David Ehrbar is running his new EF1 Forumla car here for the first time at the ETS. The car, which he designed by himself, is only existing seven times now and he is happy with the actual performance on track. A lot of EF1 parts are made from a very durable glass and carbon fibre reinforced, and 3D printed material. The EF1 features a one-piece front stiffener with a topdeck construction. Compared to many other formula cars, the EF1 has no traditional side springs. Instead of the more conventional side springs, David installed leaf springs left and right for a more precise handling.
The battery gets installed into the EF1 from the bottom side of the chassis and is fixed with just one screw for easy access. The battery is positioned inline with a little bit of offset to allow a nice and clean installation of the electronic components in combination with a perfect weight balance. The rear end of the EF1 features a single center ball bearing to keep the rear pod in position without using side links.
David uses these components in his car:
Body Shell: Montech Speedo: Scorpion Formula (Handout) Motor: Scorpion Formula (Handout) Battery: Gens Ace Red Line 5100mah Radio: Sanwa M17 Servo: Sanwa PGS – LH2 Tires: RIDE (Handout) Sponsors: Ehrbar Engineering, Gens Ace, Montech
The Dash for Cash is back at the ETS and we saw two different formats for 2 randomly chosen finals on Saturday afternoon.
Rebmann wins the Hot Lap Challenge
The first final from the draw was the 17.5 Stock C-Main. The challenge was simple: Everybody had two timed laps on the track which he had to drive all alone out there. With the fastest lap to count, the winner of the first round was Patrick Rebmann who did a 23.2 edging out Nele Knodel by a tenth of a second winning the price money of 200€. The crowd around the track was cheering everybody on and the atmosphere of “Dash for Cash” quickly came back to the ETS.
Endurance race win for Ohlef
The FWD D-Main was in contention at the 15-minute race here on track at Arena33. All drivers had to perform 3 pit stops, with each stop lasting 10 seconds. Therefore, everybody had a buzzer on the driver stand to check in and out for the pit stops in a special marked area on the track. Timm Ohlef did the best job with a clever timing of his pit stops and an overall clean run. He won the 200€ price in this 15 minute Dash for Cash and his teammates celebrated with a Laola-wave beside the track!
Congratulations to our winners, it was amazing to see everybody enjoying the return of “Dash for Cash”.
Here you can see some impressions from the 15 minutes “Dash for Cash” race:
The first A-Main of the Matrix Modified class saw Ronald Völker taking an easy win with a gap of 6.20 seconds over the rest of the field. In the opening laps Antoine Brunet (Xray) was close behind Ronald (Mugen), but after 3 laps Ronald pulled away as Antoine had to look in his rear-view mirror, full of Urbain and Rheinard (both Awesomatix).
Marc, somehow moved up to the third spot and tried to catch Brunet in front of him. As he was on Brunet`s tail shortly after, Marc touched Antoine just a little bit – enough for both cars to lose some places. Unfortunately, Antoine had to stop his car after 6 laps, and Marc found himself in P6. Meanwhile, a nice battle between Christopher Krapp (Yokomo), Lucas Urbain and Marco Kaufmann (Xray) was going on in the fight for the second position. After several moves and contacts between these three, Marco Kaufmann finished in second (starting P6) in front of Christopher Krapp (3), Yannic Prümper (4) and Lucas Urbain (5). Marc Rheinard only finished 6th after the contact with Brunet in front of Michal Orlowski (Schumacher), B-Main bump up driver Eric Dankel (Mugen), Robert Pietsch (Mugen), Tim Wahl (Awesomatix) and Xray driver Antoine Brunet in the unlucky 11th place!
Here is what Ronald Völker had to say after his A1 win:
After I only did 3 corners on my race tires before the start, I struggled a little in the first corners of A1, but after that everything was more than perfect. With more sun shining in the evening, the track once again was a bit different and required a different tire preparation. As the Arena33 asphalt reacts very sensitive to weather changes, we will see which preparation we need tomorrow morning for A2. -Ronald Völker-
A1 of the Xray ProStock class saw another impressive run from Alexandre Duchet. After the start it looked like Max Mächler was able to come closer to Alexandre, but after a some lapt the gap stayed constantly at about 1.0 seconds during the end of the run. Behind the leaders, Jan Ratheisky, Simon Lauter and Louis Kretschmer completed the Top 5 in A-Main number one of the Xray ProStock class.
Asked about his easy looking win, Duchet had the following words for us:
As I said after every run this weekend, my Xray was amazing in this first A-Main as well. The track felt different as we had more sunshine here in the evening, but after I got used to it in the beginning, I quickly came back into my rhythm and tried to keep the rubber on the tarmac. It was a nice battle with Max and I hope for one more tomorrow morning! -Alexandre Duchet-
Finishing second in the opening leg of the triple A-Mains, Awesomatix Team Manager Max Mächler also spoke to our reporter:
I gave my everything in A1, and in the beginning, I felt that I maybe have the chance to close the gap to Alexandre. But I only can compliment Alexandre for his flawless drive to the win as I didn`t made any mistakes and still was not able to come closer. For tomorrow I see some chances to attack when we are on used tires in A2. I will try everything to keep the pressure on Alexandre on a high level! -Max Mächler-
Steven Olsen was the man in A1 of the Hobbywing Frontwheel class. He never looked back after the start and won the race tone to tone after a super clean run. Behind Steven, we saw a thrilling fight between Heitsch, Sparbier, Libar and Meibörg. In the end Henrik Heitsch was able to stay in second position in front of a strong Sebastian Meibörg who found his way from P7 up to P3. Stefan Schulz had some bad luck in the run, finishing only eight in A1. We can expect something for tomorrow`s finals, as the FWD drivers are at a similar pace and everybody can move up to the front.
The Stock 17.5 class saw pole sitter Thomas Bemmerl taking home the win in A1. In the opening laps, second place starter Maximilian Unterschütz was able to follow Thomas, but after some small mistakes he dropped back to fourth position. Behind A1 winner Thomas Bemmerl, Dominik Reile and Joachim Altenhof finished in second and third in the first of the triple A-Mains in our 17.5 Stock class.
A1 of the Infinity 40+ Masters class saw a terrible first lap from almost everybody with a lot of contacts and crashes, mixing the field completely. As the dust had settled and everybody finally got his nerves under control, Soren Boy Holst was the lucky guy in front taking the win from his sixth starting position.
Caspar Morgen (started P10), Mirco Thalheimer (started P7), Thomas Oehler (started P8) and Ingo Braun (started P9) completed the Top 5 in this first final. This finishing order once again shows the big chaos in the first lap, with the best Top 5 starter finishing in the sixth position. Let`s see if we can get a clean start in tomorrow`s A2 of our Infinity 40+ Masters class.
Jan Ratheisky took an almost unchallenged win in A1 of the Formula division here at Arena33 in Andernach. Jan pulled off a flawless run taking A1 with a gap of 4.7 ahead of David Ehrbar. David and Jan both turned their fastest lap of the race in lap number 5, with Jan`s time 0.3 seconds faster compared to David. Behind the leaders there was a close fight between Renè Kölbel and Olivier Bultynck, with Renè finally finishing third. The Top 5 was completed by Herbert Weber.
In the last round of qualifying in the Matrix Modified class, it was once again Ronald Völker winning the heat. Ronald had a little slide in his first lap, and he was swapping positions with Antoine Brunet (Xray) multiple times during the run. Both only separated by 0.1 of a second for most time of the run showed, that they have the best overall pace for the triple A-Mains. With Völker on used tires in Q4, his gap was a little smaller compared to the first 3 rounds of qualifying – but still enough to take Q4. Marc Rheinard (Awesomatix) finished in third, about one second behind Ronald and Antoine.
For the finals, we have Mugen Seiki driver Ronald Völker on pole with the Xray of Antoine Brunet starting second. Lucas Urbain (3) and Marc Rheinard (4) will try to hunt them down with their Awesomatix cars lining up third and fourth.
Behind them, Christopher Krapp will be the top Yokomo driver to head into the A-Mains. Sixth on the grid will be Xray`s Marco Kaufmann, who showed a strong performance all weekend here in Andernach. Yannic Prümper (Yokomo), Michal Orlowski (Schumacher), Robert Pietsch (Mugen Seiki) and Tim Wahl (Awesomatix).
Mächler fastest in Q4 to line up second on the grid
The last heat of qualifying in the Xray ProStock class saw Max Mächler (Awesomatix) on top of the timing sheets. Max won the heat ahead of the Xray duo of Alexandre Duchet and Jan Ratheisky. We saw a lot of thrilling races in the ProStock class in the past years, and we expect some amazing action from these guys here this weekend as well.
We talked to Rd4 TQ Max Mächler directly after his run to find out more about his impressions and his expectations for the triple A-Mains of the ProStock class:
My day was difficult after I had some ESC problems in yesterday`s Q2. After that I had to use new tires in Q3 to get a safe (and quick) run which is never easy when you need a result after a DNF. In Q4 everything was open for P2 on the grid, and I wanted to put my Awesomatix between the Xray duo of Jan and Alexandre, who did a great job this weekend so far. For the finals I think our cars (his and Simon Lauter`s) are well prepared and we will throw everything in to fight for the win! -Max Mächler-
Here are your Top 10 in the Xray ProStock class: Alexandre Duchet (Xray), Max Mächler (Awesomatix), Jan Ratheisky (Xray), Simon Lauter (Awesomatix), Louis Kretschmer (Awesomatix), Alex Kunkler (Mugen), Frederik Mikkelsen (Awesomatix), Valentin Hettrich (Awesomatix), Lukas Ellerbrock (Xray) and Nicolai Lindegaard (Awesomatix)
The last round of qualifying at ETD RD1 here in Andernach saw Patrick Müller bringing home a TQ run in the FWD class. With Heitsch, Olsen, Schulz and Müller all winning one round so far, it is Steven Olsen who earned the top starting position for the finals with having the fastest of the TQ runs on his side.
Kevin Sparbier (5), Jacques Libar (6), Sebastian Meibörg (7), Max Weffers (8), Ulrich Dinger (9) and Simon Stegmeier (10) are completing the grid for the Hobbywing Frontwheel triple A-Mains.
After collecting a strong number of points in the previous heats, Maximilian Unterschütz finally came out fastest in Q4. This result will see the youngster lining up second on the grid behind TQ Thomas Bemmerl for the triple A-Mains in the Stock 17.5 class. Behind Bemmerl and Unterschütz, the 10 car A-Main grid features: Daniel Pöhlmann (3), Dominik Reile (4), Joachim Altenhof (5), Alexander Müller (6), Felix Schneider (7), David Kuschnarew (8), Klaus Waldmann (9) and Dominik Ruf (10).
In the last round of Qualifying in the Infinity 40+ Masters division, it was Christian Müller with the fastest run coming out of the second fastest group. The top group also saw another guy going fast and winning the heat – Manuel Stankowitz. With so many drivers being on pace we can be really excited about the A-Mains in this class and it is hard to point out a clear favourite for the overall win. The 10 car grid of the Infinity 40+ Masters: Karsten Bartsch (1), Ulrich Dinger (2), Christian Müller (3), Werner Schmitzer (4), Manuel Stankowitz (5), Søren Boy Holst (6), Mirco Thalheimer (7), Thomas Oehler (8), Ingo Braun (9), Caspar Morgen (10).
The Scorpion Formula class saw another TQ run from Jan Ratheisky in front of David Ehrbar and Renè Kölbel. Everybody will try to keep up with Jan in the finals, let`s see what these guys can do to create some serious pressure on Jan and his Xray car. David Ehrbar is the most promising challenger, and he will try to get ahead of Jan with his new and self-constructed EF1 Formula car. The top 10 of the Formula class are: Jan Ratheisky (1), David Ehrbar (2), Renè Kölbel (3), Herbert Weber (4), Olivier Bultynck (5), Michael Wojcik (6), Chris Grenz (7), Tim Benson (8), Patrick Sadrinna (9) and Luka Jovicic (10).
During a race weekend a lot of pictures get taken by the ETS Photographer. We select the best shots for you and provide them day by day in our ETS Image Galleries.
Enjoy the pictures and enjoy your ETS racing weekend!
Ronald Völker is making his international debut for Mugen Seiki this weekend. After only being able to race at smaller events until now, he is very optimistic and looks forward showing the performance of the MTC2 on track. At the TOS race on the same track, only 2 weeks ago, he worked a lot on the setup to get the car good over 5 minutes – either in hot or cooler conditions.
Ronald is running his car almost out of the box. His MTC2 features aluminum wheel axles in the rear and a complete set of titanium screws to save some weight. In the center of the car he mounted some of Mugen`s optional weights to balance the car to his likings. On the battery side, Ronald uses the kit battery mount in the front, while using a 20g brass holder from Mugen in the rearward position. This creates a more backwards shifted weight balance for a better steering response.
Ronald uses these components in his Mugen Seiki MTC2 touring car: Body Shell: Xtreme Twister Speciale 0,5 Speedo: LRP Flow X Motor: LRP X22 5.0T Battery: LRP LCG 5200mah Radio: Sanwa M17 Servo: Highest BLP650 Tires: Matrix (Handout) Sponsors: Mugen Seiki, LRP, Highest, Arrowmax, Axon, Mibosport, StickonRC, MPE Stickers, WTF, TWT AI Body, Raceberry, Vigor, RC Maker
The third round of qualifying saw another solid TQ run from Ronald Völker (Mugen). This time, it was Lucas Urbain following him with a gap of 1.7 seconds to score another good result for his score card. As Antoine Brunet was struggling and retiring his car after the first half of the race, Yannic Prümper (3), Marco Kaufmann (4) and Michal Orlowski (5) completed the Top 5.
With Ronald now earning his first ever ETS TQ with his new Mugen Seiki Team, we asked him about his feelings after Q3:
With some sun and wind coming up ahead of Q3, I knew that this round would not be the fastest qualifier. So, I was almost sure to have the overall TQ in the bag before the start of the heat. During the run it was not easy to keep the car on the line constantly, as the wind effected all cars on track in some way. I had to drive my car in a slightly different way, and it was a little less enjoyable. But for sure I am totally satisfied with my first overall TQ for my new Team. -Ronald Völker-
The Xray ProStock class was in the hands of Alexander Duchet (Xray) once again. He was leading the run in the same way as in the previous ones, until his car spun around out of nowhere after 4 minutes. With this causing him to lose 2.8 seconds, the run got a little more exciting in the end with the Awesomatix duo of Mächler and Lauter not being far behind! With Duchet still turning the fastest lap of the race (18.9) he was able to recover from his trouble and still winning Q3. After the run, the Xray ProStock overall TQ told us:
Everything worked out perfectly for the first 4 minutes. But suddenly, out of nowhere, I lost my car in the infield section, and I was really surprised by that. Maybe the wind collected it and forced it to spin out. In the end I just tried to recover from that and luckily my gap was enough to bring home the win to seal the overall TQ for me and my team. -Alexandre Duchet-
With Mächler and Lauter taking P2 and 3 for the round, it once again was Louis Kretschmer with a strong performance taking 4th place ahead of Jan Ratheisky in 5th.
In Q3 of the Hobbywing FWD class, Steven Olsen was able to win this close heat of qualifying. With the Top 4 only separated by 0.4 seconds, Kevin Sparbier (2), Stefan Schulz (3) Jaques Libar (4) and Henrik Heitsch (5) completed the Top 5 in RD3 of FWD qualifying here at Arena33 in Andernach.
The decision will come down to Q4, where it all is between Olsen, Heitsch and Schulz for the overall TQ. Kevin Sparbier also can make it, with a P2 on his side coming out of Q3. Steven Olsen is in the best position so far, having the fastest of the three TQ runs on his scorecard. We talked to Steven after his TQ run:
Today my car was better than in yesterday`s Q2. I changed the front and rear tires yesterday, and that didn`t work out very well with my car feeling off balance. This morning I mounted them as in all runs before and it was fine again. With my run being the fastest so far, I hope to be able to fight for the overall TQ with Henrik, Stefan, and Kevin in Q4. It will be a thriller for sure! -Steven Olsen-
After the third round of qualifying Thomas Bemmerl secured the pole position for the triple A-Mains in the 17.5 Stock class. Thomas layed down three blistering runs here at Arena33 to seal the overall TQ before the last round of qualifying today. We talked with Thomas, who was on pole here last year as well:
I am totally happy with my current performance, and it is great to finally race again at the ETS. For the finals I expect maximum pressure from the guys behind me because they are all very fast. The track felt a little different this morning compared to yesterday`s Q2 run and because of that I will do some small changes on my car for the next round to test some things for the finals. -Thomas Bemmerl-
The Top 5 of Q3 in the 17.5 Stock class are Thomas Bemmerl (1), Dominik Reile (2), Daniel Pöhlmann (3), Alexander Müller (4) and Maximilian Unterschütz (5).
The very talented Maximilian Unterschütz is sitting on P4 now. After his A-Main appearance here at last year’s ETS he looks even stronger now, making pressure onto the routiniers of the 17.5 class. Our reporter talked to Maximilian after Q3:
My race is going very good so far. Last year I made the A-Main with taking the Bump Up from the B- Main. This time I am happy to qualify directly into the big show. My goal is to defend my current fourth position. My dad, who is my mechanic, will prepare my car now and I am sure we can improve some things to be even faster in the Mains. -Maximiliam Unterschütz-
After Karsten Bartsch won both rounds of qualifying on Friday, it was his main contender Ulrich Dinger who finished on top of the board in this morning`s Q3 of the Infinity 40+ Masters class. With Bartsch having a bad third lap, it was Ulrich who controlled the run until the end, building up a gap of 1.8 seconds to Werner Schmitzer (2), Mirco Thalheimer (3), Manuel Stankowitz (4) and Thomas Oehler (5). With Ulrich Dinger posting the fastest lap of the race, he can be confident for Q4 as he still has the chance to steal the TQ away from Karsten Bartsch. The best runs of both drivers are very close with Karsten still having the advantage of the fastest TQ run on his side. Q4 will show who will line up first for the triple A-Mains in the Masters class.
After being a little bit off pace in the practice sessions, Jan Ratheisky finally got in the groove with his Xray F1 car here at Arena33. He was able to secure the overall TQ with another win in round 3 in front of David Ehrbar. Behind them, Rene Kölbel scored another P3 seeing him in the best possible position if something will happen in the front between Jan and David. As finals in the F1 class are always open for surprises, we are looking forward to the fight in the triple A-Mains of our Scorpion Formula division.
The second round of qualifying saw the same two drivers battling it out for the win – Ronald Völker (Mugen) and Antoine Brunet (Xray). Ronald had a tough start into the race with his car sliding in the third corner. He was able to save it and back up the bad first lap with the fastest lap of the run (17.73). Asked about his feelings after his second TQ run he said:
I am happy with the outcome of Q2 as I almost lost my car in the first lap. Maybe the tires and the track have been too cold at the start of the run. But after that my MTC2 felt even better, and I was able to slightly increase the gap to Antoine. For tomorrow we will monitor the weather in case of a different tire preparation when the sun comes out. – Ronald Völker –
After taking a surprisingly strong P2 in the opening round, Antoine Brunet (Xray) took another one in the second round of qualifying here at Arena33. Talking to Antoine Brunet after his second run he told us:
I am still super excited to run with all the top guys here. My car was amazing again, and in the beginning of the run I pushed more than in Q1 where I took it a little easier in the beginning. With two good results in the bag, I will try to push even harder tomorrow. – Antoine Brunet –
Third for the round, a confident Lucas Urbain (Awesomatix) improved his Q1 performance sitting on P5 overnight. The Awesomatix factory driver said:
My run was pretty good, even if I almost destroyed my car when I was riding the curbs on the edge. But anyway, my car feels good now and tomorrow I just will go and send it! – Lucas Urbain –
The overnight Top 5 of the Matrix Modified class: Ronald Völker (1), Antoine Brunet (2), Marc Rheinard (3), Christopher Krapp (4) and Lucas Urbain (5).
In the Xray ProStock class it was once again Alexandre Duchet (Xray) who edged out the rest of the field on track. The Xray driver took the round with a comfortable gap of 2.9 seconds. We talked to him after Q2 and Alexandre said:
I just want to thank Martin Hudy again for the preparation of my car – it was amazing to drive and really fast. The track layout here in Andernach suits my driving style and that is another key fact for our strong result today. I am confident for tomorrow and can`t wait to race it out on the track! – Alexandre Duchet –
Finishing second in Q2, Jan Ratheisky (Xray) is back in the game here at Arena33. After sitting out Q1 to save his new tires, he transformed them into a strong result in the evening qualifier.
After I decided to save my tires and not running in Q1, the feeling on track was a little different in Q2. My car pushed more than I expected and finishing second in this round was the maximum I could do. I am very happy for my teammate Alexandre Duchet, who is just driving amazing here until now! – Jan Ratheisky –
Another tire gambler, Alex Kunkler (Mugen), was able to benefit from the risk he took, with not driving in Q1. He was able to take P3 for the round and was in a good mood while talking to us:
In this run my car was the best it has been since I arrived here at Arena33. I made some small mistakes during the run with not hitting all lines perfectly. That means I am not 100% satisfied with my run, but for tomorrow we plan some minor tweaks on my car. – Alex Kunkler –
The overnight Top 5 of the Xray ProStock class: Alexandre Duchet (1), Frederik Mikkelsen (2), Valentin Hettrich (3), Lukas Ellerbrock (4) and Louis Kretschmer (5).
The FWD class saw Henrik Heitsch taking round 2 of qualifying again, with his hardest contender Stefan Schulz coming short by only 0.4 seconds behind Henrik. Both drivers matched their times lap after lap, and their fastest laps were almost the same as well. Behind the leading duo, Kevin Sparbier, Jaques Libar and Patrick Müller completed the Top 5.
In the second round of 17.5 Stock qualifying, top seed Dominik Reile was able to improve his Q1 performance with a third place overall. In the front it was a two-horse race between Rd1 TQ Thomas Bemmerl and Daniel Pöhlmann with the better end for Bemmerl again. He won the heat three tenths of a second in front of Daniel, which takes him really close to the overall TQ here in Andernach. Alexander Müller and Joachim Altenhof completed the Top 5 in qualifying RD2 at Arena33.
Karsten Bartsch carried his momentum from Q1 into the next round of qualifying here at ETS RD1 in Andernach. Karsten was in a super close fight with Ulrich Dinger, and in the end, he finished ahead of Ulrich with the small margin of 0.2 seconds. Ulrich tried everything to win the run, but now he must win tomorrow`s heats to keep a chance for the overall TQ in the Infinity 40+ Masters division. Caspar Morgen recovered his bad Q1 with a strong run to P3 for the round. Behind him, Werner Schmitzer and Thomas Oehler made it into the Top 5 of Q2.
The Scorpion Formula class saw no changes on the leader board, as the top 6 finished exactly in the same order as they did in Q1. Jan had a super clean and consistent run, which allowed him to open a gap of 2.4 seconds to David Ehrbar in second position. Still in the Top 5 are Renè Kölbel, Herbert Weber and Chris Grenz. With Jan now having two TQ runs in the bag, David only can deny him the overall pole position with winning Q3 and Q4 on Saturday.
Ronald Völker (Mugen) is the TQ in the Matrix Modified class after the first round of qualifying here at Arena33 in Andernach. He constantly was able to stretch his lead during the run to win it some 3.1 seconds ahead of Antoine Brunet (Xray). Asked about his run, last year’s race winner said:
My car felt the same as in the Controlled Practice and had a very good overall balance. I expected the track to have a little less grip, but the pace was right there. I am happy that I could carry over the gap from controlled practice into Q1. – Ronald Völker –
Very fast in all rounds of practice, Antoine Brunet (Xray) was very pleased with the start into his first international outing with Xray. A very satisfied Antoine told us after Q1:
My car is just amazing, it is very easy to drive and that gives me a lot of confidence. At the beginning I was a little nervous in the heat as this is my first big event in my new Team, but in the end the result of Q1 is just fantastic. I am excited what Q2 will bring for me! – Antoine Brunet –
Third in the ranking list after Q1, Marc Rheinard (Awesomatix) was not happy with his overall situation on track. When looking on the fastest lap times, Marc is absolutely on pace. But he lost some time in the opening laps and in the middle of the race.
Directly after the run, I don`t know where I lost the time. At the beginning I missed a little overall traction, and I must think about some small changes for Q2. At least, P3 is not a bad start but I want to close the gap to the front in the next one! – Marc Rheinard –
In the Xray ProStock class Alexandre Duchet (Xray) won the first round of qualifying in front of Max Mächler (Awesomatix) with a comfortable gap of 0.9 seconds. Asked about his TQ run Alexandre said:
My run was almost perfect, as my setup was totally on point. I just had to focus on my driving. – Alexandre Duchet –
With Martin Hudy on side as his mechanic, they are not planning any major changes on the car of Duchet. They only will focus on some standard maintenance work before the next run.
In the opening laps of Q1, it looked like Max Mächler would be able to match the laptimes of Duchet permanently, but after the first 2 minutes Max lost some bite in the corners. Max said:
Basically, the car was very good, but the pace dropped from the middle of the run until the end and I was not able to follow Duchet. I talked to Oleg (Awesomatix Designer) in Russia right now, and we discussed some small changes. Let`s see if we can transform his input into a better pace for Q2. – Max Mächler –
Simon Lauter (Awesomatix) finished third for the round. He was happy with his car, but he criticized his own driving which he was not happy with:
My first lap was very critical as the tire temperature was not perfect after my car was standing on the line too long before the start. I will not change anything on my A800MMX, my goal is to simply drive it better in Q2. – Simon Lauter –
Behind Alexandre, Max and Simon the Top 5 got rounded up by a fast Louis Kretschmer (Awesomatix) and Lukas Ellerbrock (Xray).
Stefan Schulz is the RD1 TQ in the Hobbywing Frontwheel class. He had a close fight with Henrik Heitsch over the complete runtime, both separated by only 0.4 seconds. With Heitsch turning the fastest lap of the heat, the consistency of Stefan was a little better in the end. A group of three drivers, lead by Kevin Sparbier from Steven Olsen and Jacques Libar followed them with a gap of 2.5 seconds. Sebastian Meibörg, Sören Sparbier, Simon Stegmeier, Ulrich Dinger and top seed Patrick Müller, who had to stop his car after 8 laps, completed the Top 10.
Round 1 of qualifying saw a dominant TQ run from Thomas Bemmerl. He was in front of his contenders by 2 seconds and collected maximum points for the round. Behind Thomas, it was a two – horse race between Maximilian Unterschütz and current champion Daniel Pöhlmann, with Daniel finishing second and Maximilian third. Another 2 seconds back, top seed Dominik Reile and David Kuschnarew completed the Top 5. Joachim Altenhof, Patrick Miekautsch, Alexander Müller, Felix Schneider and Dominik Ruf rounding up the Top 10 of Q1 in the 17.5 Stock class.
Infinity 40+ Masters Bartsch fastest in the Masters class
Karsten Bartsch, Ulrich Dinger and Werner Schmitzer are on top of the Infinity 40+ Masters class after Q1. While Karsten leading the field by one second, he also turned the fastest lap with 20,7 seconds. Top seed Caspar Morgen suffered from technical problems and added a DNF to his scoring sheet. Søren Boy Holst and Manuel Stankowitz completed the Top 5 in Q1 of our 40+ Masters division
It was Jan Ratheisky who won RD1 of Formula qualifying here at Arena33. After 5 minutes he was 0.5 seconds ahead of David Ehrbar. For sure, David will try to fight back in Q2 to keep the pressure on Jan as high as possible. Behind them, it was Renè Kölbel, Werner Schmitzer and Chris Grenz who made it into the Top5.
The controlled practice here at Arena33 was the first serious racing situation of the weekend, as all teams and drivers had to show their real performance on track. During the controlled practice (also called seeding practice), everybody gets ranked by his 3 fastest consecutive laps. The ranking list after the 2 rounds of controlled practice is very important for the grouping for the qualifying heats.
It can be a big advantage to be in a higher rated (faster) group when you lay down some good clean runs – on the other side it can also create some more pressure on every driver to run with the top dogs. The controlled practice here at Arena33 saw drivers lining up very closely and we can look forward to some thrilling rounds of qualifying.
Matrix Modified
Ronald Völker (Mugen) continued with a very strong performance here at Arena33 in seeding practice. With his three consecutive laps being 02. Seconds faster then the rest of the pack, he is in a very good position for qualification. Behind him, Antoine Brunet (Xray) showed that he can be a real contender this weekend with his second position. Robert Pietsch, Michal Orlowski and Marc Rheinard completed the Top 5.
In the ProStock class, Max Mächler (Awesomatix) is the top seed after the two rounds of timed practice. Max was able to pace out Alexandre Duchet (Xray) in the last run, being 0.13 seconds faster over his three consecutive laps at Arena33. Enrico Jung (Yokomo), Lukas Ellerbrock (Xray) and Lars Hoppe (ARC) rounded up the Top 5 before we head into qualifying.
Steven Olsen, the fastest driver in free practice, is now in third spot as Patrick Müller and Henrik Heitsch placed their cars in front of him in the first round of controlled practice. Sebastian Meibörg is new in the mix, sitting in fifth position after spending the whole Thursday (11 hours) in a huge traffic jam on the highway.
In the 17.5 Stock class Dominik Reile was able to keep up his pace from free practice. He is the top seed of the class, followed by a much-improved Maximilian Unterschütz in second place. Another big improvement came from Klaus Waldmann from P11 to P5. There will be a close fight in the upcoming qualifying heats as a lot of quick guys want to make the A-Main
Caspar Morgen still is in front after seeding practice. Will he be the first guy to take TQ or a race win in the 40+ Masters division, not being Alexander Stocker? The guys behind Caspar will try everything to catch him in qualifying and as the Top 10 are only separated by 0.80 seconds, it will be a thriller for sure.
Finally, Jan Ratheisky found something on his car, edging out his rival David Ehrbar by 0.012 seconds. The fight between them is very promising once again and the field behind will fight for the A-Main spots in the Scorpion Formula class in all 4 rounds of qualifying.
