The first day of ETS RD2 in Aigen-Schlägl was “not fish, not meat” as it never really rained a lot, but it also did not stop raining light drops from the sky either. The practice sessions got interrupted two or three times during the day when the rain got a bit stronger, but after short breaks the track was good enough to go again.
Right at the start of FP4 in the afternoon, the whole track got wet due to a heavier shower and the day was basically done. It was the end of an imperfect first day for all the racers where it was a super difficult task to find a good rythm on the challenging track in Aigen. The fourth round of practice will get completed tomorrow morinig before qualifying starts in hopefully dry conditions.
Völker fastest ahead of Rheinard and Orlowski – what will happen on Friday?
Mugen Seiki`s Ronald Völker was quickest over three laps with his MTC-3. His advantage over second placed Awesomatix driver Marc Rheinard was one tenth only, with reigning champion Michal Orlowski just another tenth behind. The Inf1nity duo of Naoto Matsukura and Jilles Groskamp showed a great speed as well and completed the top five at the first day in Aigen. With practice round 4 on the line early Friday morning, some drivers need to improve. Bruno Coelho had no transponder in his car in FP3 and did not set a good time while his car looked promising and fast on track as well. Pressure is on for Coelho in the last practice round if he wants to run with the other top guys in the qualifying top heat.
The Top 5 after Thursday practice (over 3 consecutive laps)
1. Ronald Völker (DE) 44.713 Mugen Seiki MTC-3|LRP
2. Marc Rheinard (DE) 44.815 Awesomatix A800RR|Cayote
3. Michal Orlowski (PL) 44.908 Schumacher Mi9|Elceram
4. Naoto Matsukura (JP) 45.135 Inf1nity Spec1ale|ORCA
5. Jilles Groskamp (NL) 45.180 Inf1nitySpec1ale|Cayote
Bultynck tops Pro Stock practice on a track which seems to suit him well
The Awesomatix Pro Stock class saw Apeldoorn race winner Olivier Bultynck posting the fastest laps of the day. Bultynck won here in Aigen last year and it seems that it is kind of “his track” so far. His team manager Max Mächler is sitting second overnight followed by Apeldoorn runner -up Enrico Jung, Louis Kretschmer, and Adam Izsay.
The Top 5 after Thursday practice (over 3 consecutive laps)
1. Olivier Bultynck (BE) 52.977 Awesomatix A800RR
2. Max Mächler (DE) 53.230 Awesomatix A800RR
3. Enrico Jung (DE) 53.328 ARC A10`25
4. Louis Kretschmer (DE) 53:384 Awesomatix A800RR
5. Adam Izsay (HU) 53.638 Xray X4`25
Langner, Valent, and Stocker on top of competitive FWD class
Young German ace Phil Langner was the fastest driver in the FWD class. Langner was 0.031 of a second quicker then second placed Gergö Valent, and third placed routiner Alexander Stocker. The FWD class is hard fought as always and qualifying will be interesting as so many guys want to make it into the A-Main.
The Top 5 after Thursday practice (over 3 consecutive laps)
1. Phil Langner (DE) 1:05.174
2. Gergö Valent (HU) 1:05.205 Xray
3. Alexander Stocker (DE) 1:05.320 Xray
4. Max Weffers (DE) 1:05.467 Xray
5. Daniel Pöhlmann (DE) 1:05.496 Awesomatix
“Grandmaster” Stocker leads the Masters class after three rounds of practice
Alexander Stocker found himself on top of the board after the first day of practice in Aigen-Schlägl. The Xray driver had a great run and outpaced his fellow Xray teammate Mirco Thalheimer by three tenths of a second. Werner Schmitzer had a good pace with his new Mugen ride and finished the day in fourth place ahead of reigning champion David Ehrbar, and Michel Zierold!
The Top 5 after Thursday practice (over 3 consecutive laps)
1. Alexander Stocker (DE) 58.177 Xray
2. Mirco Thalheimer (DE) 58.477 Xray
3. Werner Schmitzer (AT) 58.537 Mugen Seiki
4. David Ehrbar (DE) 58.691 Xray
5. Michel Zierold (DE) 58.836 Awesomatix
Apeldoorn winner Zühlke is still on a high
Nadine Zühlke won her first ever ETS race at the season opener in Apeldoorn. This result seems to give her wings when she was fastest in the 21.5 Stock class. She was closely followed by Wolfgang Swoboda, Felix Hörenz, Matheo Buchhalt, and David Reip.
The Top 5 after Thursday practice (over 3 consecutive laps)
1. Nadine Zühlke (DE) 58.716 Xray
2. Wolfgang Swoboda (DE) 59.197
3. Felix Hörenz (SUI) 59.293
4. Matheo Buchhalt (AT) 59.387 Iris
5. David Reip (DE) 59.448 RC Maker
Hudy and Libar chasing dominant Stiebler
Andreas Stiebler topped the time sheets on Thursday in Aigen-Schlägl. The Schumacher driver was a lot quicker than the four Xray cars behind him with his gap to second placed Martin Hudy at a massive 1.2 seconds. Can Stiebler carry this amazing pace over into to qualifying?
The Top 5 after Thursday practice (over 3 consecutive laps)
1. Andreas Stiebler (AT) 54.637 Schumacher
2. Martin Hudy (SK) 55.814 Xray
3. Jacques Libar (LU) 56.465 Xray
4. Luka Jovicic (LU) 56.592 Xray
5. David Ehrbar (DE) 57.091 Xray
