With the temperatures in the high twenties for race one it was going to be testing time for riders and machine, with tyre duration being the most important.
There was drama before the race even started for Stephen Kershaw and Ryan Charlwood. They entered pit lane after the sighting lap with heating problems. That was their race run, it turned out that the water pump on their machine had stopped working, a big blow to the team, they will regroup for the race tomorrow.
As the lights went out it was Pekka Paivarinta and Ilse de Haas who got the jump into the first complex of corners. Markus Schlosser and Marcel Fries were on their tail. Tim Reeves and Kevin Rousseau were up to third passing Todd Ellis and Emmanuelle Clement. Reeves and Rousseau also passed Schlosser and Fries by the second corner and gave chase to Paivarinta and De Haas. Josef Sattler and Luca Schmidt slotted into fifth place, with Lukas Wyssen and Thomas Hofer in sixth. Janez Remse and Manfred Wechselberger were in seventh fending off Kees Endeveld and Hendric Crome. Peter Kimeswenger and Kevin Kolsch were desperately trying to get by Endeveld and Crome before the first complex of corners. Kevin Cable and Kyle Masters left the line with their machine at the back, but the team knew there was a problem. They were to pull into pit lane on the end of lap one with electrical problems.
Lap two saw a flying Reeves and Rousseau in the lead from Paivarinta and De Haas, and Ellis and Clement. Schlosser and Fries were in fourth, but the team were playing a waiting game, seeing what pace the leaders were going to set. This race was going to be won with tyre strategies they were thinking. Endeveld and Crome were at the rear of the field, but it was obvious that they were wanting to get passed Kimeswenger and Kolsch, Remse and Wechselberger.
As the race reached half distance Reeves and Rousseau were in trouble they were falling back through the field, passenger Rousseau was gesturing to Reeves that there was big problems with their machine, they tried to continue but on lap eight their race was run, they pulled off track with suspected water pump problems. The team will be working on this problem for tomorrow’s race.
This left Paivarinta and De Haas in the lead with Ellis and Clement chasing for the lead, but Schlosser and Freis were on the move they were catching the leading pair.
Sattler and Schmidt were sitting in a safe fourth place now and it was to be a lonely race for the team until the end of the race.
Endeveld and Crome had worked their way up the field and were having a right ding dong battle with Lukas Wyssen and Thomas Hofer. The two teams were to pass and re pass each and other multiple times by the end of the race.
A lonely race for Kimeswenger and Kolsch, they were out on their own but in a safe seventh place.
And again, a lonely race for Remse and Wechselberger in eighth.
By the end of the race a fast and smooth Markus Schlosser and Marcel Fries had preserved their tyres and taken the lead in the race, they were pulling out a healthy lead on the second and third place teams of Paivarinta/De Haas, Ellis/Clement who were in a battle of their own now. Ellis and Clement were putting pressure on Paivarinta De Haas for second spot. Driver Ellis could see that Paivarinta had spent his tyres, however Ellis was in the same situation.
Schlosser and Fries had slowed a little as they took the chequred flag for the win, they were credited with the fastest lap of the race too, and a new track record, a time of 1:57.722. The team were overjoyed with the result.
With the tyres done for the second and third place teams Paivarinta and De Haas took second place with Ellis and Clement in third. The top three teams congratulated each other with big thumbs up on the slowing down lap, which showed that they all had a great race.
Sattler and Schmidt took fourth; they stopped to assist their team mate Reeves and Rousseau who were at trackside.
Endeveld and Crome fought hard for their fifth place just pipping Wyssen and Hofer on the last lap who finished in sixth.
A good result for Kimeswenger and Kolsch in seventh place.
Good team work from Remse and Wechselberger, the two teams of Endeveld/Crome and Wyssen/Hofer were closing fast, passenger Wechselberger let Remse know they were bearing down fast on them; they pulled over to the safe side of the track as not to interfere with their final lap battle. Remse and Wechselberger took eighth place. Remse was having problems with his leg at the end of the race but a good result none the less.
There will be a warm up tomorrow morning, and the second 15 lap race will start at 11; 05 local time.
Mark Walters