After the third race of ETS Season #16 2023/24, it is time to look at the overall standings of the championship for the second time. There is still a long way to go but after the asphalt season is completed there will be even more tension when carpet racing will start!
The tables are showing the points including ALL three races of the season. Most of the tables are showing an almost perfect order, but you have to keep in mind that we will only count 4 out of the 6 races at the end of the season.
Matrix Modified
Rheinard still leading from Dankel and Völker but Orlowski has the real advantage
As the headline says – Awesomatix star Marc Rheinard is still on top of the rankings, followed by the Mugen duo of Eric Dankel and Ronald Völker. What looks like a 1 point championship lead is actually right, but only one side of the medal. Schumacher driver Michal Orlowski is not in the top 10 now because he was not able to attend RD2 in Austria. But with his 2 race wins (including one TQ) from Apeldoorn and Aigen, he has a 4 points lead over Rheinard if we would only count 2 out of 3 races right now.
That means for Orlowski, that he is still sitting on the captain`s seat of the championship airplane with Rheinard only taking the seat of the first officer. Eric Dankel and Ronald Völker have booked a business class ticket so far and they have to wait what happens at the start of the indoor season.
Michal Orlowski will miss out one more race (Hann. Münden) due to his attendance at the Florida Carpet Champs (Offroad) and he needs to deliver two more great results in Daun and Wiener Neustadt to win his first ever ETS title. He has no chance to throw out a bad race result anymore as he needs all the points to count for the championship. This situation can be one of the last chances for Rheinard, Dankel, and Völker to finish ahead of Orlowski at the end of ETS Season #16 2023/24.
Current Situation: Rheinard with a deceptive lead while Orlowski is aiming for the championship. Völker and Dankel waiting for their chance. The rest of the field needs a miracle to step back into the game!
Awesomatix Pro Stock
Ellerbrock and Izsay two points behind Bultynck ahead of the carpet season
The Awesomatix Pro Stock class is not a one man show this season. It is a very nice battle between Lukas Ellerbrock (Awesomatix), Adam Izsay (Xray), and championship leader Olivier Bultynck (Awesomatix). At Arena33, Ellerbrock had the best weekend of his ETS carreer so far and walked away with his first ever victory. Bultynck is still ons point ahead of Ellerbrock and Izsay, but we can expect very intense second half of the season when racing will continue on black ETS carpet.
Current situation: Bultynck leading by one point from Izsay and Ellerbrock. The driver with the most consistant top 3 finishes will win the title for sure as no mistakes are allowed. Jan Ratheisky (Xray) is in fourth place and already 11 points behind Izsay and Bultynck. Ratheisky need a winning streak on carpet if he want`s to win the big trophy!
Hobbywing Frontwheel
Izsay extends his points lead at ETS RD3 in Andernach
Adam Izsay finished on the podium for the third time this season in the Hobbywing Frontwheel class. After the Xray driver could win both races in Apeldoorn and Austria, a third place at Arena33 was ennough for him to extend his points lead over second placed driver Max Weffers (Mugen Seiki). Schumacher`s Andy Murray is still in third position. Izsay scored the most consistant results so far while all the others struggled a lot to collect good points at every race!
Current situation: Nobody is really close to Adam Izsay after three races – is the championship already decided? Roman Borschel is a little bit under the radar as he only raced twice so far. But with one win and one third place, he might be the stealth hunter of Adam Izsay on carpet!
1up Racing 40+ Masters
Thalheimer leads Masters class by seven points and is top favourite for the title now
In the 1up Racing 40+ Masters class, Mirco Thalheimer celebrated his first victory last weekend. His lead over the rest of the field is 7 points now, and the race win will give him a huge additional boost. Thalheimer is the top favourite for the title now and with some decent results on carpet he can make the dream come true.
Current situation: The same as in FWD. One driver scores consistant points (Thalheimer), the others are batteling with each other and are throwing their title chances away! Will there be a “master” to challenge Thalheimer on carpet?
Orca 21.5 Stock
Berhgeim still on the sunny side of life with comfortable gap to his contenders
Tristan Bergheim can travel to the upcoming carpet races very relaxed and in a good mood. His championship lead is very big and when there will be no other driver staring to win more races, the championship will be his at the end of the season.
Current situation: Bergheim has all the cards in his hands. Daniel Pöhlmann could be a guy to challenge him hard on carpet while Timo Siebert and Phil Langner both need to get closer (pace wise) in qualifying if they want to make a first ETS race win to happen this season!
ToniSport Formula
Ehrbar closes the gap to championship leader Stiebler after impressive win at Arena33
Andreas Stiebler won the first two races of the season, and took Q1 and Q2 in Andernach as well. As everything looked quite easy for the Schumacher driver, David Ehrbar (Xray) came on stage and snatched the pole position and the race win away from Stiebler. The gap between both in the championship has noe melted down to 4 points. Still a comfortable gap for Stiebler, but the momentum is now with Ehrbar who will for sure practice a lot before ETS Rd4 in Hann. Münden, GER.
Current situation: Ehrbar will try everything to get closer to Stiebler on carpet. Stiebler needs some more good finishes ahead of Ehrbar to win the title again. And there is another driver we can never ignore: Jan Ratheisky. Will he tip the scales?
