WORLDS: Volker sets up final round shootout for overall TQ with win in fifth round [VIDEO]

0 Oct. 11, 2014, 1:45 p.m.

10/11/2014
By Aaron Waldron

LiveRC.com

European Champion Ronald Völker stood above the rest in the fifth round of qualifying Saturday evening, setting up a tiebreaker battle for final round Sunday morning with teammate Naoto Matsukura - who suffered a DNF, losing valuable momentum heading into the final day of racing. Meanwhile, the race's newest face and a champion from long ago provided Völker's biggest challenge.

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By setting the fastest time in Q5, Ronald Völker set up a thrilling Q6 Sunday morning. If Naoto wins the round, he secures the overall. If either Ronald or Bruno Coelho (who finished 2nd in Q5) win the round with a time faster than 18/5:14.685, then he will TQ the race.

After finding out that he had locked himself into the final with a third-place finish, 2000 ISTC champ Atsushi Hara talked about what it's like coming back to the Worlds with Yokomo for the first time in 14 years.

The only hope for a U.S. driver with a shot to make the final kept his chances alive with a fifth place run in Q5. An accident on the final lap cost Paul LeMieux at least two seconds - which would've moved him up at least one spot in the order. Heading into Q6, the ROAR National Champion needs a seventh-place finish, and Hayato Matsuzaki to finish lower than eighth.

Top twenty for round five:

Ronald Völker (DEU) - Yokomo/LRP/LRP/LRP - 18/5:15.206
Bruno Coelho (PRT) - XRAY/Nosram/Nosram/Nosram - 18/5:16.199
Atsushi Hara (JPN) - Yokomo/Hobbywing/Hobbywing/ProTek RC - 18/5:16.299
Viktor Wilck (SWE) - Tamiya/Thunder Power/Thunder Power/Speed Passion - 18/5:17.963
Paul LeMieux (USA) - XRAY/Thunder Power/Hobbywing/Thunder Power - 18/5:18.745
Akio Sobue (JPN) - Tamiya/Muchmore/Muchmore/Muchmore - 17/5:00.166
Meen Vejrak (THA) - Yokomo/Hobbywing/Scorpion/LRP - 17/5:02.829
Christopher Krapp (DEU) - Kyosho/Orion/Orion/Orion - 17/5:03.048
Marc Rheinard (DEU) - Tamiya/Muchmore/Muchmore/Thunder Power - 17/5:01.045
Jilles Groskamp (NLD) - Tamiya/Orion/Orion/Orion - 17/5:03.413
Hayato Matsuzaki (JPN) - Yokomo/Yokomo/Yokomo/Yokomo - 17/5:04.230
Andy Moore (GBR) - HB/Hobbywing/Hobbywing/Reedy - 17/5:04.861
Yannic Pruemper (DEU) - Yokomo/Muchmore/Muchmore/Muchmore - 17/5:05.578
Simon Nicholson (GBR) - Yokomo/Yokomo/Yokomo/Yokomo - 17/5:06.797
Rick Hohwart (USA) - Associated/Reedy/Reedy/Reedy - 17/5:07.754
Frederik Sudhoff (DEU) - Awesomatix/LRP/LRP/LRP - 17/5:07.894
Scotty Gray (USA) - XRAY/Trinity/Tekin/Trinity - 17/5:08.369
Olly Jefferies (GBR) - XRAY/Reedy/LRP/Reedy - 17/5:08.524
Elliott Harper (GBR) - Durango/ORCA/ORCA/ORCA - 17/5:08.548
Andrew Hardman (CAN) - Yokomo/ORCA/ORCA/ORCA - 17/5:07.776