Seeding Practice Report, ETS RD6 Season #16 2023/24
The end of seeding practice is always defining the heats for the four rounds of qualifying at the ETS. Three consecutive hot laps are responsible for every driver`s ranking. Having a good three lap pace is giving drivers a lot of confidence before Q1 and therefore everybody was trying to extract the maximum out of their packages on the very demanding racetrack at Arena Nova!
Matrix Modified
Schumacher`s Orlowski ahead of Awesomatix very fast Lauter, and Xray`s Hagberg
Michal Orlowski is climbing up the ladder to his first ETS championship title step by step. After topping free practice yesterday, the Schumacher ace was also dominating the two rounds of seeding practice.
Orlowski said “we came here with many ideas and data which we have collected during the Mibo race, the Charity Race, and our testing programme in Salzburg. Luckily we could extract the perfect decisions from that and I am very happy with the car we have. Qualifying will be close as always but I am looking forward to get it underway”
Second place after seeding practice was the best ever Modified practice result for Simon Lauter. The Awesomatix driver was in the top 5 after each round of practice and told us that “he is just trying to keep the car on the perfect racing line as it feels absolutely amazing on track”.
Xray factory driver Alexander Hagberg was also in a good mood after coming out of seeding practice in third place. The Swede said “I am happy with the practice result and the pace but I am still working on the balance of the car to improve it even more. I hope for a clean run and a top three finish in the upcoming Q1”
The Top 5 after Thursday practice (over 3 consecutive laps)
1. Michal Orlowski (PL) 44.675 Schumacher|Hobbywing
2. Simon Lauter (DE) 45.091 Awesomatix|Hobbywing
3. Alexander Hagberg (SE) Xray|Hobbywing 45.236
4. Lucas Urbain (FR) 45.245 Awesomatix|ORCA
5. Marc Rheinard (DE) 45.479 Awesomatix|ORCA
Awesomatix ProStock
Benson tops seeding practice while Izsay and Bultynck sitting in fourth and fifth place!
In the Awesomatix ProStock class it was track designer Tim Benson who posted the three fastest consecutive laps at Arena Nova. Benson was one and a half tenths quicker than Austrian racer Tobias Sutrich, and this season`s long time championship contender Lukas Ellerbrock. Adam Izsay and Olivier Bultynck are ranked close together like we have seen in the whole season – but this time they are “only” sitting in P4 and P5 after seeding practice. The gap between all the top drivers was not big and we are excited to see everybody`s true 5-minute race pace on track. Let`s head into qualifying!
The Top 5 after Thursday practice (over 3 consecutive laps)
1. Tim Benson (DE) 49.280 Awesomatix
2. Tobias Sutrich (AT) 49.416 Awesomatix
3. Lukas Ellerbrock (DE) 49.426 Awesomatix
4. Adam Izsay (HU) 49.498 Xray
5. Olivier Bultynck (BE) 49.525 Awesomatix
Hobbywing Frontwheel
Myrberg and Stankowitz starting second and third behind top seed Izsay
Adam Izsay (Xray) will start from P1 into qualifying. But he will see the Iris drivers Andreas Myrberg and Manuel Stankowitz hunting him down. They showed a great pace in front of Gergö Valent (Xray) in fourth place and the Iris of Dominik Reile in fifth. With the top 10 only being seperated by 0.8 seconds we can expect a supe rclose fight for qualifying!
The Top 5 after Thursday practice (over 3 consecutive laps)
1. Adam Izsay (HU) 58.089 Xray
2. Andreas Myrberg (SE) 59.185 Iris
3. Manuel Stankowitz (DE) 59.308 Iris
4. Gergö Valent (HU) 59.373 Xray
5. Dominik Reile (DE) 59.462 Iris
1up Racing 40+ Masters
Ehrbar is top seed ahead of Kölbel and Thalheimer while Zierold drops out of the top heat
David Ehrbar will lead the 40+ Masters drivers into qualifying. He was the fastest driver and saw his two Xray teammates René Kölbel and Mirco Thalheimer right behind him. Thalheimer looked much improved and found some pace in his car which was very important for him in the championship battle with Kölbel and Zierold. Michel Zierold had not the best seeding practice and found himself only in the B-heat for qualifying. How much will that affect his title chances? Zierold came here to Austria with a 4-point lead and now it is GAME ON in the 1up Racing 40+ Masters class as everybody needs to deliver results now!
The Top 5 after Thursday practice (over 3 consecutive laps)
1. David Ehrbar (DE) 52.359 Xray
2. René Kölbel (DE) 53.022 Xray
3. Mirco Thalheimer (DE) 53.046 Xray
4. Torsten Baggendorf (DE) 53.146 ARC
5. Ulrich Dinger (DE) 53.262 Awesomatix
Orca 21.5 Stock
Zsolt is top seed followed by Langner and Bergheim
Bajusz Zsolt is the top seed for qualifying in the Orca 21.5 Stock class. Bajusz is more known for his great Offroad driving but it seems that he is also very good in touring cars. In the fight for the championship, Phil Langner and Tristan Bergheim (separated by only two thousands in seeding practice) will start second and third into qualifying while Jan Gehrig and Tobias Baumbach rounded out the top 5 before qualifying.
The Top 5 after Thursday practice (over 3 consecutive laps)
1. Bajusz Zsolt (HU) 53.004 Xray
2. Phil Langner (DE) 53.186 Awesomatix
3. Tristan Bergheim (DE) 53.188 Awesomatix
4. Jan Gehrig (DE) 53.239 Xray
5. Tobias Baumbach (DE) 53.432 Xray
ToniSport Formula
Stiebler dominates seeding practice like a champion
Andreas Stiebler is top seed of the ToniSport Formula class. He was nine (!) tenths faster over three laps compared to the rest of the field and right now we would bet our money on him to claim pole position in qualifying. David Ehrbar and Jan Ratheisky seem to be the only serious contenders now as the rest of the field is a bit on the backfoot when looking on their three lap pace.
The Top 5 after Thursday practice (over 3 consecutive laps)
1. Andreas Stiebler (AT) 48.716 Schumacher
2. David Ehrbar (DE) 49.614 Xray
3. Jan Ratheisky (DE) 49.729 Xray
4. Robert Kampehl (DE) 50.431 Schumacher
5. Matthias Domig (AT) 51.206
Qualifying is up next – let`s go racing. Check our website and visit the YouTube channels of the Euro Touring Series and RC Racing TV. There you find our live coverage from ETS RD6 Season #16 2023/24 at Arena Nova, AUT.
