Lauter delivers opening TQ in Thailand
One of the most unassuming drivers in the Touring Car’s top flight category, Awesomatix’s Simon Lauter delivered an impressive TQ performance in the opening qualifier at the IFMAR ISTC World Championships in Bangkok this evening. Having hinted at his potential with some competitive 5-minute form in practice, the German would top the first of the 5 scheduled qualifiers by 7/10ths of a second from an equally impressive Jin Sawada who came in under the radar after seeding into the second fastest heat. Behind the Japanese driver, this his first Worlds with Xray, was another Worlds debutant with the Slovakian manufacturer Marc Rheinard. No stranger to World Championships, Rheinard completed the Top 3 1.1-seconds off his former team-mate Lauter. The driver to actually lead out the first round of qualifying, Michal Orlowski would end up 4th fastest, the Schumacher driver showing great respect to Lauter by opening up for German as his car wasn’t exactly as he planned for the qualifier. Behind the Polish driver, Awesomatix’s Lucas Urbain posted the 5-fastest time ahead of Axon’s Akio Sobue. It was to be a less than ideal start to the campaign of defending World Champion Bruno Coelho. Having been the benchmark in practice over 3-laps and securing the Top Seed honours, he would suffer an early spin in Q1. Chasing a fourth consecutive title here at Huge RC Circuit, explaining his mistake the he said, ‘the car in the beginning felt like it was wobbling on the long corners so I tried to avoid that by not steering too much but then on the end of the straight I went a bit wide and I probably picked up dirt and then I lost the rear of the car.’ Having become accustomed to Oliver Bultynck being at the top of the times in the Stock class, Q1 saw that change as his Awesomatix team-mate Lukas Ellerbrock took it from the Belgian. Having seeded P6, the 2026 TITC Open Brushless Champion snatched the TQ run on the final lap from Bultynck by 0.169 of a second with Max Machler completing the Top 3.
