Doesn`t it feel like an eternity since the last car crossed the finish line at our last ETS race in Luxembourg? Yes it does but on the other hand it is also nice to have a little break from ETS racing to be beack in full force when we will head into our mega event in Daun at the end of January 2025. Today we like to let you know that the plannings for Daun are already in full swing and we also like to take a look on some things which will be interesting on the way to Daun…
1) IFMAR World Champions crowned – ETS racers with amazing results in California
Since the last ETS in Luxembourg, the IFMAR ISTC Touring Car World Championship took place in Bakersfield, California (USA). Many ETS racers attended the show to battle for the biggest prize in our world of racing and it was a spectacular event with great racing on track. Let’s see how the drivers will perform for the rest of the season now that the pressure of the World Championship has lifted from their shoulders.
Awesomatix driver Simon Lauter was able to clinch the worlds title in the Spec Class ahead of his teammate Max Mächler, and Xray`s Jan Ratheisky. A hugy victory for Lauter who was the runner up behind Alexandre Duchet at the last World Championship in Italy.
In the premier Modified Class it was Xray`s Bruno Coelho who made history when he won his third consecutive title – an achievement which nobody was able to clinch before in the touring car class. Reigning ETS champion Michal Orlowski (Schumacher) was TQ after qualifying and had to settle for second place after intense battles on track with Coelho, third placed Marc Rheinard (Awesomatix) , and Mugen Seiki driver Ronald Völker.
Pictures: RedRC
2) All these new cars and prototypes
Many new cars and prototypes had been running on the tricky high-bite track in Bakersfield during the IFMAR worlds. The new released Xray X4`25 won the title, RC Maker was in the mix with their new SP1, Team Associated showed their unexpected TC8 for the first time, the new Tamiya car was in competition, as well as many prototype cars from Mugen Seiki, Serpent, and Axon. So many new cars – great news for all interested customers around the globe!
As always at a world championship, teams and drivers aim for the perfect performance on track with the best possible package. The car (chassis) is the most important factor to shine on track and in Bakersfield we saw some new cars and prototypes on track.
Xray won the Modified title with their “all new” X4`25 touring car platform which was released to the public shortly before the event. Coelho and Hagberg showed a great pace in Modified, and Jan Ratheisky was the quickest Xray driver in the Spec Class finishing third overall on the podium. A perfect debut for the new Xray car and the Xray customers can rely on a race-proven and championship winning car for 2025.
Mugen Seiki showed up with a completeley new prototype car called MTC-3. It was not allowed to take pictures of the car as it really was the first time the team used it on track. The more impressive was the pace from Ronald Völker and Jacob Cruz who were racing the two prototype cars at the worlds. Ronald Völker lined up third on the grid and was close to Orlowski and Coelho in qualifying while Jacob Cruz was the sensation of the worlds making the A-Main on home soil. Asked about the new car Völker said: “We are back! Robert (Pietsch) is a genius and the new car is a major step forward over the MTC-2R which we have used before!” Mugen customers can look forward to something new!
RC Maker was in attendance for the first time at the IFMAR worlds with their own car. Company owner and driver Ryan Maker said: “It was a dream which became reality now. I was always dreaming about competing at the worlds with my own car. It was and still is a lot of work but I am happy where we are now with our first car as it performs very will on track”. Ryan Maker raced the SP1 together with 1up Racings Randy Caster and some other guys – let`s see how the RC Maker team will look in 2025 as they will announce some new teamdrivers soon!
Serpent brought their updated touring car version to the race with Dominic Greiner flying the flag for them making it into the A-Main. A great achievement for them without having a super big team . Jeff Hamon from Australia and Bryce Butterfield from the US completed the Serpent factory team running the new car as well. Asked about the car, Greiner said: “It is a big improvement. We still need to find a bit of pace to close the gap to the front but we are happy with the car for now and we will continue to push!”
Axon also raced with a new (and hidden) prototype car at Finishline RC Raceway. Akio Sobue finished sixth overall and Hayato Ishioka won the B-Main. The Axon team wanted a bit more but the pace from Akio Sobue and Hayato Ishioka was really good and they will for sure release a high quality race car to the public once everything is ready!
Team Associated brought their (unexpected) new TC8 touring car and surprised the world with a touring car comeback after several years. Rick “the Finger” Hohwart was the best Team Associated driver rocking his Reedy powered car. The event was like an early christmas for all Team Associated fanboys – a new car is about to come!
Pictures: RedRC
3) The way to Daun – which races are hot?
With ETS RD4 taking place at the end of January 2025, there are some events before which drivers can attend to practice in good conditions on ETS carpet. There is the Longwy Winter Series in France hosted by the famous MRC Longwy together with the huge GP3F taking place at January 18-19 the weekend ahead of the ETS in Daun.
Another racing series is the EWS (Essex Winter Series) in Essex, UK. Oli Meggitt and his crew is organizing world class races there since many years and it is for sure worth a trip to travel to one of this races to compete against the best drivers from the UK and other international racers as well.
