RD4 at Chuck`s Raceway in Neumünster

From the 09. – 12. Dezember 2021, the fourth round of ETS Season #14 2021/22 took place in Neumünster/GER at Chuck`s Raceway. The carpet track was built up in a former indoor soccer hall and the ETS had enough space to host another event with great races and the typical ETS atmosphere. We saw amazing RC car racing once again and we are sure that you all liked to race on the track of Chuck`s Raceway. If you have not been there in person, we hope that you liked our event coverage on the eurorcseries.com website, as well as the live streams and heat videos on our YouTube channel.

Let go back to Neumümster to review the race results and some other things we noticed during the fourth round of the actual ETS campaign.

Complicated parameters ahead of ETS RD4

A huge thanks to all participants for their great discipline and responsibility

Hosting an event with more than 200 RC Car racers was never a problem in the past. The ETS had more than 400 registrations from time to time before the Covid-19 pandemic started to overrun the whole world. But after we are in this worldwide dilemma now for almost 2 years, the challenges for the ETS to host our beloved racing events became tremendous. Some weeks before the race in Neumünster, the number of Covid-19 infections went up dramatically fast in Germany. Until some days before the event, nobody could be 100% sure that it would finally happen!
When we got “green lights” from the local authorities, we decided to run the event under the 2G+ rules which meant that everybody in the hall had to be vaccinated or recovered from the virus. The 2G+ rule also required a daily test to guarantee the best possible safety and health for everybody. All drivers and mechanics acted very respectful, and everything went smooth. As the local authorities came in to check the situation, they were totally satisfied with the way the event was organized!
The whole ETS crew and the team from Chuck`s raceway would like to shout out a massive THANK YOU to everybody for showing responsible for yourself and others!

Chuck`s Raceway – RC Car Racing in northern Germany

A track layout that many racers will remember for a long time

The track in Neumünster was simply superb, and most of the drivers complimented the technical layout and the challenge they had to take when driving on it. The team of Chuck`s raceway around track designer Tim Benson did an amazing job and we had one of the best carpet tracks in the history of the ETS with zero bumps, nice curbs, well mounted barriers, and a huge rostrum. The only thing which could have been better was the lighting (which was not very bright) and the temperature in the hall but in the end, everybody was happy to race indoors at the ETS again!

Media coverage of ETS RD4

ETS media team with two different live streams in Neumüster

In cooperation with PullstartTV, the ETS brought their streaming camera system to Neumünster. Oliver Storm installed and activated it on Friday as soon as the controlled practice had started. This ensured a nice live streaming during the entire weekend and a lot of people watched the races from home. Additionally, ETS media team member and camera man Hanno van den Boogaard installed another static camera, and the viewers had the choice between the active PullstartTV system and a classic single camera live stream.
Phil Richter was announcing the race again, Hartmut Wenzel was the responsible time keeper and referee Franz Heinsbroek was on the line to watch drivers racing each other in the finals. Uwe Rheinard once again managed everything else during the days and worked together with Jutta Treder who was in control of race tires and electronics.
Photographer Tom Wald was also in charge with the media team and accepted the challenge of the bad lighting at Chuck`s Raceway to shoot a lot of pictures of drivers and cars.
Reporter Patrick Beck did his job with writing all the reports and doing small interviews with drivers after their races. Sadly, he got stopped Saturday night as he had to visit an emergency dentist who hat to remove him a very inflamed wisdom tooth. This was the reason for the A2 and A3 report being online with a little delay on Sunday as Patrick wrote those reports after arriving at home.
We hope that you guys are still liking our media teams work – if you have any kind of critique just let us know at any time!

Matrix Modified – the strongest Onroad racing class in the world!

Epic battle between Rheinard and Coelho while Manzo shines like a diamond

The Matrix Modified class is the premiere category at the ETS. And for everybody who is not sure about this – watch our videos from the triple A-Mains and you will know it from then. We saw amazing racing with a sensational A1 winner Michele Manzo and an epic drive from Coelho and Rheinard in A2 where they raced nose to tail for the entire 5 minutes. Modified racing is not easy and a lot of people don`t have the courage to try to race in this class but it is the only class where you can compete against the best touring car drivers on the planet. And even if you only watch these top guys from the sideline it is always magic and a great feeling when everybody is so impressed after these races.

Team and driver`s top performances

As we have already 4 ETS races in the books, we are looking forward to RD5 in Daun and the season final at RD6 in the Hudy Arena. These races are scheduled for February and March 2022 and we really hope that we can welcome you there. But what can we expect from the teams and their drivers for the final races on carpet? After one carpet race is done, we take a closer look on their performances now!

Awesomatix still on a high in all classes

Marc Rheinard showed his class with world class driving

Awesomatix top modified driver Marc Rheinard finished third behind race winner Bruno Coelho and Michele Manzo, but he showed one of his best performances at the ETS since a long time. It looked like he had the fastest car all weekend long, he just missed the TQ in qualifying. His second starting position meant that he had to overtake Bruno Coelho and – which we all saw is not an easy task. But with the great pace Rheinard showed in Neumünster, we can expect him to be in the fight for the win at RD5 in Daun for sure. Rheinard already announced on his social media, that he will be back in “full attack mode” in 2022.

Michele Manzo – the pride of Switzerland

Michele Manzo had the race of his life and booked his best ETS result with second overall. He described his A1 win as “very emotional” and he drove flawless all weekend long. Manzo made the A-Main 5 times in a row now after he joined Awesomatix at the end of 2019 and it looks like he is on a real high now! His teammate Tim Wahl qualified and finished fifth overall and made the A-Main again for the first time since RD1 at Arena33. Awesomatix latest signing, former 1:8 Nitro Buggy World Champion David Ronnefalk, finished 7^th and Karri Salmela 9^th (both made their first ETS A-Main). Awesomatix was the brand with the most cars in the Modified A-Main with a total of 5 A800MMX cars.

Simon Lauter continues winning in the Xray ProStock class

In the Xray ProStock class, the brand is still one of the strongest while they had 4 cars in the A-Main with Simon Lauter taking the overall win after starting from pole position. After this important win, Simon Lauter is totally in the game for the overall championship where he is fighting against Xray`s Alexandre Duchet. When Lauter will be able to carry his current form over into 2022 he can be very optimistic to claim the overall championship title for a second time after 2019. 

Awesomatix wins the Orca 17.5 Stock and ToniSport 40+ Masters class

Thomas Bemmerl and Daniel Pöhlmann had a dominant weekend in the Orca 17.5 Stock class, Toni Mateo won the ToniSport 40+ Masters class and Marvin Fritschler and Jonas Völker stepped onto the podium of the Hobbywing Frontwheel class in second and third position.
We can call ETS RD4 a huge success for the Russian manufacturer Awesomatix around team manager Max Mächler.

Xray taking the win in three classes

Bruno Coelho with a masterpiece of defensive driving in A2 & A3

With Bruno Coelho`s impressive drive ahead of a hard pushing Marc Rheinard, Xray took a second consecutive ETS win in the Matrix Modified class. Bruno had a lot of work to hold off Rheinard in the triple A-Mains and he did a brilliant job. His car looked strong in practice and qualifying, where he earned himself the TQ spot. But in the finals, Rheinard had the better pace in A1 and A2 and after only finishing 6<sup>th</sup> in A1 after a racing incident, Coelho had to deal with tremendous pressure in A2, but he finally brought home the win.
In A3, after a small setup change on his X4, Bruno`s car looked much better and faster again and he was able to win ETS RD4 for his Xray team. Bruno Coelho is now in a good position of the championship as he still hast the chance to win the overall title. He and Ronald Völker (Mugen Seiki) both have 2 wins, including 2 TQ`s, on their score card and we cannot ask for more when we look forward to the last 2 races of the 14^th ETS season.

Alexander Hagberg makes the main after tough qualifying as Brunet does the bump up

Coelho`s Xray teammate Alexander Hagberg had a tough qualifying and it looked like he could miss the A-main. His car looked good, but his times were relatively slow compared to his normal pace and maybe his set of tires was not as good as it should be.
But finally, Alex had a solid Q3 and Q4 and made the A-Main to start 9^th and finish 6^th overall in the end. Marco Kaufmann and Antoine Brunet qualified for the A-Main as well (Brunet did the bump up from the B-Main) and they finished 10^th and 11^th overall making it 4 Xray cars in the Matrix Modified A-Main.

Alexandre Duchet still a candidate for overall title

After his second overall finish at ETD RD4 in Neumünster, Alexandre Duchet is still in the hunt for the overall ETS title in the Xray ProStock class. Duchet won the first two races of the season and booked a disappointing 5^th place in Apeldoorn.
With his result from the last weekend, he is still in a good situation, and he will fight with Awesomatix driver Simon Lauter for the title in Daun and in the Hudy Arena in Trencin. Jan Ratheisky finished 4^th overall and Lukas Ellerbrock 11^th.

Xray wins Hobbywing Frontwheel class and scores podiums in 40+ Masters and 17.5 Stock

In the Hobbywing Frontweel class, Stefan Schulz showed that he is still the man to beat after winning the race from pole position. It seems like he is the driver who can get the most out of his package now and with 3 race wins (compared to one win for Steven Olsen) he is close to the overall title in this important class at the ETS.  
In the ToniSport 40+ Masters class, Caspar Morgen was the fastest driver during practice and lined up third on the grid. After some thrilling finals he finished third overall and is still leading the overall championship.
In the Orca 17.5 Stock class it was Jan Gehrig who finished 2nd overall after a great fight with the Awesomatix drivers Thomas Bemmerl and Daniel Pöhlmann.

Mugen Seiki with three cars in ProStock A-Main

Ronald Völker finished 4^th in the Matrix Modified class after a tough weekend

Mugen Seiki`s lead driver Ronald Völker lacked a bit of pace during qualifying and started from 4<sup>th</sup> position into the finals. Not a bad starting position, but for Völker`s ambitions it was not a perfect weekend in Neumünster. His car just didn`t turn as sharp as the cars of his main competitors, and his average lap times have been just a little bit slower compared to Coelho, Rheinard and Manzo. Maybe he had the same problem as Hagberg, with a set of tires that was not as good as other sets. We will never know, but as we know about Völker`s regular pace on carpet it was kind of a surprise that he had no real shot for the overall win at Chuck`s Raceway. Together with Robert Pietsch he tried a lot of things on the car, but they were not able to get into the fight for the win during the weekend. For sure, Ronald will test a lot before the next race in Daun (which he won in 2020) to be even stronger at ETS RD5. As the fight for the overall title in the Matrix Modified class is now between him and Coelho, we can expect maximum tension when we head to the next ETS race in February 2022.

Berkan Kilic impresses in ProStock class at first ever ETS

In the Xray ProStock class, Mugen Seiki had the highest number of cars in the ProStock A-Main since the Japanese company started to compete in the electric 1:10 scale touring car class in 2017. Three Mugen Seiki MTC2 drivers qualified for the biggest show in stock touring car racing at the ETS. Berkan Kilic, normally known for his excellent 1:8 scale Offroad driving skills, showed that he also can go fast with a touring car and qualified 7^th on the grid. Jonas Völker (Mr. StickonRC) qualified 9^th and made his first ever ETS ProStock A-Main with a car that he borrowed from Ronald Völker. Both showed great driving and improved their positions in the finals to P6 (Kilic) and P8 (Völker).
The third driver who qualified 4^th on the grid with the MTC2 was Tim Benson. He started in A1 with the Mugen car but decided to run a car from a different manufacturer for A2 and A3 and left the Mugen Seiki team during the event due to personal reasons!
However, it was a successful weekend for Mugen Seiki in the Xray ProStock class and the team will try to further improve the car for the upcoming events!

Kevin Sparbier wheeled the MTC2 FWD car in Neumünster

The new MTC2 FWD car from Mugen Seiki is available now since a couple of weeks and booked his first A-Main appearance at the ETS in the hands of Kevin Sparbier. He qualified and finished 7th overall in the Hobbywing Frontwheel class. A strong result on the first big race for Mugen Seiki`s new front wheel drive car!

Yokomo with cars in 3 different A-Mains at Chuck`s Raceway

Christopher Krapp – the A-Main guarantor for Yokomo

Christopher Krapp was the fastest Yokomo driver in Neumünster as he was able to qualify 6^th on the grid in the Matrix Modified class. He finished 8^th overall after some tough races in the finals but he once again was responsible to show the performance of the Yokomo BD10LC. His teammate Nicolas Lee from Singapore, who is always a potential top 10 driver, struggled a bit during the weekend and found himself in the B-Main. With Loic Jasmin and Yannic Prümper not racing at ETS RD4 in Neumünster, Yokomo missed both of them to achieve a stronger overall result with more teamwork and more cars collecting datas concerning the perfect setup for this track.

Enrico Jung with second “Bump Up” of the season

In the ProStock class, Yokomo`s Enrico Jung had to work hard for his third A-Main appearance of the season. He was BQ after qualifying and won the first B-Main in a dominant way to bump up into the A-Main for a second time this season. He is Yokomo`s top driver in the ProStock class at the moment and this role seems to give him a lot of confidence. Jung will do his very best to continue like this in his best ETS season so far!

Tim Dübel with great race in the FWD class at ETS debut

With Yokomo driver Tim Dübel, the Japanese RC manufacturer had at least one car in the A-Main of the Hobbywing Frontwheel drive class. Tim is normally racing 1:10 scale Offroad for Yokomo only and had his first onroad experience during ETS RD4 at Chuck`s Raceway. He drove some very good qualifiers which earned him a well-deserved 9^th starting position for the finals. In the end he finished 11^th overall for Yokomo.  

First race on foam tires for Scorpion Formula class

Ratheisky stamps authority on Formula class at ETS RD4

The Scorpion Formula class saw the cars using foam tires for the first time in the history of the ETS. It looked like all drivers had to find a good and drivable setup in the beginning, but in the end, all cars looked good on track and the tires seemed to work good on the black ETS carpet.
Jan Ratheisky conquered a relatively unchallenged win ahead of his competitors. He is driving in the Formula class since many many years now and he probably is the best Formula driver on earth right now (which he showed with winning the World up in 2018). With his biggest rival over the years, David Ehrbar, now racing touring car again it will be interesting to see when there will be somebody to fight with Jan for race wins in this class again!
Behind Rtheisky, René Kölbel booked a strong second place finish making it a 1-2 for Xray on the podium. Sören Sparbier completed the top 3 of the Scorpion Formula class with his Serpent chassis!
Another interesting story came from Jan Ratheisky and Kai Asmer (who is Jan`s father). Kai was able to make the “bump up” from the B-Main and so he raced together with his son in the Formula A-Main. Imagine how cool this is and think about Jos Verstappen racing a F1 race together with Max on track – only RC racing can write stories like this!
The overall attendance in the Formula class was a little low this time. We will find out in the future, if the foam tires can bring back more racers to the F1 class as they normally perform great everywhere.

Other Highlights from ETS RD5 in Neumünster

Our media team is always trying to cover as much stories as possible during an ETS weekend. But as the days are long and a lot of action is going on all the time, our reporter cannot always be where the action happens! But here are some more highlights from ETS RD4:

Rarely cars and their drivers

Søren Boy Holst drove to a strong 5^th place in the ToniSport 40+ Masters class with his Gizmo Genesis Mid 2022 touring car. The car from Gizmo USA is unique and not seen a lot out there at the ETS but he showed that it is possible to go fast with it. He also won ETS RD1 at Arena33 with a Gizmo car this season. You don`t always need the moset frequent car to have success on track!

Dominik Ruf once again made the A-Main in the Orca 17.5 Stock class with his Tamiya TRF 420MM H2RD touring car. Tamiya was a strong force at the ETS some years ago but since the shutdown of their factory team at the end of 2016, the number of Tamiya cars in the pits decreased. Dominik Ruf is a real Tamiya enthusiast and trusts in the products of the biggest RC Car company in the world. He is always pushing his Tamiya car to the limit and is competing in the 17.5 A-Main against the strong forces of Awesomatix and the other brands around him.

Elena Fuchs in Orca 17.5 Stock A-Main again

Young Elena Fuchs worked hard to qualify for her first ETS A-Main, which she finally achieved in Apeldoorn at RD3 where she finished 8^th overall. She now was able to repeat this strong result on carpet as she qualified 9^th to finish 8^th overall. She is always working together with her father Frank Fuchs who is constantly in the A-Main of the ToniSport 40+ Masters class and it is great to see how she improved her skills during the season.

The “Beer Bet”

Jonas Völker used a Mugen Seiki car this weekend in the Xray ProStock class which he borrowed from his friend Ronald Völker. Right before the race, Jonas talked to Mugen team manager Patrick Beck and said: “When I will make the A-Main you have to buy me a lot of beer….!”
Patrick accepted the challenge as he was not 100% sure if Jonas would be able to get it done. But right after Q4 when Jonas booked his spot in the final, Patrick went to the supermarket and bought Jonas a punnet of canned beer. Betting debts are debts of honour!

Season #14 2021/22 to continue in Daun/GER

We hope you liked this small recap of our beautiful weekend in Neumünster from ETS RD4 Season #14 2021/22. Now we will head into a little Christmas break, and we hope to see all of you (and many more) at the beginning of February 2022 when the ETS will stop in the Sporthotel Grafenwald in Daun for RD5.

The whole ETS crew around Uwe and Scotty would like to wish you and your families a peaceful and happy christmas time and a good and healthy start into 2022.

ETS Crew (Uwe, Scotty, Hartmut, Jutta, Malo, Hanno, Oliver, Tom, Phil, Franz, Toni, Oli and Patrick)

See you trackside – on the sound of the tone!