Preview Report ETS RD2 Aigen-Schlägl, AUT
After a stunning season opener in Apeldoorn (Netherlands), the best in the business will show up once again at the breathtaking facility of the MAV Aigen-Schlägl in Austria. It is the fourth ETS race at this amazing place and the entries have ever grown since our Aigen debut in 2022. This time, we are happy to welcome more than 300 racers which we all call “a family”!
As always, the MAV Aigen-Schlägl has prepared everything on the highest level for our ETS family and we are more than thankful for that. Before the action starts on Thursday, we take a closer look on the list of entries and the things to expect from the weekend. As it is only round 2 of the current season, we will not focus on championship standings so far. Enjoy the read!
All eyes on Orlowski – can he extend his flawless winning streak? Coelho on the line with officially released Inf1nity Spec1ale…
One thing is clear – the second round of the season will be another great showdown in the Cayote Modified class as almost all the top guys will be there again. The Modified class will also be the strongest class in terms on entries (72) which is something we have not seen in a while. Aginst all odds: Modified is not dead!
The first race of the ETS #18 campaign was all in the hands of reigning champion Michal Orlowski and his Schumacher Mi9 once the dust had settled at AMCA Apeldoorn. However, it was a lot of hard work for the Polish star driver as Marc Rheinard, Lucas Urbain, Ronald Völker, and Bruno Coelho all had a fantastic pace as well and could challenge Orlowski especially in qualifying. But somehow, Orlowski managed to TQ all four rounds to claim the pole position.
The first A-Main was full of tragedy and spectacular moments but even when Marc Rheinard won it from fifth on the grid (!!!), Orlowski found his way back to the top to win A2 and A3 making him celebrate his ELEVENTH victory in a row at the Euro Touring Series. A record which we can not mention often enough!
Orlowski will arrive in Aigen with his “homework” done and strengthened by his win at the Euros warmup race in Utrecht last weekend. Beside Orlowski, his team including Mattia Collina and Andy Murray will travel to Aigen to continue working together as the most winning team in the last three years!
The “Spec1ale” is here as Inf1nity presents new touring car
Well, Inf1nity has now officially released their new IF-14 Spec1ale car and Bruno Coelho could secure a solid second place behind Orlowski at the Euros warm-up race in Utreche (NLD). We are already excited to see how the Inf1nity team will develop in the future now that the car is officially available to the market. Can they attack Orlowski on top of the field and maybe beat him? With Coelho, Matsukura, Groskamp, Wlick, and Menicucci, the lineup of drivers is very strong.
Awesomatix looking for first Modified win since November 2023
What sounds a long time ago happened in November 2023 when Lucas Urbain took the win at the carpet ETS in Hann. Münden. With this being the last Modified win for Awesomatix (and any other brand) the team is really hungry to jump onto the top step of the podium again. Marc Rheinard was close a couple of times, but it was never enough to beat Schumacher`s Orlowski since Rheinard won his last ETS also in the year 2023 – in Aigen!.
The Awesomatix team will hit the track for ETS RD2 in full force with Urbain, Rheinard, Lauter, Dankel, and Manzo to fight for the best possible results. Can Aigen become the re-birth of Awesomatix when it comes to winning ETS Modified races?
Mugen’s Völker wants to return to the winner’s podium
Another team aiming for a long awaited ETS race win is the Mugen Seiki crew around Robert Pietsch. Their top driver Ronald Völker won his last ETS race in November 2022 (Hann. Münden), a long time before their current MTC-3 arrived. With Völker not being used to such a long time without winning at the ETS, the team is working super hard to maximize their performance on track. The new MTC-3 looked sharp in Apeldoorn and Utrecht (3rd place ast Euros warm up race), where Völker was super-fast in some of the sessions.
Maybe the team just needs some more time to learn everything about their new platform. Völker was second behind Orlowski a few times during the last two years – can he beat the dominating Schumacher driver in Aigen? The Mugen Seiki drivers and ETS A-Main finalists Patrick Gollner, Remi Callens and Berkan Kilic will also attend the Aigen event to further help the team getting up to speed quickly!
Hagberg, Ronnefalk, Ratheisky, and Havranek – Xray sends massive quality to Aigen
After scoring good results in Aigen – sixth place for Hagberg – the Xray team wants more for sure. During ETS RD1, David Ronnefalk and Alex Hagberg showed a great performance, and only bad luck could deny a better starting position for Ronnefalk in the finals. Alex Hagberg raced in Singapore last weekend and finished second at the ESIC race behind Axon`s Akio Sobue.
The team will be in full force with their top drivers Hagberg, Ronnefalk, Ratheisky, Domanin, and Havranek. Especially David Ronnefalk will be one to watch as the Swedish star will race with a huge motivation boost after winning the 1:8 Nitro Buggy Euros two weeks ago
Smaller teams – high quality… Who can crash the party of the top teams?
This headline comes alive when we look onto the teams like RC Maker, Yokomo, Axon, and Serpent. French ace Antoine Brunet and Yannic Prümper will fly the flag from “down under” rocking their RC Maker cars while Yokomo will have their lead driver Christopher Krapp in charge together with Olav Dahle. Serpent will once more trust the skills of former 1:10 nitro IFMAR world champion Dominic Greiner, and Akio Sobue will give Axon`s new TC10/4 it`s ETS debut.
As bigger teams normally should have the ability to gain useful data quicker during practice, smaller teams sometimes have the advantage of not running into a setup jungle that quick due to the reduced amount of care they have. Let`s see what the teams can do against the bigger crews at ETS RD2 in Aigen-Schlägl.
CAYOTE MODIFIED FACTS FOR AIGEN
Entries: 72 (biggest class)
Podium ETS RD1 Apeldoorn: 1. Michal Orlowski, 2. Marc Rheinard, 3. Simon Lauter
Season #17 Podium in Aigen: 1. Michal Orlowski, 2. Bruno Coelho, 3. Simon Lauter
Season #17 best qualifying time in Aigen: Michal Orlowski in Q3 20 5:02,543
Can Bultynck do the double in Aigen, or will Izsay and Sparbier crash the Awesomatix party in Aigen?`
In the Awesomatix Pro Stock class we will see the return of Mugen Seiki`s Sören Sparbier to the championship campaign. Last season`s overall runner up, who won the last two races of Season #17, had to skip the season opener in Apeldoorn due to his girlfriend`s 18th birthday (and that`s a reason). Sören finished fourth at the Euros warmup race in Utrecht and will try his very best to continue where he stopped on carpet – with winning ETS races.
However, as the Awesomatix team saw a super-dominant Olivier Bultynck celebrating a flawless win in Apeldoorn, nobody in the team will think about Sparbier` s return. Lukas Ellerbrock and Max Mächler (winner of the Euros warmup race) will compete as well in Aigen and the Awesomatix top trio will try everything they can to give another win to their successful A800RR platform. In Aigen, they will be joined by Louis Kretschmer, Kevin Schmid, and many other fast Awesomatix racers.
Enrico Jung scored his best ETS result in Apeldoorn when he finished second behind Bultynck. Jung was on fire all weekend long with his ARC and Aigen will show if his great performance was just a one hit wonder or if we can expect him in the top 5 frequently now. His teammate and friend Helge Johannessen from Norway was also in the A-Main at ETS RD1 showing the great potential of the current ARC car.
The two top Pro Stock drivers Adam Izsay and Jan Ratheisky will lead the Xray team once more and they will get massive help from Xray car designer Martin Hudy who will race himself too. Xray was once the strongest force in the Pro Stock class and as we all know the work ethics of Martin Hudy and the team, they will try their very best to win big again at the ETS.
AWESOMATIX PRO STOCK FACTS FOR AIGEN
Entries: 69
Podium ETS RD1 Apeldoorn: 1. Olivier Bultynck, 2. Enrico Jung, 3. Adam Izsay
Season #17 Podium in Aigen: 1. Olivier Bultynck, 2. Adam Izsay, 3. Lukas Ellerbrock
Season #17 best qualifying time in Aigen: Adam Izsay in Q3 17 5:11,557
Winner wanted as van Gog skips Aigen race weekend
The FlySky Frontwheel class is looking for a second race winner of the season as Robin van Gog, the winner of the season opener in Apeldoorn, will not be racing in Aigen. The Dutch Schumacher driver had a fantastic weekend in Apeldoorn where he was kind of “untouchable” in the finals to claim his first ETS victory.
Who is the top favourite for the win now? Well, that is hard (and almost impossible) to say. We see many names on the entry list with a potential to win. Roman Borschel is one of these guys. The Awesomatix privateer was the hardest contender of van Gog in the Netherlands, and he will push hard to win the second ETS race in hie career. Phil Langner is another name on the list. The youngster was in the top 5 many times and it seems he is getting better and better now.
The Xray racers Jacques Libar and Max Weffers have the potential to win, same as ETS veteran and former European champion Daniel Pöhlmann (Awesomatix) and last year`s Aigen race winner Frederik Hovgaard (Yokomo). ARC racer Torsten Baggendorf is well prepared, the same as his buddy Manuel Stankowitz (Iris), and Pawel Staszewski (Awesomatix). But as mentioned before, we can talk about many many names here – the weekend in Aigen will lighten the candle for us in the hard fought FlySky Frontwheel class!
FLYSKY FRONTWHEEL FACTS FOR AIGEN
Entries: 60
Podium ETS RD1 Apeldoorn: 1. Robin van Gog, 2. Roman Borschel, 3. Max Weffers
Season #17 Podium in Aigen: 1. Frederik Hovgaard, 2. Gergö Valent, 3. Daniel Pöhlmann
Season #17 best qualifying time in Aigen: Gergö Valent in Q4 14 5:00,106
Who will knock Ehrbar off his 40+ Masters throne?
The story in the 1up racing 40+ Masters class is told qickly. There is one gus everybody wants to beat – Xray racer David Ehrbar. The last driver being able to win against Ehrbar was US racer Eric Anderson. He was able to beat Ehrbar at the first race of the last season in Apeldoorn. But since then, we have always seen “mighty” David Ehrbar on top of the podium with FIVE wins in a row.
In Aigen we will see 50 Masters class racers chasing Ehrbar and as racing is always intense in our 40+ class, we are already super excited for the outcome of the weekend. Who will be Ehrbar`s harest challenger? Will it be Toni Mateo (Awesomatix), Torsten Baggendorf (ARC), Manuel Stankowitz (Iris), former 40+ dominator Alexander Stocker (Xray), Mister BoomRC Michel Zierold (Awesomatix), Mirco Thalheimer (Xray), Ronald Arts (Awesomatix), OR anybody we have not in our minds right now?
The flowing track layout is great for racing and has some good sections for attacks and passings – a perfect scenario for the 1up Racing 40+ Masters drivers!
1UP RACING 40+ MASTERS FACTS FOR AIGEN
Entries: 60
Podium ETS RD1 Apeldoorn: 1. David Ehrbar, 2. Ronald Arts, 3. Alexander Stocker
Season #17 Podium in Aigen: 1. David Ehrbar, 2. Renè Kölbel, 3. Michel Zierold
Season #17 best qualifying time in Aigen: David Ehrbar in Q4 15 5:00,265
Strongest 21.5 turnout in Aigen – Zühlke is the hunted racer after flawlass Apeldoorn win
Nadine Zühlke finally managed to win her first ETS race a few weeks ago in Apeldoorn. What was a great result has now putted her on the driver`s seat of the championship bus. She will be the lady to beat at RD2 in Aigen where she will race with her very well working Xray car again.
We count 38 entries in 21.5 Stock which is the highest number of racers we ever had in Aigen-Schlägl. A great achievement and a clear showing that the new Hobbywing combo has made everything even better.
The field of drivers is very strong and we see many familiar names like Timo Siebert, David Reip, Kristian Jensen, Elena Fuchs, Tobias Baumbach, Apeldoorn TQ Levi Berkenbosch, and Tobias Baumabach just to name a view.
A racer making his ETS comeback after “only” racing the very first ETS race in Kastellaun (Germany) 18 years ago is Christoph Kappes. The ToniSport employee was quick at Arena33 in Andernach recently and (the race reporter) is excited to see him drive in Aigen at his “ETS comeback” after 18 years.
HOBBYWING 21.5 FACTS FOR AIGEN
Entries: 38
Podium ETS RD1 Apeldoorn: 1. Jaroslav Kriz Jun., 2. Nico Eglseer, 3. Jan Gehrig
Season #17 Podium in Aigen: 1. Nadine Zühlke, 2. Cedric Gridelet, 3. Kristian Jensen
Season #17 best qualifying time in Aigen: Jan Gehrig in Q4 15 5:02,131
Formula drivers going for a ride on high speed track in Aigen
Our Matrix Formula class is always spectacular to watch in Aigen as the track suits the cars very well with the banked corners, uphill straightway, and the nice curbing. David Ehrbar won the last race in Apeldoorn and is the top favourite for the weekend.
However, Ehrbar will face a strong field of drivers including former ETS champion Andreas Stiebler (Schumacher), and many of his Xray teammates like Thomas Stenger, Martin Hudy, Luka Jovicic, Michal Wojcik, and Jacques Libar. Jitse Miedema wil fly the flag for the Fenix chassis. Ehrbar is the man to beat!
MATRIX FORMULA FACTS FOR AIGEN
Entries: 23
Podium ETS RD1 Apeldoorn: 1. David Ehrbar, 2. Martin Hudy, 3. Jitse Miedema
Season #17 Podium in Aigen: 1. Andreas Stiebler, 2. David Ehrbar, 3. Michal Wojcik
Season #17 best qualifying time in Aigen: David Ehrbar in Q4 17 5:12,785
Constructors Championship Cayote Euro Touring Series
Last but not least, the current standings of the Season #18 Constructors Championship in the Cayote Euro Touring Series
