The third race of ETS Season #19 was a real blast in Andernach. The Arena33 track was well prepared and the racers enjoyed their time on track and in the pits together. The conditions became a bit tricky with the weather forecast for sunday, but because of that we saw a thriling second set of A-Main finals under the lights on Saturday evening. Sunday was rained out and the third final could not really happen. As always, we take many learnings away from this ETS race and here are FIVE of them….
1)… Saturday evening was MAGIC!
The decision to race “under the lights” of Arena33 was made on Saturday afternoon as the weather forecast for Sunday had become even worse with a 100% risk of rain. It was not an easy decision for the ETS crew as the lighting at Arena33 is ok, but not really brightening up the whole track. The lights are normally in use at relaxed club nights (and the 24 hours race) to drive a bit, but they had never been in use at a top level event. However, the last races on Saturday evening had been the second round of A-Mains and it was about “the best in the business” to deal with the darkest ever ETS racing conditions.
WATCH AGAIN – MODIFIED A2 UNDER THE LIGHTS
And what a hell of a job they ALL did…. Massive congratulations to every racer who went for the challenge – you did a masterful job. All the finals had been exciting to watch, and the A-Mains will be races to remember for a long time now. The atmosphere around the track was fantastic and the crowd was fascinated about the on-track action.
In the modified class, a lot of sparks had been coming of the rear end of the cars and it was amazing to watch these cars at such a high speed under the lights. Even if it was (hopefully) a single event to race in these conditions – we will never forget!
WATCH AGAIN – PRO STOCK A2 UNDER THE LIGHTS
2)… Sunglasses and Fluo Wings – what made a difference?
As the decision had been announced to run under the lights, we could see many different reactions. Some drivers had been full of anticipation to do it, others had been more afraid. Some said “that will be cool”, other commented that “it is a stupid idea”. But as the races came closer, we saw most of the racers doing special things which they normally never would have done.
Michal Orlowski for example started to prepare a new Zenith body shell with Fluo Yellow paint for better visibility in the dark. A lot of teamwork was needed to get the job done on time, but it fully paid off as Michal destroyed his competition in A2 when he had almost a lap of a lead from everybody else. Was it only the bright color of his body? Maybe not. But he said after the run that he “could see his car super good without any issues as soon as Andy (Murray) was putting it down onto the track”!
Other drivers just painted their clear rear wing with white or any fluo color that was available. Adam Izsay, the winner of Pro Stock, used some yellow spray also on the front hood of his body to increase the visiblity.
We also saw many racers wearing sunglasses in the last 30 minutes before the race to gain kind of a “brightness effect” on the drivers stand with removing the glasses shortly before the run. Many believed in that, others (like Marc Rheiard) made a little bit of fun out of this situation with “not getting the point” about this.
But what have we learned? Our ETS racers are super imaginative and can react to so many tings in a very short time. It was really cool to see and one of the stories of the weekend for sure!
3)… Völker had an amazing RC Maker debut!
We can keep this one short: We all know what a fantastic driver Ronald Völker is. But after his move to RC Maker, nobody had an idea how good or bad his first race with the new team and the new car would end for him.
The second place in qualifying, including a TQ run (in Q2), and the overall second place was simply incredible. Ronald`s LRP powered RC Maker SP2 looked strong and smooth all weekend long!
A great achievement for himself, Ryan Maker, the whole team, and the SP2. Everybody seemed to be happs for Völker as it was a perfect start into the next chapter of his carreer!
4)… Kappes joins circle of ETS race winners!
Christoph Kappes took the win in the Hobbywing 21.5 Stock class. He was one of the secret top favourites before the race but he did not want us (the media) to put him into this position. With a second place in qualifying, the chances for the win had been alive before the finals. A1 did not went to plan when a collision between Chriistoph`s Mugen Seiki car and TQ Daniel Anthes (Awesomatix) handed the win over to Daniel Hiesch (Awesomatix).
It was even more impressive to see Christoph taking the win in Q2 under the lights. He also managed to post a faster overall runtime compared to Hiesch and the victory was his after Sunday was rained out. Congratulations Christoph Kappes and welcome in the club of ETS race winners!
5)… Wins for both – Avalon and ZooRacing!
In our 5 things report leading into the event, we asked ourselves about the body shell battle in the Stock classes. With the Zoo Racing Wolverine now having a serious competitor with the Avalon Vortex, the race at Arena 33 in Andernach was another showdown between these two body shells.
In the end only one thing is clear: The Pro Stock drivers are still trusting the Wolverine with all 11 A-Main drivers using it in the Ultra-Light 0,4mm version. On the other side, the Avalon Vortex was taking the win in the 21.5 Stock and 40+ Masters class. Let`s see how the story wil continue during the carpet season….
5.1)… All LiPo batteries in LiPo Bags
To finish up this report we like to shout out a huge THANK YOU to all racers for always using LiPo bags in the pits. It is mandatory and should be nothing we need to check, but in the past we have seen many people charging without a proper LiPo bag. Oliver Storm from the ETS crew has done many hidden “inspections” in the pits and he reported that he had not seen one single battery on a charger without being in a LiPo bag – that is simply GREAT!
