ETS Q2 + Q3 Report RD1 Season #16 2023/24
Qualifying is almost over here at ETS RD1 Season #16 2023/24 in the Netherlands. With only one last chance remaining for everybody, the heat is on at the beautiful facility of the AMCA Apeldoorn. Find out what happened in Q2 and Q3 in our combined Saturday report.
Matrix Modified
Rheinard, Urbain, and Orlowski to chase TQ spot in Q4
Q2 – Awesomatix factory driver Lucas Urbain took the second round of Matrix Modified qualifying. He had a very close and intense fight with Schumacher`s Michal Orlowski as they raced very close to each other on the track. They had some tough moments, but always managed to loose no time to their competitors Völker, Rheinard, Krapp, and Sobue. In the end, Lucas took the win 0.5 seconds ahead of Orlowski, Rheinard, and Völker. Yokomo`s Christopher Krapp took fifth for the round.
That was a bit of a lucky TQ run as Michal made a small mistake. He gave me plenty of room afterwards which was really nice from him. My car was good and I am happy with the pace of my A800R. Now I need to think about my tire strategy for Q3 and Q4 as I really like to take the overall TQ here in Apeldoorn.
Lucas Urbain (FRA) Awesomatix | Orca
Q3 – As everybody was watching the fight at the front between Orlowski and Urbain, it was Marc Rheinard taking the win in the third round of Matrix Modified qualifying starting from the fourth position. Rheinard was chasing the Mugen Seiki car of Ronald Völker (starting third) in front of him and worked his way up to P1 until the end of the race. He took the win with the advantage of 4 tenths from Urbain, with Axon`s Akio Sobue and Mugen`s Eric Dankel taking third and fourth for the round.
Orlowski lost some time in lap 15 letting him drop down to P6 and Ronald Völker was unfortunately out of the race after 3:30 minutes. With three TQ drivers out of three qualifiers, we will see a real showdown going on here in Apeldoorn when the drivers will start into the ultimate round in the afternoon. Will it be Rheinard, Urbain, or Orlowski on pole?
My pace was already there in Q1, but due to the technical problems I could not transform the pace into a good result. In Q2 I went out with used tires to see if everything would be fine again and scored a solid P3. For Q3 everybody was on new tires again and after some difficult laps in the beginning I found my rhythm and was able to TQ the round with the faster time compared to Lucas TQ run from yesterday. I am happy with the car as the balance is amazing after the changes we made before Q1. I just hope to repeat my run in Q4 because pole position would help a lot to win the race here in Apeldoorn.
Marc Rheinard (DE) Awesomatix | Orca
Awesomatix ProStock
Bultynck is TQ after dominant qualifying performance in Apeldoorn
Q2 – After winning the opening round of Pro Stock qualifying on Friday evening, Olivier Bultynck took another win in the second one driving his Awesomatix A800R in front of Lukas Ellerbrock (Xray) and Max Mächler (Awesomatix). With two out of two, Bultynck had the best chances to seal the pole position for the finals in Q3. Sören Sparbier (Mugen Seiki) and Mattia Collina (Schumacher) completed the top 5 in Q2.
After my car was difficult to drive in Q1 and 2, we made some changes for Q3 and the car was a lot better. I am happy about my TQ and in the final I will just try to win the race – as simple as it sounds 🙂 But I know that the guys behind me will push hard so I need to stay focussed.
Olivier Bultynck (BE) Awesomatix | LRP
Q3 – With another perfect run, Awesomatix driver Olivier Bultynck secured the pole position for the triple A-Mains of the Pro Stock class. Jan Ratheisky (Xray) posted the second fastest time out of the second fastest group and is now sitting second overall followed by Tim Benson (Jambo) and Max Mächler (Awesomatix). Behind top qualifier Bultynck, the fight for all other positions on the grid will come down to the final round of qualifying here in Apeldoorn.
Hobbywing Frontwheel
TQ decision between Weffers, van Gog, and Izsay shifted to Q4
Q2 – The second qualifier was a close fight between Robin van Gog, Max Weffers, and Adam Izsay. They changed positions many times and in the end the heat win went to the Xray of Izsay with a small margin of 0.2 seconds from Awesomatix racer Robin van Gog and the Mugen of overnight TQ Max Weffers in third place. Kevin Sparbier (Mugen Seiki) and Henrik Heitsch (ARC) rounded out the top 5 in Q2.
Q3 – Robin van Gog was the third FWD driver laying down a TQ run onto the AMCA track in Apeldoorn. The fight in Q3 was between Izsay, van Gog, and Weffers and we will see these drivers battling it out for the overall TQ in the last round of Hobbywing FWD qualifying. The finishing order in Q3 was van Gog, Weffers, Izsay, Heitsch, and Borschel. Let`s see who will have claimed the TQ spot when qualifying is over.
1up Racing 40+ Masters
Anderson wins Q2 while Kölbel sets his mark in Q3
Q2 – In the 1up Racing 40+ Masters class it was US racer Eric Anderson (Awesomatix) who took the second qualifier. With the top 4 in about one second, Renè Kölbel (Xray) finished second for the round followed by Mirco Thalheimer, Elibert Sievers, and Q1 winner Toni Mateo.
After my team told me I was driving like a p…. yesterday, I was going a little more aggressive into Q2. I am getting used to the track more and more and hope to get another good run done in the next one!
Eric Anderson (US) Awesomatix
Q3 – After we saw Toni Mateo and Eric Anderson taking the first two rounds of qualifying, Renè Kölbel from Austria took the third round with his Xray car. He had a fantastic run on top of the field and was really happy after the 5-minute run. It is the first touring car race for Formula 1 expert Kölbel and he seems to really enjoy it. The overall TQ is wide open, and the decision will be between Kölbel, Mateo, and Anderson in the last round of Orca 21.5 Stock qualifying.
Orca 21.5 Stock
Siebert and Bergheim taking Q2 and Q3 – overall TQ still undecided
Q2 – Timo Siebert (Mugen Seiki) took the second round of Orca 21.5 Stock qualifying on early Saturday morning. He had a perfect run and crossed the line 3 tenths of a second ahead of Q1 winner Tristan Bergheim (Awesomatix). Behind Siebert and Bergheim, we saw Tobias Baumbach (Xray) taking another solid P3 ahead of Karl-Heinz Moritz and Jan Vogler.
Q3 – After loosing Q2 to Timo Siebert, Awesomatix driver Tristan Bergheim was back on top in the third round of Orca 21.5 Stock qualifying. However, it was a close race all time and Bergheim`s gap was at only 0.4 seconds after 5 minutes. Timo Siebert and Tobias Baumbach had a great battle for second and swapped positions multiple times with the better end for Siebert. Laura Pollert and Jan Vogler scored good points with P4 and P5 securing them a spot in the A-Main already.
ToniSport Formula
Ratheisky is top qualifier in Apeldoorn
Q2 – Xray`s Jan Ratheisky scored another TQ in the second qualifier of the ToniSport Formula class. He also had the fastest lap to his favour and there is no doubt about the fact that a win will only go over Jan Ratheisky. This time, it was Andreas Stiebler with his Schumacher car who finished second behind Ratheisky with David Ehrbar taking third for the round.
Q3 – This time, Ehrbar was charging really hard to deny Ratheisky the TQ, but in the end it was again Jan Ratheisky who crossed the finish line in first position with a very small gap of 0.098 of a second. With 3 out of 3, the pole position in the ToniSport Formula class is booked for Ratheisky who will see David Ehrbar or Andreas Stiebler lining up directly behind him in second place. The rest of the grid will be decided in the upcoming last round of Formula qualifying.
On our website you will not miss anything as you can find our livestream on the landing page. To get quickly to the results of all classes simply navigate to the “RESULTS” area on our landing page. Q4 will be up next!
