ETS A1 + A2 Report RD1 Season #16 2023/24
Matrix Modified
Rheinard, Orlowski, and Urbain all going into A3 with a shot to win
A1 – On the sound of the tone,TQ Marc Rheinard (Awesomatix) brought the field around the first corner with Michal Orlowski (Schumacher) and Lucas Urbain (Awesomatix), and Eric Dankel (Mugen Seiki) in tow. Akio Sobue (Axon) found a way by Völker (Mugen) and was running in fifth for a moment before he lost the position to Völker again.
Out front, Marc Rheinard was controlling the pace (hot lap 13.758). In lap 3, Michal Orlowski had to retire from the race, which brought Lucas Urbain and Eric Dankel to P2 and P3. Lucas was on a mission (hot lap 13,741) and started to close the gap to Rheinard with a tenth of a second here and there. But as Rheinard` s lead was very comfortable after the first 2 minutes, Urbain had no serious shot to attack Rheinard in the last minute of the race.
Eric Dankel (hot lap 13,864) was defending his third position successfully against his teammate Ronald Völker and took a strong third place from A1. Behind the Mugen cars of Dankel and Völker, Christopher Krapp and Yannic Prümper took fifth and sixth place for Yokomo.
A2 – The second A-Main was a tough one for TQ Marc Rheinard. His Awesomatix car was sliding in the fourth corner directly after the timing loop causing a spin after which he got hit by one of the other passing cars. This incident completely ruined Rheinard`s race and Schumacher`s Michal Orlowski took over the lead in A2. He never looked back and took the win in front of the Awesomatix of Lucas Urbain and the Mugen Seiki of Eric Dankel.
With the result from A2, we have four drivers who can take the overall win in A3. Marc Rheinard (1st and 9th), Michal Orlowski (10th and 1st), Lucas Urbain (2nd and 2nd), and Eric Dankel (3rd and 3rd) are all in the mix for the victory and we expect an epic third Matrix Modified A-Main here in the Netherlands.
Awesomatix ProStock
Master class from Bultynck at ETS in Apeldoorn
A1 – In the first A-Main of the Awesomatix Pro Stock class, Jan Ratheisky was able to overtake Max Mächler right after the start taking third place, only to lose the position to Mächler again later in the race. Out front it was Olivier Bentinck who was simply untouchable. He drove outstanding and his teammate Lukas Ellerbrock had to take a solid second place in A1 behind Bultynck in an all Awesomatix 1-2-3.
In the middle of the pack, we saw intense fights and multiple position changes making it a very interesting A-Main to watch for the spectators. Xray`s Jacques Libar finished fourth in A1, with his teammate Adam Izsay in fifth place. Mugen Seiki`s Sören Sparbier drove all the way from P10 to P6.
A2 – Olivier Bultynck stamped authority onto the Awesomatix Pro Stock class one more time in the second A-Main. He drove another brilliant race and won with a huge gap of 4 (!) seconds ahead of Lukas Ellerbrock and Max Mächler. What a performance from Bultynck at the start of the new ETS season. Congratulations for a great race win!
Jan Ratheisky was defending his fourth position like a lion against a hard pushing Tim Benson until Benson was hitting him from behind after the chicane ending the race for Ratheisky. After they collided, Dominic Vogl and Adam Izsay earned fourth and fifth place from them and brought them to the finish line.
Hobbywing Frontwheel
A3 to decide FWD class between Weffers and Izsay
A1 – Right after the start, third place starter Robin van Gog was putting a great pass on the car of Max Weffers and took second place. In lap two, van Gog had the better exit onto the straightway, and tried to pass Izsay on the inside line. Izsay`s car touched van Gog as they drove side by side on the straight. Both cars struggled and took third placed Weffers into the grass as well. Izsay was coming out of this situation in the best possible way and was still leading with Roman Borschel taking over second place. Kevin Sparbier had a solid drive to P3 while Weffers and van Gog were not able to recover from the incident in lap 2 anymore. Weffers took P4 and van Gog stopped his car after only 6 laps.
A2 – The second FWD A-Main was a great show of driving in the beginning. Izsay, Weffers, and van Gog drove some super close laps together until van Gog and Izsay collided after two minutes. Weffers took advantage of that and took over the race lead. He never looked back and won A2 with a huge gap in front of Roman Borschel, and Kevin Sparbier.
Before the last A-Main, Adam Izsay and Max Weffers are tied on points with botrh scoring a first and a fourth place. The last A-Main will be a real showdown for the win between the Xray of Izsay and the Mugen Seiki car of Max Weffers.
1up Racing 40+ Masters
Race win on the line in A3 after Anderson and Kölbel taking A1 and A2
A1 – Pole sitter Renè Kölbel had a perfect start into A1 and was benefitting from the 4 car fight behind him. After 2 minutes, Toni Mateo appeared in the rear view mirror of Kölbel and was hunting him down. In the last minute, Mateo and Thalheimer had closed the gap and drove right behind Kölbel. As Kölbel went a little wide before the straight, Mateo tried to get by and hit Kölbel from behind. Thalheimer wanted to take advantage of that but got caught by the carnage as well and it was US racer Eric Anderson who found himself on top in the last lap. He took the present he was handed over on a silver plate and won A1 ahead of Kölbel, Mateo, and Thalheimer.
A2 – Renè Kölbel took the win in A2 from tone to tone. In the beginning, Elibert Sievers, Toni Mateo, and Mirco Thalheimer were fighting for the positions behind Kölbel, before Sievers lost pace and dropped all the way down to tenth place. Toni Mateo then started to hunt Kölbel down and was coming closer and closer. In the last 5 laps of the race, it looked like Mateo could maybe try to ride a serious attack but Renè Kölbel was driving “cool like an icecube” and brought home the win in A2 after the first final didn`t went to his favour. The win in the 1up Racing 40+ Masters class will be on the line in A3 with many drivers having a theoretical chance to win the season opener here in Apeldoorn.
Orca 21.5 Stock
First and well-deserved ETS victory for Bergheim
A1 – After a clean start, Bergheim was leading with Siebert right in tow. After Siebert made a small mistake in the chicane at the end of the straight in lap 2, Baumbach was able to get by and take second. Out front, Bergheim was stretching his legs and pulled a gap to Baumbach and Siebert. In the fight for second spot, Timo Siebert was trying to close the gap to Baumbach again. Laura Pollert was running on a solid fourth place. At the 2-minute mark, Siebert was right on Baumbach`s tail but touched him and had to wait for the Marshall turning Baumbach`s car around again. But with their gap to Laura Pollert being big enough, they could finish second and third behind a dominant A1 winner Tristan Bergheim.
A2 – Timo Siebert had a technical issue and was not able to start in A2. Tristan Bergheim (Awesomatix) had a good start and was in control of the race all the time. Tobias Baumbach (Xray) was running in second place and Laura Pollert (Mugen Seiki) in third. Behind the top 3, a nice battle for the positions was going on and the drivers enjoyed themselves in the sunshine of Apeldoorn.
After five minutes, Tristan Bergheim crossed the line in first place and took his first ever ETS race win after a dominant performance all weekend long. Congratulations to Tristan for a great drive!
ToniSport Formula
Ehrbar wins A1 while Stiebler takes chaotic A2! Overall win on the line in A3
A1 – After the start, David Ehrbar (Xray) passed Jan Ratheisky (Xray) in lap one in the right section of the track. Jan Ratheisky spun around and dropped down to P4. David Ehrbar was leading the race with Andreas Stiebler (Schumacher) in second. Ratheisky quickly found his way back to third position and closed the gap to the leaders lap after lap. But as Ratheisky was running out of time in the end, Ehrbar was able to win the race after a brilliant drive in front of Andreas Stiebler and Jan Ratheisky. Herbert Weber and Renè Kölbel completed the top 5 in A1 of the ToniSport Formula class.
A2 – The second A-Main was a controversial one. Ehrbar was making an aggressive (but clean) move on Ratheisky in the first lap. Ratheisky was holding fully against it and both cars flew off the track right before the front straight. This handed the lead over to Andreas Stiebler who took the win in A2 ahead of Herbert Weber who made a fantastic pass against Michael Lipperheide. Renè Kölbel was also able to overtake Lipperheide and took third place away from A2. The win here in Apeldoorn will be on the line between Ehrbar, Stiebler, and Weber in A3 and we will see what will go on as TQ Ratheisky will still start ahead of all of them without any chance to win the race.
