Right after the first carpet race of the actual season, it is time to talk about cars and equipment which was in use at the Transworld Hotel Auefeld in Hann. Münden. As always, the RC industry is not standing still and we saw some new and interesting products again. For sure we can not spotlight everything, but here are at least some of the things we have seen!
Cars
Yokomo BD12 much improved on carpet
The year 2022 was very good one for Team Yokomo. With their BD11, they won two ETS races (Krapp and Prümper), and celebrated a vice-world championship in Italy where Christopher Krapp finished second behind world champion Bruno Coelho. For 2023, Yokomo released their new BD12 car with some major changes and improvements.
But as the new ETS season started in Apeldoorn, the team never was as strong as with the BD11 in 2022 and the search for the ultimate performance started. It took the whole team around Krapp, Lee, Vogl, Jasmin, Hovgaard, Prümper, and Jung the whole summer to improve their cars step by step. With the start of the carpet season, Yokomo was back on pace and could immediateley win races. Yannic Prümper won the TOS in Hasloh ahead of Awesomatix driver Marc Rheinard, while Enrico Jung won another TOS race in Augsburg. After this very promising start to the indoor season, the team traveled to ETS RD4 in Hann. Münden with high hopes – and delivered.
When looking onto the results, it is maybe not looking perfect but as we have seen the team on track over the whole weekend, it was clearly visible that Christopher Krapp, Yannic Prümper (Modified), and Enrico Jung (Pro Stock) had a very good pace in all practice runs and in a big part of qualifying. Krapp and Prümper both were leading a several times in their heats and an even better result would have been possible too. In the end, the team had two cars in the Modified A-Main, and another two in the Pro Stock final. Performance wise it was a step forward for the Japanese racing factory and we are already looking forward to ETS RD5 in Daun.
Iris ONE.05 FWD – a real contender
There was a new FWD car in competition at ETS RD4 – the Iris ONE.05 FWD. With this car being the first FWD platform for the relatively new Iris brand, their results had been fantastic with a second (Manuel Stankowitz) and sixth (Andreas Myrberg) place overall. Manuel Stankowitz was able to TQ the first round of qualifying with the new car and his speed wa sgood all weekend long. Hard work pays off and Iris car designer Andreas Myrberg was more than happy after the race. Let`s see how the Iris brand will move forward!
First win for ARC A10-23
Torsten Baggendorf was able to win his first ETS race in Hann. Müden. The ARC driver used the actual A10-2023 car to dominate the race ahead of a very strong competition. For ARC it was the first victory at the ETS since a very long time (Lars Hoppe won for ARC many years ago). The A10-2023 of Torsten Baggendorf looked amazingly good all weekend long and it was great to see a different car winning the race as everybody would have expected an Awesomatix or Xray car on the absolute top!
Batteries
The new LRP Graphene4.1 5100mAh pack dominates stock classes
Batteries are always crucial – especially in onroad stock classes which we have many at the ETS. Battery manufacturers are batteling for every piece of the cake and the LiPo development goes further and further every year. LRP released a new Graphene 4.1 Stock Spec battery some weeks ago, and the pack was the most used one in the A-Mains of our stock touring car classes (40+ Masters, Pro Stock, and 21.5 Stock).
There had been 13 out of 33 A-Main drivers who used the 5100mAh LCG Stock Spec battery in the A-Mains of these racing classes, while a total of 18 drivers used an LRP or Nosram battery to power their touring cars. The Graphene4.1 Ultra LCG 5100mAh battery had a great punch over the whole runtime, provides a super low center of gravity, and seems to be very good for the rest of the carpet season!
Other companies like Ruddog Racing, Intellect, Gens Ace, Orca, and Orion had also been in the A-Mains with some drivers, but LRP clearly stamped authority on the battery side of the ETS stock classes for now!
BoomRC
Bling Bling items from ETS racer Michel Zierold
Boom RC is a new, and very small brand from ETS racer Michel Zierold. He is a clever guy and enjoys to create 3D printed stuff that can really make your RC life easier. We have seen his tire roller in the pits very often – a tool that can help you to roll and prepare your race tires before the first run on track.
Michel also made some nice looking steering wheels for Sanwa and Futaba radios (FlySky to follow soon), and you can find other bits such as winglets or charger stands from Boom RC. Michel Zierold is also selling his stuff under the MR33 brand at ToniSport to reach out even more customers. We are excited to see what comes next from Boom RC.
Body Shells
Nothing new as Xtreme and Zoo Racing taking touring car victories
The Xtreme Twister Speciale and Twister body shell continues to be “the body to have” in the Matrix Modified class. All A-Main drivers used these shells in the super lightweight 0,4mm version and nothing has changed since a long time. A positive aspect as it brings some consistency in the (sometimes) quickly changing market.
In all the stock touring car classes, the Zoo Racng Wolverine is still the strongest force and was in use by most of the drivers. The Pro Stock drivers used it in 0,4mm or 0,5mm thickness, while the Orca 21.5 Stock and 1up Racing 40+ Masters drivers used the 0,7mm version according to the ETS rules. For sure, there had been other bodies on track from Xtreme, Mon-Tech, Protoform, Blitz, Bittydesign, and Lens Bodies – but all stock class race winners and podium finishers used the Zoo Racing Wolverine.
Fight between Zoo Racing and Blitz in FWD class – Protoform won the race!
The Hobbywing Frontwheel class was a different story. The drivers tested many different body shells from the official list of allowed bodies and it seemed like it was possible to go fast with every of those. The A-Main saw six drivers using the YRS from Blitz and 5 drivers rocking the Gorilla from Zoo Racing. Race winner Adam Izsay used the Speed3 from Protoform which is hard to get at the moment as Horizon Hobby (owner of Protoform), for whatever reason, has problems to send fresh shells over to Europe.
