ETS Controlled Practice Report RD1 Season #16 2023/24
The two rounds of controlled practice here in Apeldoorn are in the books. Now, all drivers are re-seeded into their qualifying heats. The seeding practice was close between the top drivers in each class, and we are all looking forward to the start of qualifying at the AMCA track. Seeding practice is always good to find out about each driver`s 3-lap pace. But in the end, it is even more important to have a good pace with the smallest possible amount of performance drop during the entire 5-minute run. It will be exciting to see, who found the perfect setup to extract the maximum from the race tires during qualifying.
Matrix Modified
Urbain is top seed in the Netherlands with Völker and Sobue sitting second and third
The seeding practice of the Matrix Modified went to Awesomatix and Lucas Urbain. The French driver, who won the TOS race at the same place some weeks ago, is in a great form and his 3 fastest laps had been 0.019 faster than the laps of Mugen Seiki`s Ronald Völker. Japanese Axon ace Akio Sobue was on pace in the last round of seeding as well and is sitting in third position right now. Marc Rheinard (Awesomatix) wil start from P4 into qualifying with a very fast Eric Dankel (Mugen Seiki) in fifth place. Let`s see who will take Q1 in the evening. Will it be Urbain, or Völker, Sobue or Rheinard, or will we see somebody else on top of the board after the 5 minute run?
The Top 5 after controlled practice (3 consecutive laps)
1. Lucas Urbain (FR) 41.121 (Awesomatix|Orca)
2. Ronald Völker (DE) 41.140 (Mugen Seiki|LRP)
3. Akio Sobue (JP) 41.292 (Axon|Orca)
4. Marc Rheinard (DE) 41.558 (Awesomatix|Orca)
5. Eric Dankel (DE) 41.567 (Mugen Seiki|Hobbywing)
Awesomatix ProStock
Bultynck on top for Awesomatix after great practice performance
The Awesomatix Pro Stock class saw Olivier Bultynck from Belgium being the fastest on track. His Awesomatix A800R looked dialed and he was able to extract the best 3-lap pace from the Matrix tires. Jacques Libar (Xray) and Kevin Sparbier (Mugen Seiki) took second and third which was a little surprise. Tim Benson and Max Mächler came out of practice as the fourth and fifth fastest Pro Stock drivers. As we are heading into qualifying now, all eyes are on top seed Bultynck. Can he score a TQ run in the evening?
The Top 5 after controlled practice (3 consecutive laps)
1. Olivier Bultynck (BE) 48.753 (Awesomartix|LRP)
2. Jaques Libar (DE) 49.284 (Xray|Nosram)
3. Kevin Sparbier (DE) 49.441 (Mugen Seiki|LRP)
4. Tim Benson (DE) 49.619
5. Max Mächler (DE) 49.623 (Awesomatix|Sunpadow)
Hobbywing Frontwheel
Heitsch is top seed in the FWD class
ARC racer Henrik Heitsch made an impressive comeback to racing after a couple of months without a transmitter in his hands. Heitschi was able to lay down the fastest 3 laps in controlled practice with his A10MF and will start from P1 into qualifying. Mugen Seiki`s Max Weffers will start second with Xray`s Adam Izsay and the Awesomatix of Robin van Gog right behind him. Jacques Libar completed the top 5 at the end of seeding practice in the Hobbywing Frontwheel class. Qualifying will be a close affair for sure and we can`t wait to get it underway.
The Top 5 after controlled practice (3 consecutive laps)
1. Henrik Heitsch (DE) 59.234 ARC
2. Max Weffers (DE) 59.280 Mugen Seiki
3. Adam Izsay (HU) 59.514 Xray
4. Robin van Gog (NL) 59.645 Awesomatix
5. Jacques Libar (LU) 59.742 Xray
1up Racing 40+ Masters
Iris racer Stankowitz is top seed in the Masters class
Reigning ETS 40+ champion Manuel Stankowitz worked his way to the top of the field throughout all the practice sessions. Compared to his last season with an Awesomatix car, Manuel is now racing the relatively new Iris ONE car designed my Andreas Myrberg (Ruddog). Stankowitz topped the time sheets in the last round of seeding practice where all the top 5 drivers posted their three fastest consecutive laps on the track. Mirco Thalheimer and Elibert Sievers are also having a great pace on track, followed by multiple ETS 40+ race winner and Season #14 champion Toni Mateo, and Christian Grabher.
The Top 5 after controlled practice (3 consecutive laps)
1. Manuel Stankowitz (DE) 53.232 Iris
2. Mirco Thalheimer (DE) 53.490 Xray
3. Elibert Sievers (NL) 53.573 Awesomatix
4. Toni Mateo (ES) 53.889 Awesomatix
5. Christian Grabher (AT) 53.974 Awesomatix
Orca 21.5 Stock
Bergheim to lead 21.5 drivers into qualifying
The fastest yesterday, Tristan Bergheim, didn`t slow down today and was still the fastest driver in seeding practice. Timo Siebert, Tobias Baumbach, Petri Tuomainen, and Jan Vogler will start behind Bergheim into qualifying to see if they can throw something at him in the four rounds of Orca 21.5 Stock qualifying. Round 1 will be up next here on Friday evening. Can Bergheim score his firet ever ETS TQ run, or will somebody challenge him in Q1? We will find out about it very soon!
My car was good in every run and I could concentrate on my driving. It is also important to have a good feeling for the tires on this track. For qualifying I will just see how it goes. Making no mistakes will be the key for sure as it is very difficult to catch up time once you have lost it.
Tristan Bergheim (DE) Awesomatix
The Top 5 after controlled practice (3 consecutive laps)
1. Tristan Bergheim (DE) 53.770 Awesomatix
2. Timo Siebert (DE) 53.967 Mugen Seiki
3. Tobias Baumbach (DE) 54.075 Xray
4. Petri Tuomainen (FI) 54.717 Awesomatix
5. Jan Vogler (DE) 54.735
ToniSport Formula
Ehrbar fastest ahead of Stiebler and Ratheisky in very close seeding practice
David Ehrbar (Xray) will start first into Formula qualifying. He had a small advantage over Schumacher`s Andreas Stiebler and his Xray teammate Jan Ratheisky. Michael Lipperheide and Robert Kampehl completed the top 5 and we are expecting a close fight at the top between all these amazing Formula racers here at ETS RD1 Season #16 in the Netherlands.
The new Hobbywing Combo is amazing to drive in the Formula cars and I enjoy it a lot. I am very sure that this class will grow again as the foam tire racing makes it so much better. I am having a great time on track with my Xray car and I hope for some great battles with all the others.
David Ehrbar (DE) Xray
The Top 5 after controlled practice (3 consecutive laps)
1. David Ehrbar (DE) 49.731 Xray
2. Andreas Stiebler (AT) 49.887 Schumacher
3. Jan Ratheisky (DE) 49.924 Xray
4. Michael Lipperheide (DE) 50.920 Xray
5. Robert Kampehl (DE) 50.945 Schumacher
We are looking forward to the start of Qualifying here at ETS RD1 where we expect some great action and close fights for the A-Main spots in all classes.
On our website you will not miss anything as you can find our ETS livestream as well as our PullstartTV livestream in our “LIVE” section. To get quickly to the results of all classes simply navigate to the “RESULTS” area on our landing page.
Enjoy ETS RD1 in the Netherlands together with us – no matter where you are!
