The first heats did serve the fans with lots of action. Fastest in the divisions were: Roman Castoral (Opel Astra), Timur Timmerzyanov (Renault Clio) and Sverre Isachsen (Ford Focus). Full report inside.
Division 2:
The first race in division 2 was unsettled until the very last meters, as Ole-Kristian Nottveit fought full contact with Guino Kenis to surpass him on the penultimate corner.
Roman Castoral stormed from the start to win his race very convincingly. Ivo Van der Brand experienced technical problems (probably gearbox failure), finishing last.
Third race was a very exciting one. Knut Ove Borseth was quickest off the line but was chased by Lukasz Zoll. Jos Sterkens and Even Hvaal both spun twice in the first lap. A contact between Zoll and Borseth on the slowest corner of the track made the Norwegian spin and lose his leading position. Zoll decided to go on joker lap immediately, but was overtaken by Borseth who led until the finish.
Only 3 drivers competed in the last race. Fastest in the practice, Ole Habjorg (BMW 120) initially led, but fell down to last on the second corner and then struggled until the finish. Lars Oivind Enerberg (Ford Fiesta) won ahead of Derek Tohill (Ford Fiesta) and Habjorg.
The total rank looks as follows: 1. Castoral 2.Enerberg +3.2s 3.Tohill +3.9s. Complete results can be found here.
Division 1A:
The first race was won by Pavel Vimmer (Peugeot 206) ahead of Harrie Deelen (Opel Corsa) and Hal Ridge (Renault Clio). Edmunds Safonovs (VW Polo) was forced to retire after damaging the left rear wheel.
Zdenek Cermak was ruling the second race from start to finish. He finished in front of his compatriot Stanislav Susta and Marcel Snoeijers.
Timur Timmerzyanov won a very interesting battle for first in the first corner of the third race in division 1A. He led until the end to finish ahead of David Johansson (Renault Clio) and Johan Larsson (Citroen C2).
Ulrik Linnemann (Peugeot 207) was fastest in the last race in division 1A. Ildar Rakhmatulin (Renault Clio) did not finish the race after spinning out in fight with Linnemann.
The complete classification was topped by Timur Timerzyanov who was 1.4s faster than Zdenek Cermak and 3.3s quicker than Ulrik Linnemann. Complete results can be found here.
Division 1:
Per Eklund was forced to compete with the weakest group of drivers in division 1 after sitting out the timed practice due to turbocharger failure in his Saab 9-3. He was a solid favourite and did not disappoint, escaping from the chasing pack immediately. The experienced Swede went very wide in the first corner, but was able to hold Silvo Viitanen off anyway. Polish driver Bohdan Ludwiczak stopped after just 3 corners suffering a mechanical failure in his Ford Focus. Viitanen (Ford Fiesta) then lost his place to Marcin Wicik. Eklund won after a strong performance in his rejuvenated vehicle. Marcin Wicik was second, Silvo Viitanen third.
Tony Bardy (Opel Astra) initially led the second race in division 1 but then fell to 4th after a good fight with Kevin Procter (Ford Focus), Toomas Heikkinen (Saab 9-3) and Morten Bermingrud. The Finn and the Norwegian fought until the end, but eventually it was Procter who came victorious ahead of Heikkinen and Bermingrud.
The third race began with two jump starts. When it eventually got underway, Frode Holte (Volvo C30) took the lead and did not give it away until the finish line. After some solid racing between Michael Jernberg (Skoda Fabia) and Rene Muennich (Skoda Fabia), the Swede finished in front of the German.
The last two races consisted of just three drivers each. The first was won by Liam Doran (Citroen C4) who was better than Stig Olov Walfridsson (Renault Clio) and Ludwig Hunsbedt (Ford Focus). The two latter pleased the fans with some really spectacular full contact racing.
The top runners of the ERC were stacked in the last race in division 1. Sverre Isachsen led from start to finish. Kenneth Hansen fought with Andreas Eriksson, but the younger of the Swedes made a few mistakes which placed him third in the ranks.
First heat complete results: 1. Isachsen 2. Doran +0.1s 3.Hansen +3.8s. Full classification can be found here.
