At the FeltCar Estonian Grand Prix at the Porsche Ring in Pärnu, Tõnis Vanaselja set a new track record in the Estonian supercar Kalana, while the Superbike race was won by Hannes Soomer. The historic cars had a thrilling race.
Superbike race winner Hannes Soomer (BMW) said that the overnight downpour had reduced the grip on the track and that this, combined with the strong wind, had significantly reduced handling. "I went for a fast time today, but I didn't come close to the record." He jokingly described today's race, where wind gusts of more than 11 metres per second threatened to carry riders out of corners, as a survival course.
"The race was still great, the event was great and the mood was good," added Hannes, who had no rivals on the track today in the Superbike and B1200 class and crossed the finish line 41.7 seconds ahead of second place finisher Ivo Vinninš (BMW, Latvia). Mait Vestel (BMW) was third.
Tõnis Vanaselja drove the Estonian supercar Kalanja to a new Porsche Ring record of 1.08,408. The previous record of 1.09,111 was also set by Vanaselja in Kalanja at last year's Estonian Grand Prix.
"The engineers and mechanics worked hard all year long, we made a number of small changes, which gave us a total of two seconds faster lap time in practice," said Vanaselja, who drove a time of 1.07,2 in practice. "It was not possible to drive such a fast time in the record attempt, because it had rained and the track was much more slippery."
Vanaselja pointed out that the preparation of the car was one side of the record. "In addition, we also got a 3D scanned model of the Porsche Ring, so I can prepare for the race in the simulator."
In the more powerful Historic Formula Mondial class, Latvia's Andris Grikis, who was also the best in the first race on Friday, won. Taavi Kuul was second and Jaak Kuul third. Grikis' car was specially designed to celebrate the driver's 40 years in motorsport.
"I started fencing at the age of eight, and as a little boy I also saw the historic forms of today competing on the Bikernieki track in Riga. It left a powerful impression," said Grikis. "Racing is a hobby in the blood, you can't just come and race. For me, racing is also a way to get away from everyday activities, it's motivating, it's just a lot of fun and a chance to meet nice people."
In Formula Eastern, Kalev Nurmik (Estonia 21) beat Sten Subani (Estonia 23) in the second race, while in the opening race on Friday the order of finish was reversed. Raul Aarma (Estonia 21) finished third in the second race.
"On Friday we had a very exciting race with Sten, we were able to fight each other until the end," said Nurmik. "Today's race also started with a fight, but when I passed, Sten gave a bit, probably he was going for the points in the Cup series. I'm very happy with the weekend, the technique held up and the racing was fierce."
In the Superstock 600 class, Hugo-Brent Freimann (Yamaha) took the lead from the start and finished 10.5 seconds ahead of Jaanus Saarmaa (Suzuki), with club mate Selyn Kazakova (Yamaha) taking third place. The best C1200 was Maksim Dzivak (BMW), with Vladislav Strekach (BMW) second and Ulvis Goldbergs (Latvia, Kawasaki) third.
In the C600 class, Brandon Blank (Yamaha), competing on a bigger bike for the first time in his first year, again showed good speed, ahead of Hanno Hansson (Kawasaki) and Rait Reimandi (Yamaha).
In the B1200 class Evgeny Lavrinenko had to concede to Latvian Dāvis Briedis (both BMW).
Saturday's class winners: Romet Reisin (BMW325 Cup, BMW 325i), Timo Grönthal / Markus Grönthal (BMW Xtreme, endurance BMW 325i), Jukka Soimetsä / Janne Järvelä (BMW 9X, endurance BMW 325i), Niko Kalliokoski (V1600 2. V1600). race, Kia Ceed), Matias Nuoramo (V1600 race 3, Toyota Auris), Emil Westman (V8 Thunder, Chevrolet Camaro), Henri Tuomaala (Legends race 1, Ford Sedan and TCR/GT3 Open, Porsche 911 GT3), Arto Ojaranta (Legends race 2, Ford Sedan), Nestori Virtala (Formula Open, Tatuus F4).
FeltCar Estonian Grand Prix was a stage of the Finnish Championship and Estonian Cup for cars and the Estonian and Latvian Championships for motorcycles. For the historic models, the race in Pärnu was also the Ants Seiler Cup.
