Lest weekend, the 1:10 scale TC and FWD EFRA Euros took place in Roeselare, Belgium. The event was highly anticipated and attracted 120 racers to fight for the title in in the FWD class, 13.5 Spec, and the premier Modified class. The weather was up and down all weekend long as rain, wind, and ever changing conditions made it a tricky weekend for everybody.
Modified – Rheinard wins first EFRA TC title since 2011
The Modified class was a great show and in the hands of Michal Orlowski (Schumacher) who was TQ after qualifying. Also Marc Rheinard (Awesomatix) and Bruno Coelho (Xray) had been able to TQ a round, but it was the dominant Schumacher driver Michal Orlowski who started from pole into the triple A-Mains. The finals did not went to Orlowski`s favour as he made some small and costly mistakes. He lost A1 to Rheinard, while Coelho was able to take a slightly rain affected A2. It was all down to the line in A3 and Rheinard was able to pass Orlowski after the Schumacher driver struggled a bit in one single corner. Rheinard had to hold off a hard charging Coelho for the rest of the run. Bruno had a strong pace but Rheinard showed all his experience to bring home the win and the first EFRA TC title since he won it the last time in 2011. In the same moment, it was also the first EFRA TC Modified title for Awesomatix, and Rheinards new electronic sponsor Cayote.
13.5 Spec – Lauter takes the title from Payne and Degryze
The hard fought Spec class saw Awesomatix driver Simon Lauter taking the win from P1 on the grid. Schumacher driver Ollie Payne finished second overall and was joined by his sensational driving teammate Niels Degryze on the podium. Adam Izsay (Xray) and Olivier Bultynck (Awesomatix) completed the top 5.
FWD – Hovgaard wins from fourth on the grid
Frederik Hovgaard (Yokomo) from Denmark is the newly crowned FWD champion. He was able to win from fourt on the grid which is something we do not see very often in RC racing. In the end he was tied on points with Adam Izsay (Xray) and Hovgaards winning time from A1 was 0.156 seconds faster that Izsay`s time from A3. Stefan Schulz (Xray) won A2 with a much faster time but he was behind Hovgaard and Izsay on points to take third overall behind Izsay and Hovgaard. Daniel Pöhlmann (Awesomatix) and Jacques Libar (Xray) completed the top 5.
as most of you know, our race at the Sporthotel Grafenwald in Daun is the one with the highest number of entries since many years. We just received all the early hotel booking conditions and like to pass them to you immediateley now.
MR33, in collaboration with BOOM RC, is launching the brilliant “Horizontal Body Mounting Tool” to make customizing your 1:10 scale touring car body a safe and easy task. Many racers are struggling while marking the holes for the horizontal body posts and the new MR33 tool will bring this struggle to an end now.
The “MR33 Horizontal Body Mounting Tool” consists of high-quality 3D-printed components and is assembled according to a modular system. This means you can use it with the most important 1:10 touring car bodies and always mark and drill your horizontal holes perfectly.
The base part is printed in such a way that it can be placed perfectly on the rear wing brackets of the corresponding body. This means that everything is perfectly centered right from the start. Use the enclosed full-surface plastic washers to set the desired distance between the body holes (measured downwards from the spoiler mount). Most teams already have specifications here that you can use as a guide.
The marking plate screwed to the base part indicates the perfect hole positions that you need to mark by means of the exact hole spacing. Then all you have to do is drill the holes and that’s it. Sounds simple – and it is.
With the “MR33 Horizontal Body Mounting Tool”, shaking or marking the holes at an angle is practically no longer possible. Different versions (with different inserts) are available, and MR33 has also prepared the marking plates for different touring car models.
Features:
3D printed from high-quality materials
Extremely accurate fit for precise marking of the holes
Cool MR33 look made by BOOM RC
Easy height adjustment thanks to full-surface washers (included)
Marking plates available for different vehicle types (hole spacing)
Inserts for different bodies (e.g. Wolverine, Twister, Speciale) can be purchased separately
Awesomatix has released some interesting option parts for their current touring car platform. The parts are available now and will reach hobbyshops in the next days!
C27MMX-G Full Length Top Deck
Optional Full Length Top Deck for A800MMX and A800R. Made from 2.0mm Glassfiber Material.
C127-G Top Deck
C127-G Top Deck (1pcs) for use with AM177 Motormount. Made from 1.5mm Glassfiber Material. Two Top Decks are needed for one car. (Front and Rear)
INFO: It’s required to modify/sand/shorten the rear ST24 Ballstud thread in the rear Bulkhead. Otherwise, you are unable to screw down the Top Deck properly.
C127S-G Top Deck
C127S-G Top Deck (1pcs) for use with AM177 Motormount. Made from 1.5mm Glassfiber Material. Two Top Decks are needed for one car. (Front and Rear)
INFO: It’s required to modify/sand/shorten the rear ST24 Ballstud thread in the rear Bulkhead. Otherwise you are unable to screw down the Top Deck properly.
P74 Progressive Spring Holders Set
Optional P74 Progressive Spring Holders set. Can be installed directly on top of the AM242 Damper case instead of C45F-PS or C45R-PS. Eliminates reduction of the chassis flex.
EHRC Set
EHRC (Extra High Roll Center) set is +3,8mm higher roll center measured from the lower face of AM1204 compared to ELRC.
EHRC is recommended for med/high – high grip conditions. The car will rotate more over the rear end and increases steering.
After our ETS reporter has now finished his summer vacations, we are happy to present you 5 things we have learned during ETS RD2 in Austria. And to everybody who is still enjoying the summer break – have a great time and relax from the stress of racing 🙂 The whole weekend was a blast and we saw amazing action and racing on track. Thanks to all the hard working people behind the scenes and all you racers for making it happen – see you soon for RD3 in Luxembourg.
1) Schumacher setting the bar higher and higher in modified while also getting stronger in ProStock!
The victory in Aigen was Michal Orlowskis seventh (!!!) consecutive ETS race win, which is just very impressive. But as we all have get used to the picture with Orlowski lifting the big trophy on the podium during the last one and a half years, we also noticed that Schumacher has improved a lot as a team. More and more drivers are running the Mi9, and the team is now also taking a serious approach to the Pro Stock class.
While Mattia Collina was their only competitive Stock driver during last season, the British team brought their 1:12 scale ace and BRCA stock touging champion Ollie Payne to ETS RD2. Payne was really fast in practice and showed that he can fight for a top spot in the Pro Stock class. With some bad luck, he “only” finished lat in the A-Main (11th place), but we can be sure that Payne had a little more to show. Austrian touring car frontrunner Dominic Vogl was back at the ETS in Aigen and was also running the current Mi9 from Schumacher to finish in eight place. We are excited what the team will show at the next race in Luxembourg. Schumacher is definateley stepping up their game right now!
2) Return of Xray top drivers highly appreciated by everybody
The second round of ETS Season #17 saw Xray`s top guns Bruno Coehlo and Alexander Hagberg returning to the ETS. After Hagberg was racing at the Season finale of season #16 in Wiener Neustadt, he was joined by double touring car IFMAR world champion and 4-time ETS champion Bruno Coelho. Xray`s very own Martin Hudy, who took care about their cars dunring the event, was also there and brought his little son Filip who was racing in 21.5 Stock and FWD during his “ETS debut”.
All racers had been very happy to see Bruno and Alex back on track at an ETS event, and for many of the new ETS racers it was the first time to see them racing live on track. Bruno was the closest competitor of race winner Michal Orlowski and both were putting on a great show for the spectators. Alex had a weekend to forget as there was always something happening on track that caused him to fall behind. However, it was amazing to have these guys back at the ETS and we hope to see them more often again in the future.
3) The FWD class is THE CLASS for super-close racing
The FWD class is a major part, and one of the most popular classes at the ETS since many years. In Aigen – Schlägl, most of the drivers showed why this is the case. We could watch super close racing – nt only in the A-Main. The cars are handling very well, and they are looking really nice on track too. The A-Mains had been very close, and beside some controversial situations (which probably costed Dominik Reile and Iris the race win), we saw super close racing on track.
The cars circulated around the Aigen track like a freight train and it was a pure joy to watch. We are very happy to have such a nice class in our portfolio and we can`t wait to see the cars going through the cork screw corner Luxembourg.
4) Driver of the weekend – David Ehrbar
It is always hard to pick only one “Driver of the Weekend” after an ETS race as there are so many guys achieving great results on track. This time we have choosen Xray driver David Ehrbar as our driver of the weekend.
Why? Well, David sealed two pole positions in qualifying with his Xray cars and started ahead of the competition in the 1up Racing 40+ Masters class and in Matrix Formula. David drove some very dominant touring car finals and was able to withstand the pressure of his team mate René Kölbel who was all over him in A1 and A2. Ehrbar showed all his experience and brought home a well-deserved race win.
He finished second in the Formula class after loosing to Schumacher`s Andreas Stiebler, BUT he was driving one of the best Formula A-Mains we have ever seen and had a great fight with Andreas in the last laps of the race – that was a real blast.
5) New drivers entering circle of ETS race winners
It is always nice to crown new race winners at the ETS. The story continued in Aigen where Team Yokomo`s Frederik Hovgaard (Hobbywing FWD) and Xray racer Jaroslav jun. Kriz (Orca 21.5) joined the circle of ETS race winners – a very elitist club. Congratulations to you bith, you did amazingly well and it was nice to see you celebrating with your friends, your parents, your teams afterwards.
There’s nothing RC Maker is loving more than changing the game! Their Horizontal Rear Post Body Mounts changed the way to mount bodies forever, which is why they’ve become their most sold product ever!
They’ve Podiumed TITC, won and podiumed ETS’s. Used by the likes of Champions such as Marc Rheinard, Akio Sobue, Hayato Ishioka, Atsushi Hara, Yannic Pruemper, Nicholas Lee and several other team drivers!
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After the usual corrections for a game like this, the data for round 2 from Aigen-Schlägl has been analysed.
Have the rankings changed
Awesomatix is still in first place, with a slightly increased lead over XRAY in second place. Schumacher was able to close the gap on Mugen Seiki. ARC has been able to extend its lead over Yokomo.
But that doesn’t say much. We can assume that the respective team managers initially focussed on the top points scorers.
Strategy changes from round 3
Things get exciting from round 3 onwards, when the rule that a driver can be named a maximum of three times starts to take effect. In RD3, will the top points scorer still be chosen by the manufacturer or will there be tactics to see who might have a home advantage in Luxembourg? Which teams are still travelling to Luxembourg for training?
The use of the jokers
Every team manager has realised that nobody will know who used which joker and when. We know that this confidence will lead to the strategic use of these jokers.
A lot depends on who is a reliable supplier of points as a driver.
Updating the data
From Luxembourg, the data for the ETS Constructors Championship will be analysed and updated during the race weekend.
Orlowski celebrates his seventh consecutive ETS race win ahead of a very strong Coelho, and a superb driving Lauter
A2 – After Michal Orlowski already had one win in the bag (from A1), he launched his car off the line in A2 and brought the field around the first corners. Bruno Coelho also had a perfect start and was right behind Orlowski, followed by the Awesomatix of Simon Lauter. When Orlowski was driving on the back straight, he was a little too much in the curb on the right side and his car was on two wheels for a moment. Bruno Coelho immediately lifted the throttle to avoid a collision – the same did Simon Lauter. There was a huge crowd reaction as all drivers involved showed their world-class skills in this moment.
Orlowski was putting his head down afterwards and Bruno was chasing him again around the challenging MAV Aigen track. Bruno came close a few times but there was never a serious chance to ride an attack on Orlowskis Schumacher Mi9. They opened a gap of 3.7 seconds to third and fourth placed drivers Simon Lauter and Marc Rheinard until the end and had really been in a class of their own this weekend. Orlowski took the win ahead of Coelho which in the same moment earned him the overall victory at ETS RD2. This was definitely one of Orlowski`s hardest ETS race wins as Coelho and all the others had been super-fast all weekend.
A3 – The podium was up for grabs in A3 of the FlySky Modified class and it was a battle between Coelho, Lauter, Rheinard, and Dankel for the second and third overall. Long story short: Coelho took a dominant win and sealed the overall second place for the Xray team. Some seconds behind him, Simon Lauter first defended against Marc Rheinard until the five-time world champion spun out. The next driver coming close to Lauter was Eric Dankel. The two Awesomatix drivers had a great race until their cars touched and Dankel had to wait to let Simon go by again. Serpent`s Dominic Greiner took over second place which he managed until the end to finish fourth overall behind the podium finishers Michal Orlowski, Bruno Coelho, and Simon Lauter!
The champion on top – Bultynck wins Pro Stock class in Austria for Awesomatix
A2 – Awesomatix factory driver Ollie Bultynck showed his class when he drove to victory after the sound of the tone. His hardest competition, Xray driver Adam Izsay, followed within a gap of one second all the time. Izsay came a little closer in the last laps of the race, but Bultynck made no single mistake and took the win by 2 tenths from Izsay. Mugen Seiki`s Sören Sparbier took another third place and was joined by Lukas Ellerbrock and Matus Benetin in the top 5.
A3 – With race winner Olivier Bultynck watching from the sideline, the third final was a battle for the podium positions between Adam Izsay, Sören Sparbier, Lukas Ellerbrock, and Matus Benetin. Right after the start, Sparbier was able to stay for some laps with Izsay until they both lost their positions to the clearly faster car of Ellerbrock. The Awesomatix driver took over the lead but needed to defend until the end against a super quick car of Matus Benetin. Ellerbrock took the win and snatched the last position on the podium away from Mugen Seiki`s Sören Sparbier.
A2 – In the second FWD A-Main the spectators applauded a lot after the race where we saw a pearl necklace going around the track. Pole sitter Dominic Reile was able to keep all the guys behind and took the win in A2 after he suffered bad racing luck in A1 where he got pushed off the track. Behind Reile, Daniel Pöhlmann, Frederik Hovgaard, Jonas Völker, and Mark Valent were completing the top 5 in a field which was only separated by 2.6 seconds in the top 8. The deciding third A-Main was all between Dominik Reile, Daniel Pöhlmann, and Frederik Hovgaard.
A3 – The last A-Main of the Hobbywing Frontwheel class saw Gergö Valent taking the win ahead of Frederik Hovgaard, Mark Valent, Jonas Völker, and Max Weffers. This result brought the overall victory to the Yokomo team and Frederik Hovgaard who won his first ETS race this weekend – congratulations. Gergö Valent made it to the podium somehow together with Daniel Pöhlmann. TQ Dominik Reile was maximum unlucky this weekend and missed a better result due to some things which had been out of his control!
Great display for the sport as Kölbel wins super-close race in Austria
A2 – The second 40+ Masters A-Main was as close as the first one was. René Kölbel was pushing David Ehrbar around the track for the full time of the race but didn`t find a way to go by. Both did an outstanding job on track with great respect for each other and sportsmanship when Kölbel waited for Ehrbar after touching him slightly in the last lap. Elibert Sievers, Ronald Arts, and Torsten Baggendorf rounded out the top 5 in A2.
A3 – David Ehrbar already was the winner of the Masters class after A2. René Kölbel started from the first spot on the grid in the last final and took the win with his great performing Xray car on track. Awesomatix driver Michel Zierold finished second in A3 to secure a good and solid third place on the podium behind Ehrbar and Kölbel. Ronald Arts, Eric Anderson, and Werner Schmitzer took positons 3 to 5 in the last run of the weekend.
A2 – Jaroslav jun. Kriz (Xray) took full advantage of his pole position and took another win in A2 ahead of Nadine Zühlke (ARC) and Nico Eglseer (Mugen Seiki). Armin Rajki and Richard Kovacs were benefitting from a lot of crashes in the middle of the field and drove from starting positions 9 and 11 up to 4th and 5th in A2. Congratulations to Jaroslav jun. Kriz for winning his first ETS race – great job!
A3 – The last A-Main saw Jan Gehrig taking the win which brought him to third on the podium overall. Behind the Xray of Gehrig we had a pack of three Mugen Seiki cars taking the places with Nico Eglseer, Timo Siebert, and Simeon Seis. Nico Eglseer improved to second place in the final rankings while Kristian Jensen and Timo Siebert completed the top 5. We saw great battles all weekend long in this nice racing class and we like to congratulate Jaroslav jun. Kriz for his first ever ETS win, and also Nico Elgseer for his first ever ETS podium – well done guys!
Aigen victory for Stiebler in a MUST WATCH third and deciding A-Main
A2 – After David Ehrbar lost A1 to Stiebler already in lap one, the German got everything together in the second final which he could win ahead of Stiebler, Michal Wojcik, Michael Lipperheide, and Robert Kampehl. The decision for the overall victory of ETS RD2 in Austria was moved to the third and last leg of finals between Stiebler and Ehrbar.
A3 – There is not much to say about A-Main number three of the Matrix Formula class. The only thing we tell you is that it is a MUST WATCH final for every fan of RC racing. Michal Wojcik, Michael Lipperheide, and Robert Kampehl took the positions behind the drivers in the race you MST WATCH.
Schumacher, Xray, and Awesomatix the top 3 manufacturers in Modified A1
The first A-Main of the FlySky Modified class saw top qualifier Michal Orlowski executing a perfect race. The Schumacher factory driver and reigning ETS champion had a perfect start and second place starter Bruno Coelho never got close enough with his Xray car to force Orlowski into a mistake. However, Coelho also had a great race to second place and was followed by Simon Lauter, Eric Dankel, and Dominic Greiner. As there was some carnage in the back of the field in the opening lap of the race, many positions changed, and it was not the best race to watch in the middle of the pack.
Masterclass from Bultynck as he takes A1 from Izsay and Sparbier
The first Pro Stock A-Main was relatively uneventful. The top three had almost similar gaps to each other for the whole time and Ollie Bultynck took the win from Adam Izsay, and Sören Sparbier. Bultynck (hot lap 18.007) took the win by 0.8 seconds ahead of Izsay (hot lap 18.064) and is on the right path to win the race here in Aigen. Izsay needs a win in A2 to keep his chances for victory alive. Lukas Ellerbrock finished fourth, and Jesper Rasmussen had a great drive from tenth on the grid up to fifth place.
After the first lap, TQ Dominik Reile got taken out by second placed driver Gergö Valent – bad luck for Reile as Valent should normally have waited for him afterwards. Frederik Hovgaard took over the lead and was followed by Daniel Pöhlmann, Jonas Völker, and Gergö Valent. Valent was trying to get by Völker in lap 9 and pushed Völker into the grass. Not the best driving from Valent in this A-Main as we know that he can do better. Völker`s race was ruined as well and as Valent didn`t receive a stop and go penalty he luckily took third place behind Hovgaard, and Pöhlmann.
David Ehrbar took a hard-fought win in the first A-Main of the 1up Racing 40+ Masters class. His Xray teammate René Kölbel was shadowing him for the entire run and the pressure on Ehrbar was unreal. Kölbel sometimes drove some different lines to lead Ehrbar into a mistake but Ehrbar used all his racing experience and brought home the win in A1 with an advantage of 0.350 of a second over Kölbel. Awesomatix driver Michel Zierold (reigning ETS champion of this class) was another second back ant took third while Ronald Arts and Thomas Wegmann rounded out the top five.
Jaroslav jun. Kriz took an easy win in the first A-Main on Sunday morning. The Xray driver had a good start and won the by a massive gap of 6 seconds ahead of. Behind Kriz, we saw many position changes, crashes, and mistakes on track which mixed the field up a lot. Kristian Jensen, Timo Siebert, Nico Eglseer, and Jan Gehrig took positions 2-5 in the first final on Saturday morning.
The first Formula A-Main saw Andreas Stiebler taking the win after David Ehrbar had a bad first lap. Ehrbar then created a tremendous amount of pressure on Stiebler for the entire run but the ETS champ was able to stand his ground – the gap was at 0.080 only when they crossed the finish line. The formula drivers showed a great race on track and Michal Wojcik, Chris Grenz, and Robert Kampehl completed the top five in A1.
Qualifying is over in Aigen-Schlägl. It was a demanding day for all the racers with the rain interruption in the morning and some changing track conditions during the day. One round of lower mains will take place this evening with the rest of the finals and all A-Mains on the line on Sunday.
Coelho laying down first 21 lap run of the weekend in Q4
After Schumacher`s Michal Orlowski had already sealed the TQ, it was Bruno Coelho who impressed massively in Q4 with the first 21 lap run of the weekend. Coelho secured the second place on the grid and will be the hardest contender for Michal Orlowski in the triple A-Mains on Sunday. Simon Lauter was still on a high in Q4 where he finished second. He will start behind Orlowski and Coelho which “sometimes is the best place to be”.
Marc Rheinard (Awesomatix), Eric Dankel (Awesomatix), and Yannic Prümper completed the top 5 in the last round of Matrix Modified qualifying. It was a very important one for Yokomo`s Prümper as it saved him from ending in the B-Main. Lucas Urbain (Awesomatix), Ronald Völker (Mugen Seiki), Dominic Greiner (Serpent), and Mattia Collina (Schumacher) made the show as well and we can expect an epic showdown on here in Aigen-Schlägl on Sunday.
Awesomatix river Bultynck secures the pole ahead of Xray`s Izsay – Mugen Seik driver Sparbier lining up third on the grid
Reigning ETS Pro Stock champion Olivier Bultynck will start from the sweet spot on the grid into the finals. He took another win in Q4 ahead of a very good driving Sören Sparbier (Mugen Seiki), and Jesper Rasmussen (Awesomatix) who secured his last-minute place in the A-main with a strong third place. The Xray`s of Tobias Sutrich and Matus Benetin completed the top 5 in the last round of Awesomatix Pro Stock qualifying.
Valent jumps to P2 on the grid beside top qualifier Reile
Xray driver Gergö Valent won the last round of FWD qualifying which secured him the second spot on the grid beside top qualifier Dominik Reile (Iris). Top seed Daniel Pöhlmann (Awesomatix) made a mistake in lap 12 and will start from third place into the finals beside Frederik Hovgaard (Yokomo) and Jonas Völker (Iris). Mark Valent (Schumacher), Max Weffers (Xray), Andrea Ghilotti, Alexander Mayer, and Jacques Libar made it into the big show as well. Three thrilling A-mains are ahead of us on Sunday in the Hobbywing FWD class.
Ehrbar steals TQ from teammate Kölbel in Q4 – thrilling finals expected…
The last round of qualifying was the decider for pole position in the 1up racing 40+ Masters class. David Ehrbar got the job done, won the heat, and snatched the pole away from his teammate René Kölbel in the last minute. The starting grid for the finals will be: David Ehrbar TQ, René Kölbel (2), Michel Zierold (3), Ronald Arts (4), Eric Anderson (5), Thomas Wegmann (6), Werner Schmitzer (7), Torsten Baggendorf (8), Elibert Sievers (9), and Anna Ehrbar (10).
Jaroslav jun. Kriz has claimed the very important pole position here in Austria with his Xray X4-2024. The young racer from Slovakia did a great job in qualifying and will see Jan Gehrig (Xray), Nadine Zühlke (ARC), and Kristian Jensen (Xray) lining up right behind him on the grid. Positions 5 to 7 went to the Mugen team with Nico Eglseer, Simeon Seis, and Timo Siebert rocking their MTC-2R touring cars. Tim Jarosch, Richard Kovacs (Xray), and Kai Gerhardt (Yokomo) are completing the grid for the A-Main (plus one bump up driver from the B-main).
Ehrbar does the double as he is on pole in the Formula class as well
After he claimed pole position in the 1up Racing 40+ Masters class an hour before, David Ehrbar (Xray) did the same in the Formula class. Ehrbar won Q4 by 1.4 seconds ahead of Stiebler who will start right behind him on the grid with his Schumacher car. Michal Wojcik confirmed his strong form of the weekend and will start third on the grid while Robert Kampehl and Michael Lipperheide completed the top 5.
Chris Grenz came out of qualifying sixth fastest and Apeldoorn race winner Luka Jovicic had to take P7 on the grid. René Kölbel, Balint Rajki, and Tomas Sova will head into the finals from the last spots of the grid. A bump up driver from the B-main will complete the show later in the eveneing.
