ETS SPAIN WARMUP

MADRID 11/12 MARCH 2017

Marc Rheinard would conclude his first month as an Infinity driver by travelling to ETS Spain warmup to contest the 2-day event at impressive facility of Asoger club. An opportunity to learn the large track in preparation for the main event, Marc also planned to use the track time to build up more knowledge of our ProtoTC on asphalt. Despite delayed baggage forcing him to watch his competitors on Friday, on Saturday things went good from the beginning with 2nd overall in timed practice.

Setting the fastest lap of the weekend in the opening qualifier, Marc would TQ the round ahead of Ronald Volker. The pair were very evenly matched until Ronald had trouble with a back marker. In Q2 Marc backed it up with another TQ run but it was the final run of the day that was to be the most challenging. Held at 19:30 local time, Marc struggled at the beginning to see in the darkening conditions but once he got used to the lack of light he could top the times once again to secure the overall TQ.

Sunday began with the final round of qualifying which would be photo finish close, Marc fastest by 4/100ths of a second from Ronald. In terms of the grid for the triple finals, Ronald would line-up second with Christopher Krapp third and Spanish Champion David Pérez fourth. A super close A1 would see Marc take the win but unfortunately A2 didn’t work out as well. Hitting a curb, Marc rolled on his third lap and was left to watch the rest of the race which was to be won by Christopher. This meant it all came down to A3. With the wind picking up and carrying dirt onto the track the grip was super low leaving Marc to take an easier than expected leg win as Ronald had a spin on the opening lap. The A3 win completed a strong performance from both the car and Marc for whom the race marked his first victory as an Infinity driver in front of Ronald and Cristopher.

With the other drivers from our new EP program attending the Spanish ETS Round on April 7-9, Marc’s mileage over the Warm-up Race weekend will provide the team with a good starting point for when they arrive in Madrid.

Source: