ARC has released their new A10-25 touring car a couple of days ago. We have it here at the ETS and Henrik Heitsch qualified the new car into the Pro Stock A-Main (P8 on the grid) while his team mate Torsten Baggendorf achieved the same (P6 on the grid) great result in the 1up Racing 40+ Masters class – a great debut for the new ARC car. We had a chance to top off the Wolverine bodyshell of Torsten Baggendorf`s car which is equipped with the ORCA ETS ESC and Motor, a LRp 5100 battery, and a PowerHD servo. The car is also equipped with aluminim lower shock mounts, a split topdeck, low friction drive belts, and a set of Team Titan titanium screws!
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Body Shell: ZooRacing Wolverine 0,7 Speedo:Orca ETS Motor: Orca ETS 21.5T Battery: LRP 5100 Radio: Sanwa M17 Servo: Power HD Tires:Matrix ETS Sponsors and support: LMI-Racing, ToniSport, BoomRC, Chuck`s Raceway
Qualifying is over at the last race of ETS Season #16 2023/24. All racers had a blast on the amazing track layout at Arena Nova. Now it is time for our title decisions in the upcoming triple A-Mains but also the lower mains will produce some cool and thrilling RC racing. We hope that everybody will enjoy them on track, watching them live on site, or on our livestream which is once more produced by RC Racing TV. The whole event is running smooth like butter and the ETS is more than happy to be at this amazing facility in Wiener Neustadt, AUT.
Pole position for Schumacher`s Orlowski at ETS season finale
Q3 – Michal Orlowski will start from the sweet spot on the grid in the triple A-Mains of the Matrix Modified class. The Schumacher lead driver had another ballistic run on track at Arena Nova and his advantage over second placed Awesomatix driver Lucas Urbain was (once more) at two and a half seconds. Orlowski was very pleased with his run as he mentioned “It was a good one and it was great that I could do a 14.9 in the first lap of the race – something I was struggling with in Q1 and Q2”. Awesomatix racer Lucas Urbain finished second again in Q2 and his teammate and three time ETS Pro Stock champion Simon Lauter showed that he has found his place in the top group of the Modified class now as he took third for the round. Alexander Hagberg (Xray) and Marc Rheinard (Awesomatix) rounded out the top 5 for the round!
Q4 – The last round of Matrix Modified qualifying saw Orlowski taking another win making qualifying a clean sweep. This time it was Simon Lauter who finished second after a great run. Lucas Urbain took P3 and was followed by Alexander Hagberg and Pekko Iivonen. Michal Orlowski is only two or three finals away from winning the overall ETS title. The first A-Main will be on the line on Saturday evening – don`t miss to watch it in our ETS live stream.
Benson takes Q3, Ellerbrock is overall TQ, and Izsay needs to win from P6 on the grid to snatch the title away from Bultynck – CRAZY PRO STOCK CLASS
Q3 – The designer of our amazing racetrack, Tim Benson, was the fastest in Q3 of the Awesomatix Pro Stock class. Benson outpaced second placed driver Stefan Schulz by four tenths of a second and had great chances to claim the TQ spot in Q4. Behind Benson and Schulz we saw Olivier Bultynck, Jan Ratheisky, and Gergö Valent making it into the top 5. The decision for the TQ came down to the line in the last one and it was all between Ellerbrock and Benson. Adam Izsay had a hard time on track and was only able to score P13 for the round.
Q4 – The last round of Pro Stock qualifying saw Lukas Ellerbrock on top of the board again. Benson had to retire his car after a technical problem and it was all about Stefan Schulz, Adam Izsay, Jan Ratheisky, and Gergö Valent to round out the top five in Q4. With Bultynck and Izsay “only” have qualified 5th and 6th on the grid, we have kind of an unexpected situation for the finals. But anyway – Izsay needs to win the race if he wants the title and that will be a difficult job to do. Bultynck needs to somehow survive the finals without a disaster and the title will be his.
At the front of the grid, we can expect a nice race with Ellerbrock, Benson, Schulz, and Collina involved. Austrian racer Tobias Sutrich made his second ETS A-Main and Henrik Heitsch made the show as well with the all new ARC A10-25 touring car – congratulations!
Q3 – Xray`s Adam Izsay continued to dominate in the Hobbywing Frontwheel class and posted another TQ run. Dominik Reile took second for the round with his Iris car with Pawel Staszewski, and the Valent brothers Gergö and Mark rounding out the top 5. The battle for the spots on the 10 car A-Main grid was super intense so far and the last round of qualifying was important for many drivers!
Q4 – After he had already sealed the TQ , Adam Izsay skipped the last qualifier to prepare his stock touring car. Dominik Reile took full advantage and won a super close qualifying heat in front of his Iris teammate Manuel Stankowitz, and the Xray of Gergö Valent. The Q4 result moved Reile to second on the grid – can he fight with champion Izsay for the win in the finals?
Ehrbar is top qualifier at Arena Nova – Kölbel and Zierold will battle out the title from second and third on the grid
Q3 – David Ehrbar made it three out of three on Saturday morning and earned himself the pole position for the finals. Ehrbar was just too quick for everybody else and it was again his Xray teammate René Kölbel who took second for the round ahead of Ulrich Dinger, Michel Zierold, and Manuel Stankowitz.
Q4 – David Ehrbar made it a clean sweep in qualifying and won Q4 in style. Michel Zierold posted the second fastest time out of the B-heat and Stankowitz, Baggendorf, and Schmitzer completed the top 5 in the last 40+ Masters qualifier of the season. The top 5 on the starting grid are Ehrbar, Kölbel, Zierold, Stankowitz, and Dinger. We expect the most exciting battle on track between Kölbel and Zierold as these two drivers can win the championship on Sunday!
Big break for Bergheim as he is overall TQ in Austria
Q3 – Tristan Bergheim made a big step on his way to the championship when he posted the fastest runtime in Q3 of the Orca 21.5 Stock class. Bergheim had a clean run and did the hot lap of the round as well (17.192). After a bad start into qualifying, Phil Langer finally got a good run together and took second place ahead of Bajusz Zsolt and Jaroslav Kriz. Nadine Zühlke and Jan Gehrig completed the top 6 in Q3.
Q4 – The last round of Orca 21.5 Stock qualifying saw Jaroslav Kriz taking the win. He was followed by overall TQ Tristan Bergheim, and Phil Langner. The overall qualifying results are putting Bergheim on pole with Kriz in second, Bajusz Zsolt in third, and Phil Langner in fourth position. A very good situation for Tristan Bergheim when looking on the overall championship table!
Pole position for Stiebler at last race of the season
Q3 – Andreas Stiebler was still on a mission, and it is easy to see that he wants to finish the season on a high. He had a huge advantage of 3.1 seconds over second placed David Ehrbar and it had been Jan Ratheisky, Robert Kampehl, and Mathias Domig who completed the top 5 once again. Stiebler will be hard to beat in the triple A-Mains of the ToniSport Formula class, that`s for sure!
Q4 – It was another Stiebler show in the last qualifying round of the season – until he had to retire his car in lap 8. David Ehrbar took full advantage and won the round in front of Jan Ratheisky, Robert Kampehl, Mathias Domig, and Adam Southgate. Can Ehrbar and Ratheisky attack pole sitter Stiebler in the finals?
Xray factory driver Alexander Hagberg is here at the ETS in Austria and he is running the current Xray X4-2024 touring car. Alex is using a Twister bodyshell from Xtreme with his famous trademark paintjob on. He is using Hobbywing electronics and Nosram batteries to power his car while a Sanwa servo and radio is responsible for the precise steering inputs. On the option part side, Alex has equipped his Xray car with aluminum spring retainers, aluminum diff bearing holders, and a two-piece 1.6mm carbon topdeck. He is also using the 1.5mm “thin” aluminum chassis (301020) from Xray!
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Body Shell: Xtreme Twister 0.4 Speedo:Hobbywing XR10 Pro G2S Motor: Hobbywing G3 5.0T Battery: Nosram 4200 Radio: Sanwa M17 Servo:Sanwa PGS-LH II Tires:Matrix ETS Sponsors and support: Xray, HUDY, Hobbywing, Nosram, Sanwa, Pro-Spec, MonacoRC, Hot Race, TQ Wire, Looxon, A-Paint, Hiro Seiki, Milansport, P1 Brand, Avid
The second round of qualifying here at the ETS season finale was split in two pieces with Pro Stock and Modified running on Saturday morning whils the other four classes had been up on Friday afternoon right before the driver`s dinner. The Saturday schedule is fully packed as we will wrap up qualifying and one complete round of A-Mains as well.
The second round of Matrix Modified qualifying saw again Michal Orlowski on top. In the first lap of the race Yokomo`s Antoine Brunet was popping up on top of the board and it looked like he could have a very good run – but a mistake after four and a half minutes was very costly for the French racer as he dropped all the way back to P8.
Out front it was Orlowski who had everything under control with his soon to be released Schumacher car. His driving was close to perfection, and he ripped the fastest lap of the race in lap 18 with a 14.872 while nobody else was able to turn a 14-second laptime during Q2.
Lucas Urbain scored another second place for Awesomatix crossing the line 2.3 seconds behind Orlowski. Simon Lauter (Awesomatix), Alexander Hagberg (Xray), and Marc Rheinard (Awesomatix) rounded out the top five.
Harley Eldridge (Xray) from the UK took sixth for the round. Harley is on the way to become the first ever female racer to make the Modified A-Main at the ETS and we wish her the best of luck for Q3 and Q4.
Q2 video to follow soon (had some technical issues)
Ellerbrock wins early morning Q2 ahead of Benson while Bultynck suffered a DNF
The second round of Pro Stock qualifying was up on a very early Saturday morning at Arena Nova. Olivier Bultynck was in the battle for the win until he made a small mistake in lap 10. Pawel Staszewski could not avoid touching Bultynck`s car after that and both drivers had to finish their race after the contact – tough luck for them.
Meanwhile Lukas Ellerbrock was in the lead and brought home another important TQ run in front of Tim Benson and Adam Izsay. Bultynck and Izsay are fourth and fifth before the last two rounds of qualifying – we couldn`t have asked for more tension in the battle for the overall championship!
Izsay adds another TQ run to his amazing FWD season
The second round of Hobbywing Frontwheel qualifying at Arena Nova saw again Adam Izsay ahead of everybody. Adam won by a second from Gergö Valent again and Dominik Reile finished third in Q2 followed by Frederik Hovgaard and Marcus von Elling. After Adam had almost secured the pole position on Friday, he could focus more on his Pro Stock racing where he was in the fight for the title as well here in Austria.
Zierold and Kölbel on the way to the title as Ehrbar wins Q2
David Ehrbar took another win in Q2 and is still sitting on top of the 40+ Masters class. René Kölbel was able to close the gap to Ehrbar down to 1.8 seconds in Q2 and Michel Zierold posted the third fastest time once again out of the B-heat. Ehrbar will be hard to beat, and it looks the same as in Daun where he raced in the 40+ Masters class for the first time. Asked about his dominance Ehrbar mentioned that “his time racing in the KEIL DTM series in the 90`s (brushed 17T Motors) helped him to quickly adapt to the 21.5 Strock racing as it felt very similar to the good old times from the first moment on”.
In the fight for the championship, we still have René Kölbel and Michel Zierold with good chances. They are sitting second and fourth place overnight while Mirco Thalheimer`s title chances are melting away with him on P8 at qualifying halftime.
In the Orca 21.5 Stock class, Tristan Bergheim was leading Q2 on Friday afternoon and he was on the way to make it two out of two. But when Bergheim was riding too many of the curbs in the last lap, he lost his lead to Jaroslav Kriz and Bajusz Zsolt and dropped back to third place. Jaroslav Kriz from Slovakia took the win by 0.25 seconds from Bajusz Zsolt.
The overnight ranking list still saw Bergheim on top as he had the faster runtime to his favour. Jan Gehrig and Nadine Zühlke took P4 and P5 for the round while Phil Langner had another run to forget. He needs two very good ones on Saturday if he still wants to keep his championship hopes alive.
Another TQ run from Stiebler who was followed by Ehrbar and Ratheisky again
David Ehrbar finished second again behind Andreas Stiebler who took Q2 in style again. Jan Ratheisky was third with his Xray car and that was how they went to bed on Friday evening. Robert Kampehl, Mathias Domig, and Adam Southgate completed the overnight top 6 of the ToniSport Formula class. The question before Q3 and Q4 was: Can anybody challenge Andreas Stiebler for the win?
The first round of ETS qualifying at the season finale in Wiener Neustadt is completed. It was a nice day here so far and the evening programme looks promising as well as we will have a driver`s dinner in combination with a tombola for which every racer received a ticket. But before we will enjoy the Austrian cuisine we will tell you what happened in Q1 at Arena Nova in Austria!
Urbain: Maybe we need a “Super Modified class” for Orlowski 🙂
After topping all rounds of practice, Michal Orlowski was also on top of the board at the end of the opening Matrix Modified qualifier. In the early stages of the race, Urbain, Lauter, and Hagberg had been able to almost match Orlowski`s pace. But after two minutes Orlowski switched on his afterburners and built up a gap of 2.7 seconds to Urbain until the end of the race. In the interview after the run Orlowski mentioned “I was a little cautious in the beginning when I noticed that I was not much faster than the others on track. But after some laps the feeling for the car and the track was good again and I checked out a bit. It was a great start into qualifying and now I am looking forward to the driver`s dinner here in the hall this evening”.
Lucas Urbain finished second in Q1 behind Orlowski. The Awesomatix factory driver commented his run “After messing up Q1 at the TITC and also at the last ETS in Daun I am very happy to have a good start into the event now. Michal (Orlowski) is driving in kind of his own league right now, maybe we should create a super-modified class just for him 😊. But apart from that my car felt good and we will try to improve the pace for sure. But if Michal will not start to make stupid mistakes I can hardly imagine that we can beat him”
Behind Orlowski and Urbain, Simon Lauter (Awesomatix) and Alexander Hagberg (Xray) took third and fourth, followed by a sensational driving Harley Eldridge. Harley posted the fifth fastest time with her Xray car coming out of the B-heat. Jan Ratheisky (Xray), the Yokomo duo of Christopher Krapp and Antoine Brunet, Patrick Gollner (Xray), and Robert Pietsch (Mugen Seiki) completed the top 10 for the day!
He is not in the fight for the overall title anymore but he was on fire in Q1 – we are talking about Awesomatix driver Lukas Ellerbrock. After his TQ run he was very happy and said “It feels great to TQ this one. My car was super good, and I really hope that I can fight for the race win here this weekend. I am not in the championship battle anymore which still hurts a bit, but I will do my best to help my teammate Ollie now to secure the title for Awesomatix”
Behind Ellerbrock it was Schumacher driver Mattia Collina who took second place. Collina posted the fastest lap of the run and was only 0.4 behind Ellerbrock. Ollie Bultynck and Adam Izsay were fighting for third and fourth place most of the time – with the better ending for Bultynck. Top seed Tim Benson could not match his own pace from controlled practice but still managed to score good points with P5 for the round.
Can anyone challenge Izsay for the win during the weekend?
Adam Izsay took the win in Q1 of the FWD class with his Xray car. Who thought that the racer from Hungary will slow down a bit after having already secured the championship at the last race in Daun was on the woodway. Izsay had a clean run which earned him a 1.5 second advantage over Gergö Valent, Manuel Stankowitz, Henrik Heitsch, and Andreas Myrberg.
Zierold best of the championship contenders while Ehrbar wins Q1
Xray driver David Ehrbar took the win in Q1 of the 1up racing 40+ Masters class. Manuel Stankowitz scored a strong second place for the Iris team but was already 3 (!) seconds behind Ehrbar after the 5-minute run. However, it was a good start into qualifying for David Ehrbar and out outgoing champion Manuel Stankowitz.
Championship contender Michel Zierold was third fastest with his time coming from the B-heat. This third place was very important for Zierold as he was the highest ranked championship contender in Q1. His rival René Kölbel finished fourth and Mirco Thalheimer had to walk away with a P9 only.
Bergheim takes opening qualifier at the ETS season finale
In the Orca 21.5 Stock class, championship leader Tristan Bergheim took the win in Q1. The Awesomatix driver had a great run and outpaced our top seed Bajusz Zolt (Xray) by one second. Jaroslav Kriz, who seeded in eight place, had a great drive and took P3 away from the first round of qualifying.
Tristan Bergheim`s close championship rival Phil Langner had a run full of small bobbles and was only able to score a P10 in Q1. Behind Bergheim, Zolt, and Kriz, it was Jan Gehrig and Kristian Jensen who completed the top 5 in the Orca 21.5 Stock class.
Stiebler wins Formula Q1 ahead of Ehrbar and Ratheisky
The first round of ToniSport Formula qualifying saw Andreas Stiebler leading the race from tone to tone. Stiebler`s Schumacher car was on rails, and he had a gap of 1.4 seconds and the fastest lap of the race to his favour. David Ehrbar took second place in front of his Xray teammate Jan Ratheisky who was some six seconds behind the leaders. Robert Kampehl and Mathias Domig rounded out the top 5.
Seeding Practice Report, ETS RD6 Season #16 2023/24
The end of seeding practice is always defining the heats for the four rounds of qualifying at the ETS. Three consecutive hot laps are responsible for every driver`s ranking. Having a good three lap pace is giving drivers a lot of confidence before Q1 and therefore everybody was trying to extract the maximum out of their packages on the very demanding racetrack at Arena Nova!
Matrix Modified
Schumacher`s Orlowski ahead of Awesomatix very fast Lauter, and Xray`s Hagberg
Michal Orlowski is climbing up the ladder to his first ETS championship title step by step. After topping free practice yesterday, the Schumacher ace was also dominating the two rounds of seeding practice.
Orlowski said “we came here with many ideas and data which we have collected during the Mibo race, the Charity Race, and our testing programme in Salzburg. Luckily we could extract the perfect decisions from that and I am very happy with the car we have. Qualifying will be close as always but I am looking forward to get it underway”
Second place after seeding practice was the best ever Modified practice result for Simon Lauter. The Awesomatix driver was in the top 5 after each round of practice and told us that “he is just trying to keep the car on the perfect racing line as it feels absolutely amazing on track”.
Xray factory driver Alexander Hagberg was also in a good mood after coming out of seeding practice in third place. The Swede said “I am happy with the practice result and the pace but I am still working on the balance of the car to improve it even more. I hope for a clean run and a top three finish in the upcoming Q1”
The Top 5 after Thursday practice (over 3 consecutive laps)
1. Michal Orlowski (PL) 44.675 Schumacher|Hobbywing 2. Simon Lauter (DE) 45.091 Awesomatix|Hobbywing 3. Alexander Hagberg (SE) Xray|Hobbywing 45.236 4. Lucas Urbain (FR) 45.245 Awesomatix|ORCA 5. Marc Rheinard (DE) 45.479 Awesomatix|ORCA
Benson tops seeding practice while Izsay and Bultynck sitting in fourth and fifth place!
In the Awesomatix ProStock class it was track designer Tim Benson who posted the three fastest consecutive laps at Arena Nova. Benson was one and a half tenths quicker than Austrian racer Tobias Sutrich, and this season`s long time championship contender Lukas Ellerbrock. Adam Izsay and Olivier Bultynck are ranked close together like we have seen in the whole season – but this time they are “only” sitting in P4 and P5 after seeding practice. The gap between all the top drivers was not big and we are excited to see everybody`s true 5-minute race pace on track. Let`s head into qualifying!
The Top 5 after Thursday practice (over 3 consecutive laps)
Myrberg and Stankowitz starting second and third behind top seed Izsay
Adam Izsay (Xray) will start from P1 into qualifying. But he will see the Iris drivers Andreas Myrberg and Manuel Stankowitz hunting him down. They showed a great pace in front of Gergö Valent (Xray) in fourth place and the Iris of Dominik Reile in fifth. With the top 10 only being seperated by 0.8 seconds we can expect a supe rclose fight for qualifying!
The Top 5 after Thursday practice (over 3 consecutive laps)
1. Adam Izsay (HU) 58.089 Xray 2. Andreas Myrberg (SE) 59.185 Iris 3. Manuel Stankowitz (DE) 59.308 Iris 4. Gergö Valent (HU) 59.373 Xray 5. Dominik Reile (DE) 59.462 Iris
Ehrbar is top seed ahead of Kölbel and Thalheimer while Zierold drops out of the top heat
David Ehrbar will lead the 40+ Masters drivers into qualifying. He was the fastest driver and saw his two Xray teammates René Kölbel and Mirco Thalheimer right behind him. Thalheimer looked much improved and found some pace in his car which was very important for him in the championship battle with Kölbel and Zierold. Michel Zierold had not the best seeding practice and found himself only in the B-heat for qualifying. How much will that affect his title chances? Zierold came here to Austria with a 4-point lead and now it is GAME ON in the 1up Racing 40+ Masters class as everybody needs to deliver results now!
The Top 5 after Thursday practice (over 3 consecutive laps)
Zsolt is top seed followed by Langner and Bergheim
Bajusz Zsolt is the top seed for qualifying in the Orca 21.5 Stock class. Bajusz is more known for his great Offroad driving but it seems that he is also very good in touring cars. In the fight for the championship, Phil Langner and Tristan Bergheim (separated by only two thousands in seeding practice) will start second and third into qualifying while Jan Gehrig and Tobias Baumbach rounded out the top 5 before qualifying.
The Top 5 after Thursday practice (over 3 consecutive laps)
Stiebler dominates seeding practice like a champion
Andreas Stiebler is top seed of the ToniSport Formula class. He was nine (!) tenths faster over three laps compared to the rest of the field and right now we would bet our money on him to claim pole position in qualifying. David Ehrbar and Jan Ratheisky seem to be the only serious contenders now as the rest of the field is a bit on the backfoot when looking on their three lap pace.
The Top 5 after Thursday practice (over 3 consecutive laps)
1. Andreas Stiebler (AT) 48.716 Schumacher 2. David Ehrbar (DE) 49.614 Xray 3. Jan Ratheisky (DE) 49.729 Xray 4. Robert Kampehl (DE) 50.431 Schumacher 5. Matthias Domig (AT) 51.206
Qualifying is up next – let`s go racing. Check our website and visit the YouTube channels of the Euro Touring Series and RC Racing TV. There you find our live coverage from ETS RD6 Season #16 2023/24 at Arena Nova, AUT.
Day one at the season finale of ETS Season #16 is over. Five rounds of free practice (4-minute runs) had been on the schedule for all racers at Arena Nova in Wiener Neustadt. The traction came up nicely and all drivers highlighted the fast and technical track layout. The chicane in the right section of the track before coming onto the straightway seems to be a key section while not being easy to approach with the perfect speed. The huge carpet track (34 x 24 meters) will demand everything from the drivers when seeding practice and qualifying will start on Friday!
Matrix Modified
Orloswki leads day 1 from Urbain, Rheinard, Hagberg, and Lauter
The Matrix Modified class was under control of Schumacher`s Michal Orlowski who was the fastest in each round of practice. The Awesomatix top duo of Lucas Urbain and Marc Rheinard followed him three tenths behind with Xray`s Alexander Hagberg taking fourth position at his “ETS return”. Simon Lauter, who won the TITC Open Stock class two weeks ago, finished fifth for the day. Michal Orlowski will try to make this weekend the most special one in his touring car racing career as a possible ETS title is only three days away form him. Will he get the job done? Well, Rheinard and Urbain are in need of a miracle, but it is not over yet!
The Top 5 after Thursday practice (over 3 consecutive laps)
1. Michal Orlowski (PL) 45.199 Schumacher|Hobbywing 2. Lucas Urbain (FR) 45.549 Awesomatix|ORCA 3. Marc Rheinard (DE) 45.568 Awesomatix|ORCA 4. Alexander Hagberg (SE) 45.610 Xray|Hobbywing 5. Simon Lauter (DE) 45.738 Awesomatix|Hobbywing
Izsay tops free practice, Bultynck only sixth fastest
In the Awesomatix ProStock class we saw Adam Izsay picking up a good pace during the day. The Xray driver was the fastest, followed by track designer Tim Benson, and our permanent “aircraft delay victim” Jan Ratheisky. Lukas Ellerbrock and Mattia Collina made it into the top five while Awesomatix championship contender Olivier Bultynck had a slower start into the event with P6 for the day.
The Top 5 after Thursday practice (over 3 consecutive laps)
1. Adam Izsay (HU) 49.553 Xray 2. Tim Benson (DE) 49.719 Awesomatix 3. Jan Ratheisky (DE) 49.818 Xray 4. Lukas Ellerbrock (DE) 49.818 Awesomatix 5. Mattia Collina (IT) 49.833 Schumacher
Izsay, Myrberg, and Stankowitz are the top 3 after Thursday practice
Our new FWD champion Adam Izsay was the fastest FWD driver on Thursday. The Xray driver was a few tenth quicker than TITC winner Andreas Myrberg and his fellow Iris teammate Manuel Stanowitz. Frederik Hovgaard and Pawel Stankiewicz rounded out the top 5 in free practice.
The Top 5 after Thursday practice (over 3 consecutive laps)
1. Adam Izsay (HU) 57.920 Xray 2. Andreas Myrberg (SE) 58.310 Iris 3. Manuel Stankowitz (DE) 58.334 Iris 4. Frederik Hovgaard (DK) 58.588 Yokomo 5. Pawel Staszewski (PL) 58.633 Awesomatix
Ehrbar leads after day one with Dinger, Kölbel, and Zierold in tow
After the first day in Austria, ETS RD5 winner David Ehrbar leads the pack in the 1up Racing 40+ Masters class. Ehrbar`s Xray car looked strong on the black ETS carpet where he was three tenths faster over his competitors on the three consecutive laps. Ulrich Dinger was second fastest, followed by the two title contenders René Kölbel, and Michel Zierold. Torsten Baggendorf finished the day on P5 while championship contender Mirco Thalheimer is sitting “only” in eight place overnight!
The Top 5 after Thursday practice (over 3 consecutive laps)
Bergheim and Langner with a solid start into championship showdown
In the Orca 21.5 Stock class, Phil Langner was the fastest on track here at Arena Nova on Thursday. His advantage over Tristan Bergheim was at 0.25 seconds at the end of the day and it is crystal clear that these two German guys will go for it this weekend. Kristian Jensen from Denmark was third quickest, followed by Jan Gehrig, and Tobias Baumbach. Tomorrow mornings seeding practice will tell us more about the Bergheim and Langner story on the road to the championship.
The Top 5 after Thursday practice (over 3 consecutive laps)
1. Phil Langner (DE) 53.211 Awesomatix 2. Tristan Bergheim (DE) 53.469 Awesomatix 3. Kristian Jensen (DK) 53.596 Xray 4. Jan Gehrig (DE) 54.967 Xray 5. Tobias Baumbach (DE) 54.275 Xray
Newly crowned two-times ETS Formula champion Andreas Stiebler had a great start into the weekend. He was fastest on track followed by David Ehrbar, Jan Ratheisky, Robert Kampehl, and Adam Southgate. The track is spectacular for the Formula cars and we are already looking forward to some serious open wheel racing at Arena Nova in Wiener Neustadt.
The Top 5 after Thursday practice (over 3 consecutive laps)
1. Andreas Stiebler (AT) 49.626 Schumacher 2. David Ehrbar (DE) 49.726 Xray 3. Jan Ratheisky (DE) 50.041 Xray 4. Robert Kampehl (DE) 50.860 Schumacher 5. Adam Southgate (GB) 50.959 Xray
The final round of the Essex Winter Series took place last weekend at the usual venue in the south-east of the UK.
LRP Modified
In the LRP Modified class, the championship battle saw a one-point separation at the top, with Elliott Harper narrowly ahead of Kyle Branson, so we were expecting a shoot-out between these two for the championship. However, Alex Thurston hadn’t read the script and set the fastest time in the opening qualifiers. Alex, now running for Mugen Seiki UK, really gave Elliott and Kyle something to think about. Elliott then managed to find some more pace and took the third and fourth rounds, with the best times as well, to wrap up the overall pole position for Schumacher, and place a firm hand on the championship trophy. Alex would line up second, with Kyle third on the grid with his Xray and now with a lot of work to do in the final. Stefan Chodzynski, running a privately entered Mugen, had a great qualifying and sat fourth on the grid, with Xray’s Harley Eldridge rounding out the top five.
In the final, Elliott demonstrated that the title was his, opening up a gap on Alex in the early laps and continuing to extend this throughout the entire five minute run. It was a great fight between Alex and Kyle for second and third, demonstrating exactly how you can race nose-to-tail for the entire race, both drivers showing each other the respect needed and treating the crowd to a fantastic race. Alex soaked up the pressure and kept Kyle behind him, whilst Harley was able to get past Stefan early in the run and had a quiet run to fourth place overall.
LRP MODIFIED A FINAL RESULT
1 Elliott Harper – Schumacher/Hobbywing
2 Alex Thurston – Mugen/Hobbywing
3 Kyle Branson – Xray/Hobbywing
4 Harley Eldridge – Xray/Hobbywing
5 Stefan Chodzynski – Mugen/LRP
6 Dan Robins – Schumacher/Hobbywing
7 Mark Buonaiuto – Awesomatix/Hobbywing
8 Matthew White – Schumacher/Hobbywing
9 Matthieu Dambrine – Schumacher/ORCA
10 Adam Southgate – Iris/LRP
11 Bailey Graves – Schumacher/Hobbywing
This result secured Elliott the overall championship, with Kyle taking second and Alex’s podium finish moving him up to third overall. Harley Eldridge had another strong season to take fourth (along with her first EWS win earlier in the season), and Stefan taking fifth overall.
Rush Stock
In the Rush Stock class, Zak Finlay already had the title wrapped up, but continued to show his strength in the stock class by setting TQ for Xray, lining up ahead of fellow Zombie driver Tony Broad. Andy Murray was the top Schumacher in third on the grid, with team-mate Billy Fletcher in fourth. Ricky Copsey and Martyn Ross, both looking to make the top five in the series points, rounded out the top six on the grid.
Zak dominated the A Final, leading from start to finish to notch up yet another win at the famous EWS series. Tony Broad looked good for second place, but after one and a half minutes, a mistake saw him drop behind the Schumacher pair of Andy and Billy. Billy kept the pressure on his car’s designer, and at the half way point managed to find a way past and into second place. That remained the order to the finish, with Sam Nicholls coming through to take fifth ahead of Ricky, who had dropped to last on the opening lap and had a great fight back up the field.
In terms of the overall championship, Tony’s results earlier in the season had secured him second place, with Billy now confirmed in third overall. Andy took fourth with Martyn having done just enough for fifth overall.
Ride/MB Models Front Wheel
Ben Moorey had been totally dominant in the Ride/MB Models Front Wheel Drive class this season, taking four TQs and four Wins so far. He continued that domination at the final event, sewing up the pole position and taking another comfortable win in the final. Nathan Parker lined up second on the grid and kept Ben honest for the first minute or two of the final, before Ben pulled away and Nathan had to settle for second place. Andy Faulkes lined up third on the grid ahead of Stuart Collard and Mark Caton. It was these three drivers who provided a great race in the final, once again proving the controlled electronics, RPM limit and fixed gearing can produce some of the closest racing possible. After multiple position changes, Stuart took third at the flag ahead of Mark and Andy.
In the final championship standings, this netted Nathan second overall, with Andrew Cooper taking third place. Stuart just missed the podium with fourth overall, and Andy taking fifth.
Whilst the series has now concluded, the EWS team are already underway with preparations for next year’s twelfth edition of the UK’s popular championship.
The scenery in the Awesomatix Pro Stock class is thrilling before the last race of Season #16 2023/24. Ollie Bultynck (Awesomatix) has a one point advantage over Adam Izsay (Xray) and they will battle it out at Arena Nova in Wiener Neustadt, Austria. We asked them quickly about their feelings right before the championship deciding showdown!
Adam Izsay – “I am looking forward to a close fight with Ollie at Arena Nova”
Adam, the season is coming to an end now and you are still in the fight with Ollie Bultynck for the overall championship in the Pro Stock class. What kind of battle do you expect in Austria?
I expect a close battle also on the last round of the championship as it was on all the previous rounds. It will be close again and I hope that I can win the race :-). It’s a new place for the ETS, but i’m really looking forward to race at the Arena Nova in Wiener Neustadt.
You have made such a huge step in the last 12-24 months when we look onto your race results. What do you think is your key to improve so much latestly?
I have been driving 1:10 onroad for around 2,5 years only so everything was new at the beginning and I needed to learn a lot about driving and setup, but I was practicing and racing as much as I could which helped a lot. I am also thankful for all the help from the team which is a big part of the success and improvements I could achieve.
Are you planning to race at the IFMAR worlds in November? If so, will you compete in Stock or Modified at Finishline RC Raceway?
I would like to race at the IFMAR Worlds again and try to improve on my 3rd place from the previous WC in Gubbio 2022. But it’s still not decided if I can be there this year. If I can go, I will drive stock again and give my very best!
Olivier Bultynck – “It would mean a lot for me and the team to win the overall Pro Stock title”
Ollie, you are leading by one point going into the deciding race of the season. Adam is in a great form, the same as you are. Are you well prepared for the showdown?
I will make sure to be well prepped and I expect another very close race against Adam and all the others. But as I have an amazing team behind me to help, I think my chances for the title are pretty good and I will go for it!
If you win the title it would be your first overall championship at the ETS. How much does the ETS mean to you and what would it mean for you to lift the trophy?
Yes, after being close 2 times I think it would matter a lot to me if I win the championship and it would mean a lot for the team as well because it is a team effort. You can not win such a championship on your own only!
You have the EFRA euros on your hometrack this year. How motivated are you to race in front of your family and friends in Belgium and do you think you will have kind of an home advantage?
Well, it puts more pressure on me but I like that. It pushes me more to practice and work harder so maybe I will have an advantage (hope so). Overall I am very motivated for the European Championship on my home track. It will be great to race so close to my home with hopefully many friends coming to watch the races. But first my motivation and concentration is to 100% on the ETS season finale in Wiener Neustadt!
Michal Orlowski has won the last four ETS races he took part in during the #15 and #16 seasons. The Schumacher driver is in the form of his life so far and only a “very bad” weekend in Wiener Neustadt could cost him the overall championship title in the Matrix Modified class. As it would be Orlowski`s very first ETS championship, all eyes wil be on him and his Schumacher touring car at Arena Nova!
Michal, you are in the best position to win your first ever ETS title. How much are you looking forward to the season finale in Austria at a new venue?
I can’t wait to arrive in Austria and battle it out for the championship with the drivers I have been watching dominate the Touring Car scene since I was 8 years old. It’s a dream come true to be in this position and I will enjoy every second of it.
All you need to secure the overall championship is a fifth place. This doesn’t sound difficult when we look onto your current results. Do you still feel some pressure or are you 100% confident to get the job done?
I will not be thinking about the minimum result I need to achieve to seal the championship. It’s just another race in my calendar and I’m going there to do the best I can on the given day.
You are a part of the ETS since the early stages of your career, even before you had been close to become a professional racer. What does the ETS mean for you and which place does it have in your mind?
I often say without Scotty’s and Uwe’s ETS and EOS, I wouldn’t be where I am today. I gained a lot of experience and knowledge over the years racing at ETS and EOS. These were the races I was noticed at, by factory teams, which allowed me to get my first sponsorships when I was younger.
Your latest results have gained a lot of attraction for the Schumacher car you are running. When can customers expect the car to hit the market?
It has been an extremely refreshing experience to have a platform capable of winning races and I can’t wait for the customers to enjoy the new car very soon.
The IFMAR World Championship will take place in the US in November. You won your 1:12 scale worlds title in the US as well so it seems to be a good place for you. How will you prepare for this one and what do you expect from yourself?
I am planning to race Touring Car a lot this summer. We will travel over to California for a few testing sessions and learn as much as we can. We will continue, what we are doing at the moment with my onroad team and see, what we can achieve together in November!
