David Kuschnarew was the Top Seed after controlled practice here at ETS RD2 Season #14 2021/22 at Arena33. He is running the actual Yokomo BD10/LCR car in the 17.5 Stock class and he is really happy with the handling of the car in the hot weather conditions. Take a look “Under the Hood” of his Yokomo ride!
David Kuschnarew uses these components in his Yokomo BD10/LCR-2020 touring car:
Body Shell: ZooRacing Wolverine Speedo: ORCA ETS Motor: ORCA ETS 17.5T Battery: Gens Ace 8200mAh Radio: Sanwa M12S Servo: Highest BLP68 Tires: Matrix Handout Sponsors: DK Grafix Specials: The horizontal body posts are an in-house development. The ARS system and the graphite battery holders are from Team Yokomo.
After Marc Rheinard being fastest in the seeding practice, Ronald Völker found his way back to the top of the board in Q1 of the Matrix Modified class here at Arena33. Völker started second into the heat behind top seed Rheinard and in the opening laps of the heat he was able to close up to Marc visible on track to take the lead. With Völkers hot lap (18.145) being slightly faster than Rheinard`s (18.265), his medium time at the end of the run was two tenths faster per lap which secured him the only 17 lap run 3 seconds ahead of Rheinard.
Behind the Mugen Seiki of Völker and the Awesomatix of Rheinard, it was Christopher Krapp who was closest to the leaders with his Yokomo coming short to Rheinard by only a second to takt third overall for the round. The Xray duo of RD1 runner up Antoine Brunet and Oliver Havranek finished fourth and fith with Havranek posting a great run in the second fastest heat. The top 10 in the Matrix Modified class got completed by Yannic Prümper (6), Robert Pietsch (7), Michal Orlowski (8), Marco Kaufmann (9) and Eric Dankel (10).
Alexandre Duchet took the first round of Xray ProStock qualifying here at Arena33. In the opening laps it was Max Mächler leading the field around the track but after some laps the Xray duo of Ratheisky and Duchet came back to take over the lead until the end. Simon Lauter, Tim Benson and Alex Kunkler opened up the tire game with not starting in Q1. Nicolai Lindegaard (4), Olivier Bultynck (5), Lukas Ellerbrock (6), Enrico Jung (7), Pawel Staszewski (8), Fabian Bucher (9) and Christoph Kirchhefer (10) completed the top 10.
In the Hobbywing Frontwheel class it was Stefan Schulz who was able to set the fastest overall runtime in Q1. With a very clean and consistent run he was able to edge out his competitors by 0.4 of a second on track. The race winner from RD1 at Arena33, Steven Olsen from Denmark, finished second with a comfortable gap of 3.7 seconds ahead of the third placed Mischa Kroos from Switzerland. Roman Borschel and Frederik Hovgaard completed the top 5 of Q1 in the Hobbywing Frontwheel class. The top 10 got completed by Henrik Heitsch (6), Torsten Baggendorf (7), Kevin Sparbier (8), Jonas Völker (9) and Jaques Libar (10).
The two times ETS race winner at Arena33, Thomas Bemmerl, took RD1 of qualifying in the Stock 17.5 class on Saturday morning. Bemmerl won the heat in front of Roman Borschel and Maximilian Unterschütz. After Unterschütz had a slower first lap, he was the driver with the fastest lap of the race (20.954) later in the run. Behind them, Top Seed David Kuschnarew finished fourth for the round in front of Daniel Pöhlmann, who had a good run in the second fastest group of the 17.5 Stock class. The top 10 were completed by Philipp Hagnauer (6), Felix Schneider (7), Dominik Ruf (8), Jan-Simon Knispel (9) and Wolfgang Hößle (10).
Werner Schmitzer was the fastest driver in the very competitive field of drivers in our 40+ Masters class. Werner won the top heat 1.7 seconds ahead of Torsten Baggendorf and Caspar Morgen. Manuel Stankowitz and Michel Zierold followed very close on positions four and five in Q1. Behind them, Mirco Thalheimer (6), Frank Fuchs (7), Thomas Oehler (8), Oliver Kaufmann (9) and Flavio Paladin (10) completed the top 10. As the pace of the top 10 is super close and everybody is doing almost the same fastest laps, the following three rounds of qualifying should be very exciting to watch.
Q1 of the Formula class saw a dominant performance from Jan Ratheisky who won the heat some 6.3 (!) seconds in front of the rest of the field. With this run, Jan showed that he is on fire today and that a win in the Formula class will not be possible without beating him. Lukas Hoch finished second, David Ehrbar in third place. The top 10 got rounded up by Renè Kölbel (4), Herbert Weber (5), Michal Wijcik (6), Tomas Sova (7), Robert Kampehl (8), Chris Grenz (9) and Patrik Sadrinna (10).
Dominik Ruf is running his Tamiya TRF 420 touring car here at ETS RD2. He is racing in the very competitive 17.5 Stock class and was the fastest driver in thursday`s sessions of free practice. His car is almost out of the boy but includes some extras to improve the handling here on track at Arena33.
Dominik uses these components in his Tamiya TRF 420 touring car:
Body Shell: ZooRacing Wolverine Speedo: ORCA ETS Motor: ORCA ETS 17.5T Battery: LRP 7.400mAh Radio: Sanwa MT4 Servo: Power HD R12 Tires: Matrix Handout Sponsors: H2 Racing Development (requests are welcome 😉 ) Specials: TRF420 Mid-motor conversion kit and direct spool cup from H2 Racing Development. Battery holder are an in-house development from a friend.
Enjoy some laps around the Arena33 track in Andernach with the camera car from ETS Media Team member Hanno van den Boogard (RC Race Videos). Ronald Völker was so kind to drive it around the Arena33 track for us on Friday morning!
The controlled practice here at Arena33 is in the books and all drivers are now re-seeded into their qualifying heats. After seeding, everybody got the chance to run in the new sorted qualifying groups in one round of qualification practice. This helped everybody finding the right place on the driver stand before the 4 rounds of Qualifying will start tomorrow morning. The seeding practice was close as always and qualifying will bring us some nail-biting thrillers for sure.
Matrix Modified
Rheinard tops seeding by 0.005 from Völker
The last round of seeding practice at Arena33 showed how small the gaps are in the Matrix Modified class. With Ronald Völker being fastest in all rounds of practice with his LRP powered Mugen Seiki so far, Marc Rheinard was fighting back in the last round of seeding practice with his ORCA powered Awesomatix. Rheinard topped Völkers 3 fastest consecutive laps by the very small margin of 0.005 seconds. With more wind on the track during the last seeding round, 8 out of the top 10 drivers posted their fastest laps in this run. As the sun was covered by some clouds, the track seemed to be a little faster again, but the wind component made it tricky to drive as well.
Behind Rheinard and Völker, Christopher Krapp, Yannic Prümper and Antoine Brunet completed the top 5. Looking on the overall ranking list, the field of drivers is together super close with P4 and P16 only separated by 0.8 seconds. Saturday`s 4 rounds of qualifying will show us, who will get it together the best over the whole 5 minutes of each round!
The Top 5 after controlled practice (3 consecutive laps)
1. Marc Rheinard | 55.391 (Awesomatix/ORCA) 2. Ronald Völker | 55.396 (Mugen Seiki/LRP) 3. Christopher Krapp | 56.083 (Yokomo/Racing Performer) 4. Yannic Prümper | 56.205 (Yokomo/Dash) 5. Antoine Brunet |56.234 (Xray/Hobbywing)
Jan Ratheisky is the top seed in the Xray ProStock division here at Arena33. Jan was a tenth faster than his French Xray teammate and RD1 winner Alexandre Duchet. Behind them, it is the Awesomatix duo of Max Mächler and Simon Lauter together with the newly crowned German national champion Tim Benson rounding up the top 5 with his Mugen Seiki today.
Can Duchet turn it around in qualifying, or will Ratheisky be the man to start on pole into the mains on Sunday? There are a lot of guys who will try to deny Xray`s next pole position here at Arena33 after they were able to start from the sweet spot here at the last two ETS races.
The Top 5 after controlled practice (3 consecutive laps)
1. Jan Ratheisky | 58.563 (Xray) 2. Alexandre Duchet | 58.681 (Xray) 3. Max Mächler |58.900 (Awesomatix) 4. Simon Lauter |58.940 (Awesomatix) 5. Tim Benson |59.692 (Mugen Seiki)
After setting the fastest time in free practice, Stefan Schulz continues to look strong here at Arena33. With his 3 fastest laps being 1 second (!) faster compared to his contenders, it will be interesting to see if guys like Steven Olsen, Philipp Hagnauer or Kevin Sparbier can fight with Schulz for the top spot in qualifying.
Steven Olsen is confident after his win here at ETS RD1, Philipp “Hagi” Hagnauer is always a driver to watch, and Kevin Sparbier is one of the top FWD drivers since the start of this amazing class at the ETS. Who will take pole position at ETS RD2? We will know it tomorrow evening after qualifying.
The Top 5 after controlled practice (3 consecutive laps)
1. Stefan Schulz | 1:10.289 2. Steven Olsen |1:11.390 3. Philipp Hagnauer |1:11.441 4. Kevin Sparbier|1:11.585 5. Oliver Kaufmann |1:11.851
David Kuschnarew was the fastest driver in the two rounds of seeding practice in the Stock 17.5 class. With the top 9 posting their three fastest consecutive laps in the first of the timed practice runs, Kuschnarew came out fastest with a small gap of 0.092 seconds ahead of Dominik Ruf.
Maximilian Unterschütz postest the third fastest time, another 0.079 seconds behind the leaders. With Philipp Hagnauer (4th) and Thomas Bemmerl (5th) there are two experienced drivers behind the top three and qualifying will guarantee some close racing in the 17.5 Stock class. The fight for the A-Main starting spots will start on Saturday morning when we head into the 4 rounds of qualifying.
The Top 5 after controlled practice (3 consecutive laps)
1. David Kuschnarew | 1:02.978 2. Dominik Ruf |1:03.070 3. Maximilian Unterschütz |1:03.149 4. Philipp Hagnauer |1:03.376 5. Thomas Bemmerl |1:03.434
Werner Schmitzer topped the timed practice in the Infinity 40+ Masters class here at Arena33. He will start first into qualifying and he will see RD1 runner up Caspar Morgen and Thorsten Baggendorf following him closely. The top 10 are separated by only 1.4 seconds over the three consecutive laps and there are a lot of well-known names in the mix to grab one of the highly coveted places in the A-Main.
The Top 5 after controlled practice (3 consecutive laps)
1. Werner Schmitzer | 1:03.029 2. Caspar Morgen|1:03.271 3. Thorsten Baggendorf |1:03.686 4. Manuel Stankowitz |1:03.950 5. Michel Zierold |1:03.971
After seeding practice, it is still Jan Ratheisky in the first position of the Scorpion Formula class. With a slightly comfortable gap of 0.662 seconds, Ratheisky looks really sharp on track. David Ehrbar found some pace to finish seeding practice second overall, in front of Lukas Hoch in third place. Will qualifying be a case between Ratheisky and Ehrbar only, or will we see Lukas Hoch in the mix in tomorrow`s four rounds of qualifying?
The Top 5 after controlled practice (3 consecutive laps)
1. Jan Ratheisky | 1:06.765 2. David Ehrbar|1:07.427 3. Lukas Hoch |1:07.583 4. Renè Kölbel|1:08.279 5. Michal Wojcik|1:08.338
We are looking forward for Saturday here at ETS RD2 where we expect another sunny day at Arena33 with some great qualifying action in all classes. On our website you will not miss anything as you can find the PullstartTV livestream in our “LIVE” section. To get quickly to the results of all classes simply navigate to the “RESULTS” area on our landing page.
Enjoy ETS RD2 together with us – no matter where you are!
ETS RD2 of Season #14 2021/22 started with 6 rounds of free practice today. With the amount of 173 entries, drivers enjoyed a relaxed and handy day here at Arena33 in Andernach with temperatures around 26°C. With the weather forecast looking even hotter for the whole weekend, all drivers try to find a dialed setup for this weather conditions. The clockwise driving direction (ETS RD1 saw cars running anti-clockwise) is another challenge for everybody and drivers reported that the track “is really great” in this direction as well.
Matrix Modified
Völker still in good shape
The Matrix Modified division saw RD1 winner Ronald Völker on top of the board with his Mugen Chassis. He edged out Yokomo`s Yannic Prümper by 0.4 seconds over the three fastest consecutive laps. Behind Prümper, Marc Rheinard found himself in third position with his Awesomatix, another tenth of a second behind.
My Mugen car worked amazing today in these hot conditions and I feel very confident with my car on the track. I am happy to be right on pace as there will be no weather factors like clouds or rain taking influence this weekend.
Ronald Völker, Mugen Seiki
The Top 5 after Thursday practice (3 consecutive laps)
1. Ronald Völker | 55.001 (Mugen Seiki/LRP) 2. Yannic Prümper | 55.409 (Yokomo/Dash) 3. Marc Rheinard | 55.507 (Awesomatix/ORCA) 4. Antoine Brunet | 55.886 (Xray/Hobbywing) 5. Robert Pietsch |56.261 (Mugen Seiki/LRP)
In Xray ProStock class we saw Alexandre Duchet (Xray) continuing his dominance from RD1, four weeks ago at the same venue. Alexandre was able to set the fastest time some 0.184 seconds ahead of Max Mächler (Awesomatix). Behind them, Jan Ratheisky (Xray) looked strong and finished third overall for the day.
My Xray worked really fine the whole day, especially in these hot conditions where it is not easy to handle the tires in the right way. In my opinion the track is a little more difficult to drive in this direction and not an easy challenge. I will prepare my car now for tomorrow and my goal is to start from pole position into the finals again this weekend!
Alexandre Duchet, Xray
The Top 5 after Thursday practice (3 consecutive laps)
Fastest in the Hobbywing Frontwheel class after six rounds of free practice was Stefan Schulz. The fresh crowned German Champion showed that he is on a high with three very impressive laps and a gap of over almost one second to RD1 race winner Steven Olsen in second and Kevin Sparbier in third.
The hot track is a real challenge for the FWD cars. As hotter the surface gets, as more the car starts to push over the front. But as my car feels pretty balanced, I will not change anything on my setup, I will just try to adapt my driving to the current track conditions in seeding and qualifying!
Stefan Schulz
The Top 5 after Thursday practice (3 consecutive laps)
1. Stefan Schulz | 1:10.337 2. Steven Olsen |1:11.261 3. Kevin Sparbier |1:11.696 4. Frederik Hovgaard |1:12.115 5. Nicolas Delisè |1:12.191
In the Stock 17.5 class, Dominik Ruf nailed the fastest laps of the day in front of Maximilian Unterschütz and Arena33 double race winner Thomas Bemmerl. With the Top five being only separated by 0.636 seconds, we all can be very excited what will happen in seeding practice and qualifying in the Stock 17.5 class at ETS RD2.
I am really happy with my day so far. After ETS RD1 I finally was able to do some practice and found some things on my car which I was able to improve. As we run clockwise this time, it seems that the layout suits my driving style better and I feel very comfortable out there. I hope that I can carry over the pace into the rest if the weekend.
Dominik Ruf
The Top 5 after Thursday practice (3 consecutive laps)
1. Dominik Ruf | 1:03.012 2. Maximilian Unterschütz |1:03.220 3. Thomas Bemmerl |1:03.408 4. David Kuschnarew |1:03.423 5. Philipp Hagnauer |1:03.648
Manuel Stankowitz was the fastest driver in the Infinity 40+ Masters class. He topped the Thursday practice by 0.5 seconds ahead of Werner Schmitzer and RD1 runner up Caspar Morgen. With the absence of RD1 winner Soren Boy Holst we are searching our third ever winner in the ETS 40+ Masters class this weekend – who will step on top of the podium on Sunday?
My car feels great here at Arena33 so far and I like the layout which we are running clockwise this time. It is not easy to find the right setup for the tires in these hot conditions, but I will keep my car as it is and try to improve my overall result (P7) from ETS RD1 some weeks ago.
Manuel Stankowitz
The Top 5 after Thursday practice (3 consecutive laps)
1. Manuel Stankowitz | 1:03.564 2. Werner Schmitzer |1:03.988 3. Caspar Morgen |1:04.061 4. Frank Fuchs |1:04.064 5. Mirco Thalheimer |1:04.245
The Scorpion Formula class saw the two dominant F1 drivers Jan Ratheisky and David Ehrbar out front. But they seem to have a serious contender with Lukas Hoch this time here at Arena33. Lukas was able to set the second fastest consecutive laps to sit in between Jan Ratheisky and third placed David Ehrbar overnight.
To drive clockwise is really great here at Arena33 – something we should do more often like this. As my focus is more on the touring car side this weekend, I didn`t put a lot of work in my F1 car until now. But with the start of seeding tomorrow I will check my car in detail as I expect a serious challenge from my teammate Lukas Hoch and David Ehrbar.
Jan Ratheisky
The Top 5 after Thursday practice (3 consecutive laps)
1. Jan Ratheisky | 1:07.240 2. Lukas Hoch |1:07.851 3. David Ehrbar |1:08.009 4. Renè Kölbel|1:08.420 5. Herbert Weber|1:08.669
On Friday morning, drivers will have another two rounds of free practice followed by two important rounds of seeding practice. Last on Friday afternoon, there will be another round of practice for everybody in the qualification groups to find out more about their contenders and to define everybody`s position on the rostrum.
Follow us during the whole weekend and check out the LIVE section on our website. There you find the livestreaming from ETS RD2 Season #14 2021/22 at Arena33 in Andernach / GER via pullstart.tv!
The ETS returns to the Arena33 racetrack in Andernach/Germany where the new season started only 4 weeks ago. The ToniSport managed track on the ground of the DJK Andernach Club will welcome all racers again for some great ETS racing action. Due to a lot of ongoing Covid-19 travel restrictions and country regulations not allowing to host events, the ETS crew saw the only chance for a RD2 at the same and proven venue again!
Same – same, but different!
We presented the track of Arena33 in our Track Check prior to RD1. As there has nothing changed in case of the surface, the curbs and the green Astro in between the track, it might look that ETS RD2 will be a copy of ETS RD1 and everything remains the same! If you think so you are totally wrong! At ETS Rd2 the drivers must face the challenge running the track in the opposite direction. At RD1 it was anti-clockwise, and RD2 will see cars circulating in clockwise direction.
Running clockwise for a new challenge
At RD1, a lot of racers confirmed some facts from out Track Check concerning the nice curbs, the importance of a flowing rhythm and the weather sensitivity of Arena33. These facts will be a key for RD2 again, but the clockwise running direction will add something new for everybody to make it even more complicated to go fast. It will be interesting to see what will challenge the drivers the most! Finding a new position on the driver stand? Hitting the long sweeper at the end of the main straight with maximum speed on the perfect line? Getting into the tight chicane without losing to much corner speed?
Possible key sections
As we don`t have any experience and data’s running clockwise at Arena33, the track is kind of an unknown factor as we head into ETS RD2. Nevertheless, we will point out some facts which we think can play a roll during the weekend of racing.
The 2 corners before entering the main straight: These corners are relatively slow. Drivers can try to get super close to the car in front and with a better exit onto the straight there is a chance to get by in the long sweeper at the end of the straight!
End of long Sweeper: We expect the cars to approach this section in full swing at a high speed. At this point, drivers must carry the best possible speed while entering the following, more tight corners. This section will be tricky and can lead drivers into mistakes while fighting for positions!
In front of the Driver Stand: This section will be one of the key facts to go fast. After the long left hander, drivers can lose a lot of time this hard right turn. The position of every driver on the rostrum will also be important for a good feeling while passing by with the car directly in front of them.
Chicane entry: The slowest point on track! Compared to the anti-clockwise running direction, the entrance into the chicane is tighter and requires a good amount of slow speed steering. We might also see some guys trying to pass others when they go wide at the chicane entry.
The Teardrop on the left side: Here the cars arrive after they have accelerated hard out of the slow chicane. This corner offers enough space to go side by side and the radius can allow drivers to try something. If a pass is not possible, the following, more tight corners before the straightway will be the next option directly afterwards.
Let’s go racing
We are looking forward to the race weekend and the restart of the ETS after all these long months of waiting and hoping and the Arena33 track is fully ready for the show!
The ETS Media Team will head into RD2 at Arena33 in Andernach with some serious enhancement. As the master of announcing, Scotty Ernst from the USA, is still not able to join us in Europe (Covid-19 restrictions), it was Uwe Rheinard moderating most of the race at RD1 a couple of weeks ago. Uwe did a really good job on the microphone and got some support from race reporter Patrick Beck to take a small break from time to time.
But as Uwe is much needed for a lot of other different duties during a long race weekend, the ETS crew is happy to welcome Phil Richter as the main announcer for ETS RD2.
Experienced and motivated
Phil comes along with a good routine as he announced several races in the past. Only two weeks ago he announced the German nationals in Bernau (close to Berlin) and he did really well over there. Asked about his ETS duty, Ohil told us:
I am super happy to get on the microphone at such a prestigious event and I will give my very best to make it a good one for everybody. It is really fantastic and I can`t wait for Thursday when racing finally gets underway.
-Phil Richter-
ETS RD1 Race reporter Patrick will still be around to back him up whenever needed, and we are looking forward to another great ETS race at Arena33 in Andernach from 12. – 15. Of August 2021.
The second round of ETS Season #14 2021/22 is right around the corner and Arena33 will be the facility where all drivers meet again after a short break of only 4 weeks! Arena33 was chosen for RD2 as there are still a lot of Covid-19 restrictions in most European countries. The ETS crew nowadays needs a location which suits all predictable Covid-19 rules. As Arena33 is managed by ToniSport it was the best solution to bring the ETS back to this track which is ETS approved and features enough space in the pits for everybody. As soon as it will be possible to race on our other beautiful ETS tracks they will come back to the schedule – let`s hope for Apeldoorn in September!
Solid number of entries for RD2
At the first round of the new season, we had 200 entries which was a great turnout for the comeback of international (and still restricted) RC racing. We missed some drivers who were not allowed to travel without dealing with quarantine or other problems and we still were happy with the overall number of entries. Once again, thank you to everybody who raced with us at ETS RD1. The list of entries for RD2 is a little shorter with 170 entries right now. If we consider that we are in the middle of the summer holiday period with a lot of people having the chance to go to vacations for the first time since the start of the pandemic, we think 170 is something we can also be satisfied with.
Opposite driving direction
To create a new challenge and a different racing experience, the track at Arena33 will be raced into the opposite direction at ETS RD2. Last time the cars drove anti-clockwise, this time we will see everybody going clockwise on the track. Something like this is always a big challenge and the ETS crew is confident that it will produce some great racing during the weekend! We will publish our “Track Check” on Wednesday – check it out and learn about the Clockwise driven Arena33 for ETS RD2.
But now, let us take a closer look on the different classes, the list of entries, and what to expect from drivers and teams at ETS RD2 Season #14 2021/22
Matrix Modified
Coelho and Hagberg forced to cancel RD2 as well
The modified class will once again race without Xray`s top guns Bruno Coelho and Alexander Hagberg. They will not travel to Germany because of the quarantine regulations in their home country Portugal. As they already missed out RD1 for the same reason, they have to face a tough rest of the season with no more throw out result remaining.
Who will challenge Völker
The last ETS race at Arena33 was dominated by Ronald Völker and his new Mugen ride in a very impressive way. Last weekend he added another German champion title to his long list of victories with taking the win in Bernau (close to Berlin). It seems that he is feeling well and confident in his new team, and he will try to win his fourth consecutive ETS race (after winning in Daun and two times at Arena33) and the second ever for Mugen Seiki. His teammates Robert Pietsch and Eric Dankel both made the A-Main last time, and they will try everything to repeat this result to support Ronald in a strong way!
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Rheinard close to Völker at German nationals
At the German nationals, Marc Rheinard was at the same pace with Ronald in the mains and he was right on Ronald`s tail in A1 and A2. It will be interesting to see, if Marc can find something on his Awesomatix to be that close to Ronald at Arena33 as well. If he can improve a little bit, he will be in contention for the win and Völker`s hardest challenger. Rheinard`s French Awesomatix teammate Lucas Urbain will not be in Andernach due to job-based commitments. RD1 finalist Tim Wahl, Thimo Weissbauer and Michele Manzo will be in the mix for Awesomatix at Arena33 to achieve a good team result for Awesomatix!
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Can Xray get even closer?
Another one to watch will be Antoine Brunet from France – the rising star of ETS RD1. He was leading the Xray field of drivers in the modified class and he showed an extraordinary performance with qualifying second on the grid and bringing home the overall result in the end. Together with his Xray teammate Marco Kaufmann they will try to shine once again in the absence of Hagberg and Coelho. Will they be able to fight for the win?
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Krapp, Prümper and Jasmin again for Yokomo
Yokomo`s lineup for RD2 remains the same with Christopher Krapp, Yannic Prümper and Loic Jasmin. They had a pretty descend pace last time and especially Krapp was very fast at the german nationals last weekend. It seems that their new car works fine, they now just need to transform the pace into a strong result at the ETS again. Krapp finished 4th last time at Arena33 and he, together with Yannic and Loic, will push hard to step on the podium this time!
Who else to watch?
Behind the bigger teams, there are a bunch of incredible fast guys in the field of high-class drivers. Schumacher`s Michal Orlowski is one of these drivers and we can expect a great performance from the polish star once again here at Arena33, where he made the A-Main at both races on the newly designed Arena33 track so far. With the support of his father, they will figure out how to go fast with their Schumacher platform while trying to improve his 8th spot from RD1. There are some more fast guys aiming to qualify for the A-Main and it will be a big show as always when we head into qualifying at ETS RD2 of Season #14.
Xray ProStock
Will Duchet carry the momentum?
We saw the French driver Alexandre Duchet taking away the win at RD1 in front of all his fast contenders. He was driving perfectly and got a lot of compliments from all drivers who tried to beat him. With the track now getting raced in clockwise direction, all eyes will be on Duchet and his Xray car and a lot of guys will try to outpace him. His teammates Jan Ratheisky (reigning ProStock champion) and Lukas Ellerbrock will complete the group of top guns for Xray. With Ratheisky always being able to win races we can all be very excited what the guys will show us at ETS RD2
High quality Awesomatix driver lineup
The field of drivers for RD2 looks very strong – as always in the prestigious ProStock class at the ETS. The strong Awesomatix team with Max Mächler, Simon Lauter, Olivier Bultynck, Frederik Mikkelsen, Martin Hofer and their latest team addition Alex Kunkler comes along with a lot of race craft. They will try to fight back against Xray with full force. The only driver missing at RD2 is Louis Kretschmer who did so good at RD1 with a 4th overall.
Jung wants another A-Main
Enrico Jung was fast with his new Yokomo ride at RD1, and he will aim to reach the A-Main again for a perfect start into the season. The fight for the A-Main spots will be a nail biter for sure!
Hobbywing Frontwheel
Steven Olsen on a high
After winning his first ever ETS race in the Hobbywing Frontwheel class, Steven Olsen should be on a high and in great form when he returns to Arena33. It was a hard-fought win for Olsen against Henrik Heitsch and the newly crowned German champion Stefan Schulz (he won the title last weekend in Bernau).
Trio to challenge Olsen
Heitsch and Schulz showed great pace in all their FWD races so far and it seems that they will be once again the guys to battle it out with Steven Olsen. But when we look at the other entries, we find Kevin Sparbier who is always super close with them, and he will try to repeat his podium finish from 2020 here at Arena33.
Comeback from “Hagi” and local hero Kaufmann
Another name we see on the list is Philipp “Hagi” Hagnauer from Switzerland who makes a quick ETS return after a long time. A driver to watch will be local hero Oliver Kaufmann who knows the Arena33 track and it`s behaviour very well. But as we only name a few guys here, there might be some surprises after qualifying as the A-Main spots are highly coveted. Everybody who ever made an A-Main at the ETS wants to do it again as it is something really rewarding!
Stock 17.5
Can somebody break Bemmerl`s winning streak?
The 17.5 Stock class was totally in the hands of Thomas Bemmer last time. Thomas impressed with clean driving, perfect racing lines and nerves from steel. He won the last two ETS races here at Arena33 and some fast guys on the list of entries will try to make life not easy for Bemmerl this time as he is the clear favorite for RD2.
Back-to-back champion Pöhlmann leads the hunt
Daniel Pöhlmann, the back-to-back champion of this class, Alexander Müller and Joachim Altenhof are the three drivers which are driving on top of this class constantly together with Bemmerl. They know how to win races and they will try to snatch the TQ away from Bemmerl this time to have a good chance of breaking his winning streak. Philip Hagnauer from Switzerland, who was really fast in his best years, can also be a guy to watch at ETS RD2.
Focus on Maximilian Unterschütz
The young and very talented Maximilian Unterschütz won a round of qualifying last time (Q4) and grabbed a strong second on the grid. The finals didn`t went to plan for Maximilian but he showed that he is improving race by race and it should be only a factor of time and patience until he can fight for a podium, or even a win in the 17.5 Stock class. We are looking forward to watch him racing on track!
Infinity 40+ Masters
Looking for another race winner
The Infinity 40+ Masters class was dominated by Alexander Stocker until Soren Boy Holst was able to win ETS RD1 at Arena33 with Stocker not attending the race. Boy Holst had a fantastic run in the finals, winning the event from the 6th starting spot – that was amazing. But as Boy Holst is not on the entry list for RD2 so far, we are looking for a third different race winner of the 40+ Masters class.
Who will be the third ever 40+ Masters race winner?
Second place finisher Caspar Morgen, third place finisher Mirco Thalheimer and local hero Oliver Kaufmann will take the challenge. Together with the other A-Main finishers like Thomas Oehler, Ingo Braun, Manuel Stankowitz and Thorsten Baggendorf they will race it to the finish line to find out who will be the winner of the Infinity 40+ Masters class at ETS RD2.
Scorpion Formula
Ehrbar vs Ratheisky – an epic battle in F1
In the Scorpion Formula class, the battle for the win will be between Jan Ratheisky and David Ehrbar again – no doubt about that! The only drivers which were able to fight with them for a race win in the last years, Jitse Miedeme, Matej Dobnikar, Luke Lee, Olivier Bultynck and Andreas Stiebler will not race RD2 in Andernach this time.
Behind Ratheisky and Ehrbar we can expect Herbert Weber showing a good pace as he is one of the routiniers in the Formula class. RD1 Third place finisher Renè Kölbel maybe can throw something at Ratheisky and Ehrbar as he finished unchallenged on the podium last time. The rest of the field is kind of a surprise bag, and we are looking forward to find out what`s inside!
We are happy to welcome all of you at Arena33 for ETS RD2 Season #14 2021/22!
From the 15. – 18. of July 2021 the ETS started into the new season at Arena33 in Andernach, Germany. With this already being the 14th season of the prestigious electric onroad racing series, it was great to finally see a big international onroad event taking place in Europe again. With 200 entries and a focus on complying with the most important Covid-19 rules on the ground of DJK Andernach, it was a fantastic event for the whole ETS family.
Let us take you back to Andernach to review the action on track and some interesting facts from ETS RD1 Season #14 2021/22!
Mother nature badly showed her strength
When drivers arrived at Arena33 on Wednesday, all they could see was a completely water covered track. With heavy rains in Andernach, and especially in areas of 60km around Arena33, mother nature showed her bad side. A lot of cities and villages in the Eifel and Ahrweiler Region got hit so hard, that people lost their home from one to the next day – something which touched all drivers at the ETS in some aspect. Some people are still missed and there was kind of a black shadow over the whole weekend because of that. Concerning the ETS race, some drivers just weren`t able to arrive at the race on time due to massive traffic jams, others helped to get the situation in their hometowns under control in this catastrophic situation – true heroes for sure! When something like this happens, it shows that there are more important things in the world than racing RC Cars.
Racing in dry conditions
After the track looking like a lake on Wednesday, it recovered until Thursday morning and around 11 o`clock Arena33 was ready to race on. The weather then stayed in good conditions until the end of the race on Sunday, where the trophy ceremony saw beautiful sunshine and a blue sky. The Arena33 racetrack challenged all racers with some different conditions day by day, with cloudy windy weather all the way up to sunshine and warmer temperatures as the mains started. As the Arena33 surface is flat and not super rough, the track is more sensitive to small weather changes. All drivers reported that they sometimes struggle with changing conditions and choosing setup changes at the right time.
Driver and Team performances
Almost every top driver in each class was at Arena33 to kick off the new season. All, excluding the world class modified Xray factory drivers Bruno Coelho and Alexander Hagberg. They were not able to travel to Germany because of the Covod-19 travel restrictions changed a week before the race in their home country Portugal. We really hope to see them with us for RD2 again, as they are just amazing to watch whenever they hit the track!
All drivers and teams performed really well at Arena33 but let`s see who did an extraordinary job at ETS RD1!
Ronald Völker gives wings to Mugen Seiki
In the Matrix Modified class, there is one driver to highlight first: Ronald Völker! The six-time ETS champion is a contender for the win at every race, so it was not a big surprise seeing him doing well out there. As Ronald left his long-term sponsor Yokomo at the end of 2020 with switching to Mugen Seiki, there have been all eyes on him and his new ride – a little bit of extra pressure? At Arena33, Ronald didn`t show any signs of weakness and won the race after a clinical drive in all runs. But not only Ronald was strong – his teammates Robert Pietsch and Eric Dankel also qualified for the A-Main. When we consider that the last Mugen car was in the main in Daun 2019 (Viljami Kutvonen) the Mugen team made more than one big step forward with their new MTC2 platform. Alex Kunkler also showed the cars potential with his A-Main appearance in the super important Xray ProStock class. He was driving amazing and a higher finish in the mains (Alex finished P7) only denied him by some bad racing luck with other cars on the track. Ingo Braun also made the A-Main in the Infinity 40+ Masters class. The new Mugen car seems to be quick and now the team was able to show its full potential at ETS RD1. We are excited what the Mugen Team can achieve this season! If you want to see more of Völker`s winning car, look “Under the Hood” of his Mugen in our Gallery!
Yokomo with a strong team effort
The Yokomo team had all their top drivers signing up for RD1 in Andernach. In the Matrix Modified class, Christopher Krapp and Yannic Prümper both showed a strong performance and Krapp`s podium finish was very close – only denied by Marc Rheinard in A3. Loic Jasmin was super fast in practice, but after not getting it together perfectly in qualifying, he missed the main this time. It seems that their updated BD10LC works fine and another attest fot that was provided by Enrico Jung in the Xray ProStock class. Enrico was in the top 4 all the time during practice. Bad luck and some small mistakes in the 4 rounds of qualifying made his weekend a hard one, lining up on pole position in the B-Main. But Enrico took B1 tone to tone to grab the bump-up spot and making the A-Main for the first time ever in his ETS career. With Enrico making the switch to Yokomo just ahead of the season, everything seems to fit together very well at Yokomo. In the end, Enrico was able to work his way through the field to finish sixth overall. With Klaus Waldmann and David Kuschnarew, Yokomo had two cars in the 17.5 Stock A-Main too.
Michal Orlowski – always fast for Schumacher
Another driver to highlight is Michal Orlowski from Poland. He is quick in every class he is racing, and when we keep in mind that touring car is not his premier class (these are 2WD and 4WD Buggy) it is always amazing to see him driving onroad and being on a strong top 10 pace at all the time. Almost on his own with the Schumacher car in Andernach, Michal (together with his dad) found the speed in his car without having a big team behind him this time. For sure one of the best drivers around – racing so many classes and being fast in all of them is not an easy task!
Awesomatix with a huge turnout again
The Awesomatix is one of the most used cars at the ETS since many years. The innovative concept from the Russian car designer Oleg Babich got a lot of attention from many people and the performance on track is always amazing. The Awesomatix team once again had a lot of their top drivers in the Matrix Modified and Xray ProStock final. In the Modified class we saw three cars in the final, in the ProStock A-Main there were five Awesomatix cars in the hunt for the win. Guys like Rheinard, Urbain, Wahl, Lauter, Mächler and Kretschmer (only to name a few) showed the potential of the A800MMX in style. Marc Rheinard finished third on the podium in Modified, Simon Lauter achieved the same in ProStock. One driver to highlight in the ProStock class is Louis Kretschmer, who qualified into the A-Main for the first time with his A800MMX. He worked together with his mechanic Michael Koos and looked amazing on track, finishing 4th overall – what a weekend for Kretschmer! Awesomatix also was the strongest brand in the hard contested 17.5 Stock class with 8 out of 11 cars on the A-Main grid. This shows that their actual car is not only fast in the hands of their factory drivers, it is also amazing for all ambitioned hobby drivers. Beside winner Thomas Bemmerl we like to praise the performance of the young and talented Maximilian Unterschütz. He showed great racing for his young age and was able to TQ round 4 of qualifying – something really special at the ETS. Another great success this weekend for Awesomatix: Steven Olsen finally won a race in the FWD class against the ARC of Henrik Heitsch and the Xray of Stefan Schulz. If you want to see more of Marc Rheinards Awesomatix, look the “Under the Hood” of his car in our Image Gallery!
Brunet and Duchet shining for Xray
With the abstinence of their two lead drivers Bruno Coelho and Alexander Hagberg, some people for sure were not calculating with a top 3 finish for Xray in the Matrix Modified class this weekend. Antoine Brunet from France took his mission serious and slipped into the role of the top Xray driver at Arena33. He made the Main here last year with a different car, but this time he was just driving amazing, and his car looked flawless on track. It seemed that he was the only guy with a real chance to challenge Völker during the whole event – a great achievement for Antoine Brunet. Marco Kaufmann, another guarantor for constant Xray A-Main appearances showed once again that the team can count on him while finishing in a strong fifth position. In the ProStock class Alexandre Duchet was the man to beat from the first practice run until the end of the event. His performance was impressing in the same way as Völker`s dominance in Modified. Behind Duchet, Jan Ratheisky finished second after some hard battles in the mains. For Xray it was a successful weekend, even with Hagberg and Coelho not being responsible for the trophies this time. This outcome clearly shows, that the actual Xray T4-2021 is a great car and a platform you can always expect on top of the sheets. If you want to see more of Duchet`s winning car, look under the “Under the Hood” of his Xray in our Image Gallery!
A rarely seen car wins 40+ Masters
A car can be fast without being super famous on the market. This was shown by the Danish driver Søren Boy Holst, who won the 40+ Masters class with his Gizmo chassis. He started from the sixth spot, a position where you normally do not walk away with an overall win. But in A1 and A2 Søren somehow got to the front and was able to defend his position to the finish line. With this race win he showed that his Gizmo car is fast and totally on pace compared to the other touring cars lining up in his triple A-Mains of the 40+ Masters class.
Development never stops in F1
The Scorpion Formula class saw not the biggest turnout in its history, but nevertheless a new car on track. David Ehrbar and a handful other guys drove the EF1 formula car, designed by Ehrbar himself. The car performed very well and the passion that the F1 drivers have for their class is always very impressive. The fastest car on track was Jan Ratheisky`s Xray and he won n front of David Ehrbar and his new EF1. For the next race we expect David in the hunt again and everybody can be excited if he can get ahead of Jan. Renè Kölbel, Herbert Weber and Olivier Bultynck will try the same. We really hope to see more Formula racers at the ETS during the next rounds as it is a unique racing class for all lovers of F1 cars. If you want to see more of Ehrbar`s Formula car, look under the “Under the Hood” of his EF1 in our Image Gallery!
The return of “Dash for Cash”
After a couple of years of abstinence, the very famous “Dash for Cash” found his way back to the racetrack at the ETS. It is a format in which drivers can win some real money, with a randomly selected final to run the race. With the same chances for everybody to get in, it was the 17.5 Stock C-Main which got selected for the “Hot Lap Challenge” and the Frontwheel D-Main was chosen to battle it out for in a 15 minute “Endurance Race”.
In the “Hot Lap Challenge” everybody was watching around the track, and every driver had to do two consecutive timed laps on track, with the fastest of them to count for the challenge. Everybody tried to hit the lines perfectly and long time it looked good for Nele Knodel. She was holding the fastest lap until the last driver, Patrick Rebmann, did his fastest laps. With his hot lap being 0.1 seconds faster, he was the winner at the first part of the “Dash for Cash” winning 200€ in cash – congratulations Patrick!
The second part of “Dash for Cash” saw a 15-minute Endurance Race happen on the Arena33 track. Every driver had to take a buzzer with him onto the driver’s rostrum. As everybody had to do 3 stop and go pit stops (10 seconds for each stop) during the run, the buzzers got used to check these pit stops in and out and it was cool to see that drivers had a lot of fun in this format. At the end of the 15 minutes encounter, Timm Ohlef walked away from the “Dash for Cash” with the fame and the money.
We are looking forward to ETS RD2 where we will see the next showdown at “Dash for Cash”.
Great job with Covid-19 regulations
Another important topic to talk about are the Covid-19 rules on the ground of the DJK Andernach. Everybody had enough space in the pits to keep the distance of 1.50m and all drivers went with the rules all the time. The whole ETS crew would like to thank all participants for their discipline and the support of our series. We hope for further improvements until the next race, which will see us race at the same venue again. Once again – Thank you ETS family?
Thanks to all helpers
The ETS crew wants to thank all people who helped out with a lot of different duties during the event. Without you the ETS just wouldn`t happen. Thank you to the technical inspectors, the cafeteria team, to Axel for all his work around the facility, time keeper Hartmut and Referee Franz, Announcers Uwe and Patrick, Marlo and Jutta for organizing tires and electronics, the Media Team with Olli, Patrick, Video Master Hanno and Photographer Tom, and the amazing Hoffmann`s ice cream wagon which sweetened up every day at Arena33.
ETS RD2 Season #14 2021/22 in about 4 weeks
The ETS circus will meet again at Arena33 to race for the trophies from the 12. -15. August 2021. As you may have seen in our previous articles, the decision for that was not easy. But in the end, we are happy that we can organize bigger events again. We hope for improvements all around the world soon and we all would like to travel to our other ETS destinations again as soon as possible.
We hope you liked this small recap of our beautiful weekend in Andernach, at ETS RD1 Season #14 2021/22 – see you at the same place for RD2!
