Free Practice Report, ETS RD2 Season #17 2024/25
The ETS is in Aigen-Schlägl, at the fantastic venue of the local MAV club. As usual, five rounds of free practice in groups were on the schedule on Thursday with 26 heats hitting the track. It is very important to find a good flow on the technical track here in Aigen and drivers used every round to further improve their cars and lap times until the end of the day.
Coelho looking strong on track, Orlowski searching for the little extra pace, ETS record champion Völker third overnight
The FlySky Modified class saw Bruno Coelho on top. The Xray factory driver showed a strong performance on track and was battling with Michal Orlowski and Simon Lauter for the fastest laptimes throughout the day. Ronald Völker had a strong FP5 where he moved up to third spot behind Coelho and Orlowski. Lucas Urbain was fourth fastest ahead of his teammate Lauter.
We made a good progress with the car after we didn`t have the results we were looking for in the last few races. But as we focus more on our touring car programme now, we are happy with out performance today. My car felt very good on track, and I think we are in a very good position for tomorrow. However, you can quickly make some small mistakes on this track – like I did in FP4 for example – so it will be a key factor to have a car which is relatively easy to drive over the five minutes!
Bruno Coelho (PT) Xray | Hobbywing
The FlySky Modified class was a very close affair today with so many top drivers in attendance. It will be interesting to see who will make the A-Main, and who will miss it. Two rounds of seeding practice and two rounds of qualifying are scheduled for Friday and everything is set for a great show of ETS qualifying.
The Top 5 after Thursday practice (over 3 consecutive laps)
1. Bruno Coelho (PT) 44.590 Xray|Hobbywing
2. Michal Orlowski (PL) 44.910 Schumacher|Hobbywing
3. Ronald Völker (DE) 45.072 Mugen Seiki|LRP
4. Lucas Urbain (FR) 45.095 Awesomatix|ORCA
5. Simon Lauter(DE) 45.190 Awesomatix|Hobbywing
Champion Bultynck on top, Ellerbrock and Izsay right in tow, Vogl with a strong fourth place
In the Awesomatix ProStock class we saw champion Olivier Bultynck on top of the board. Bultynck was rocking the fastest laps with his EAM powered Awesomatix A800R on track and was followed closely by his teammate Lukas Ellerbrock, and Xray`s Adam Izsay. These three drivers had been fighting for last season`s championship title until the very last race and they once again showed that they are the benchmark in ETS Pro Stock racing right now. Behind them, the two Austrian racers Dominic Vogl (Schumacher) and Tobias Sutrich (Awesomatix) rounded out the top in free practice.
The Top 5 after Thursday practice (over 3 consecutive laps)
1. Olivier Bultynck (BE) 53.781 Awesomatix
2. Lukas Ellerbrock (DE) 54.037 Awesomatix
3. Adam Izsay (HU) 54.084 Xray
4. Dominic Vogl (AT) 54.457 Schumacher
5. Tobias Sutrich (AT) 54.520 Xray
Valent, Völker, and Reile leading in a close field of FWD drivers
Xray driver Gergö Valent posted the three fastest laps in the Hobbywing Frontwheel class. The Hungarian racer was almost two tenths quicker as second placed Jonas Völker who made a comeback after not holding a radio for 9 months. Völker is wheeling a loan Iris FWD car this weekend and had a good start into the event (although it was difficult for him to hand over the challenge cup from the football prediction game to Daniel Pöhlmann today).
Dominik Reile was third fastest with his Iris car, followed by Max Weffers at his first race with his new Xray ride. Reigning European FWD champion Daniel Pöhlmann finished fifth for the day.
The Top 5 after Thursday practice (over 3 consecutive laps)
1. Gergö Valent (HU) 1:03.672 Xray
2. Jonas Völker (DE) 1:03.960 Iris
3. Dominik Reile (DE) 1:04.049 Iris
4. Max Weffers (DE) 1:04.154 Xray
5. Daniel Pöhlmann (DE) 1:04.272 Awesomatix
Great start for US racer Anderson as he tops Thursday practice in Aigen
Eric Anderson (Awesomatix) was the fastest 40+ Masters driver when he posted the fastest three consecutive laps of the day in the fifth and last round of free practice. David Ehrbar (Xray) was second fastest, some two tenths behind Anderson. Behind them, four drivers took P3 – P6 within a gap of 0,046 seconds only. René Kölbel (Xray), Werner Schmitzer (Xray), and Torsten Baggendorf (ARC) completed the top five here on the opening day of ETS RD2 in Austria.
The Top 5 after Thursday practice (over 3 consecutive laps)
1. Eric Anderson (US) 59.710 Awesomatix
2. David Ehrbar (DE) 59.916 Xray
3. René Kölbel (AT) 1:00.016 Xray
4. Werner Schmitzer (AT) 1:00.019 Xray
5.Torsten Baggendorf (DE) 1:00.062 ARC
Gehrig fastest on first day at ETS in Austria
In the Orca 21.5 Stock class, Xray driver Jan Gehrig was topping the time sheets on Thursday. He was followed by the Yokomo of Kai Gerhardt, and the Mugen Seiki car of Austrian racer Nico Eglseer. Kristian Jensen and Jaroslav Kriz Junior. The two dominators from ETS RD1 in the Netherlands, Nadine Zühlke and Timo Siebert, finished in sixth and seventh place for the day.
The Top 5 after Thursday practice (over 3 consecutive laps)
1. Jan Gehrig (DE) 59.989 Xray
2. Kai Gerhardt (DE) 1:00.349 Yokomo
3. Nico Eglseer (AT) 1:00.390 Mugen Seiki
4. Kristian Jensen (DE) 1:00.445 Xray
5. Jaroslav jun. Kriz (DE) 1:01.164
Schumacher`s Stiebler tops Thursday practice at MAV Aigen track
The Matrix Formula class was in control of reigning ETS champion Andreas Stiebler. The Schumacher driver had the fastest car on track and was followed by his long-time Xray rivals David Ehrbar and René Kölbel. Michal Wojcik, Robert Kampehl, and ETS RD1 winner Luka Jovicic rounded out the top 6 on Thursday.
The Top 5 after Thursday practice (over 3 consecutive laps)
1. Andreas Stiebler (AT) 55.526 Schumacher
2. David Ehrbar (DE) 55.702 Xray
3. René Kölbel (AT) 55.782 Xray
4. Michal Wojcik (PL) 55.833
5. Robert Kampehl (DE) 56.181 Schumacher
