last
corner. Sending the Yokomo into a roll this allowed
Leino to pass them both and once in front he ran
the perfect race to win the Leg and secure second
overall. Wilck took third ahead of Volker leaving the
pair tied on points but thanks to his faster Leg 1 time
the Swede claimed the final step on the podium.
In the standings Wilck holds a one point lead over
Rheinard thanks to his Kastellaun TQ with Volker
third a further 2-points adrift.
Overview of Budapest track
2 out of 2 for Stocker
second for the round with Slovakia’s Zdenko Kunák third.
Staying out of trouble in Q2, Stocker TQ’d the round easily
from defending Champion Balint Rajki.
The third qualifier would be the fastest of the weekend
with Stocker posting 23 laps in 5:04.429. Kunák managed
second with Japan’s Yukijiro Umino third at the controls of
his Yokomo. The former Japanese Champion was improving
with each run and on Sunday morning came good topping
the round to put himself 3rd on the grid for his ETS debut
behind Stocker and Gabor.
Alexander Stocker is unquestionably the fastest Pro Stock
driver in Europe right now and the German ace again gave a
demonstration on how fast he is in the 13.5T class by notching
up his second win of the season.
The opening round of
qualifiying went the way
of top Hungarian driver
Gabor Forrai but only after
Stocker made a mistake
resulting in his Hot Bodies
Cyclone ending up under
the table in the technical
inspection area. Despite
the incident which cost
him 5-seconds the former
ETS Champion still took
Starting from pole Stocker made the first leg look easy winning
by half a lap from Forrai’s Tamiya with Rajki third having
started seventh
on the grid. In
Leg 2 Umino
completely turned
things
around
by going from
finishing last in
Leg 1 to winning
the second of the
three
A-Mains.
The No.3 car
was helped when
Stocker came undone while lapping traffic but Umino was still
very happy to bag a win on his ETS debut.
The result meant the overall Pro Stock winner for Budapest
would be decided in the final Leg but the No.1 car was to be
the class of the field once again. Leaving the other 9 cars
behind, Stocker did show however he is still human making
a mistake just as he entered his final lap. Losing 3 seconds,
this allowed Umino to close right up but the German remained
calm and held on to claim the win and his second consecutive
overall ETS victory. Upholding local honours, Forrai finished
third ahead of fellow countryman Rajki to stand on the third
step of the podium.
Round 2, A-Main Results
PRO-STOCK
1. (1) Stocker Alexander (Germany) – 1:1, 3:1 [2:2]
(C) Hot Bodies Cyclone TC (S) LRP SPX Stock Spec (M) Speed
Passion 3.0 13.5T (B) Protoform Mazda Speed 6 (R) Sanwa M11X
2. (3) Umino Yukijiro (Japan) – 2:1, 3:2 [1:10]
(C) Yokomo BD5 (S) LRP SXX TC Spec (M) Speed Passion 3.0
13.5T (B) Protoform Mazda Speed 6 LW (R) Sanwa M11X
3.(2) Forrai Gabor (Hungary) – 1:2, 2:3 [3:5]
(C) Tamiya 416 (S) LRP SPX Stock Spec (M) Speed Passion 3.0
13.5T (B) Protoform Mazda Speed 6 LW (R) Futaba 4PK
4. (7) Rajki Balint (Hungary) – 1:3, 3:3 [2:5]
(C) Hot Bodies Cyclone TC (S) LRP SPX (M) Speed Passion 3.0
13.5T (B) Protoform Mazda Speed 6 (R) Sanwa M11
MODIFIED
1. (2) Rheinard Marc (Germany ) - 1:1, 2:1 [3:10]
(C) Tamiya 416X (S) Speed Passion GT2.0 Bluestar (M) Speed
Passion 3.0 4.5T (B) Protoform Mazda Speed 6 (R) Sanwa M11X
5. (5) Faur Cristian (Romania) – 3:4, 2:4 [1:6]
(C) Serpent S400 (S) Nosram Pearl (M) Speed Passion 3.0 13.5T
(B) Protoform Mazda Speed 6 (R) Sanwa
2. (4) Leino Teemu (Finland) - 3:1, 2:2 [1:3]
(C) Xray T3 (S) LRP (M) Team Orion 5.5T (B) Protoform Mazda
Speed 6 (R) Sanwa M11X
3. (3) Wilck Viktor (Sweden) - 1:2, 3:3 [2:10]
(C) Tamiya 416X (S) Speed Passion GT2.0 Bluestar (M) Speed
Passion 3.0 4.0T (B) Protoform Mazda Speed 6 (R) Sanwa M11X
4. (1) Völker Ronald (Germany) - 3:2, 2:3 [1:10]
(C) Yokomo BD5 (S) LRP SXX TC Spec (M) LRP X12 5.0T
(B) Protoform Mazda Speed 6 LW (R) Sanwa M11X
5. (5) Harper Elliott (Great Britain) – 1:4, 2:5 [3:6]
(C) Xray T3 (S) Nosram Pearl ISTC (M) Nosram Pure 5.0T
(B) Protoform Mazda Speed 6 (R) KO Propo Esprit III
6. (10) Prümper Yannic (Germany) - 1:5, 3:5 [2:6]
6. (8) Kunák Zdenko (Slovenia) – 1:4, 3:6 [2:9]
7. (7) Hudy Martin (Slovakia) - 3:4, 2:7 [1:7]
7. (6) Miko Peter (Hungary) – 2:7, 3:7 [1:8]
8. (6) Moore Andy (Great Britain) – 2:4, 1:9 [3:9]
8. (10) Ashton Chris (Great Britain) – 1:5, 2:10 [3:10]
9.(9) Lein Sebastian (Germany) – 1:6, 2:8 [3:8]
9. (9) Juhász Viktor (Hungary) – 2:6, 1:9 [3:9]
10.(8) Kunak Zdenko (Slovakia) – 3:7, 1:8 [2:9]
10.(8) Orlowski Blazej (Poland) – 1:7, 2:8 [3:8]
(C) Tamiya 416WE (S) Speed Passion GT2.0 Bluestar (M) Speed
Passion 3.0 4.0T (B) Protoform LTC-R (R) Sanwa M11X
(C) Xray T3 (S) LRP (M) LRP X12 5.5T (B) Protoform Mazda
Speed 6 (R) KO Propo
(C) Hot Bodies Cyclone TC (S) Nosram (M) Orion Vortex 4.5T
(B) Protoform Mazda Speed 6 (R) KO Propo Esprit III
(C) Tamiya 416WE (S) Speed Passion GT2.0 Pro (M) Speed Passion
3.0 4.5T (B) Protoform Mazda Speed 6 LW (R) Sanwa M11
(C) Xray T3 (S) LRP SXX (M) LRP X12 5.5T (B) Protoform Mazda
Speed 6 LW (R) KO Propo Helios
(C) Xray T3 (S) LRP Stock Spec (M) Speed Passion 3.0 13.5T
(B) Protoform Mazda Speed 6 LW (R) KO Propo Helios
(C) Hot Bodies Cyclone TC (S) LRP SPX (M) Speed Passion 3.0
13.5T (B) Hot Bodies Mercedes C-Class (R) Futaba 3PK
(C) Schumacher Mi4LP (S) GM Genius 120 (M) Speed Passion
3.0 13.5T (B) East Coast Mazda 09 (R) KO Propo
(C) Losi JRX-S Type-R (S) GM Genius 120 (M) Speed Passion
3.0 13.5T (B) Protoform Mazda Speed 6 LW (R) Sanwa M11
(C) Tamiya TRF416WE (S) LRP (M) Speed Passion 3.0 13.5T (B)
Protoform Mazda 6 (R) Airtronics M11
(C) = Chassis, (S) = Speedo, (M) = Motor, (B) = Bodyshell, (R) = Radio
YOUNG STAR ORLOWSKI WINS HOBBY CLASS
The long drive from his home in Poland to Budapest was to be worth it for promising
young driver Michal Orlowski as he won the Hobby Class by winning all three Legs
of the A-Main, but he had to work hard for it. Qualifying his Tamiya TT01 second on
the grid behind Tamas Zold, Orlowski just managed to get the better of the Hungarian
in each Leg to deny him a home win. Andrzej Rózycki, also from Poland, completed
the podium.
NUMBER OF NATIONS IN
ETS CONTINUES TO GROW
The number of nationalities to have been represented
in the ETS continues to grow and now stands at 23
after drivers from both Bulgaria and Romania joined
the series in Budapest. At the season opener in
Kastellaun, Russia and Italy made their debut in the
series and racers from both countries were back
for more in Hungary. Racing in Pro Stock Serpent
driver Cristian Faur was top Romanian making the
A-Main finishing an impressive 5th overall. Romulus
Nafornita was best of the Bulgarian’s claiming a
podium finish in the F-Final.
FACTORY YOKOMO SUPPORT IN BUDAPEST
Team Yokomo had a big presence in Budapest with the Japanese manufacturer
sending two staff members to support their star driver Ronald Volker. Attending
their first Euro Touring Series event, Robert Itoh and Yukijiro Umino’s input
paid dividends as Volker claimed his and Yokomo’s first TQ honours of the
Series. Umino also drove himself and showed he has not lost any of his skill
at the wheel by finishing 2nd overall in Pro Stock. Robert and Yukijiro are
expected to attend further rounds of the 2009/10 Series.
TEAM SCHUMACHER MAKE ETS DEBUT
Up & coming Team Xray driver Zdenko Kunak, from
Slovakia, made the A-Main in both Mod and Pro-Stock
Formula 1 brought variety to the racing in Hungary. Driving his Corally, Gergõ Orosz was the F1 class winner.
Terutaka Hanaumi of Xenon Racing, who will clock
up 160k airmiles this year travelling to races (more
than Scotty!), enjoyed his first visit to Hungary
Schumacher made its official ETS team debut in Budapest with a full factory line-up
headed by five times UK Champion Chris Grainger. Unfortunately a delayed flight meant
some of the team only arrived at the official event hotel at 02:30 on Saturday morning
but despite this the team enjoyed their weekend. Supported by chief designer Phil Booth
the British manufacturer came equipped with the latest Mi4LP chassis. Chris Ashton
ensured the team made the A-Main qualifying his car 10th on the grid in Pro Stock.
Ashton enjoyed a superb Leg 1 finishing 5th but unfortunately he was unable to repeat
the result in the remaining two Legs and finished 8th overall. Grainger won the second
Leg of the C-Main in Modified but a poor result in Leg 1 meant he had to settle for second
overall with Colin Price managing fourth.
SPECIAL AWARDS
In Budapest the Speed Passion ‘One to
Watch’ Award went to young Hungarian
driver
Ákos
Kloiber
(pictured).
Competing in the local 17.5T National
class his driving caught Scotty’s attention
as he took his Losi JRX-S Type R to
3rd overall. The Xenon Racing ‘Spirit
of the Event’ trophy was awarded to
Hobby class competitor Tamas Zold for
his sportmanship during the A-Main in
which he finished runner-up .
ETS SET FOR FIRST DATE
WITH CZECH REPUBLIC
BOOKING IN
Full details on booking in for the Czech Republic round of the
ETS, which runs from January 29/31, are contained on our
official web site www.eurotouringseries.com where you’ll find
links to RC Timing, our official entry/timing partner. You will
also find details on travel and accomodation.
If you require any additional information about travelling to
Hrotovice or have any questions regarding the race feel free
to e-mail Uwe Rheinard at uwe.rheinard@t-online.de
New to this season’s calendar is the Czech Republic which on
January 29/31 will host Round 3 of the 2009/10 Xenon Racing
Euro Touring Series. The town of Hrotovice in the south of
the country is no stranger to hosting international races, the
most recent of these was the Czech Grand Prix which ETS
regular David Ehrbar (pictured
left) from Germany won ahead
of Toni Rheinard and Steen
Graversen to claim his first
ever international victory.
Already the entry is fast
reaching 100 drivers for the
event including rounds 1 & 2
winners Viktor Wilck and Marc
Rheinard.
One interesting
entry is that of former European
Championship Top Qualifier Steven Weiss who will make a
welcomed return to the Euro Touring Series.
Heading the local challenge will be Michal Bok. Better known
as the Czech Republic’s top international touring car driver,
Bok is also the man responsible with the task of hosting the
ETS’s first visit to the country.
Other local drivers expected to
show strongly on home soil are
Zdenek Hamak, who finished 8th
overall in the 2008/09 Modified
Standings, and top Pro Stock racer
Jakub Plechac (pictured right).
Plechac claimed 5th overall in
last season’s standings but faces
tough opposition with defending
Champion Balint Rajki seeking his first win of the season and
Alexander Stocker, the class of the field in Budapest, going
for a hat trick of consecutive wins.
CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
Modified (Top 15 after R2)
Pro Stock (Top 15)
1. Wilck Viktor - 308
2. Rheinard Marc - 307
3. Völker Ronald - 305
4. Leino Teemu - 301
5. Prümper Yannic - 300
6. Harper Elliott - 297
7. Hudy Martin - 287
8. Levanen Juho - 285
9. Moore Andy - 283
10.Berntsen Roeseth Adrian - 278
11.Ehrbar David - 277
12.Laptev Ivan - 270
13.Kunák Zdenko - 269
14.Bok Michal - 267
15.Lein Sebastian - 263
= Fadtke Dennis - 263
1. Stocker Alexander - 312
2. Kunák Zdenko - 297
3. Laptev Ivan - 293
4. Orlowski Blazej - 284
5. Plechac Jakub - 270
6. Essenstam Danny - 265
7. Baldissarri Daniel - 249
8. Berntsen Petter - 246
9. Roeleveld Alexander - 242
10.Heinsbroek Frans - 237
11.Karpov Vitaly - 212
12.Mulder Eric - 204
13.Nicolaisen Marius - 181
14.Zanoni Silvano - 176
15.Hofer Martin - 153
= Umino Yukijiro - 153
You can now find the Euro Touring Series on Facebook.
Through our fan page on the social networking website you
can keep right up to date with the latest happenings in the
lead up to each event. The page will also give racers the
opportunity to share pictures of their experiences travelling to
and competing at each ETS round.
You can find our page at www.facebook.com/eurotouringseries
2009/10 Xenon Racing Euro Touring Series
Race Schedule
Round 1 - Kastellaun, Germany 16-18/10/09
Round 4 - Warsaw, Poland
05-07/03/10
Round 2 - Budapest, Hungary 28-29/11/09
Round 5 - Heemstede, Netherlands 21-23/05/10
Round 3 - Hrotovice, Czech Rep. 29-31/01/10
Round 6 - Andernach, Germany
16-18/07/10
Produced by Team Bonisio - 2009