ETS Video Master Hanno van den Boogaard edited a nice video clip from our last ETS race in Austria . Enjoy some impressions and let us take you back to the action and experiences from ETS RD2 at the MAV Aigen-Schlägl. Once again, thanks to Hanno from RC Race Video and to Tom Wald from Bildwald for the pictures!
Enjoy the video!
Video Compilation ETS RD2 Season #15 2022/23 MAV Aigen-Schlägl, AUT
Mon-Tech names third body shell for current Season #15 2022/23
Dear ETS Family,
today we like to inform all Pro Stock and Modified racers, that Mon-Tech has now listed their third body shell for the actual season of the Euro Touring Series.
The company has decided to list their newest EVO2 body shell from their lineup of 1:10 scale touring car bodies. The EVO2 will be allowed in the Awesomatix Pro Stock, and Matrix Modified class for the rest of season #15. The first chance to use this body is ETS RD3 at Arena33 in Andernach!
The list of Mon-Tech body shells is now completed for all classes, and in Pro Stock and Modified the drivers can select from the Mon-Tech Zero, Imola, and EVO2 body shell.
In the 40+ Masters, and 17.5 Stock lass, drivers will stay with the Mon-Tech Zero body shell until the end of the season.
Mon-Tech Part Number:
MB-022-006 Mon-Tech EVO2 Touring Car Body Shell 0,7 mm
MB-022-006L Mon-Tech EVO2 Touring Car Body Shell 0,5 mm “La Leggera”
ETS Race Recap RD2 Season #15 2022/223 MAV Aigen-Schlägl, AUT
RD2 in “hot Austria” on beautiful track in picture perfect location
The Euro Touring Series stopped in Austria for RD2 of the current season. The MAV Aigen-Schlägl organized an amazing weekend for all participants, and everybody had maximum fun on, and off the track. The racetrack in Aigen is one of the best the ETS has ever been to, and the lights are already relatively far on green for a repeat next year.
Let`s head back to Aigen to review the race results and some other interesting things we noticed during the second encounter of ETS Season #15 2022/23.
The ground of the MAV Aigen-Schlägl, an outstanding facility
For most of our frequent ETS racers, it was the first time they travelled to Aigen. It was the first ETS race on this amazing track which was prepared perfectly by the local club. Most drivers had been very surprised by the track and it`s character when they arrived in Aigen as the banking’s and elevation changes looked way more intense in real life, compared to the pictures of the track they have seen before.
Driver and Team performances
Now it is time to analyse the racing action which we saw at ETS RD2 in Aigen. We saw most of the top drivers form RD1 on track with some others joining again. Let`s read what the teams and drivers achieved in Aigen-Schlägl!
Matrix Modified and Awesomatix Pro Stock
Yokomo BD11 continues winning in the hands of new championship’s leader Krapp
Team Yokomo is really on a high with their new BD11 car. The new touring car from the Japanese manufacturer got released shortly before the first ETS race of Season #15 2022/23 in Apeldoorn, where Yannic Prümper took the win in front of Mugen Seiki`s Ronald Völker, and his Yokomo teammate Christopher Krapp. Unfortunately, Yannic Prümper was not able to attend in Aigen and all eyes had been on Christopher Krapp who was the only “top gun” on the line for Yokomo this weekend while also French Yokomo racer Loic Jasmin was not on the list of entries.
But however, Christopher Krapp was right on pace from the first round of practice and brought a very strong weekend to an end after crossing the line cheering, screaming, and winning the overall race in A2. Christopher was able to take the pole position after winning two rounds of qualifying with his BD11 and drove two flawless finals (A1+A2) ahead of Akio Sobue and Ronald Völker. The BD11 looked very, very strong on both tracks (Apeldoorn + Aigen), and as the track for RD3 in Andernach is completely different we will see what the Yokomo team will achieve there. Krapp is now leading the overall championship and we can look forward to the rest of the season with a lot of excitement.
In the Awesomatix Pro Stock class, Yokomo`s Enrico Jung had a weekend to forget. He said that his car felt really good, and that it had the pace for a possible top 5 finish. But in the end, he made too many costly driver mistakes and ended up in the B-Main (P15) at the end. Enrico made the A-Main at both Arena33 races of last season, so he will travel to Andernach with good vibes for sure. The BD11 is locked and loaded, and Enrico just needs to get the car`s performance on track again for a top result!
Axon drivers Sobue and Ishioka with strong modified performance in Austria
We saw a small, but very strong and super sympathetic team from Axon (Japan) attending ETS RD2 in Aigen-Schlägl. The well-known Japanese top driver Akio Sobue, his teammate Hayato Ishioka, and Axon boss Hidetoshi Mitsusada. They made the trip to Austria directly from Gubbio (Italy), where they attended the worlds warmup race.
Their car, the Axon TC10/2, is not a complete car kit which you can buy at hobby shops. But Axon is offering a conversion kit to transform the Yokomo BD10 into the Axon TC10/2. The upgrade kit includes parts like new upper bulkhead clamps, split shock towers, Bulkhead stiffeners, horizontal rear body posts, super short Axon big bore shocks, as well as a carbon fibre chassis and Topdeck. The car worked good on the demanding track in Aigen, and Akio Sobue was able to line up second on the grid (with winning the second round of qualifying). His teammate Hayato Ishioka also made the A-Main at his first ever ETS event with P10 on the grid. Hayato also had a very good round of qualifying in Q3, where he was leading the head at the four-minute mark before making one costly mistake dropping back to P5 for the round. But overall, a very strong ETS debut from Ishioka.
The Axon TC10/2 conversion kit is a great opportunity for all Yokomo BD10 racers who like to upgrade their existing car without switching to the newest model from Yokomo (BD11). The strong second place finish from Akio Sobue (with a win in A3 ahead of Völker), and the eight place from Hayato Ishioka really showed that their Axon car is ready for top level racing!
Mugen Seiki with strong pace in practice, three cars in the modified A-Main, and some problems in hot conditions
Overall, the weekend was not too bad for Mugen Seiki and their lead drivers Ronald Völker, Robert Pietsch, and Eric Dankel. The race started very good, especially for Völker and Pietsch who both topped the free practice sessions on Thursday. Their gap to the rest of the field (over three laps) also looked very promising for them and everybody had Völker in mind for a possible TQ in Aigen-Schlägl. Also the controlled practice was very good for the team with Völker in third position. Pietsch and Dankel dropped down to 10th and 11th and started qualifying in the second fastest heat.
As it got even hotter on Friday afternoon, Ronald scored a third place in Q1, just 0.5 behind TQ Krapp. But as Q2 got underway on Friday evening, the track temperatures had been as hot as never before and suddenly Ronald lost some pace and couldn`t fight for a top 3 result. In Q3, which Ronald did on used tires, he was on pace again with another third for the round. In the last round he was laying down a TQ run on new tires and lined up third on the grid.
Dankel and Pietsch also made the A-Main with their times coming from the second fastest group. So, it was a little up and down for the Mugen team and it seems like they need to improve their car for super-hot conditions on a high-speed track like this. The reigning champion Ronald Völker was not missing a lot from his car, but that was enough for not being able to TQ the event at all.
In the triple A-Mains of the Matrix Modified class, Ronald Völker tried everything to improve his third position on the grid, but after finishing 3rd, 2nd, and 1st he had to settle for third overall on the podium beside race winner Krapp and second placed Sobue. Robert Pietsch and Eric Dankel finished 10th and 11th overall. Three cars in the A-Main and one on the podium was a good result for Mugen Seiki, but as we all know how competitive Ronald Völker is, he will try a lot to improve the car in hot conditions for the next race on a tracklike this again.
In Awesomatix Pro Stock class, the highest ranked driver was Kevin Sparbier who finished 18th overall. He had some good pace in practice and qualifying but was not able to make the cut. In this class, there is still some room for improvement for the Japanese manufacturer Mugen Seiki.
Awesomatix in control of the Pro Stock class with Lauter victory in Austria – Rheinard finished fourth overall in Modified
What is still a little complicated for most other teams, is looking like a walk in the park for Awesomatix. They are winning race after race in the Pro Stock class and are now counting five victories in a row since Xray`s Alexandre Duchet was the last “non Awesomatix” race winner last season at Arena33 (ETS R2 #14). The A800MMX touring car is on rails at every race and when you watch the top guys like Mächler, Lauter, Mikkelsen, Bultynck, Kunkler (to only name a few) driving, you can easily see that they are full of confidence, trust, and enjoyment with their Awesomatix rides. Everything seems to be close to perfection and we cannot see anybody to break that winning streak right now!
In Aigen-Schlägl, Simon Lauter was the fastest Awesomatix driver and took the overall win from pole position in front of Max Mächler and a very quick Frederik Mikkelsen. All the others Awesomatix drivers had been on an almost similar pace and the top 6 positions all went to A800MX drivers. Another good example for the strength of the Awesomatix car was Toni Rheinard`s sixth place in Aigen. For sure, everybody knew that Toni was a very strong top driver in the past. But when you arrive to an ETS race with almost no practice for 2-3 years, it is not easy to battle with the top guys immediately. Toni got the job done and the speed of the Awesomatix A800MMX helped him to achieve this great result for sure!
In the Matrix Modified class, the Awesomatix team is still waiting for a race win at the ETS since quite some time. Marc Rheinard and Lucas Urbain showed great pace in Austria, and especially Marc was only 0.3 seconds away from winning the first two rounds of qualifying. In the end he started fourth on the grid and had no more chance to fight for the win in Austria. This was another good example; how important a pole position can be in high class RC racing.
Lucas Urbain finished fifth overall after strong fights in the midfield, and Dominic Vogl bumped up from the B-Main and took P8 overall. As easy as the racing programme looks for Awesomatix in the Pro Stock class, it is a different story in Modified. The pace is always good and close to the absolute top, but in the end the luck was not on their side and they have to aim for a win again at RD3 in Andernach.
Xray drivers with solid A-Main finishes in Austria while not being in the mix for overall win
The Xray team left Aigen with some top 10 trophies in the bag. In the Matrix Modified class, Oliver Havranek finished 6th overall and showed his pure speed and race craft. It is always great to watch him driving as he is always pushing very hard while still having everything under control. Hie teammate Marc Kaufmann was also right on pace in Aigen and finished directly behind Havranek in seventh place. His highlight of the weekend was the third-place finish in Q2 which helped him a lot to get up to seventh place on the grid at the end of qualifying. The X4 cars of Kaufmann and Havranek looked very strong and “racy” on track in all weather conditions. With Kaufmann and Havranek being absolute top drivers, Xray is still missing the quality of Alexander Hagberg and Bruno Coelho at the races. They always had been in the mix for overall victory – especially Bruno.
In the Awesomatix Pro Stock class, we saw two Xray X4 drivers in the A-Main. Stefan Schulz made it into the “big show” for the first time with a second place run in Q4 sealing fifth place on the grid for the reigning FWD champion. Hie teammate and routineer David Ehrbar celebrated his ETS touring car A-Main comeback in Aigen too, and qualified ninth with his X4. Both showed great racing in the mains and walked away from Austria with 7th (Schulz) and 11th (Ehrbar) positions.
For Xray, the situation in the Pro Stock class is the same as in modified – top drivers on the line, X4 cars in the A-Main, but no real shot for the overall win without Duchet or Ratheisky. But after we already spotted Jan Ratheisky on the list of entries for RD3 in Andernach, we are excited what he can do against the strong Awesomatix competition. Jan showed that he has the potential to win any ETS race he is going to – will we see him on top for Xray at Arena33?
Good debut for the ARC A10 with double A-Main appearance in Austria
ARC released their new A10 touring car some days before the race in Aigen-Schlägl. For ARC, the A10 is a car with a lot of new updates and parts as it has a new and modern “state of the art” chassis layout. The A10 made a strong debut with Lars Hoppe qualifying 10th on the grid for the Awesomatix Pro Stock A-Main where he finished 8th overall after the triple A-Mains.
Helge Johannessen from Norway won the B-Main. The car looked competitive out there and will get even stronger as soon as the team has gained some more knowledge about all the setup parameters and the car`s reaction to setup changes.
Henrik Heitsch raced in the Orca 17.5 Stock class and booked scored a fifth place overall for the A10 after lining up fourth on the grid. Not a bad debut for the new ARC A10 in a very competitive field of racers in Austria. The new ARC looks like a brilliant alternative on the market now!
New Serpent Medius X20`23 missing the A-Main while still looking fast on track
The second brand new car in Austria was the Serpent Medius X20`23 which got wheeled by Serpent team driver Sören Sparbier and some customers as well. Sören, who made the A-Main at ETD Rd1 in the Netherlands with a prototype car, was 5th after the free practice sessions on Thursday. But as controlled practice started, he dropped down to P14 finding himself in the second fastest qualifying heat of the Awesomatix Pro Stock class. He had two top 10 runs in qualifying but ended second on the grid for the B-Main. There, he had an amazing fight with Lukas Ellerbrock (Xray), Adam Izsay (Xray), and Helge Johannessen (ARC). Sören had some bad luck as he had to stop the car with a broken spur gear in the deciding laps of the race. He would have had a serious chance to bump up into the A-Main. His driving was on point, and we can expect him to be strong again at RD3 at Arena33 in August. The new Serpent Medius X20`23 looks like a strong contender on track!
Hobbywing Frontwheel
The return of the champion – Xray`s Schulz wins FWD class in a surprisingly dominant way
In the Hobbywing Frontwheel class, we saw the return of reigning ETS champion Stefan Schulz to the field of drivers. In practice all drivers had been very close, and Schulz was sitting in fifth position on Thursday evening. As the controlled practice started, Schulz somehow picked up the pace and was very dominant until the end of the weekend. He won three out of four rounds of qualifying (with one DNF) and had a gap of 4 seconds to the rest of the field in every run. All the other drivers just had no chance to match the pace of Schulz on track – something which we have not seen since a while in any way! In the FWD class. In the end, Stefan celebrated his first win of the season in his first race and is now back in the fight for a second consecutive ETS title.
Behind Schulz, Robin van Gog had a great weekend with his Awesomatix A800FX and was battling for second place with Netherlands race winner Steven Olsen who was also running strong as always with his Awesomatix A800FX Evo. In the end, van Gog took second (his best ETS result so far) and Olsen stepped on the last remaining spot on the podium beside Schulz and van Gog. Mugen Seiki driver Kevin Sparbier had great fights with Toni Rheinard in the finals and finished fourth overall ahead of Rheinard in fifth. The FWD cars looked amazing on this track and all drivers highlighted to drive their cars here in Austria – another huge aspect to come back to this venue next season!
Scorpion Formula
Another first-time race winner as Stiebler celebrates victory in Austria
Schumacher`s Andreas Stiebler was on a high at ETS Rd2 in Aigen-Schlägl. After a lot of strong races in the past years, he finally was able to step o the top spot of the podium in his home country. He was in Aigen with his father, and they worked very hard to top practice, seeding, qualifying, and to walk away with maximum points from the weekend. For Andreas everything seemed to work out very smooth, until he suffered from a DNF in A1 due to a blocked ball bearing in the front of his Schumacher Icon2.
It is always a bad feeling to suffer from technical problems, but when you are leading A1 from pole position that creates some high pressure on anybody. Stiebler was not cracking under this pressure and got the job done with two brilliant drives ahead of a hard challenging Xray driver René Kölbel. Robin van Gog finished third with his Infinity car and Luka Jovicic came in fourth with his Libar Engineering Formula car making it four different manufacturers in the first positions right in front of Herbert Weber`s Xray in fifth place. With two different and “first time” winners out of two races, the Scorpion Formula class is very interesting at the moment, and we are looking forward to finding out who will be on top at RD3 in Andernach in about three weeks.
Orca 17.5 Stock
Reile wins again and extends his championship lead while Donath moves up to second place
Dominik Reile showed again that he is the man to beat in the Orca 17.5 Stock class since Thomas Bemmerl switched to 13.5T Pro Stock racing. Reile was the fastest driver all weekend long and earned himself a well-deserved pole position. In the finals, Daniel Pöhlmann started second and was able to win A1 after Reile made a (unique seen) mistake on track. After this imperfect result in A1, Dominik Reile showed a real masterclass in the second and third leg where he never looked back to seal the overall win in Aigen-Schlägl in a dominant way.
Jasmin Donath was able to score two second places in A2 and A3 where she just drove amazingly well. In the end, Pöhlmann and Donath finished tied on points with overall P2 going to the hands of Pöhlmann because of his win in A1. Nevertheless, a great weekend for Jasmin Donath who took over second place in the championship behind leader Dominik Reile and new third placed driver Daniel Pöhlmann. A great weekend for Reile who was able to stretch his championship lead up to 8 points now. Wolfgang Swoboda completed an all Awesomatix A800MMX top four in front of Henrik Heitsch who was doing well with the new A10 touring car from ARC.
ToniSport 40+ Masters
Mateo back on top of close competition in 40+ Masters class
After coming short to ETS RD1 winner Elibert Sievers in the Netherlands, reigning ToniSport 40+ Masters champion Toni Mateo (Awesomatix) was able to win the race in Austria. Toni had a very hard fight in qualifying to take pole position as the field of drivers onca again was very fast and close. Mirco Thalheimer (Xray) looked to be the slightly faster driver in some rounds of practice and qualifying, but he had to line up second on the grid in front of Manuel Stankowitz who is always a potential top 3 finisher in the master’s class.
In all three final runs, the master’s aimed for the best possible result from their different starting position, and we saw hard and mostly clean races until Awesomatix driver Toni Mateo won A2 and A3 to become the overall race winner. Mirco Thalheimer (Xray) finished second and Manuel Stankowitz third.
Elibert Sievers, who was leading the championship after the first race in Apeldoorn, qualified for the A-Main in Aigen as well, but lost his lead to Toni Mateo who is now on top. Toni Mateo told us that he really likes the track in Andernach and we will have an eye on him during the next race there. But as there are so many fast guys in the 40+ Masters class, it is hard to predict who will be on pace for a top 3 at Arena33.
Next stop for the ETS is RD3 at Arena33 in Andernach
After this amazing second race of Season #15, we are changing locations again and will race in Germany. The well-known Arena33 in Andernach will be the hosting track from 18. – 21. August 2022. We are already looking forward to another great weekend of racing at the Euro Touring Series. We hope you liked this small recap of our action-packed weekend in Aigen-Schlägl! See you very soon in Andernach!
If you like to sign up for ETS RD3 in Andernach, just click here:
SEE YOU THERE!
5 things we learned from ETS RD2 in Aigen-Schlägl
The second round of the Euro Touring Series in Aigen-Schlägl was a blast and everybody had a great weekend. It was a perfect location for RD2 of Season #15 2022/23, and for sure it was not the last time for the ETS circus to travel to Aigen. At every event, there are some things to talk about afterwards, and here are the 5 things we learned from ETS RD2 in Austria…
1)Zoo Racing`s Wolverine Max can also do it in Modified
In our last “5 things we learned” episode (after RD1 in Apeldoorn), we wrote about the Wolverine Max body shell from ZooRacing which was dominating the Awesomatix Pro Stock class. At the same moment, the Xtreme Speciale body looked to be the best choice in the Matrix Modified class.
This weekend, we saw three Wolverine Max body shells making the A-Main in Modified as well – and, attention, the winner of the race drove it as well. Team Yokomo`s Christopher Krapp switched to the Wolverine Max during seeding practice and kept the Wolverine going on his BD11 for the rest of the weekend. Dominic Vogl (Awesomatix) and Marco Kaufmann (Xray) used the body shell as well and all three drivers opted for the 0.5mm version (lightweight).
When you ask the drivers about the difference in handling between the Wolverine Max and the Xtreme Speciale, drivers mostly report about getting a little bit more rotation from their car with the Wolverine Max while losing a little rear traction too. The Speciale is the “safer option” as it feels more locked in, but drivers sometimes suffer from understeering in the apex of the corner. In the last races, the Xtreme Speciale (or the Twister) always was the body of choice from the modified race winners.
But as always, it comes down to the perfect setup of the car which is under the body shell as well and you can go fast with both bodies. This weekend, the ZooRacing Wolverine Max took it`s first overall win in the Matrix Modified class at the ETS. Let`s see which direction the body shell trend will go to in the next races.
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2) Sparks are sexy – also in the world of RC
Everybody who is watching Formula 1, or other full scale race car series, knows how good a car is looking when it is hammering down the main straight with sparks flying around everywhere. The reason for that is the chassis, or chassis attachments, which are dragging on the ground. It always looks spectacular and every fan of Onroad racing likes it.
You wonder what this has in common with RC racing? Well, RC cars can spark as well. In Aigen-Schlägl we saw a lot of sparks flying up behind the cars, especially in the Matrix Modified class.
But what is causing that? It is simple to explain: Most drivers are using titanium screws in their cars. When the rearmost screws which are used in the chassis (mostly holding the lower wishbones) are made from titanium, they produce sparks when they drag along the floor.
This happens mostly in the modified class, where the rear of the car gets compressed a lot when the drivers are accelerating onto the straightway. When there are some small bumps as well, the sparking gets even more when driving over the bumpy sections. It always looks fascinating and spectacular – especially in Aigen where the cars reached top speeds up to 120km/h on the speed gun. But also, when riding the curbs, we sometimes see sparks flying off – like on this beautiful picture which ETS photographer Tom Wald took during the race in Austria.
You like your RC car to spark as well? Get some titanium screws, run in the evening, lower the ride height, increase the top speed, and enjoy the little firework!
3) DJ Ronald Völker?
Ronald Völker is one of the best, and fastest RC racers on the planet, right? Yes, for sure he is – and everybody knows that. In Aigen-Schlägl, Ronald looked like he is also having another passion nobody knew about before. He had something hanging around his neck all the time and it looked like some over-ear headphones which all the famous DJ´s are using while they are on stage. But to quickly bring the speculation to an end, it was not headphones 😊
Ronald is traveling the world and racing RC cars at many different places for so long, he just knows what to bring to very hot places for a weekend of racing. The “headphones” turned out to be a “portable neck cooling fan with 10.000mAh” for self-cooling. A device that everybody liked a lot, and most drivers would loved to have it for themselves as the temperatures had been crazy high all weekend long. So, don`t wait for Ronald Völker`s next club hit on your music streaming – he is just having a “cool” time with his nice item at the tracks in hot conditions!
4) Teamwork makes the dream work
Good teams can achieve great things! The MAV Aigen-Schlägl showed the truth of these words with organizing an amazing event for the ETS family. The racer`s were not missing anything all weekend long, and you always could find somebody to talk about different things immediately. It was easy to see, that they are loving what they are doing in Aigen, and everybody was wearing the nice and green polo shirt to show that they are a member of the team. That green shirts also made it easy for the drivers to ask their questions to the right persons.
The ETS once again likes to say THANK YOU to everybody who was helping during the weekend, whether in the technical inspection, the kiosk, the restaurant, maintaining the track, caring about the media team and time keeping or at least the camping area. Everything was top notch in Aigen-Schlägl.
4.1) Barbecue with a great atmosphere on Thursday
To add another point here, the Barbecue on Thursday evening created a nice atmosphere right beside the big tent and the restaurant area. The grill master did a good job, and everybody was sitting together, talking crap (and about racing), having some beers, and just enjoying the time after free practice together. We hope that you enjoyed it in the same way as we did, and we like to thank you for taking part at the Barbecue.
4.2) Scotty Ernst – great to finally see him back at the ETS
This weekend in Austria, we finally saw the return from Scotty Ernst to the ETS. He was announcing the races in his world-famous way, and it immediately transformed everything into something “even more special”. Scotty was also very happy to be back again, and he was smiling and joking around with everybody during the whole weekend. When he arrived on Thursday, he needed the first two hours to just walk through the pits saying hello to everyone. Great to have you with us again Scotty – see you in Andernach!
5)Triple A-Main – mission completed for Toni Rheinard…
As we mentioned in our “5 things to watch…” report right before the race, Toni Rheinard was competing in three classes in Aigen after not racing at the ETS for a while. He really enjoyed the competition and quickly got into his mood of being very competitive. The 2005 German national champion was rocking an Awesomatix A800MMX in the Pro Stock class, as well as an A800FX Evo in the FWD class , while he was using the EF1 from Ehrbar Engineering in the Formula class.
Toni and David struggled a little in Formula to get up to pace in practice and qualifying, but Toni made it into the A-Main and improved a little bit in the finals. In the FWD and Pro Stock class, Toni was in the mix for a top 5 result in both classes. He drove like in the “good old days” and qualified 7th in Pro Stock and 5th in FWD and was looking forward to fight with the guys in the triple A-Mains.
In FWD, Toni had some nice battles with Henrik Heitsch and Kevin Sparbier to finish 5th overall, while in Pro Stock he was also fighting hard before crossing the line on an overall P6 in the end. Not a bad result for Toni with P10 in Formula, P6 in Pro Stock, and P5 in FWD with almost no practice. We hope to see him racing soon again at the ETS.
What the drivers said – ETS RD2 Season #15 2022/23 in Aigen-Schlägl, AUT
ETS RD2 is a wrap! After everybody left the amazing facility in Aigen-Schlägl to travel home, our media team was still about to catch some more impressions from the fastest drivers during the last weekend in Austria. Between packing, traveling,, driving, flying, or going to work on monday morning, we got some response from most of the drivers we contacted. Here are their thoughts about ETS RD2 Season #15 2022/23 in Aigen-Schlägl, AUT.
Christopher Krapp – winner of the Matrix Modified class in Apeldoorn
I just arrived at home, and I am still feeling full of adrenaline and happiness about the weekend in Austria. Before the event, I was not sure if I should make the trip as I am in the middle of moving into a new house right now. But as I heard so many positive things about the whole facility in Aigen-Schlägl, I wanted to be there and made the long trip. I always welcome new tracks on our racing calendar and when I arrived at the track, I was shocked in a positive way about everything there. The local club did an AMAZING job all weekend long, it was an enjoyable event from the first to the last minute. The track was just fantastic with the curbs, elevation changes, and especially the banked corners made it even more challenging to drive. Almost nobody had an advantage there because for most drivers it was the first time traveling to Aigen. I started with my setup from the European championships in Slovakia but went back to the setup from ETS RD1 in Apeldoorn which felt a lot better in Austria. I made some small changes to the active rear suspension of my BD11 and that was pretty much it. I also changed to the ZooRacing Wolverine body shell and made some adjustments to the power settings of my speed controller which helped me a lot in the high-speed sections of the track. I was always on a good 5-minnute pace, even if that was not always visible in our training sessions where everybody is looking at the 3-lap pace when it comes to practice results. I was able to TQ the first and third round of qualifying and was starting into the finals from first place. There, I was able to stay in front of the field in A1 and A2 and I took the win – what an amazing feeling, especially with Scotty announcing the race in his unique style. I had to wait TEN years for my second ETS race win and it is great to feel that the “winning edge” is still in me. I would like to thank everybody who sent me messages or congratulated me trackside after A2. Thanks to my team mates as well for making this possible. Finally, I like to thank all my sponsors, especially Yokomo, and I am looking forward to the upcoming ETS races and the worlds in Italy.
CHristopher Krapp (DE), Yokomo/Racing Performer
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Akio Sobue – 2nd placed driver in the Matrix Modified class
Finally, I was able to come back to one of the amazing ETS events after a long time and I was so excited all weekend long. Congratulations to Christopher Krapp for his win. My first day was difficult as we needed to adjust our car and also, I needed to adapt my driving for the conditions in Aigen. But on the second day we had a good pace and could fight for positions on top of the field. I was enjoying the racing all weekend and car was so amazing work on track. I had a real chance to win but made a small driving mistake but next time I will fight again and race even better. Again, good job from Christopher Krapp and congratulations for his win. Now, I hope that we can come back to this amazing place next year!
Akio Sobue (JP), Axon/Orca
Ronald Völker – 3rd placed driver in the Matrix Modified class
Personally, it started well with P1 in Thursday practice, but overall, I had some ups and downs throughout the race weekend. I had a terrible Q2 on new tires but a great Q3 on used tires though. I felt that I had the best pace in A1, but not anymore for A2. Nevertheless, it was a great weekend at the beautiful Aigen facility where I enjoyed the time with the Mugen Team and fellow racers as it should be. The club and ETS crew did a fantastic job to run the event with the rain interruptions. Great job from my former teammate Chrissi Krapp for a long overdue race victory – congratulations to him!
Ronald Völker (DE), Mugen Seiki/LRP
Marc Rheinard – 4th placed driver in the Matrix Modified class
The weekend didn`t went as planned for me. After being second after controlled practice, I also finished second in Q1 and Q2 – missing the overall TQ by 0.3 seconds in both runs on Friday. On Saturday, for some reason, my car didn`t work as good anymore and I wasn`t quick enough. Overnight, we tried to change some stuff and parts on it but even on Sunday morning the car wasn`t great in A2. We then made more setup changes for A3, and it felt better again as I could follow Akio and Ronald on track. But overall, it was another disappointing race for me being not on the podium, but I will not give up and try to be ready for the next ETS for sure.
Marc Rheinard (DE), Awesomatix/Ocra
Lucas Urbain – 5th placed driver in the Matrix Modified class
The race is just over, but I am already longing to come back, so good were the facilities and the environment at MAV Aigen Schlägl.
Lucas Urbain (FR) Awesomatix/Orca
As for the race itself, I’m happy with P5, considering I didn’t do so well in the last races. Although the pace was there before, I didn’t manage to bring it all together to get where I wanted to go, so it was nice to be back in the mix. However, there’s still a bit of a gap I need to make up to get to the front, so the plan is to keep working on it in the coming races.
Simon Lauter – winner of the Awesomatix Pro Stock clas
First, I want to congratulate the ETS and MAV Aigen crew for a flawless event. Racetrack, atmosphere, and weather were just perfect to have an enjoyable event. The comeback of Scotty was also a very nice addition to the ETS. Thanks for the effort to everyone! As I could not attend the European Championships for work related issues, I was looking forward to this Event a lot. Race wise it was all about weather prediction and tire strategy. Practice showed that many drivers will be close together at the front and making no mistakes will be the key. As the weather was unpredictable for Saturday no one decided to safe tires in Q1, and everyone was all in. I had luck on my side and got the TQ with a super small gap to Max. With this in hand I decided to safe a set of tires and see what happens in Q2. Max took the TQ, and I had a big mistake unfortunately, so we had to wait for good weather on Saturday. As many guys used both tire sets already, I had an advantage I tried to use and was able to set another TQ run which was the fastest for now. This was enough to get the overall TQ as the track got slower for Q4. For A1 we decided to go with the alternative strategy and safe the extra set for Sunday. This worked out perfect as I could win A1 on used tires and pull away on new tires in A2. With those wins I could take the overall win and cheer for my teammate during A3, impressive team result which we managed to Score. Congratulations to the other winners and especially Krappi (Christopher Krapp) for his perfect performance! Overall, I am Super happy with my result, the race itself and the great people in Austria! I would love to come back next Season. See you in Andernach 😊
Simon Lauter (DE), Awesomatix/LRP
Max Mächler – 2nd placed driver in the Awesomatix Pro Stock class
Another great ETS weekend came to an end for my team (and myself as well)! Big shout out to the MAV Aigen-Schlägel club for the whole facility and service they provided to us racers! It’s a wonderful track with a great flow. Big fun with all the banked and sometimes hanging corners. I hope we will come back to this track in future again. We saw very close racing which was awesome. Some runs were decided by 0,0XX seconds only! Personally I’m very happy once again about the whole results of our Awesomatix racers. Our cars just perform very well in all classes and this is a great achievement for us. Also it was nice to see some more guys from our competitor teams again! Let’s hope it will be even more in the next races. We are looking forward to it 👍
Max Mächler (DE), Awesomatix/Sunpadow
Frederik Mikkelsen – 3rd placed driver in the Awesomatix Pro Stock class
So going into the race I had not previously been to the venue. We arrived Wednesday to get a look at the facility and it was quite impressive from the start. Pit was spacious and the driver stand was also a very nicely build. Looking at the track it was quite an interesting layout with elevation changes and with both OFF-Camber and positive camber corners making it really interesting to drive. There was also a really nice canteen offering different menus for every day throughout the event. As always, the competition is high at ETS events so there was not room for any mistakes. After the practice rounds Thursday and Friday, I had good confidence both with the car as well as my driving. Going into the Qualifying rounds I knew that it would be very close at the top. I decided to use both my new sets of tires Friday and managed to get a 3rd in the first round and a 2nd in the second round of qualifying rounds. I was pretty happy with those as it meant I had secured a good starting position for the finals. For the finals I just tried to follow Max as overtaking on this track would be very difficult. The first final went well without too much happening as both Simon and Max drove flawlessly so I finished 3rd in that one. For the second final I had an unfortunate spin so the pressure was on for the last final. For the last final I was able to keep a good pace and finish 2nd behind Max as Simon had already taken the win in the first 2. So overall I was able to finish on the podium in 3rd position which I am really happy about.
Frederik Mikkelsen (DK), Awesomatix/LRP
Stefan Schulz – winner of the Hobbywing Frontwheel class
As of this weekend, the course is one of my favourites. Super smooth to ride, but still challenging. The people around give a nice feeling and the mountains give a world class view!
Stefan Schulz (DE), Xray/Gens Ace
For me it was a perfect weekend. TQ and win in FWD and in Stock I made it into the A-Main for the first time. What more could I want 😅
Andreas Stiebler – winner of the Scorpion Formula class
My weekend could not have started more perfectly. I was in front from the first practice and was able to keep my lead by making small setup changes for the changing track conditions. The track was always in perfect condition thanks to the MAV and the ETS team and the grip was top despite the heat. In the first final I was unlucky because the front right wheel bearing got stuck in lap 7 and I couldn’t continue. In the second final, with less grip due to the rain the night before, René was much closer to me. In the third final I knew that I had to push hard right from the start and when I had a lead of 2 seconds, I could drive more safely and manage the lead. It was a great feeling to finally win an ETS race and I was still smiling when I woke up this morning!
Andreas Stiebler (AT), Schumacher/Intellect
Toni Mateo – winner of the ToniSport 40+ Masters class
I enjoyed this weekend in Austria a lot. We found super good facilities and many friendly people here at this nice track. It was a very close race in the 40+ Masters class as a lot of good drivers showed up. I went on a slightly different tire strategy compared to many other drivers and luckily it paid off. I am just on my way back to Gran Canaria again, but I am looking forward for the next race at Arena33 in Andernach where I will go for another good result again!
Toni Mateo (ES), Awesomatix/Nosram
Dominik Reile – winner of the Orca 17.5 Stock class
The race weekend in Aigen-Schlägl was wonderful, the ETS team and the club just put on a great event except for the weather that could have been a little cooler 🤣. For me personally, everything went perfect and my Awesomatix car was a dream. Also, the fights on track had been mega. All around a really good ETS weekend. I hope Aigen appears more often in the ETS calendar from now on and now I am already looking forward to RD3 Andernach in August.
Dominik Reile (DE), Awesomatix/LRP
ETS A3 Report RD2 Season #15 2022/23
Racing is done in Austria. All races are in the books, and we now know our winners in all of our six amazing ETS racing classes. It was a phantastic event at the venue of the MAV Aigen-Schlägl and we hope that everybody liked the racing here in Austria during the last 4 days. Scotty Ernst brought back “that special feeling” with his unique style of announcing races, and the local club did an AMAZING job here all weekend long with preparing the track, food, drinks, and everything else. Let`s find out what happened in the last round of finals on track!
Matrix Modified
Sobue and Völker joining race winner Krapp on the podium in Austria
After Yokomo`s Christopher Krapp had won the opening two A-Mains here in Aigen-Schlägl, the third final was on the line to decide about the remaining spots on the podium. Right off the line it was a three-horse race between Akio Sobue (Axon), Ronald Völker (Mugen Seiki) who all had a chance for second and third overall. Ronald was right on Akio`s tail for most time of the run, with Rheinard sitting third and waiting for something to happen in the front. Völker tried everything to push Sobue into a driving error, but the Japanese Axon racer stayed calm and brought home second place in front of the Mugen Seiki car of Völker and the Awesomatix A800MMX of Marc Rheinard. In the overall results, we see Akio Sobue and Ronald Völker joining Christopher Krapp on the podium in Austria.
Winner B-Main: Patrick Gollner (AT) Xray
Winner C-Main: Oli Meggitt (GB) Mugen Seiki
Link to the Results on MyRCM: https://www.myrcm.ch/myrcm/report/de/63772/287279?key=203
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Awesomatix ProStock
A3 goes to Mächler to finish second on the podium with Mikkelsen taking third overall
Max Mächler took the last A-Main in the Awesomatix Pro Stock class with his teammates Frederik Mikkelsen and Olivier Bultynck finishing second and third. With a small gap to the top three, Alex Kunkler (Awesomatix), Toni Rheinard (Awesomatix) and Lars Hoppe (ARC) completed the top 6 in A3. With his win in the last main, Max Mächler finished second overall ahead of Danish driver Frederik Mikkelsen.
Winner B-Main: Helge Johannessen (NO) ARC
Winner C-Main: Benjamin Elbisser (FR) Xray/Orca
Link to the Results on MyRCM: https://www.myrcm.ch/myrcm/report/de/63772/293273?key=203
Hobbywing Frontwheel
Vag Gog and Olsen battling it out in A3 to finish second and third overall
Robin van Gog took the last round of the A-Mains in the Hobbywing Frontwheel class. He was starting from first position as race winner Schulz was not on the line in the third main. Van Gog had a perfect run and was able to hold off a hard fighting Steven Olsen. Kevin Sparbier and Toni Rheinard finished third and fourth in the last run while Ulrich Dinger crossed the line in fifth spot.
Winner B-Main: Gerald Baumgartner (AT) Awesomatix
Winner C-Main: Mateusz Bania (PL) Xray
Link to the Results on MyRCM: https://www.myrcm.ch/myrcm/report/de/63772/287277?key=203
Orca 17.5 Stock
Overall win in Austria goes to Reile
The overall win was on the line between Dominik Reile, Daniel Pöhlmann, and Jasmin Donath in the third A-Main of the Orca 17.5 Stock class. Reile had a perfect start and was leading the field, but Daniel Pöhlmann was right behind him trying to set Reile under pressure. But suddenly, Reile made a mistake and dropped back to third place whils Jasmin Donath took over second. Directly after that, it looked like Jasmin was able to close up to race leader Reile just a little bit. But Reile then picked up some pace again and drove to a well-deserved overall win. Jasmin Donath took another second place in A3, but came short to Pöhlmann, who took second overall because of his A1 win fromSaturday afternoon.
Winner B-Main: Michael Koos (DE) Awesomatix
Link to the Results on MyRCM: https://www.myrcm.ch/myrcm/report/de/63772/287274?key=203
ToniSport 40+ Masters
Mateo wins with strong nerves and an advantage of 0.002 seconds
Toni Mateo was on a mission in the deciding A-Main of the ToniSport 40+ Masters class. Mirco Thalheimer was trying everything to set Mateo under enormous pressure, but the Spaniard was able to drive without any mistake – almost! When they drove their last lap, Mateo was not having the perfect exit from the very last corner (right before the timing loop), and slided towards the line with one wheel in the grass. Thalheimer was right beside him and both cars crossed the line in the same moment – a real photo finish. Announcer Scotty Ernst checked the result immediately and it was Toni Mateo who crossed the line two thousands of a second ahead of Mirco Thalheimer. What a final, what a race, well done guys!
Winner B-Main: Torsten Baggendorf (DE) Awesomatix/LRP
Winner C-Main: Frank Schmitz (DE) Yokomo/Sunpadow
Link to the Results on MyRCM: https://www.myrcm.ch/myrcm/report/de/63772/287275?key=203
Scorpion Formula
“A dream comes true” as Stiebler wins Formula class on home soil
Schumacher driver Andreas Stiebler was under serious pressure right before the start of A3. After having trouble in A1 and winning A2, it was all on the line between him and René Kölbel for the overall win. Stiebler was pulling away perfectly off the line and never looked back. He was just driving perfect, and it was “his day” to celebrate his first ever ETS race win here in Aigen-Schlägl. René Kölbel finished second, and Michal Wojcik crossed the line in third place.
Andreas Stiebler told us right after his first ETS win:
I really don`t know what to say… It just feels great and I always dreamed about winning at an ETS event. I like to thank my father for all his help, and Schumacher racing cars for their great support
Winner B-Main: Chris Grenz (DE) EF1
Link to the Results on MyRCM: https://www.myrcm.ch/myrcm/report/de/63772/287276?key=203
Now, after the dust has settled here in Austria, we like to thank everybody for coming and racing here in at the amazing facility of the MAC Aigen-Schlägl. We will see us soon at ETS RD3 in Andernach, GER!
ETS A2 Report RD2 Season #15 2022/23
Matrix Modified
Krapp wins ETS Austria after flawless drive in A2
Christopher Krapp shouted his joy out loud after crossing the finish line in the second A-Main of the Matrix Modified division. He had an excellent race and was taking the lead after a clean start from pole position with his Yokomo BD11. Akio Sobue (Axon) was chasing him hard, with the Mugen Seiki of Ronald Völker and the Awesomatix A800MMX of Marc Rheinard running third and fourth. The gap between Krapp and Sobue was always at about 0.5 seconds in the first three minutes of the race, and Ronald Völker was following them some tenths behind. Marc Rheinard lost the contact to the top 3 after the first couple of laps and wasn`t able to follow.
Akio then started kind of a “last attack” on Krapp as he was closing the gap lap after lap and down to only 0.2 seconds as we entered the last 30 seconds of the race. As everybody was waiting for Akio to try something, his car suddenly slided off the track into the grass in the penultimate lap (they found out that one battery connector became unsoldered). Tough luck for Sobue who was really running strong behind Krapp. Ronald Völker, Marc Rheinard, and Lucas Urbain took advantage of Sobue`s trouble (dropping all the way back to P9) taking second, third, and fourth positions in A2.
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For Christopher Krapp and Yokomo, it was a very special win. After Krapp won an ETS race on Gran Canaria in 2012 (!), he finally got everything together with a perfect ending here in Aigen-Schlägl again. Well deserved! It was the second race for the new Yokomo BD11 in the Matrix Modified class, and the second win after Yannic Prümper took the opening round of the season in Apeldoorn. What a perfect debut of Yokomo`s new touring car.
We talked to a very emotional Christopher Krapp after this big win in Austria:
I am mega happy with my first ETS win after TEN years. It just feels great, and I am more than satisfied about my own driving and performance this weekend. Also, my Yokomo BD11 was unbelievable here and I could go full punch on this very demanding track. Right after the start, I had to be careful about two laps with the tires but then I just kept my head down and got the job done. Akio was also racing very strong, and in the last stages he came very close after I was overshooting some corners here and there. After Akio had to retire from the race in the last lap (very unlucky for him), I was bringing home the win and the emotions were just crazy after crossing the line. Thanks to all my sponsors and teammates for making this happen together!
Christopher Krapp (DE), Yokomo/Racing Performer
Link to the Results on MyRCM: https://www.myrcm.ch/myrcm/report/de/63772/287279?key=203
Awesomatix ProStock
First victory of the season for reigning champion Lauter
As the second A-Main of the Awesomatix ProStock class gut underway, it was Simon Laute leading Max Mächler around the track in lap number one. Frederik Mikkelsen suffered from a real “nightmare”, after spinning out in the first lap directly in front of Bultynck and Schulz. Schulz had no chance to avoid the following crash into Mikkelsen`s car and both dropped all the way back to the end of the field – it was just bad racing luck for both drivers!
Out front, Simon Lauter could slightly pull away from Max Mächler and had an advantage of 1.2 seconds after the first two minutes of the race. Behind The leaders, Olivier Bultynck and Alex Kunkler had a nice and respectful battle for position three and four, with Toni Rheinard running fifth.
In the end, nothing happened until they crossed the line with a huge applause from the crowd for Simon Lauter. Simon is now more than back in the fight for the championship and too ka well-deserved win in Austria. Max Mächler finished second in A2, followed by Bultynck, Kunkler, and Rheinard making it another all Awesomatix A800MMX top 5.
Simon Lauter had the following to say after winning the overall race in Aigen-Schlägl:
I had some luck in qualifying where our strategy paid of completeley. But that was some kind of luck which I missed in Apeldoorn for example. It was very important for me to win A1 on used tires, as that was giving me a lot of confidence for the second leg of. I`m very happy with my win, but also for another strong result of our Awesomatix team around team manager Max Mächler. He is just doing an excellent job caring about allof us. Another big thank you goes out to Tim Wahl who has done a lot of mechanical work on my car this weekend. Now it is time to regroup and prepare for RD3 in Andernach. See you there!
Simon Lauter (DE), Awesomatix/LRP
Link to the Results on MyRCM: https://www.myrcm.ch/myrcm/report/de/63772/293273?key=203
Hobbywing Frontwheel
Schulz brings perfect weekend to an end with-well deserved FWD win
The reigning ETS Hobbywing Frontwheel champion Stefan Schulz (Xray) had everything under control in the second A-Main. He took another very dominant win ahead of Robin van Gog (Awesomatix) and Steven Olsen (Awesomatix) who had a great fight for second and third. The same between Toni Rheinard (Awesomatix) and Kevin Sparbier (Mugen Seiki) for positions 4 and 5. Rheinard made a great move on Kevin Sparbier who was able to counter the attack immediately before Toni Rheinard passed him again – superb racing guys! The FWD class is producing great racing race after race and that`s why so many people are loving this amazing racing class here at the Euro Touring Series. (Awesomatix). With the overall win in the bag for Stefan Schulz, the remaining positions on the podium are up for grabs in the upcoming third A-Main of the Hobbywing Frontwheel class.
Link to the Results on MyRCM: https://www.myrcm.ch/myrcm/report/de/63772/287277?key=203
Orca 17.5 Stock
A2 goes to Dominik Reile – decision for the overall win to be on the line in A3
The second A-Main in the Orca 17.5 Stock class saw Dominik Reile taking the win from pole position with his Awesomatix A800MMX. A very important win for him to keep his chances for the overall victory alive here in Austria after coming short to Pöhlmann in yesterday`s opening round of A-Mains. Reile had a perfect race and took the win in front of Jasmin Donath, who was able to benefit from a mistake of Daniel Pöhlmann in the last minute of the race.
Henrik Heitsch (ARC) and Joshua Winkler (Awesomatix) finished fourth and fifth behind race winner Dominik Reile, Jasmin Donath, and Daniel Pöhlmann. The decision for the win will be down on the line in the last A-Main of the Orca 17.5 Stock class and in theory we have three racers with a chance for the win with Reile, Pöhlmann, and Donath.
Link to the Results on MyRCM: https://www.myrcm.ch/myrcm/report/de/63772/287274?key=203
ToniSport 40+ Masters
Nothing decided as Mateo takes A2 in the master’s class
Toni Mateo finally had a clean run after got taken out of the race in A1 of the ToniSport 40+ Masters class yesterday. Mateo (Awesomatix) took the win from tone to tone and the decision for the overall win will come down to the last A-Main between him and Mirco Thalheimer (Xray).
Right after the start, Mirco Thalheimer was chasing Toni Mateo, until he drove into the grass in lap number four. Manuel Stankowitz took over second place and started to close the gap to leader Mateo. In the end, Mateo was standing his ground while bringing home A2 with a gap of 0.3 seconds ahead of Manuel Stankowitz, Thomas Oehler (3), and Werner Schmitzer (4), and Ronald Arts (5). Timm Ohlef posted the fastest lap of the race (19.567) but had to live with P10 after got taken out at the 2-minute mark of the race. Sometimes, the masters are driving a little rough and that`s the only thing to complain about this amazing racing class at the ETS. After Toni Mateo and Mirco Thalheimer each having one win on their score card, the last final will be a thriller and we are looking forward to finding out who will walk away with the win and maximum points from Austria. Even some other drivers like Manuel Stankowitz and Thomas Oehler are having chances for the overall win as Thalheimer and Mateo have a P8 and P11 on their list of results as well. If something happens at the front, somebody else can snatch the win away from them!
Link to the Results on MyRCM: https://www.myrcm.ch/myrcm/report/de/63772/287275?key=203
Scorpion Formula
Great recovery from Stiebler as he takes A2 from Kölbel
After stopping his car in the first A-Main, Andreas Stiebler was back in the groove again with his Schumacher Icon2 in the second leg on Sunday. He had a clean run and was able to control the gap of around one second over a very hard pushing A1 winner René Kölbel. A very important win for Stiebler, after his DNF in the first leg. We will see a throwdown for the overall win in A3 between Kölbel and Stiebler – hard to say who will take it. Stiebler`s performance was great all weekend, but also Kölbel was right on pace in the finals. A3 will show who will have the strongest nerves in the Scorpion Formula class here at ETS RD2 in Austria.
Link to the Results on MyRCM: https://www.myrcm.ch/myrcm/report/de/63772/287276?key=203
Now, after we know about our race winners in the FWD, Modified, and Pro Stock class, we are still looking for the overall results and three more race winners in our remaining ETS classes. Follow our “LIVE” section and pick the live stream of your choice if you don`t like to miss the final decisions in Aigen-Schlägl!
Under the Hood – Stefan Schulz Xray X4F
Xray driver Stefan Schulz is rocking the actual FWD platform from the Slovakian manufacturer. Stefan is running his X4F out of the box with some self made brass weights in the front. The X4F is based on the actual Xray X4 touring car (4WD), and is on rails here in Aigen-Schlägl. Stefans car is powered by a Gens Ace battery, and a Power HD Servo is responsible for a precise steering response.
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Body Shell: Blitz YRS
Speedo: Hobbywing ETS
Motor: Hobbywing ETS
Battery: Gens Ace
Radio: Sanwa M17
Servo: Power HD S15
Tires: Ride ETS
Sponsors: Xray, Hudy, SMI, Gens Ace, Power HD, Hobbywing, Hiro Seiko, Monaco RC, Looxon Germany
NOTE: Pictures taken before Stefan installed the marked racing motor!
ETS A1 Report RD2 Season #15 2022/23
Matrix Modified
Yokomo`s Krapp on a mission as he takes A1 from wire to wire
We saw a great start into the triple A-Mains for Yokomo`s Christopher Krapp. The BD11 driver had a great race with Axon`s Akio Sobue and was able to stand his ground in the opening stages of the race. Krapp was 0.2 seconds ahead of Sobue at the 2:30 minute mark of the race and Akio tried everything to create very high pressure on the Yokomo in front of him. But suddenly, third place runner Ronald Völker came a little closer to Akio and the Japanese ace had to watch his rear-view mirror as well. Mugen driver Völker was close to Akio at one time but couldn`t find a place for a serious attack on Sobue.
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Meanwhile, Christopher Krapp was stretching his legs and build up a gap of 1.4 seconds over the rest of the field which he finally brought home in A1 of the Matrix Modified class. Behind Krapp, Sobue, and Völker we saw Marc Rheinard and Marco Kaufmann completing the top 5 in a high class race on track at ETS RD2 in Aigen Schlägl.
Link to the Results on MyRCM: https://www.myrcm.ch/myrcm/report/de/63772/287279?key=203
Awesomatix ProStock
Lauter, Mächler, and Mikkelsen showing Pro Stock racing at it`s best
Awesomatix is dominating the Pro Stock class – but that`s nothing new for now. After the start of the first A-Main it was all about Simon Lauter and Max Mächler who were slightly pulling away from the field with Frederik Mikkelsen right in tow. Max was right on Simon`s tail but couldn`t make it stick. Max tried different lines to see if anything would happen in front of him, but Simon was driving like a real champ on his used set of tires and brought home the win in A1 with Max and Frederik finishing very close behind him. Olivier Bultynck had a solid race to P4, and Stefan Schulz finished fifth with his Xray car.
Tomorrow, Simon Lauter will not slow down for sure as he will be on new tires in A2 to bring home the overall win. It was a great first final with very respectful driving at the front. Frederik Mikkelsen was also on pace and could have won the final as well if something would have happened at the front.
Link to the Results on MyRCM: https://www.myrcm.ch/myrcm/report/de/63772/293273?key=203
Hobbywing Frontwheel
Schulz checked out gone in A1
In the first A-Main of the Hobbywing Frontwheel class we saw Stefan Schulz continuing where he stopped in qualifying – winning races! He drove without any mistake and took the win 4.0 seconds ahead of the Awesomatix A800FX duo of Robin van Gog and Steven Olsen. They had a nice and clean fight for second place while Mugen Seiki`s Kevin Sparbier and Ulrich Dinger completed the top 5 in the first final. One more fact to highlight was the fight for sixth position between Henrik Heitsch and Toni Rheinard. Fantastic to watch and with the better ending for Rheinard – “that`s how it`s done guys”. Stefan Schulz is now only one win away from taking maximum points away from Austria. He will go for it on Sunday morning when A2 will be on the line.
Link to the Results on MyRCM: https://www.myrcm.ch/myrcm/report/de/63772/287277?key=203
Orca 17.5 Stock
A1 goes to Pöhlmann as Reile spun out in lap 1
We saw a very interesting start into the finals of the Orca 17.5 Stock class here in Aigen. Pole sitter Dominik Reile (Awesomatix) spun out directly in lap number one, the same happened to Jasmin Donath (Awesomatix) in the same corner. Daniel Pöhlmann was taking advantage of it and was leading the field from lap 2 until the finish line. Reile fought his way back to second place with a beautiful pass on Henrik Heitsch (ARC) but couldn`t close the gap to Pöhlmann until they crossed the finish line. Pöhlmann was 0.3 seconds ahead of Reile, while Wolfgang Swoboda finished in an excellent third position. Joshua Winkler took fourth place (in his first ever ETS A-Main) and Lutz Jentsch took P5 in the opening Orca 17.5 Stock A-Main. Tomorrow will be a new day for Reile and as he was the fastest in all rounds of qualifying, Daniel Pöhlmann will need another super run to beat Dominik here on track.
Link to the Results on MyRCM: https://www.myrcm.ch/myrcm/report/de/63772/287274?key=203
ToniSport 40+ Masters
Rough first A-Main goes to Thalheimer
The first out of three A-Mains in the ToniSport 40+ Masters class was one to discuss about. Mirco Thalheimer (Xray)was chasing first place starter Toni Mateo (Awesomatix) hard around the track, and they touched in a way which looked relatively hard. Mateo and Thalheimer both lost time, and Toni Mateo was not able to recover anymore from Thalheimer`s hard move on him and finished last (p11).
Flavio Paladin was leading the race after that situation, but after three minutes it was Mirco Thalheimer who was right on his tail. He passed Paladin right before the entry of the straightway with a hard but fair inside pass and took the win ahead of the Italian racer Paladin (Xray). A bittersweet victory for Thalheimer after the first laps of the race.
Markus Wegmann had a great race from 10th on the grid up to third place. Thomas Oehler (Mugen Seiki) finished fourth, Ulrich Dinger (Awesomatix) fifth and Timm Ohlef (Mugen Seiki) turned the second fastest lap of the race finishing sixth. Toni Mateo was visibly frustrated after the race and everybody who knows him well can be sure that he will try everything to win A2 tomorrow morning to have a shot for the overall win in A3.
Link to the Results on MyRCM: https://www.myrcm.ch/myrcm/report/de/63772/287275?key=203
Scorpion Formula
Kölbel takes A1 as race leader Stiebler scores unlucky DNF
Bad luck is part of racing – but these words will not help Andreas Stiebler today. The Austrian Schumacher driver was leading A1 with a comfortable gap, until he had to retire his car with some steering issues at the half minute mark. Everything looked like an easy win for Stiebler but now the pressure is even higher as he needs two strong races on Sunday to eventually walk away from Aigen-Schlägl with a win.
After Stiebler was out of the race, the lead suddenly was handed over to Xray driver René Kölbel. He had a very close and intense fight with Infinity driver Robin van Gog but was able to stand his ground to bring home the win in A1. Herbert Weber, Luka Jovicic, and Gergö Valent completed the top 5 in the first
Link to the Results on MyRCM: https://www.myrcm.ch/myrcm/report/de/63772/287276?key=203
The second and third round of finals will be underway on Sunday, and we will keep you updated about the results. Follow our Streams in the “LIVE” section on our website and enjoy ETS RD2 from Austria, no matter where you are!
ETS Q3 + Q4 Report RD2 Season #15 2022/23
Some fantastic sessions of Qualifying are over here at ETS RD2 in Aigen-Schlägl. The day started with some rain showers at half past nine and the action was interrupted for an hour. But after the track was dry again, the traction was still on a good level and qualifying continued. Now, all A-Main spots are given away and finals will be up next. But before we head into the deciding races, we like to inform you about what happened in Q3 and Q4 here in Austria
Matrix Modified
Yokomo`s Krapp is top qualifier in Aigen while Völker takes last qualifier for Mugen Seiki
Q3 – Yokomo`s Christopher Krapp posted his second TQ run for the weekend in Q3. After his win in the opening round on Friday, he only had an average second qualifier but found out that he forgot to tighten up some screws on the rear upper bulkheads after the run. With that issue fixed in Q3, Krapp`s BD11 was right on point again. During the run, the lead changed multiple times and after Völker was leading the race on used tires after lap one, the battle was between Rheinard, Ishioka and Krapp mid-race. After Akio Sobue retired from the race after a small mistake, it was Ishioka leading at the 4-minute mark with Krapp right in tow. As Hayato Ishioka (Axon) lost about 0.8 seconds in the penultimate lap, Krapp was right there to take the win ahead of Lucas Urbain (Awesomatix) and Ronald Völker (Mugen Seiki). It was a very interesting round of qualifying as some drivers raced on new, and some on used tires – always a big gamble. Let`s see who will have a set of new tires remaining in Q4.
Q4 – The last round of qualifying saw Mugen Seiki`s Ronald Völker taking the win on his last set of new Matrix tires. Ronald took the lead with his LRP powered MTC2 and won the last round of Matrix Modified qualifying with a gap of 1 second in front of Q2 winner Akio Sobue (Axon) and Marc Rheinard`s Awesomatix A800MMX. With this TQ run, Völker is lining up third on the A-Main grid behind pole sitter Krapp and second place starter Sobue. Marc Rheinard and Lucas Urbain are taking P4 and P5 on the grid in the upcoming triple A-Mains. We can expect some world class racing from out modified drivers here in Aigen-Schlägl as the starting grid is fully packed with a lot of skills and quality. Let`s go racing modified style!
Here is, how the drivers will line up for the Matrix Modified A-Main (Bump up driver to be decided in the first B-Main).
Link to the Results on MyRCM: https://www.myrcm.ch/myrcm/report/de/63772/287279?key=202
Awesomatix ProStock
Pro Stock champion Lauter to start from pole position
Q3 – In the Awesomatix Pro Stock class, Simon Lauterposted his second TQ run for the event. He took full advantage of his second set of new race tires in Q3 and crossed the line one second ahead of his Awesomatix teammate Olivier Bultynck from Belgium. Max Mächler, Frederik Mikkelsen, ad Toni Rheinard rounded up an all Awesomatix A800MMX top five in this round of qualifying. The fight for the TQ is still open between Mächler and Lauter, but whoever will take it – we will see another Awesomatix pole position in the Pro Stock class at the ETS. This class is absolutely in the hands of Awesomatix, and they showed that once again here in Austria.
Q4 – The last round of Awesomatix Pro Stock qualifying saw Max Mächler taking another win in front of Stefan Schulz and Toni Rheinard. Mächler and Lauter looked very strong in all rounds of qualifying, and we can expect a hard-fought race in the finals between the Awesomatix top drivers. Behind Lauter and Mächler, Frederik Mikkelsen and Olivier Bultynck are completing an Awesomatix A800MMX quartet on the grid with Xray`s Stefan Schulz lining up 5th on the line after a strong qualifying session for him.
Here is, how the drivers will line up for the Awesomatix Pro Stock A-Main (Bump up driver to be decided in the first B-Main).
Link to the Results on MyRCM: https://www.myrcm.ch/myrcm/report/de/63772/288610?key=202
Hobbywing Frontwheel
Schulz is top qualifier in Austria
Q3 – In the third round of qualifying, we saw Stefan Schulz (Xray) and Steven Olsen (Awesomatix) both having technical failures on their cars. After both drivers were not able to finish the run, it was Robin van Gog taking the win for the round with his Awesomatix A800MMX. His gap over second placed Kevin Sparbier (Mugen Seiki) was at 0.1 seconds only, with third place finisher Toni Rheinard (Awesomatix) another 0.5 seconds behind. The decision for the overall TQ will come down to the last round of qualifying, but as Stefan Schulz posted the fastest lap in Q3 again, we can name him as the top favourite for claiming the pole position here in Aigen.
Q4 – Stefan Schulz sealed his pole position in the last round of Hobbywing Frontwheel qualifying here in Austria. Schulz was on a mission again after his DNF in Q3 and had a gap of 3.8 seconds over his competitors at the end of the run. Steven Olsen finished second, right ahead of Kevin Sparbier and Toni Rheinard. In the finals, all eyes will be on the reigning European champion and last season`s ETS dominator Stefan Schulz. But we will also have a look on all of his very strong contenders on track as the fight behind him will be a real hard one.
Here is, how the drivers will line up for the Hobbywing Frontwheel A-Main (Bump up driver to be decided in the first B-Main).
Link to the Results on MyRCM: https://www.myrcm.ch/myrcm/report/de/63772/287277?key=202
Orca 17.5 Stock
Clean Sweep from Reile earns him well deserved pole position
Q3- Dominik Reile will start from pole position into the triple A-Mains of the Orca 17.5 Stock class. He won the third round of qualifying with his Awesomatix A800MMX again and continued to look very dominant on track. With the TQ already in the bag after three rounds of qualifying, Reile is the top favourite for the win at ETS RD2 in Austria. The running order in Q3 was the same as it was in the previous runs with Daniel Pöhlmann and Jasmin Donath taking second and third again. Henrik Heitsch and Lutz Jentsch
Q4 – Nothing new here as Dominik Reile posted another TQ run – his fourth in a row! But this time, Jasmin Donath was in second place right in front of Daniel Pöhlmann, Henrik Heitsch, And Wolfgang Swoboda. Jasmin will start third on the grid behind Pöhlmann and Reile and all eyes will be on the young lady in the finals. Will she be there when something happens in the front – we will find out about it very soon!
Here is, how the drivers will line up for the Orca 17.5 Stock A-Main (Bump up driver to be decided in the first B-Main).
Link to the Results on MyRCM: https://www.myrcm.ch/myrcm/report/de/63772/287274?key=202
ToniSport 40+ Masters
Overall TQ for Mateo ahead of Thalheimer and Stankowitz
Q3 – Mirco Thalheimer (Xray) was right back in the groove in the third qualifier of the ToniSport 40+ Masters class. Thalheimer, who also won Q1, recovered from an unlucky second round of qualifying with this win and took the round from Toni Mateo, Flavio Paladin, Manuel Stankowitz and Ulrich Dinger. Thalheimer had everything under control with his Xray in this one and took the win with 1.9 seconds ahead of Toni Mateo (Awesomatix). But the decision for the overall TQ will come down to the last round of qualifying and Toni Mateo still has a good chance as his Q2 winning time was faster compared to both TQ runs of Thalheimer.
Q4 – The decision for the overall TQ went down to the line in Q4 between Mateo and Thalheimer. Toni Mateo had a great run and posted the fastest TQ run of the weekend. With this result to his favour, Toni Mateo will line up first on the grid for the triple A-Mains of the ToniSport 40+ Masters class ahead of Mirco Thalheimer. Mugen Seiki driver Timm Ohlef had a fantastic last heat of qualifying, posting the second quickest runtime of the weekend coming out of the second fastest group. A great success for Ohlef which brought him up to P7 on the grid at his first 40+ Masters appearance. Manuel Stankowitz, Thomas Oehler and Flavio Paladin completed the top 5 in the last round of qualifying here in Austria.
Here is, how the drivers will line up for the ToniSport 40+ Masters A-Main (Bump up driver to be decided in the first B-Main).
Link to the Results on MyRCM: https://www.myrcm.ch/myrcm/report/de/63772/287275?key=202
Scorpion Formula
Stiebler earns first ever ETS TQ in Formula qualifying
Q3 – Andreas Stiebler (Schumacher) took another impressive win in Q3 of the Scorpion Formula class on Saturday morning. This time, his gap was 2.9 seconds over second placed Xray driver René Kölbel. Herbert Weber finished third, ahead of Michal Wojcik and Robert Kampehl who completed the top 5.
Andreas Stiebler stopped in the ETS media centre for a quick chat after he secured his pole position in Q3:
It feels great to finally TQ an ETS event. I was close to that in the past but in never happened. This weekend I was fast right from the beginning, and I am really proud of the pace I showed in qualifying. For the finals, my plan is to get a good start and some decent first laps. I hope that I can pull away a little from the others to control the race and I will give my all to win here in my home country.
Andreas Stiebler (AT), Schumacher
Q4 – After Andreas Stiebler sealed the deal in Q3, there was still a nice battle going on for the remaining A-Main spots behind him. This time, Stiebler was taking the win as well with Kölbel, van Gog, Wojcik, and Kampehl making the top 5 once again. Even if Stiebler was in kind of “ a world of his own” in qualifying, it is always a different story to bring home a win in the finals. Can he do it? Can Stiebler take his first ETS win some weeks after his fellow countryman René Kölbel achieved the same in the Netherlands? Let`s find out very soon!
Here is, how the drivers will line up for the Scorpion Formula A-Main (Bump up driver to be decided in the first B-Main).
Link to the Results on MyRCM: https://www.myrcm.ch/myrcm/report/de/63772/287276?key=202
A1 will be on the line in the afternoon, so make sure to check our page again if you like to know who got the perfect run in the first of the triple A-Mains in all of our 6 ETS racing classes!
Our “LIVE” section will keep you up to date as we are presenting two different live streams from ETS RD1 Season #15 2022/23. To get quickly to the results of all classes simply navigate to the “RESULTS” area on our landing page!
