The second round of qualifying at ETS RD1 in the Netherlands marks half-time of qualification and everybody is trying to push as hard as possible for a good result. Some drivers have already scored some decent results while others are under pressure now and need to deliver something. Here is what happened in Q2 in Apeldoorn!
Orlowski wins Q2 as the pack is closing in – Rheinard and Völker recovering from unlucky Q1
In the second round of FlySky Modified qualifying, Schumacher driver Michal Orlowski was starting first out of the gate just to drive one of the slowest opening laps of the heat dropping down to P5. It was Lucas Urbain (Awesomatix) and Ronald Völker (Mugen Seiki) taking over the lead in the first minutes of the race until Orlowski popped up on top of the board again once he found his rhythm on track. Orlowski had a very strong second half of the race and took another win.
But this time, his gap to second placed Marc Rheinard (Awesomatix), third placed Ronald Völker, and fourth placed Lucas Urbain (Awesomatix) was not as big as in Q1 anymore. Rheinard crossed the line 1.6 seconds behind Orlowski with only 0.2 seconds in between Rheinard, Völker, and Urbain. With two out of two, Michal Orlowski is very close to lock in the pole position for the finals now. Story to be continued…..
Ellerbrock again in Q2 while Benson threw away a potential TQ run
Q2 of the Awesomatix Pro Stock class took place on an early Saturday morning and we saw a close fight between Tim Benson (Jambo One) and Lukas Ellerbrock (Awesomatix) again. With both drivers on used tires, it was Benson who jumped into the lead in the early stages of the race. He was leading by 0.5 seconds before he made a small but costly mistake in the fast chicane after the straightway in lap 13.
Benson lost almost a second of time and handed the lead over to Ellerbrock on a silver plate. As they crossed the finish line, Ellerbrock scored his second TQ run of the weekend by half a second over Tim Benson. Olivier Bultynck (Awesomatix) was third fastest, and Rob Janssen (Awesomatix) , Sören Sparbier (Mugen Seiki), and Nico Catelani completed the top 5. The TQ is not decided yet, but the pendulum is clearly swinging to the Ellerbrock side of things!
Stankowitz recovers from a bad Q1 and takes his first TQ run of the weekend
After having a bad run in Q1, Iris driver Manuel Stankowitz was back in the game and took the win in Q2 with six tenths of a second from Roman Borschel (Awesomatix). Stankowitz was the only driver posting a 19.0 lap and clearly had the fastest car on track.
Behind Stankowitz and Borschel, it was the trio of Jacques Libar (Xray), Max Weffers (Xray), and Torsten Baggendorf (ARC) rounding out the top 5 in the second round of Hobbywing Frontwheel qualifying. Q1 winner Nicolas Delisé had to retire his car after 8 laps in Q2 but he will still be in the fight for pole position on Saturday.
Two out of two – Anderson close to seal the overall TQ in the Netherlands
Eric Anderson posted another TQ run in the 1up racing 40+ Masters class. He took full advantage of the clean track in front of him and drove a very clean race with his Awesomatix A800R. In the end, he had an advantage of 1.2 seconds over Torsten Baggendorf (ARC), Elibert Sievers (Awesomatix – fastest lap of the race), and Werner Schmitzer (Xray). With two out of two, Eric Anderson is the top favourite for pole position before the 4ß0+ Masters will head into Q3 and Q4 on Saturday.
Siebert fights back and takes Q2 from Zühlke and Vogler
After making a costly mistake in Q1, Timo Siebert got it together in Q2 and took the win for the round. Nadine Zühlke took second place and was still on top of the rankings after Q2. Jan Vogler, Stefan Rommens, and Wesley van Dejken completed the top 5 on Friday evening. After his TQ run, Timo Siebert is now back in the fight for the pole position and the next two rounds of qualifying will possibly decide it between him and Nadine Zühlke on track.
It was a perfect Friday for Luka Jovicic as he took another win in Q2 of the Formula class. Andreas Stiebler found some pace for Q2 and moved up to second place in front of David Ehrbar and René Kölbel. Everything is looking really good for Jovicic now and he “only” needs to deliver one more perfect run to book the sweet spot on the grid for the triple A-Mains on the beautiful AMCA track!
Atsushi Hara is a true legend of our sport and we are more than happy to have him with us at ETS RD1. Crystal clear that we wanted to look under the hood of the Awesomatix A800R he is using this weekend. Atsushi is pitting together with his friend Marc Rheinard so it was clear for him to use the same car as Marc. The A800R he is running is out of the box with no major tuning parts installed into the car.
Atsushi is using his new Cayote electronics (ESC, Motor, Battery), and uses a Sanwa servo together with an M17 radio to yontrol his car. It is topped off by a Twister Speciale body shell which is painted in his world-famous colours.
Body Shell: Xtreme Twister Speciale 0,4mm Speedo: Cayote Crest X Motor: Cayote 4.5T Battery: Cayote 6000mAh Radio: Sanwa M17 Servo: Sanwa PGS-LHII Tires: Matrix D36 ETS Handout Sponsors and support: Cayote, RC Mart, Yeah Racing, VP PRO, Zero Tribe, MR33, 33 Graphix, YURUGIX, Toyope, Hara Racing
The first round of qualifying is in the books and we have our first TQ runs of the season on the scoreboard. It was a thrilling day at AMCA Apeldoorn and all participants had been on fire on track. The rest of qualifying will take place on Saturday and it is game on at ETS RD1 Season #17 2024/25 in the Netherlands.
Masterclass from Orlowski as he dominates eventful first round of Modified qualifying
The opening round of FlySky Modified qualifying saw Michal Orlowski taking the win with his Mi9 by a huge gap of 4.6 seconds over second placed Awesomatix driver Lucas Urbain. Eric Dankel (Awesomatix) took third for the round and Yokomo`s Yannic Prümper posted the fourth fastest time coming out of the B-sort. His Yokomo teammate Antoine Brunet was able to take fifth place away from Q1. Orlowski was flying out there and posted the fastest overall runtime we have ever seen so far at an ETS race in Apeldoorn – what a statement it was from the reigning ETS champion!
BUT what sounds like a “business as usual” story was even more eventful as many of the drivers in the top heat had huge trouble during their five-minute qualifying run.
We start in lap one: The cars got off the line and fourth place starter Akio Sobue (Axon) was riding the curb in the banked right turn after the timing loop too much and spun into the gras – he stopped some laps later to save tires. Marc Rheinard (Awesomatix) was starting behind Sobue and somehow lost his rhythm after the Sobue incident to spin out as well. Rheinard stopped immediately to save tires. The same for Atsushi Hara – mistake in lap one and he stopped his A800R car too. Dominic Greiner retired his Serpent after only four laps.
Meanwhile, it was Mugen Seiki`s Ronald Völker who was Orlowski`s hardest contender on track running 2-3 seconds behind the Schumacher driver in a close fight for second place with Urbain. But Völker also suffered from bad luck when he had to stop his car due to an electronic issue after 18 laps running in second place.
We saw a lot of bad luck and unusual things for the top drivers in this heat, but others capitalised a lot from that. Yannic Prümper took P4 out of the B-group, Max Mächler posted a great run to P7 out of the C-group with many others scoring good points in Q1. Will “normality” come back in Q2? Can anybody battle Orlowski for the TQ? Many questions ahead of Q2 which will take place on Saturday morning here in Apeldoorn.
Ellerbrock takes super-close first Pro Stock qualifying
Top seed Lukas Ellerbrock (Awesomatix) was really exhausted when he arrived in the interview section under the drivers stand after Q1. The Awesomatix driver had a perfect run on track, but his main contender Tim Benson (Jambo One) also did a fantastic job out there. They were matching lap times lap after lap, and Ellerbrock won the heat by a margin of only 0.216 seconds after five minutes. Benson said that he “lost it to Ellerbrock in the opening laps of the race where he just didn`t drive perfectly”.
It was a very important TQ run for Ellerbrock who has never won in Apeldoorn in the past – the same as Tim Benson. Reigning champion Olivier Bultynck (Awesomatix) posted the third fastest time out of the B-group and Sören Sparbier (Mugen Seiki) and Rob Janssen (Awesomatix) completed the top 5 or the day.
The first round of Hobbywing Frontwheel qualifying saw top seed Manuel Stankowitz having some trouble. The iris driver dropped back to last place after he lost a lot of time in lap 6 allowing Nicolas Delisé (Xray) and Phil Langner (Awesomatix) jumping in into the lead. Max Weffers also joined the party, and the trio had a nice battle for the win in Q1. After five minutes, it was Delisé who took the win by 0.8 seconds with Weffers another second behind them.
Benjamin Elbisser (Xray) and Henrik Heitsch (ARC) completed the top five in the first of four rounds of qualifying in Apeldoorn. Can Stankowitz fight back in Q2? He posted the fastest lap of the heat which clearly shows that the pace is there.
Eric Anderson, the man behind the EAM battery brand, took the win in the opening round of 1up Racing 40+ Masters qualifying. Eric had a great run with his Awesomatix A800R and won the heat by half a second over Dutch local hero Elibert Sievers (Awesomatix), and Xray driver David Ehrbar. Torsten Baggendorf took finished fourth, and top seed Werner Schmitzer dropped down to fifth place in Q1. A great start into qualifying for Eric Anderson, not a perfect one for Werner Schmitzer. What will happen in Q2? We will find out later this evening!
In the Orca 21.5 Stock class, top seed Timo Siebert was in the lead of the race until he made a mistake in lap number eight where he lost 2 seconds of time. Nadine Zühlke took full advantage of it and posted a TQ run ahead of Stefan Rommens, Timo Siebert, Jan Vogler, and Michael Koos. Can Timo Siebert fight back in Q2 this evening, or will Nadine Zühlke win another round of 21.5 Stock qualifying?
Jovicic TQ`s first Formula qualifier of the new season
Luka Jovicic drove a great race with his Xray car in Q1 of the Formula division. He had the fastest lap of the race to his favour (16.137) and won with a comfortable gap of three seconds ahead of his teammate David Ehrbar, and reigning ETS Formula champion Andreas Stiebler (Schumacher). Patrik Sadrinna and Michael Lipperheide completed the top 5 in a very interesting and competitive field of Formula drivers. Q2 will be up next and Jovicic will have another shot for a solid TQ run.
Seeding Practice Report, ETS RD1 Season #17 2024/25
We are right ahead of qualifying at the ETS season opener in the Netherlands and before it is getting really serious here, we like to let you know about the results from the two rounds of controlled seeding practice.
Champion Orlowski with a small margin over his competitors as a stacked field of drivers heads into qualifying
The reigning FlySky Modified class champion Michal Orlowski was on top here on Friday afternoon in the Netherlands. The Schumacher factory driver had an advantage of three tenths over the rest of the field and his car was looking very consistent over the entire run on track. Orlowski mentioned that “It was not easy today and we (him and his mechanic Andy Murray) had to do a lot of wrenching to get the car where we wanted it to be, but finally we found a good setup for the complete runtime on track”. Other drivers had been more in “struggle city” when it came to the true 5-minute pace, and it will be interesting to watch how everybody will perform when the three fastest consecutive laps will not be so important anymore in qualifying.
Lucas Urbain and Eric Dankel had been the quickest Awesomatix drivers in second and third place while Akio Sobue took fourth position with his Axon car. Marc Rheinard seeded in fifth spot with his Awesomatix car at his first outing with his new Cayote electronics. Ronald Völker (Mugen Seiki), Dominic Greiner (Serpent), Atsushi Hara (Awesomatix), Antoine Brunet (Yokomo), and Yannic Prümper (Yokomo) completed the top ten after seeding practice.
The Top 5 after Thursday practice (over 3 consecutive laps)
1. Michal Orlowski (PL) 40.471 Schumacher|Hobbywing 2. Lucas Urbain (FR) 40.781 Awesomatix|ORCA 3. Eric Dankel (DE) 40.840 Awesomatix|Hobbywing 4. Akio Sobue (JP) 40.857 Axon|ORCA 5. Marc Rheinard (DE) 41.029 Awesomatix|Cayote
Ellerbrock begins his hunt for the title, Benson and Sparbier also in the mix
In the Awesomatix ProStock class, last season’s vice-champion Lukas Ellerbrock (Awesomatix) posted the fastest lap times during both rounds of seeding practice. Tim Benson (Jambo One) and Sören Sparbier (Mugen Seiki) had been his closest contenders so far sitting in second and third place, only two and three tenths behind Ellerbrock. The 5-minute qualifying runs will be tough as many drivers are on a similar pace. Young Phil Langner took fourth place in his first (!) Pro Stock seeding practice and was followed by Xray racer Jacques Libar who completed the top 5.
The Top 5 after Thursday practice (over 3 consecutive laps)
1. Lukas Ellerbrock (DE) 48.497 Awesomatix 2. Tim Benson (DE) 48.677 Jambo One 3. Sören Sparbier (DE) 48.748 Mugen Seiki 4. Phil Langner (DE) 48.901 Awesomatix 5. Jacques Libar (LU) 49.182 Xray
Super close FWD practice sessions with Stankowitz coming out as our top seed for qualifying
After having a great day yesterday, Manuel Stankowitz (Iris) continued in the same way and was the fastest FWD driver on track. He was hinted by the rest of the field, and it was the ARC of Henrik Heitsch who was the closest to him. Roman Borschel, Torsten Baggendorf, and Nicolas Delisé completed the top five. Qualifying will be a close affair and everybody is already excited to follow the sessions.
The Top 5 after Thursday practice (over 3 consecutive laps)
1. Manuel Stankowitz (DE) 57.360 Iris 2. Henrik Heitsch (DE) 57.653 ARC 3. Roman Borschel (DE) 57.705 Awesomatix 4. Torsten Baggendorf (DE) 57.757 ARC 5. Nicolas Delisé (BE) 57.770
Werner Schmitzer was the fastest during controlled practice of the 1up Racing 40+ Masters class. Schmitzer had a great pace in the last seeding round and had an advantage of 0,35 seconds over David Ehrbar on the three-lap pace. Elibert Sievers, Eric Anderson, and Torsten Baggendorf completed the top five before the start of qualifying!
The Top 5 after Thursday practice (over 3 consecutive laps)
1. Werner Schmitzer (AT) 52.926 Xray 2. David Ehrbar (DE) 53.275 Xray 3. Elibert Sievers (NL) 53.360 Awesomatix 4. Eric Anderson (US) 53.379 Awesomatix 5. Torsten Baggendorf (DE) 53.445 ARC
Siebert is top seed for qualifying with Zühlke and Vogler right in tow
Mugen driver Timo Siebert made it to the top of the board after the end of seeding practice as he was laying down the fastest times in the last round of controlled practice. He will start first into qualifying followed by Nadine Zühlke, and Jan Vogler.
The Top 5 after Thursday practice (over 3 consecutive laps)
1. Timo Siebert (DE) 53.338 Mugen Seiki 2. Nadine Zühlke (DE) 53.657 ARC 3. Jan Vogler (DE) 54.030 Awesomatix 4. Kristian Jensen (DK) 54.211 Xray 5. Markus Ernst (DE) 54.432 Mugen Seiki
Luka Jovicic from Luxembourg came out of seeding practice as the fastest driver. Jovicic was leading an all Xray 1-2-3-4 after seeding and was followed by David Ehrbar, Michael Lipperheide, and René Kölbel. Reigning Formula champion Andreas Stiebler (Schumacher) was only seventh fastest and needs to improve his pace for qualifying to battle for a top result here in the Netherlands.
The Top 5 after Thursday practice (over 3 consecutive laps)
1. Luka Jovicic (LU) 49.011 Xray 2. David Ehrbar (DE) 49.311 Xray 3. Michael Lipperheide (DE) 49.370 Xray 4. René Kölbel (AT) 49.487 Xray 5. Patrik Sadrinna (DE) 49.629
We had been able to take a look under the hood of Axon`s TC10/3 which is running in the Fly Sky Modified class with Akio Sobue in control here at ETS RD1 in Apeldoorn. The Japanese Axon factory driver is rocking his TC10/3 which is featuring some ballast weights under the suspension arms, an all titanium screw set, and X10 ball bearings all from Axon. Akio is also using some Axon prototype parts which will be available to the market very soon. The rest of Akio`s TC10/3 is as it comes out of the box.
On the electronic side, Akio Sobue is trusting in his complete ORCA power package in combination with a Sanwea M17 radio and servo. His car is topped with a Twister body shell in his trademark colour scheme.
Scotty Ernst talked to 4 former ISTC IFMAR world champions and true ETS legends during the season opener #17 2024/25. Listen to the stories of Atsushi Hara, Marc Rheinard, Ronald Völker, and Jilles Groskamp!
Christopher Krapp is running the new Yokomo MS1.0 touring car here at the ETS Season opener in the Netherlands. It is the first big ETS race for the new “Master Speed” platform and Christopher is using the car almost as it comes out of the box. He has added some T-Works body stoppers, Aluminum Spool and Diff Outdrives, and a full T-Works titanium screw set to upgrade his car a little bit.
A Racing Performer ESC and Motor is responsible for the power output which get`s delivered by a Gens Ace Redline 2.0 6500mAh LiPo battery. A Power HD S15-Y servo and a Sanwa M17 is completing the electronic package of Chrissis MS1.0 and his Xtreme Twister body is painted by TD-Paint as always.
Body Shell: Xtreme Twister 0,4mm Speedo: Racing Performer RPX3 Motor: Racing Performer M3 4.5T Battery: Gens Ace Redling 2.0 6500mAh Radio: Sanwa M17 Servo: Power HD S15-Y Tires: Matrix D36 ETS Handout Sponsors and support: Yokomo, Racing Performer, Gens Ace, Power HD, T-Work`s, Mibosport, P-Stickers, TD-Paint
The seventeenth (!) season of the Euro Touring Season is underway and day one is already in the books. The 250 racers had 5 rounds of free practice to find back in their rhythm of ETS racing after some weeks of a break for most of them. The weather was stable all day with some light breezes of wind and a temperature around 16-18 degrees. The forecast for the weekend looks good as well and we are expecting great races on the track of AMCA Apeldoorn.
Urbain nails the three magic laps of the day in FP4 – Orlowski and Völker taking second and third place at the AMCA track on Thursday
The FlySky Modified class saw Awesomatix factory driver Lucas Urbain nailing some really hot laps during the fourth of five practice sessions on Thursday. The Awesomatix driver was on fire and posted a 40.237 over three consecutive laps. Reigning ETS champion Michal Orlowski (Schumacher) finished second for the day with a 40.588 followed by the Mugen Seiki of Ronald Völker who was able to do a 40.831 in the last heat of the day. Marc Rheinard (Awesomatix) and Yannic Prümper (Yokomo) completed the top five at the opening day of ETS Season #17 2024/25 in Apeldoorn
The Top 5 after Thursday practice (over 3 consecutive laps)
1. Lucas Urbain (FR) 40.237 Awesomatix|ORCA 2. Michal Orlowski (PL) 40.588 Schumacher|Hobbywing 3. Ronald Völker (DE) 40.831 Mugen Seiki|LRP 4. Marc Rheinard () 41.000 Awesomatix|Cayote 5. Yannic Prümper (DE) 41.081 Yokomo|ORCA
Ellerbrock leads ahead of champion Bultynck and a quick Dutch trio after free practice
In the Awesomatix ProStock class we saw two familiar drivers on top – Lukas Ellerbrock and his teammate Olivier Bultynck. Both had been on a very similar pace with a huge gap over the rest of the field (on the pure three lap pace). Behind them we saw a very fast Dutch trio of Timon Coenen, Rob Janssen, and Bart Wubben who all looked very quick on the AMCA track. Ellerbrock and Bultynck will be hard to beat but it looks like there is a big chance to see some new names in the A-Main of the Pro Stock class this weekend.
The Top 5 after Thursday practice (over 3 consecutive laps)
Stankowitz fastest during free FWD practice sessions
Manuel Stankowitz (Iris) topped the time sheets in the Netherlands on Thursday. He had a good pace and posted the three hottest laps of the day in front of Phil Langner (Awesomatix), Roman Borschel (Awesomatix), Jacques Libar (Xray), and Nicolas Delisé (Xray). The top 10 had been very close and we are expecting some thrilling qualifying runs on Friday and Saturday.
The Top 5 after Thursday practice (over 3 consecutive laps)
1. Manuel Stankowitz (DE) 57.394 Iris 2. Phil Langner (DE) 57.751 Awesomatix 3. Roman Borschel (DE) 57.861 Awesomatix 4. Jacques Libar (LU) 58.008 Xray 5. Nicolas Delisé (BE) 58.015 Xray
Ahead of the competition on day one – local hero Sievers
After always running strong here in Apeldoorn (with a win in 2022), it was no surprise that Elibert Sievers would be in contention for another top result on home soil. The Awesomatix driver was fastest in free practice and had a comfortable looking gap of half a second (on three lap pace) over our reigning 1up Racing 40+ Masters champion Michel Zierold (Awesomatix), and third placed Werner Schmitzer (Xray). The winner of the last two races, David Ehrbar (Xray), took P4 for the day and was followed by Torsten Baggendorf in the fifth spot.
The Top 5 after Thursday practice (over 3 consecutive laps)
1. Elibert Sievers (NL) 52.651 Awesomatix 2. Michel Zierold (DE) 53.167 Awesomatix 3. Werner Schmitzer (AT) 53.212 Xray 4. David Ehrbar (DE) 53.257 Xray 5.Torsten Baggendorf (DE) 53.408 ARC
In the Orca 21.5 Stock class, Nadine Zühlke (ARC) showed a very good pace as she posted the fastest three consecutive laps of the day in the fourth practice round. Timo Siebert (Mugen Seiki) was second fastest, followed by Jan Vogler, Tobias Baumbach, and Holger Wittek.
The Top 5 after Thursday practice (over 3 consecutive laps)
Jovicic tops free practice at ETS season opener in Apeldoorn
Luka Jovicic (Xray) was surprisingly strong here at the first day in Apeldoorn. He outpaced his contenders by almost a second over the three fastest consecutive laps which is something we do not see very often. Behind Jovicic we saw Chris Grenz (Xray), David Ehrbar (Xray), champion Andreas Stiebler (Schumacher), and Robert Kampehl (Schumacher).
The Top 5 after Thursday practice (over 3 consecutive laps)
1. Luka Jovicic (LU) 48.556 Xray 2. Chris Grenz (DE) 49.423 Xray 3. David Ehrbar (DE) 49.495 Xray 4. Andreas Stiebler (AT) 49.526 Schumacher 5. Robert Kampehl (DE) 49.920 Schumacher
One day before the start of ETS Season #17 2024/25 we have some amazing news to share with all of you!
Normally, only RC manufacturers are our partners and sponsors. This has changed now, and today we are happy to announce that former Yokomo car designer and world-famous race mechanic Yukijiro Umino has become our partner as a private individual person.
Yukijiro Umino will support the ETS with an Associated Sponsor agreement. In addition to that, he will sponsor the drivers party at the season finale in the same way he did at the last one in Wiener Neustadt which was just fantastc.
After Umino left the RC scene some years ago, he started a successful business in Japan which has nothing to do with racing anymore.
„For many years, the ETS was the most important competition in my RC career and I am grateful for all the amazing moments and memories I have. The ETS and the people around it helped me to become the person I am which is something I will forever be thankful for. Now, I like to give something back and hope that my support can help the ETS to offer the best possible events to all the RC racers. Good luck everyone for the new season“
Yukijiro Umino
The whole ETS crew likes to thank Umino for this outstanding gesture and it is an honour for us to call him a supporter of the Euro Touring Series.
We are heading into season #17 and will start the new campaign at a very well-known place: the amazing AMCA Apeldoorn track and facility. It is the third time in a row to kick off a new season at this great place and 257 entries are speaking for themselves. The crew from the AMCA club will ensure a smooth event as always and the weather forecast looks pretty stable at the moment (fingers crossed).
The ETS crew will go into the new season without any changes. Scotty Ernst will lay his legendary voice all over the race while Uwe Rheinard will be in charge to manage everything else around the event with his helpers and the local club. Hartmut Wenzel will care about the scoring and timing where he is always doing a perfect job. On the media site of things, RC Racing TV will produce another great live coverage (with some new features) in addition with the amazing pictures from Chris Sandner, the reports and live interviews from the ETS race reporters Oli Meggitt and Patrick Beck, and the technical support of Oliver Storm.
Sponsors for ETS Season #17 2024/24
We are proud and happy to have so many companies on our side who are supporting what we do. Without our wonderful sponsors, the ETS could not happen. The cooperation with most of the companies is lasting since many years, but we also like to welcome our new partners FlySky, Cayote, and PIPaero – welcome to the ETS family.
Our proud sponsors for ETS Season #17 2024/25
The new season consists of five instead of six races, with four races to count for the championship – a huge challenge for all racers as there will be only one throw out result for everybody. Now it is time to focus on the new season and our ETS racing classes. Not a lot has changed in the rules and the ETS will continue in the same way with the best possible transparency and clear and easy rules. We wish everybody a lot of fun, great success, and most important – a great time with your friends and the ETS family trackside. Let`s get it started….
New for Season #17: The ETS Constructor`s championship
You all know the constructors championship from Formula 1, and we like to do something in this direction to make the ETS even more thrilling for teams and manufacturers. Therefore we have created some simple rules to get the project underway. We are pretty sure that we have found a good balance to make it interesting, but not too complicated for the start. As the season will progress, we will see how it will work with these rules we have set for Season #17. We will also keep everybody updated about the actual standings in our reports after every race. Which manufacturer will become our first Constructor`s Champion?
Can somebody end Orlowski’s winning streak?
The Modified class is now sponsored by FlySky and will carry this name throughout the whole season. With 59 entries, there is a clear upwards trend for the premier class of electric touring car racing which is GREAT to see!
Last Seasons Top 3 in Apeldoorn: Michal Orlowski (1), Lucas Urbain (2), Eric Dankel (3)
Our reigning champion, Michal Orlowski (Schumacher), will be the man to beat after he won all the four races which he attended last season from pole position. His championship winning Schumacher Mi9 touring car is available to the public since a couple of weeks and we are excited to see how the Schumacher team will further grow during the season. As Orlowski is not a hunter anymore, he will feel a different pressure from now on as everybody expects him to win again and again and again….!
There will be many well-known names hunting Orlowski down for the overall modified championship of ETS season #17. The Awesomatix team with Marc Rheinard, Lucas Urbain, Eric Dankel, Simon Lauter (just to name a few) will use their current A800R which has received some factory upgrade parts lately. Dankel and Urbain had been super-fast at the TOS race in Apeldoorn some weeks ago and the whole team will be a serious contender for the race win at ETS RD1.
Mugen Seiki factory driver Ronald Völker will rock his MTC-2R together with Robert Pietsch, Remi Callens, and Sören Sparbier. Völker showed a very strong performance at the TITC in Thailand where he claimed the TQ spot and was not able to win the race just because of some very bad luck in the finals. Völker has never won in Apeldoorn, and it is something he will aim for with maximum motivation. Can the record ETS champion win the title back from Orlowski?
The Yokomo team around Chrissi Krapp, Yannic Prümper, and Antoine Brunet will use their brand new MS1.0 touring car for the first time at a major race in Europe. The MS1.0 looks improved compared to the BD12 and the team was already posting positive feedback on their social media platforms. Yannic Prümper won the race in Apeldoorn 2 years ago and it seems that this track suits his aggressive driving style a lot. Can he repeat the victory for Yokomo?
Xray will trust their drivers Adam Izsay, Harley Eldridge, and Alessio Menicucci. Adam Izsay had a great race at RD5 in Daun where he finished second behind race winner Orlowski. A real breakthrough for the Hungarian racer. Harley Eldridge made it into the A-Main at the season finale in Austria and became the first ever female racer to qualify for the Modified A-finals at the ETS. Alessio Menicucci will come back to the ETS after a longer break but we all know that he is still very fast on track.
But there are some more BIG NAMES on the list of entries. First, Atsushi Hara from Japan. Hara is one of the most famous RC racers of all time and he will race an Awesomatix A800R and will pit together with his good friend and old rival Marc Rheinard. Everybody is super happy that Atsushi can make the trip over to Europe to race with the ETS family again.
Akio Sobue will fly the flag for the Axon team with their TC10/3. Akio is a crazy fast racer and we can expect a lot from him. He finished sixth at last year`s ETS race in Apeldoorn when he used kind of a first Axon prototype car. Let`s see how the full production version of the Axon car will compete against all the others.
Dutch superstar and former IFMAR world champion Jilles Groskamp will be the hottest iron on the list for Infinity. Jilles moved back to Europe after he lived in Thailand for a long time and he should be well prepared for the event in his home country. Jilles is always very analytic when it comes to setups. tires, and laptimes, and he will try everything to achieve a good result!
Dominic Greiner from the Serpent team will have Jeff Hamon from Australia racing with him. Greiner already knows the track in Apeldoorn from several nitro races and he can be a guy to watch during the weekend for sure. Can Greiner (or Hamon) put the Serpent car into the A-Main?
Will Season #17 bring us another three-horse race between Bultynck, Izsay, and Ellerbrock, or will somebody crash the Pro Stock party?
We saw an epic battle for the Pro Stock championship title last season. Lukas Ellerbrock (Awesomatix), Adam Izsay (Xray), and Olivier Bultynck (Awesomatix) won two races each and made it the most thrilling fight we have seen in many years. In the end, Ollie Bultynck was the lucky guy and took the big trophy away from the season finale in Wiener Neustadt while Lukas Ellerbrock snatched second place away from Adam Izsay on the last day of the campaign.
Last Seasons Top 3 in Apeldoorn: Olivier Bultynck (1), Lukas Ellerbrock (2), Max Mächler (3)
The top three drivers had been very dominant last season and we are really looking forward to the hunt for the most prestigious stock racing title on the planet. With many other talented drivers on the list of entries (64 in total) there are many potential contenders which all will try to make life harder for last season`s top trio.
The first of these guys can be Tim Benson (Awesomatix) who was close to win the race in Apeldoorn in the last two years. But he never got the job done and finished two times second. He has kind of an open bill with Apeldoorn and will be one to watch in the next days.
Other names on the list of entries with the potential for a top result are Sören Sparbier (Mugen Seiki), the Dutch drivers Rick van den Akker (Xray), Rob Jansen (Awesomatix), and Robin van Gog (Awesomatix), as well as routineer Jacques Libar (Xray), and the youngsters Phil Langner (Awesomatix), Benjamin Elbisser (Xray), Maximilian Unterschütz (Mugen Seiki) and Niclas Storm (Mugen Seiki). We also noticed the return of Italian racer Nico Catelani to the ETS. He was also very good in the past and we are excited to see him in Apeldoorn again. Some of the “golden boys” will also race in Apeldoorn (Helge Johannesen, Henrik Heitsch) and we know that there are so many more names which we forgot to put into the mix here.
The Awesomatix Pro Stock class is waiting for us, and we hope for another outstanding season of 17.5 stock touring car racing on the highest level. Let`s find out who will be the surprise of the new season 🙂
WANTED – ETS is looking for a new FWD Champion!
Adam Izsay won the championship in a very dominant way during the last season. Now, Adam is focussing on racing Pro Stock and Modified only, and that means we are looking for a NEW champion in the Hobbywing Frontwheel class.
Last Seasons Top 3 in Apeldoorn: Adam Izsay (1), Max Weffers (2), Roman Borschel (3)
When we look on the 53 entries for Apeldoorn we immediately see some fast guys with a shop for the win. Local hero Robin van Gog (Awesomatix) is expected to be fast, Max Weffers will be full of motivation after changing to an Xray chassis. We have other strong drivers like Manuel Stankowitz (Iris), Phil Langner (Awesomatix), Benjamin Elbisser (Xray), Jacques Libar (Xray), Roman Borschel (Awesomatix), Torsten Baggendorf (ARC), Henrik Heitsch (ARC), and Nicolas Delise (Xray) which should all have a serious shot for the A-Main in Apeldoorn. Who will be Izsay’s successor at the end of the season? The hunt for the title begins this week in Holland!
Can Zierold repeat his strong performance, or will Ehrbar dominate the class as he did at the end of Season #16?
The 1up Racing 40+ Masters class saw a nice and clean battle for the title between René Kölbel (Xray), Michel Zierold (Awesomatix), and Mirco Thalheimer (Xray). All drivers had been able to win races last season and the title went to Michel Zierold and Awesomatix in the end. BUT, it was David Ehrbar who took the win at the last two races of the season (Daun and Wiener Neustadt) when he started to race in the 40+ Masters class beside his Formula racing programme. As Ehrbar looked way far ahead of his competitors, we are leaning ourselves out of the window now (what we normally never do), and appoint him as the top favourite for the title in the new season!
Last Seasons Top 3 in Apeldoorn: René Kölbel (1), Eric Anderson (2), Toni Mateo (3)
Michel Zierold, René Kölbel, Mirco Thalheimer, Manuel Stankowitz, Toni Mateo, Frank Fuchs, Werner Schmitzer, Torsten Baggendorf – these are the names we know from the 40+ class since a couple of years now. Will David Ehrbar be able to beat all of them in the new season? Well, it will not be an easy task for Xray driver Ehrbar and the first race in Apeldoorn will give us a first taste of the power rankings for the new season. US racer and “Mister EAM Battery” Eric Anderson will also join the party. He had a nice weekend last year and was on the podium !
Who will follow in Bergheim’s footsteps? New champion to be crowned in Season #17
Season #16 of the Euro Touring Series saw Awesomatix driver Tristan Bergheim becoming the first ever 21.5 Stock champion after implementing these motors to the series. The races had been great and Bergheim was our well-deserved winner after a thrilling battle with young and quick Phil Langner(Awesomatix). The last race of the season was the decider and as Bergheim and Langner are now both stepping up into the Pro Stock class, we need to find a new champion 😊.
Last Seasons Top 3 in Apeldoorn: Tristan Bergheim (1), Timo Siebert (2), Tobias Baumbach (3)
Well, Timo Siebert (Mugen Seiki) was third overall at the end of the last season and he is really investing a lot of time into practice and preparation. He has never won an ETS race before, can Season #17 become his time to succeed? We have 20 entries for the class (was somehow that low as well in Apeldoorn last year) and names like Tobias Baumbach (Xray, former ETS race winner), Elena Fuchs (Xray), Jan Vogler, Nadine Zühlke (ARC), Michael Koos (to only name a few) can all be in contention for a podium or race win in this racing class. We are more than excited to see who will step into the role of the dominating driver this season!
Stiebler chasing the title hattrick in the Formula class
The Formula class is fully packed with fast guys (total of 26 entries) and reigning champion Andreas Stiebler (Schumacher) will try to win his third consecutive title in a row this season – something that only Xray`s Jan Ratheisky was able to do in the past when he won four (!) in a row between 2012 and 2016. Stiebler will see his main competition in Jan Ratheisky (not racing in Apeldoorn) and David Ehrbar (Xray) once again as these three drivers are dominating the class since years.
Last Seasons Top 3 in Apeldoorn: Andreas Stiebler (1), Jan Ratheisky (2), Herbert Weber (3)
German 1:12 scale stock champion Thomas Stenger (Schumacher) has signed up for the race – maybe he can get up to speed as well to battle with the top dogs. The Xray trio Luka Jovicic, René Kölbel, and Herbert Weber is always quick and they will also be in the mix for the top positions of the Matrix Formula class during ETS Season #17 2024/25 together with Alex Bremer (Schumacher), Chris Grenz (Xray), and Robert Kampehl (Schumacher). Formula drivers – let`s bring the heat!
Thay was our little preview report ahead of the season opener in Apeldoorn. We will be practicing n Thursday before the real action starts on Friday – follow us on Facebook, YouTube, and on our website ets.racing!
