Free Practice Report, ETS RD4 Season #16 2023/24
The carpet season of ETS Season #16 2023/24 is underway. The 270 participants had six rounds of controlled practice today to get used to the fantastic, flowing, and fast track layout in the sports hall of the Transworld Hotel Auefeld.
The traction came up quickly and lap times dropped down a lot from the first heat in the morning to the last heat in the evening. Tomorrow morning will be a short open practice for all drivers who missed Thursday practice, followed by another round of free practice and two more rounds of seeding practice. The first round of qualifying is scheduled for Friday afternoon and will be the first real showdown of the weekend!
Matrix Modified
The top 5 finished the day within two tenths of a second on a fast and flowing track
The Matrix Modified was really fast on the flowing track layout. The laptimes dropped a lot during the day and it was Mugen Seiki`s lead driver Ronald Völker who was on top of the board at the end of the day. Yannic Prümper was second fastest for Yokomo and Marc Rheinard took third place for Awesomatix. It was very tight at the front with the top 5 in about two tenths of a second.
With the top 15 drivers all in one second (!) over three consecutive laps, we can expect the closest qualifying since a long time as the track leads everybody to push very hard. Seeding practice will follow on Friday after one more round of free practice and the first round of qualifying will also take place in the evening!
The Top 5 after Thursday practice (3 consecutive laps)
1. Ronald Völker (DE) 36.981 Mugen Seiki|LRP
2. Yannic Prümper (DE) 37.051 Yokomo|Orca
3. Marc Rheinard (DE) 37.055 Awesomatix|Orca
4. Christopher Krapp (DE) 37.127 Yokomo|Racing Performer
5. Lucas Urbain (FR) 37.203 Awesomatix|Orca
Awesomatix ProStock
Local hero Sparbier shows his pure speed
In the Awesomatix ProStock class, it was Hann. Münden`s fastest racer Sören Sparbier (Mugen Seiki) who found himself on top of the board as the day came to an end. Sparbier was quicker as second placed and third placed. A great show of performance from Sparbier, BUT as he will only be able to run 2 out of 4 qualifiers this weekend due to work commitments, he will have a monster job to do on track to maintain his position.
Olivier Bultynck, the current championship leader, improved his pace round by round and found himself in a strong second place at the end of the day, right ahead of his Awesomatix team mate Lukas Ellerbrock. Who will be the fastest in qualifying? We will find out on Friday after seeding practice!
The Top 5 after Thursday practice (3 consecutive laps)
1. Sören Sparbier (DE) 39.404 Mugen Seiki
2. Olivier Bultynck (BE) 39.714 Awesomatix
3. Lukas Ellerbrock (DE) 39.796 Awesomatix
4. Tim Benson (DE) 39.830 Jambo One
5. Jan Ratheisky (DE) 40.039 Xray
Hobbywing Frontwheel
Will Hann. Münden pave the way to the title for Izsay?
For current championship leader Adam Izsay, this weekend`s race at the Transworld Hotel can be a defining one into direction overall ETS FWD championship (which would be the third in a row for Xray). Adam is some good points ahead of his competitors and another top 3 finish (or a win) would hand him all aces before the last two remaining encounters of season #16.
Adam was the fastest here on Thursday and his advantage over second placed Jonas Völker (Mugen Seiki) was at 0.3 seconds over the fastest three consecutive laps. The top qualifier of ETS RD3, Henrik Heitsch (ARC), finished third for the day while Adam Southgate and Andy Kühne also showing a great speed taking fourth and fifth overall.
1up Racing 40+ Masters
Morgen setting the pace after coming back to the ETS
Caspar Morgen from Denmark ended his first day on a high as he topped the time sheets in the last run of the day. After not racing at the last 4 or 5 ETS races, he was immediately on pace with his Xray car and was followed closely by Torsten Baggendorf (ARC) and reigning champion Manuel Stankowitz (Iris). The very experienced carpet specialist Joachim Altenhof took fourth place for the day with ETS RD1 winner René Kölbel in fifth position.
The Top 5 after Thursday practice (3 consecutive laps)
1. Caspar Morgen (DK) 42.778 Xray
2. Torsten Baggendorf (DE) 42.790 ARC
3. Manuel Stankowitz (DE) 42.892 Iris
4. Joachim Altenhof (DE) 43.029 Awesomatix
5. René Kölbel (AT) 43.118 Xray
Orca 21.5 Stock
Langner and Bergheim looking to be in a class of their own (now)
In the Orca 21.5 Stock class, Phil Langner and Tristan Bergheim had been the fastest two drivers all day long. At the end of the six practice rounds, Phil had a small advantage of 0,036 seconds over Tristan while third placed Jan Petersen was already 0,6 behind the leaders. Florian Müller and Jan Vogler completed the top 5 at the first day of ETS RD4 in Germany.
The Top 5 after Thursday practice (3 consecutive laps)
1. Phil Langner (DE) 42.506 Awesomatix
2. Tristan Bergheim (DE) 42.542 Awesomatix
3. Jan Petersen (DE) 43.107 Iris
4. Florian Müller (DE) 43.570 ARC
5. Jan Vogler (DE) 43.733 Awesomatix
ToniSport Formula
Ehrbar leads Formula class after day 1 in Germany
Xray driver David Ehrbar had a great start into ETS RD4 after winning the last race of the outdoor season in Andernach two months ago. Ehrbar posted the fastest three consecutive laps of the day in the fifth round of practice and was a tenth faster as his rivals Andreas Stiebler and Jan Ratheisky in second and third. The top five had been on a very similar pace all day and qualifying will be a close affair here at the Transworld Hotel.
The Top 5 after Thursday practice (3 consecutive laps)
1. David Ehrbar (DE) 41.118 Xray
2. Andreas Stiebler (AT) 41.216 Schumacher
3. Jan Ratheisky (DE) 41.332 Xray
4. René Kölbel (AT) 41.512 Xray
5. Alex Bremer (DE) 41.536 Schumacher
We are looking forward to all the Friday action here at ETS RD4 in Germany. Stay tuned and follow us during the whole weekend. Check our website frequently and visit the channel of RC Racing TV on Facebook and YouTube. There you will find our live coverage from ETS RD4 Season #16 2023/24 at the Transworld Hotel Auefeld in Hann. Münden. Enjoy it 😊
