Völker, Orlowski, and Lauter – the top three after Thursday practice
The Cayote Modified class saw Ronald Völker continuing his strong 2026 carpet season. The Mugen Seiki factory driver was fastest over three consecutive laps with his MTC-3 and had the small advantage of 0.138 seconds over championship leader Michal Orlowski (Schumacher), the Awesomatix of Simon Lauter, his Mugen teammate Sören Sparbier, and the Xray of Swedish ace David Ronnefalk.
Marc Rheinard finished sixth for the day and the top heat for qualifying got completed by Dominic Griener (7), Lucas Urbain (8), Antoine Brunet (9), and Dominik Schmid (10).
Qualifying will start immediately on Friday morning and right now, it looks as we will see a battle between Völker, Orlowski, and Lauter for the top spots. Can Marc Rheinard improve form his current P6? He is still in a good championship position but needs to TQ and win the event to keep his title chances alive. Let`s head into qualifying!
The Top 5 after Thursday practice (over 3 consecutive laps)
1. Ronald Völker (DE) 45.887 Mugen Seiki MTC-3|LRP
2. Michal Orlowski (PL) 46.025 Schumacher Mi9|Elceram|Cayote
3. Simon Lauter (GER) 46.038 Awesomatix A800RR|Hobbywing|Nosram
4. Sören Sparbier (GER) 46.264 Mugen Seiki|LRP
5. David Ronnefalk (SWE) 46.290 Xray X4`26|Cayote
Mugen`s Sparbier leads day 1 from Izsay and Bultynck
The Awesomatix Pro Stock class saw familiar names on top of the board. Last year`s Arena Nova winner Sören Sparbier was the fastest with his Mugen MTC-3 when he outpaced the Xray X4`26 of Adam Izsay by 0.279 of a second.
Our newly crowned Pro Stock champion Ollie Bultynck was third fastest with his Awesomatix A800RRm. Jesper Rasmussen (Schumacher) and Oliver Havranek completed the top 5 in the ultra-competitive Pro Stock class.
The Top 5 after Thursday practice (over 3 consecutive laps)
1. Sören Sparbier (GER) 48.733 Mugen Seiki
2. Adam Izsay (HUN) 49.012 Xray X4`25
3. Olivier Bultynck (BEL) 49.228 Awesomatix A800RR
4. Jesper Rasmussen (DNK) 49.262 Schumacher Mi9
5. Oliver Havranek (SVK) 49.458 Xray X4`26
Schmid fastest after Thursday practice at Arena Nova
Kevin Schmid (Awesomatix) was the quickest FWD driver on Thursday when he set the pace in the first of the two seeding rounds. Schmid was two tenths faster than newly crowned FWD champion Phil Langner who was followed by ARC`s new kid on the block Luca Romondia. British ace Adam Southgate and former FWD champion Stefan Schulz completed the top 5.
The Top 5 after Thursday practice (over 3 consecutive laps)
1. Kevin Schmid (GER) 56.508 Awesomatix
2. Phil Langner (GER) 56.711 Awesomatix
3. Luca Romondia (GER) 57.086 ARC
4. Adam Southgate (GBR) 57.126 Iris
5. Stefan Schulz (GER) 57.340 Xray
Stankowitz is top seed for qualifying – can he fight for the win against champion Ehrbar?
Former 40+ Masters champion Manuel Stankowitz seems to be back in the game. The German “Iceman” posted the fastest three consecutive laps of the day with his Mugen Seiki MTC-3 and was four (!) tenths quicker than the current dominator and newly crowned champion of the class – David Ehrbar!
Mirco Thalheimer, Philipp Stadler, and Caspar Morgen rounded out the top five. We wxpect nothing than a very thrilling set of qualifying heats and we cabn`t wait for the Masters to lay dowen a great show at Arena Nova in the next three days!
The Top 5 after Thursday practice (over 3 consecutive laps)
1. Manuel Stankowitz (GER) 52.000 Mugen Seiki
2. David Ehrbar (GER) 52.401 Xray
3. Mirco Thalheimer (GER) 52.533 Xray
4. Philipp Stadler (AUT) 52.662 Mugen Seiki
5. Caspar Morgen (DNK) 52.806 Xray
Jensen dominates Thursday practice in Wiener Neustadt
Danish Xray driver Kristian Jensen opened his challenge for the 21.5 Stock title with a strong showing in practice. He was four tenths ahead of the competition, led by the German RC Maker driver Daniel Anthes who was second fastest ahead of French racer Aurelien Threhout. Ulrich Dinger finished fourth for the day while championship leader David Reip (RC Maker) was sitting in fifth place overnight. Cedric Gridelet from Belgium, who is also in the fight for the championship was only ninth fastest. Friday qualifying will be close in this class and there is still a lot to play for as we will crown a new champion on Sunday!
The Top 5 after Thursday practice (over 3 consecutive laps)
1. Kristian Jensen (DNK) 52.191 (Xray)
2. Daniel Anthes (GER) 52.618 (RC Maker)
3. Aurelien Threhout (FRA) 52.619
4. Ulrich Dinger (GER) 52.683 (Awesomatix)
5. David Reip (GER) 52.719 (RC Maker)
Xray`s Hudy on top of the Formula class after practice
Xray`s very own Martin Hudy was quickest in the Formula class and posted the fastest times in the last round of seeding practice. He was followed by three more Xray cars of David Ehrbar, Michal Wojcik, and Jacques Libar. Alex Bremer was the fastest “non Xray” driver and placed his Schumacher car fifth before the start of qualifying.
The Top 5 after Thursday practice (over 3 consecutive laps)
1. Martin Hudy (SVK) 49.141 Xray
2. David Ehrbar (GER) 49.276 Xray
3. Michal Wojcik (POL) 49.976 Xray
4. Jacques Libar (LUX) 50.389 Xray
5. Alexander Bremer (GER) 50.526 Schumacher
