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From hunter to hunted – Orlowski starts his title defence mission

Patrick Beck
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0
From hunter to hunted – Orlowski starts his title defence mission

Preview Report ETS RD1 Season #17 2024/25

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

CLICK HERE and read everything about 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!

Weffers teams up with Xray

Patrick Beck
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Weffers teams up with Xray

Former Mugen driver and ETS podium finisher Max Weffers has now joined Xray. The official announcement came out today:

XRAY is happy to announce that Max Weffers is joining the XRAY Team to race the X4F platform.

Max says:
“I am incredibly happy to be joining XRAY and look forward to an exciting future with this amazing team. XRAY is one of the most historic brands in the RC scene, and now I will be a part of it. I am confident that, together, we will achieve excellent results and create outstanding outcomes. The opportunity to work alongside such skilled and dedicated racers fills me with enthusiasm, and I’m excited to show everyone what we can build together. Thanks to everyone at XRAY for this chance. Let’s now start this amazing journey!”

T-Works option parts for Yokomo MS1.0

Patrick Beck
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0
T-Works option parts for Yokomo MS1.0

T-Work`s has released a couple of option parts for the new Yokomo MS1.0 touring car. There are two sets of turnbuckles, a set of gold plated steel screws or a complete set of titanium screws, and some nice titanium camber setting screws as well as a set of titanium ball studs. The new Yokomo MS1.0 will be in the spotlight at the season opener of the ETS in the Netherlands and we are sure that these option parts can further improve the car!

CLICK HERE and see all the new T-Works parts for the MS1.0

New for Season #17 – the ETS Constructors Championship

Patrick Beck
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New for Season #17 – the ETS Constructors Championship

As we are rolling slowly into direction ETS Season #17, we like to present something new and cool for the upcoming ETS campaign:

THE ETS CONSTRUCTORS 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. We hope that you like the idea 🙂

The Team Managers are responsible for naming their drivers before every event

Before you read through the rules we like to point out that the team managers of every team are responsible to name their drivers before every race. They need to come to the ETS Media Team before the start of free practice on Thursday, to let us know about the driver line up. This is important as there is some work to do on the technical side and therefore we need to make some adjustments before the racing action starts.

ETS Constructors Championship Rules

Time to present the rules. We have tried to keep it simple for the start to give every manufacturer a good chance to compete!

  1. The season consists of five races and four will be counted (the worst team result will be thrown out) for the championship.
  1. Each constructor nominates 3 different drivers (or less) per ETS race.
  1. The three classes in which these 3 drivers race can be freely selected.
  1. However, a maximum of one driver per class.
  1. A driver may be nominated for a maximum of 3 races per season (across classes). This also applies to a change of chassis manufacturer during the current season.
  1. Each constructor (team) has 2 jokers available per season. If you use a joker, you can nominate ANY driver who takes part in the event. This is particularly useful for the numerically smaller teams in the field. If a joker is used, the rules 1 to 5 are still counting…
  1. The points scored by a team/constructor per ETS event are determined on the basis of the results of the individual drivers from the RC Manager and presented in a seperate ranking list. The RC Manager will be ONLINE during Season #17 2024/25 as well – stay tuned!
READ ABOUT THE RC MANAGER HERE
  1. The winning team / manufacturer will receive a trophy and a nice prize for the team at the end of the season.

Hobbywing Xerun XR10 Pro WP Brushless ESC

Patrick Beck
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Hobbywing Xerun XR10 Pro WP Brushless ESC

Hobbywing has released a new waterproof high-end ESC for competitive racing in wet conditions. It will be available in the next days and here are all informations for you.

The XR10 Pro WP is an ideal ESC for various 1/10 racing situations as well as for touring cars, and has been upgraded with a series of technological advancements to bring it up to the latest standards. This includes, for example, the intelligent fan, which only cools when it is truly necessary. This saves power and ensures that the controller always operates at the optimal temperature. Equipped with a 32-bit M4 microprocessor, the data processing performance is also greatly enhanced, allowing the ESC to not only respond faster but also perform more complex and accurate data calculations. And with the built-in switchable BEC, even servos that normally require higher voltages can be used.

CLICK and buy your Hobbywing ESC HERE

The ESC is compatible with a variety of programming options, but You can get the most out of it with the OTA programming module and a smartphone. Because with this, thanks to real-time data recording, You have access to information about how throttle, voltage, temperatures, and RPM behaved during the last race, allowing You to identify potential issues and address them specifically on the next race. At the same time, the controller can be easily and quickly programmed via Bluetooth using your smartphone.
For example, enjoy the ride with the integrated softening function, which can be adjusted to Your desired driving feel depending on Your personal preferances. Even throttle response can be finely adjusted within a curve range of -10 to +10. And when things get wild, XR10 Pro WP users can benefit from maximized braking force of up to 150%.

Stay cool and have fun while also having full control.

Features:

  • 9 selectable profiles for all 1/10 RC car races
  • Waterproof and dustproof according to IP-67 standard
  • Separate PRG/FAN port for the fan and programming
  • Variable frequency control of PWM and brake frequencies
  • Softening function for milder or wilder driving control and better driving efficiency
  • Data logging of temperature, RPM, and more
  • Firmware upgrades possible to always be up to date
  • Various protection functions against:
    • Reverse polarity
    • Overheating
    • Low voltage cutoff
    • Signal loss

Technical Specifications:

Type:Brushless, Sensored
Current (cont./peak):160A / 1200A
Input Voltage:2S Lipo
BEC:5V – 7.4V @ 5A (Switch Mode)
Motor Types:Brushless motors (sensored/sensorless)
Fan:25 x 25 x 10mm, powered by BEC
Programming:LCD Program Box G2,
LCD Program Box Pro,
OTA Program Module,
seperate programming port
Dimensions:37.7 x 37.2 x 19.6mm
Weight:95.6g (/w cable)
Applications:1/10 Touring cars & Buggy Racing, Drift, F1, Rally

RIDE TR09 Slick Tire for ETS FWD racing!

Patrick Beck
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0
RIDE TR09 Slick Tire for ETS FWD racing!

We are happy to announce the RIDE tire for the new ETS Season #17 2024/25. The tire is called TR09 and is made from exactly the same rubber as the previous tires (26082). To make the tire more equal and better to drive in all conditions, RIDE has changed the tire insert which is a fabric insert with a bigger air gap to the rubber. This ensures an easier handling and a better performance throughout a complete production batch of tires.

The good-natured properties of the TR09 tires make them a very good choice for the FWD class. The TR09 tire comes on a 10-spoke rim and looks really good on track. The first tests during the TOS Masters race in Andernach (Germany) have already produced a very positive feedback!

INFO: The first 1000 sets will be available “unglued” here in Europe.
However, the tires will soon be available from us “fully glued” as usual.
Part Number: 36086S

CLICK HERE and get your RIDE FWD tires!

Under the Hood – Michal Orlowski`s championship winning Schumacher Mi9

Patrick Beck
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1
Under the Hood – Michal Orlowski`s championship winning Schumacher Mi9

It was a “top secret” car for a long time and now it is officially released – the Schumacher Mi9. The car which helped Michal Orlowski to win his first ever ETS championship title and also the first one for the British manufacturer Schumacher. Before the car was released, we had been able to take some shots of Michal`s car right off the track at the ETS race in Daun, GER. We had to keep the pictures confidential until now, but we are happy to show you the car he used to win the championship in the Matrix Modified class.

[the_ad_group id=”145″]

Body Shell: Xtreme Twister Speciale 0.4
Speedo:Hobbywing XR10 Pro
Motor: Hobbywing 5.0T
Battery: Sunpadow 3800
Radio: Sanwa M17
Servo: PowerHD S15
Tires: Matrix ETS
Sponsors and support: Schumacher, Hobbywing, JConcepts, Sunpadow, PowerHD, MR33, ToniSport, Sanwa, T-Work`s, CoreRC, Trishbits, VP Design, 33Graphix

Orlowski and Lauter winning 1:12 scale Euros

Patrick Beck
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0
Orlowski and Lauter winning 1:12 scale Euros

Last weekend, the 1:12 scale European Championships took place in Sicily (Italy).There had been 43 entries for the Spec class (13.5T Morors.), and 24 entries for the Modified class (6.5T Motors). The fast track layout was a huge challenge for the drivers as the carpet featured some bumps which made it even harder to go fast. In the end, the best of the best found themselves on top of the board again showing that it doesn`t matter how good or bad a track is….

The Modified class saw Schumacher factory driver Michal Orlowski confirming his great form as he claimed the pole position for the finals after qualifying. Orlowski`s Schumacher teammate Ollie Payne was lining up in second on the grid, followed by the Xray of Alexander Hagberg, and the Awesomatix of Marc Rheinard. Jan Ratheisky (Xray) was fifth after qualifying.
Michal Orlowski was able to win the first two A-Mains to take the title back which he had lost to Alexander Hagberg last year. Payne, hagberg, and Rheinard were fighting for the positions in teh finals and it was Marc Rheinard who took second overall in front of Alex Hagberg after the Swede received a controversal 5 seconds penalty in A3 after a side-by-side contact with Ollie Payne.

In the Spec class it was Awesomatix driver Simon Lauter who was TQ after qualifying. Not a bad achievement at his first ever 1:12 scale race. Ollie Payne (Schumacher) and Jan Ratheisky (Xray) qualified second and third on the grid and the finals had been a close affair. Jan Ratheisky was bale to win A1, before Simon Lauter won the second and third final to become the 2024 european champion. Ollie Payne managed to secure second overal and Ratheisky came home in third place followed by the reigning world champion Max Mächler(Awesomatix).

Pictures: Facebook (Max Mächler, Michal Orlowski, Ollie Payne)

ETS Beginners Guide, Part 4 – The world of touring car body shells

Patrick Beck
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0
ETS Beginners Guide, Part 4 – The world of touring car body shells

The fourth chapter of the ETS Beginners Guide is all about body shells and the rules about them at the Euro Touring Series. We will look into the body shell situation in total, before we step into the world of ETS racing to explain the rules and the reasons behind them. We will also give you as many tips as possible to make your life more easy when it comes to selecting body shells for your next (or maybe your first) ETS race. Let’s dive into this interesting and exciting topic…..

Always developing and quickly changing – the market of body shells in the world of RC

When looking back on the history of 1:10 scale touring car bodies, the market was in the hands of Protoform in the late 90’s and early 2000 years. Yes, there had also been other brands on the market (Hot Bodies for example), but almost every major race saw a driver with a Protoform body on the top step of the podium. It was an easy life for the touring car racers as all they needed to go fast was a Protoform Mazda6 or LTC-R.

Fast forward, this situation changed dramatically when other companies such as Mon-Tech (with the Racer) or Bittydesign (with the M410) stepped out of the Protoform shadow ten years ago. They saw themselves followed by Xtreme, ZooRacing, Blitz, and the two latest newcomers LensBodies and PIPaero. The manufacturers found themselfes into something like a “body shell war” quickly, and developed new bodies in a short term leaving racers with big headaches before almost every race weekend. 

The materials and the quality of the bodies improved year by year which was a great fact, but on the other side we saw bodies getting thinner and thinner to gain every possible percent of performance. Another significant change was the design and the shape of the touring car body shells when manufacturers started to gain more and more downforce from them. For example, today`s Xtreme Twister body has a significant higher downforce compared to the good old Protoform LTC-R. 

Had all these things been necessary? Well, as this is always a hard question, it is impossible to point out the right answer. It seems that we need development and progress in the world of RC racing, but at some point it looked like everything went a little “too crazy” with a new body getting released every week. There is always a group of racers who like to test new products, and there are others who don’t want to invest too much of their racing budget into testing the “latest and greatest” body shell all the time.

The Euro Touring Series had to deal with the tricky body shell market in these days and decided to create some special rules for the racing series – we will talk about that later on….

Does a body shell really affect the handling of the car on track?

As difficult as it was to answer the question about the general body shell market, it is as easy to answer this one: Yes, the body shell has a huge effect on the handling of every onroad RC car, no matter if it is a touring car, a FWD model, or a Formula chassis! People who are new in the hobby often do not pay that much attention to the body as they try to learn everything else about their car`s setup first.

As faster a car gets, as more a driver will feel the different aerodynamic characteristics of a 1:10 scale touring car body shell. The downforce will increase together with the speed on track. Downforce is the force that acts on the car by deflecting the air downwards. It pushes the vehicle onto the road. The higher the downforce, the better the tyre will grip to the road and as faster the car can take the corners without the centrifugal forces carrying the car off track. If you can take a corner at full throttle, the aerodynamics have done their job properly.

ETS crew

For many newcomers it can be a real eye opener when they realise how much they can improve the handling of their car just by trying a different body shell.
Sometimes it is just a little change of the body`s  position on the car, the change of the rear wing shape, or trying the same body in a lightweight version which transforms a good car into a great car. It is always worth it to play around with different body shells and settings.
When a body is old and has already suffered some damage, replace it with a new one and your car will instantly feel better on track again!

ETS Crew

But no matter how big the effect of the aerodynamics turn out on track, it is impossible for racers to own all the different bodies in different weight options, with holes for different positions on the car, and in practice colors and a race paint version as well. The Euro Touring Series went into a different direction with the start of Season #15 2022/23 when the official ETS Body Shell List came into place.

Simple rules and a limited amount of bodies – the ETS Body Shell List has it…

The ETS orga team decided to create a body shell list before Season #15. This list allowed every ETS supporting body shell manufacturer to list a number of body shells for the different racing classes. While this list was counting for a whole season, it gave drivers and organizers a better feeling for the bodies in use and the preperation for the drivers was much easier than before. The body shell list is working very fine since two seasons now and is almost ready for Season #17 2023/24 as well.

Manufacturers can list three bodies for the Matrix Modified and Awesomatix Pro Stock classes. The drivers of these classes can use the listed bodies in whatever weight option they want as long as they are available to the public in official hobby shops. 

In our “slower” classes Hobbywing FWD, 1up Racing 40+ Masters, and Orca 21.5 Stock, the companies are only allowed to list one body shell in the regular 0,7mm version. The goal was to minimize the amount of bodies for the hobby classes which was the right call in our opinion.

The decision for the 0,7mm versions was made to not force the hobby drivers to use the paper-thin 0,4 or 0,5mm bodies which can immediately break during a contact with another car or a barrier. Yes, you can also damage an 0,7mm shell but they are way more durable then their lighter brothers and sisters 🙂.

All the 0,7mm bodies get marked with a special sticker on the front windscreen during Thursday practice which ensures that every racer is using a shell according to the rules!

The body shell list has become a major part of the ETS in 2022, and until now it was absolutely the right call to go this way. It brought more transparency into the market for the ETS racers and manufacturers and everybody knows what he needs to bring to the track. There are no more scary moments for the drivers when finding out about a new released body some days ahead of an ETS event. The scary days are over 🙂

ETS crew

How to choose the right body, and what about all these stiffeners?

First of all, if you are thinking about buying ETS allowed body shells, take a look at the official list which you can find in the rules. The next thing you can do is to just ask your club members, friends, or teammates, which bodies they like the most. If you want to know what the top drivers are using in all the ETS racing classes, just look into the Equipment Charts which are published in every event`s final report after the third round of finals on Sunday. 

Do you know what will help you the most? Go for practice and test the bodies yourself. It is always easy to follow a trend by using the same body everybody else is running in your class as it will always give you a good feeling. But it can also happen, that a different body will suit your driving style or the way you are setting up your car better. So just for example: When everybody around you is running a Wolverine and you are not happy with your car, just go on track with a Twister (or vice versa) for example – it is always worth a try and can change your day completely. But please do not test too many bodies during the practice sessions at the event. This can lead you into total confusion as the track will also change a lot etc. We recommend you to find 2 bodies from the list which you like prior to the event and then go into the weekend with them!

ETS Crew

When you scroll through the product pages of hobby shops nowadays, you will notice many body accessories. Body stiffeners, front hood stiffeners, anti-tuck braces, horizontal mounting systems, and many other things. Have you questioned yourself “what the hell you really need” from all these things?

THESE ARE THE STIFFENERS WE ARE TALKING ABOUT 🙂

Well, most of these products are very nice and they are a pure joy as they are really beefing up your body. BUT as long as you are running 0,7mm shells in your racing class you DO NOT NEED all these things to have fun on track. For sure, you can mount an anti-tuck or a nice RC Maker mounting system – but your 0,7mm body will do the job even without it.

Everything changes when it comes to the use of 0,5mm and especially 0,4mm bodies in Modified and Pro Stock. You will find body stiffeners in all different versions in the bodies of these racers. They are made to stiffen the ultra-light and thin lexan material in critical parts of the body. With stiffeners installed, the body can handle the enormous downforce at high speed better and will not flex out of shape.

The stiffeners will also help you when driving on a bumpy track or in windy conditions where the bodies sometimes tend to “fold inwards” into the car.  Body stiffeners make sense, but they are only a MUST HAVE when running lightweight body shells!   

A nice paint job and headlights – that`s what we are dreaming of…

Last but not least, we like to tell you that we LOVE to see a nice paint job on your car. There is no need for a super time demanding or expensive airbrush design – even if it is the greatest thing you can do with your new race body. You can also use some different colors out of the rattle can to make your car look good on track. Single color body shells are acceptable in some ways too (especially for practice bodies) 🙂 BUT please use the headlight decals for the lights and the grill and lights in the rear as well. It looks so much better on track and our ETS photographer Chris will be happy as well as there is nothing which makes him wilder than seeing single color bodies without headlights on track which are looking very poor on camera. Let’s make RC cars look great again 🙂!!!

We hope that you have enjoyed reading this little article about body shells… It is a complex topic with many people having different opinions and we will maybe never find the 100% perfect solution to deal with it. For now, we are happy with how it goes and hope that you are feeling good too!

Hara to race at ETS RD1 in the Netherlands

Patrick Beck
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Hara to race at ETS RD1 in the Netherlands

With lots of excitement, we can confirm that multiple IFMAR world champion, four-time TITC winner, and RC super star, Atsushi Hara from Japan, will race with us at the season opener in Apeldoorn. Atsushi is an absolute legend of our sport and has won almost every big race during his carreer. He will race more frequently again after havig stepped backwards a bit during the last couple of years. We had a quick chat with him today and could already feel Atsushi`s excitement:

Hi Atsushi, how are you doing and what are your feelings now with the confirmation of ETS RD1?

Hello everyone. I am doing fine and I am super happy to be able to come to the ETS in the Netherlands. It is absoluteley crazy how happy I am😆

Many of our younger racers have never seen you racing at the ETS. When have you been racing with us for the last time?

Man that was quite a long time ago – unfortunateley. I think the last time I attended an ETS race was at the last round of the 2016 season in the Hudy Arena. It really is long time ago so even better that I can make a little comeback in europe!

What are you looking for the most when coming over to Europe?

I am looking forward to see the Rheinard family again who organizes the ETS. I have been like family with them for a long time. They have always supported me, and now it is my turn to give something back in returning to an ETS race. I am not a professional RC racer like I used to be in the past, so my main goal is to please my friends and fans by participating. It will be great fun for sure!

Which car and electronics will you run in Apeldoorn?

I am currently in a cooperative relationship with ToniSport, so I want to use the same cars as Marc (Awesomatix).
I will use the new brand “Cayote” for electronics which is a new ESC and Motor brand launched by the famous Oscar Jansen.
I have known him for a long time and hope to build this brand together with him!

Arigato (Thank You) Atsushi, the whole ETS family is looking forward to see you at the venue of AMCA Apeldoorn in 7 weeks of time!

Yes, I will be there with a huge smile and everybody is welcome to say hello 🙂

Pictures: Atsushi Hara (Facebook Page)

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