The fourth round of the 2007 Gastour Nationals was held at the Kouvola, and was the last race of the Gastour Nationals. The Kouvola track is one of the biggest asphalt tracks in Finland, with a fast layout and good grip. All of the fastest gas racers were there except Euros TQ man Teemu Leino. Before the race there were five racers who could win the title of National Champion: Teemu Saarinen, Jomi Pulli, Joni Minkkinen, Sebastian Trzaska and Team XRAY driver Pekka Koivula.
The race was held under wet conditions for most of the event (actually, 3 races out of 4), and the biggest issue for all was how to keep the engine and electronics working well for the 45min main.
After 3 rounds of Qualifying and 20min semi-finals, the starting order to main was as follows:
1. Sakke Ahoniemi 2. Daniel Kalves XRAY NT1
3. Sebastian Trzaska
4. Teemu Saarinen
5. Tom kalves
6. Alexander Naumov
7. Joni Hiltunen 8. Pekka Koivula XRAY NT1
9. Boris Martynenko
10. Jomi Pulli
(click to enlarge)
During the final almost everybody had issues with their cars because of the rain. Daniel Kalves experienced a lot of motor problems and dropped back. Pekka Koivula managed to drive very constantly after problems in the first 5 minutes and managed to climb to 3rd place.
After a very wet 45min run, the results were as follows:
1. Sakke Ahoniemi
2. Sebastian Trzaska 3. Pekka Koivula XRAY NT1
4. Joni Hiltunen 5. Daniel Kalves XRAY NT1
6. Teemu Saarinen
7. Alexand Naumov
8. Jomi Pulli
9. Tom Kalves
10. Bori Martynenko
After the main no-one knew who would win the National Champion because of the mixed results in previous races. After some calculations it was clear that Team XRAY driver Pekka Koivula won the entire series and took home another National Champion title for Team XRAY.
National Championship overall results:
1. Pekka Koivula XRAY NT1
2. Joni Minkkinen
3. Sebastian Trzaska
4. Teemu Saarinen
5. Jomi Pulli
6. Tom Kalves
7. Viljami Kutvonen
8. Teemu Rytsy
9. Alexandr Naumov 10. Daniel Kalves XRAY NT1
This seasonâ™s gas touring season was very good considering the results we achieved. The weather could have been better, but such is part of outdoor racing. I am sure that everybody in Team XRAY is looking forward to next season.
