After everybody has returned home after ETS RD6, we once again a lot of social media postings with many positive words and comments around the event. The four days at the Sporthotel Grafenwald had been amazing, very demanding, and also a great show of world class RC racing. Now, we are looking back onto the event and the “5 Things” we have learned from ETS RD6 in Daun.
1) Schumacher can not only win at Offroad races
Schumacher is one of the most iconic brands in RC racing. Being along in the industry since 1980, the company has won many international titles, national championships, and other big events. Michal Orlowski is their top driver right now and won multiple European championships and EOS titles in the last years. But one thing never happened until now: A win in the Modified class at the ETS. Michal Orlowski was in the A-Main many times and scored podium finishes as well, but ons single victory has so far eluded him.
As the Schumacher team never stopped working hard on their touring car programme, the time had finally come at the ETS season finale in Daun. Michal Orlowski was on fire and took the TQ and win in front of the ETS most successful driver Ronald Völker, and multiple IFMAR world champion Marc Rheinard. A great result for the British manufacturer and the team around Andy Murray. The crowd was cheering as Orlowski crossed the line in A3 on Sunday afternoon and Michal was celebrating with his father, Andy Murray, Mattia Collina, and almost everybody came to congratulate him for this epic race victory.
Let`s see if Schumacher can carry the great pace over into the new ETS season!
2) The TQ is a 89% chance to win the race
A mystery we have watched during the entire season. In Daun, ALL race winners started from first on the grid into the triple A-Mains. The pole position is very important at the ETS, as we saw 89% of drivers taking their wins from the TQ spot during the complete season.
But what does this mean? Is the competition not strong enough? For sure, this is not the fact! The competition at the ETS is at it`s highest level and drivers are just not making many mistakes when driving on track. Especially the top A-Main drivers are in a world of their own and it seems like a “classic overtake” has gotten very rare.
In only 4 out of 36 decisions, the TQ was not winning the race in the end. In the Orca 17.5 Stock class it was once Dominik Reile who got beaten by Kevin Schmid in Luxembourg, and Jasmin Donath was able to win in Andernach as pole sitter Alvaro Fernandez was not able to convert his TQ into a race win. In the Scorpion Formula class, it was René Kölbel who won the race in Hann. Münden from second on the grid in front of TQ Andreas Stiebler. And in the Matrix Modified class it was Yannic Prümper who found his way around TQ Ronald Völker at the season opener in Apeldoorn. All other races had been won by the top qualifier (TQ). Will this trend continue in the next season, or will we see more action on the front row of the grid again?
3) Awesomatix A800R already on the winning way
The new Awesomatix A800R was in use at the ETS season finale by a hand full of factory drivers. The car is not available for the market yet, but the request is already huge as the car features a lot of new things. The performance is also looking very strong so far. Simon Lauter took the Pro Stock win in Daun with the new A800R, with Lukas Ellerbrock also using the car to finish second on the podium – his best ETS result so far.
Marc Rheinard (3rd in Modified) had a good pace as well and the team will work hard to improve the A800R even more in the future. Whenever a new car is already at the same level compared to the old one at the first big race, it is clear that there is a lot more potential to unlock in the future which looks very bright for Awesomatix.
4) Giving presents is a lot of fun
During the ETS season finale, every racer who attended at least 5 or 6 races of the season received a special gift. It was a setup board with a personalized ETS sticker and the driver`s name on it. We like to thank everybody again for coming to so many of our races.
ToniSport was offering free cans of energy drinks, apple juice, and beer on Saturday afternoon. Every racer could pick up a free refreshment together with stickers, lighters, and pencils. A lot of drivers showed up to collect some of this stuff and it was a pleasure having a quick talk with everybody.
The “The Spirit of the Event” Award was given to a very sympathic group of racers who made their first trip to the ETS from Greece: Stam Kontouzoglou, Tasos Batas, Andreas Koutras, and Filippos Koutras. Thanks a lot for coming and we hope to see you again soon.
5) Sparbier and Mugen Seiki – a perfect fit!
Shortly before the start of the season finale in Daun, Sören Sparbier announced his departure from long term sponsor Serpent. The next announcement saw him teaming up with the Mugen Seiki team around Robert Pietsch and Ronald Völker. Sören was driving his Mugen cars for the first time in Daun and his results had been better than ever.
He was able to take the pole position in the Hobbywing FWD class and after winning A1 and A2 he celebrated his first ever win at the ETS. A great drive from the young and very talented German driver from Hann. Münden. Sören was racing in the Pro Stock class as well, and after some real good qualifiers he started from fifth on the grid and was able to defend the position until the end to bring home his best Pro Stock result so far. It seems that Sören and Mugen already “clicked”, and we are looking forward to see him racing with his new team in the new season.
