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| Race report by Helge Johannessen |
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The fourth round of the Norwegian National Cup was held on Sunday, February 3rd. The race was held in Sarpsborg, at Quality hotel & Spa, and the classes included Touring Modified, Superstock foam spec, and 1/12 pan car. The track was very small with high grip and many tricky combinations.
Both Adrian Berntsen and I entered 1/12 along with Touring Modified, but we both decided to cancel the 1/12 racing and focus on touring. |
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In qualifying round 1, Adrian had a perfect car from the start and he drove in supreme style from start to finish.
I had false peak on my charger, so I only had 4 minutes of runtime. I knew I had to do some setup changes to keep up with him, so I raised the rear damper to get a quicker response in the car, and changed the additive routine on the front tyres to get more steering. This helped, but Adrian was still the king of the track. My wing was too big, so I was disqualification in this round. The next step was to change body from Protoform Stratus 3.0 to Mazda 6 speed. I had to go safe in the 3rd round, but I managed 2nd grid in the final. The body change was the adjustment I needed to keep up with him.
In the Superstock class, Markus Alvestad and Xray driver Petter Berntsen were the guys to beat. Petter claimed the TQ spot in the first 2 rounds of qualifying, but Markus came back and took the TQ spot only 0.5sec ahead of Petter. |
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| Modified final runs |
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A-final 1 Modified
Adrian made a small mistake at the start and I managed to get by him. The two of us were able to get a small gap between us and Eirik Andreassen in third position. We had a great race and after a couple of laps, Adrian took advantage of a small mistake I made and made a perfect pass on the inside. I was chasing Adrian like crazy, and managed a pass on the inside. Two turns later, Adrian broke his spur gear and got a DNF. This was not the way I wanted to beat him in this final. I drove safely to the finish line and took the win, with Eirik Andreassen in 2nd and Truls Solberg n 3rd.
A-final 2 Modified
The top 3 got a clean start, and Adrian put up a great pace. I couldnâ™t keep up with him, but after a couple of laps he made a mistake and I caught up to him again. I was chasing his tail, and 2 laps before finish Adrian hit a slower car on the straight and I passed him. I ran out of power but managed to win by 0.9sec ahead of him. Eirik Andreassen finished 3rd in this final. |
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A-final 3 Modified
Since I already had two wins, I tried many setup changes in the rear of the car to see if it would go faster. I put 1° of outboard toe and removed 1° inboard toe. I also changed from hard to x-hard rear arm. Again the first 3 got a clean start, but after 3 laps Adrian had a problem with his rear belt and had once again a DNF. I pulled away from Eirik, and my goal was a lap record. The car felt great, close to perfect, but the lap times were much slower than earlier! After 4 minutes of racing I was crashed 4 laps in a row, and Eirik went by me and claimed the win in this one.
Overall results modified:
1. Helge Johannessen â“ XRAY T2'008
2. Eirik Andreassen
3. Truls Solberg
4. Roger Berntsen â“ XRAY
5. Christer Antonsen
6. Adrian Berntsen â“ XRAY (TQ)
7. Oddbjorn Tromborg â“ XRAY
8. John Lara
9. Goran Langsholt
10. Kjell Guttormsen |
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| Superstock final runs |
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A-final 1 Superstock
There were a lot of crashes, but Petter Berntsen made a clean start and had the lead from start to finish in this one. Markus Alvestad, who had the TQ spot, got 2nd after a bad start. Truls Solberg came in 3rd.
A-final 2 Superstock
Markus Alvestad got a clean start, and never looked back... leading from start to finish. Petter had some technical problems with his drivetrain and got a DNF. Truls Solberg got 2nd and Lars âśHurrleâť Andersen got 3rd in this one.
A-final 3 Superstock
Markus Alvestad got a clean start, Petter Berntsen got a jumpstart; this was the same as giving away the overall victory. Markus cruised from start to finish, but Petter got 2nd and the lap record.
Overall results Superstock:
1. Markus Alvestad
2. Petter Berntsen â“ XRAY
3. Truls Solberg
4. Lars A. Andersen â“ XRAY
5. Knut Enger â“ XRAY
6. Kjell Nilsen
7. Rune Nilsen â“ XRAY
8. Kai Ronning
9. Jarle Karlsen â“ XRAY
10. Leif Tore Stensrud |
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In the National Cup overall Modified points, the championship is between Adrian and me, but since Adrian had bad luck this weekend, I am closer than him to the overall win. In the National Cup overall Superstock points, the battle is between Markus Alvestad and Petter Berntsen.
Everything will be decided in Valdres on February 16â“17th. |
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