Mugen Seiki aims for championship contention with new MTC-3 touring car platform!

Mugen Seiki saw a clear upwards trend at the end of last season when their new MTC-3 won two Pro Stock races and found his way back onto the modified podium. The team will hit Apeldoorn in (almost) full force and everybody is excited to see how they have used the break to prepare for the new season. While customers are still waiting for their MTC-3 car kits, the MTC-3 is showing that the wait should be worth it!

First of all, I would like to say that it is absolutely great to see so many participants at the ETS. The last few races have been well attended and that seems to be continuing now outdoors. It’s just fantastic to see the ETS going so well and I’m sure this will boost the whole RC scene.
I’m also very pleased that the MTC-3 kits will be arriving in Europe in the next few weeks. I know the car has come a long way, but I’m sure customers will be happy with it. It is still a big challenge for Mugen Seiki to keep up with the super-fast moving 1/10th scale electric market, which is completely different from the nitro racing scene that has been Mugen Seiki’s core competence in the past.
At the end of last season, our top stock driver Sören Sparbier achieved great results when he simply drove amazingly well. I hope he can keep this momentum going in 2025. Due to a family commitment, we won’t have him with us in Apeldoorn, but he will be back on track with us in Aigen. Sören’s results have already shown that our car is not only good in the Modified class and we hope that we can convince many stock drivers to buy the MTC-3.
Last but not least, I hope that we will have a great season with our top driver Ronald Völker. He has a good feeling with the MTC-3 and we will do our best to fight for victories at the sharp end of the competition!
Robert Pietsch (GER)

We have had great testing lately prior to the first ETS race of the new season in Apeldoorn. This track is one of my alltime favourites and so much fun to drive on. The event will see an incredible competition and with the high amount of entries its gonna be unforgettable!
Ronald Völker (GER)

I think next ETS in Apeldoorn will be one of the most exciting ETS race in history as the field of drivers and their level is extremely high. I expect very close racing to get in the top 10 and I’m sure that a mistake, even the smallest one, will cost a lot for anyone! I’m super motivated, same as the whole Mugen Seiki team, as the brand-new car MTC3 is showing great speed each time she hits the ground. Let’s see what will happen in Apeldoorn.
Remi Callens (FR)

Due to a very important family appointment I will sadly miss the season opener in Apeldoorn, However, I am sure that the team will do extremeley well there as our new MTC-3 is unbelievable. I will try to do all the remaining four races of the season and I hope to still have a shot to battle with the other Pro Stock top drivers for the title. It will not be easy but I think I am in a real good form now and will give my very best for a top result. I wish everybody a lot of fun and great races in Apeldoorn – I will watch the show from home!
Sören Sparbier (GER)

What I expect from the season opener in Apeldoorn is an overall amazing experience for myself and my family. It will be my first race in Europe which makes it special right from the start of the trip. I strongly feel this race will be a major test as a driver since the field of drivers would be at the absolute best. I feel like our team will be strong at ETS and we will gather immense information from our new Mugen MTC-3 platform. I’m super pumped to work, learn and spend time with Ronald and Robert again. Also, can’t wait to see my friends and meet new ones as well.
Jacob Cruz (USA)

I’m really looking forward to the new season starting in Apeldoorn. can’t wait to see my new teammates and friends again. unbelievable number of starters that are currently named. top riders from all over the world, mega to be able to compete with the best. I’m expecting a close race top 10 would be a mega result when you read who’s on the list! I’m very lucky to be part of team Mugen. I’ve only been here for a short time, but I’ve been welcomed warmly and with joy. there’s a good harmony in our team, and the team spirit and helpfulness are incredibly strong! We have a very strong basis with our new MTC3, thanks to Robert Pietsch, and have certainly not yet realised our full potential, but you can see that we are very strong! (see Sören and Völker).
Patrick Gollner (AT)

The ETS race in Apeldoorn will be my first time on asphalt, so it will be a new challenge for sure. My goal will of course be the A-Main but as I have no experience yet, it will be a weekend to learn and I will do my best. I have never been in Apeldoorn there before but all I have seen on pictures and videos looks super nice. The last ETS in Wiener Neustadt was the first time I raced modified and the weekend was a lot of fun, I got to know a lot of people and I am still very grateful that Ronald and Robert supported me so much. Let`s bring the heat!
Berkan Kilic (TR)

“A force awakens” as Infinity sends a team full of champions to compete in Apeldoorn

Infinity is back at the ETS with a ultra-competitive looking driver lineup. Nobody has officially seen their new car until now, but due to Bruno Coelho finishing second at the TITC in Bangkok, we can expect them to be right on the money with their package in Apeldoorn.

Beside Coelho, we will see guys like multiple IFMAR world champion Naoto Matsukura (1:12, TC, and Nitro TC), 2006 TC world champion Andy Moore, former Reedy Race winner Viktor Wilck, and 2012 world champion Jilles Groskamp competing in the modified class.

There is no other team out their able to present so many champions and we are happy to say: WELCOME BACK Inf1nity!

Since I have changed to Infinity, a huge part of my work has changed compared to before as I am more involved in developing parts, testing, doing reports, and working more behind the scenes instead of “only” being a driver. We have worked super hard with the whole team in the last months to develop our new car and it is super exciting to see how much work it is until a new car is fully ready. I enjoy it a lot. The TITC was amazing for us as our car was able to fight for the win even being in it`s early prototype stages without us having a big knowledge about it. For Apeldoorn I am looking forward to the competition and to fight with all the top drivers for the best possible result at the ETS. Our car is almost ready to hit the market, and we like to show it`s potential on track. I can`t wait to hit the track in Apeldoorn.
Bruno Coelho (PT)

I’m very excited to join the ETS and in general coming back to the electric races. I have been absent for too long time and with the new platform I’m very excited and confident I can do well . Of course the competition has been very super strong like never before. and therefor I’m excited to compete against the very best in electric touring car racing again. Guys like Bruno, Michal and Marc are at the top now and it will be difficult to beat them but my goal is to stay close to them and make it first back to the a-main. I’m very happy Infinity has a new touring car and with the input of Bruno and Francesco we are improving by the day. It’s great having them on board and I can learn a lot from them . The new platform is a pleasure to drive and with many improvements to come I can’t wait to hit the track every week to test new things again. It’s now less then a month to the ETS and I’m in full preparation mode to be fully prepared for the ETS
Jilles Groskamp (NLD)

I’m joining ETS for the first time in a while. And since we will be participating with a new car, we would like to compete at the top and promote it. I’m looking forward to participating in such a great race and meeting you all. See you soon!
Naoto Matsukura (JP)

I’m very much looking forward to participating in the ETS event in Apeldoorn. As we develop the new touring car from INF1NITY it’s a great place to showcase the performance and develop the car further. I expect the field of drivers to be as high as ever in a long time as I understand many drivers return to ETS for this event. I been to Apeldoorn track before and I know it can be challenging on many aspects, so I just try to prepare as much as possible back home to be ready for the event. I think we have good team attending and I hope for a good result in the event!
Viktor Wilck (SE)

I’m really looking forward to my first ETS race in quite some time — in fact, it’ll be my first race in Europe since before Covid! It’s exciting to join the Infinity team in showcasing our new platform at an ETS event, and I hope my experience can help us deliver a strong team performance.
Andy Moore (UK)

Pictures: RedRC, TITC, Bruno Coelho (all Facebook)

Yokomo and Axon will be present at the season opener of ETS Season #18 with some of their top drivers. Both teams are relativeley small now which does not mean they are not working super-gard for success. We quickly talked to Christopher Krapp (Yokomo) and Akio Sobue (Axon) to find out what they think about ETS Season #18.

As I will celebrate my wedding on the exact same weekend as the ETS in Apeldoorn, I have “the best reason” to not be there racing with you guys. We will fly to honeymoon straight afterwards with the whole family and it will be the best time of our live. However, I will also have the feeling of missing a race on one of my absoulte favourite race tracks. I will follow the action on RC Racing TV for sure 🙂
When looking onto last season, it was not the best campaign for sure. Even if I still finished P8 overall, it was not what we as a team had hoped for. We also lost some of our top drivers at the end of last year but we still have some fast guys racing for us such as FWD vice-champion Frederik Hovgaard, and young talent Olav Dahle. They both will represent Yokomo in Apeldoorn. The whole team is in a development process now and Yokomo is working hard to develop further updates for our current platform.
I am very happy that Yokomo is still a proud sponsor of the ETS and when I look onto the series in which I raced from the very early days it is great to see how positive everything is looking now with these crazy numbers of entries. The whole ETS crew is doind an amazing job and we at Yokomo are all very thankful to have this amazing stage to race on. See you soon at ETS Rd2 in Aigen!
Christopher Krapp (GER) Team Yokomo

I am really happy to come back to the amazing facilities of Apeldoorn . Last years race was fantastic when had some great battles on track during the finals. This year it will be even more difficult as almost every top touring car racer from around the world has signed up for the race – it will be epic! I will use the new TC10/4 car which is almost ready for production. We used the first prototypes already during the TITC but we made some changes and updates to further improve the car for Apeldoorn. Not sure when it will be ready for the public but we are on a very good way. I am looking forward to hit the track soon and will give my all to achieve a good result for all my sponsors – see you there!
Akio Sobue (JP) Team Axon

Team Xray will not only travel to the Netherlands to collect their trophy for winning last years constructors championship, they will also throw everythign into the ring to fight for top results in all racing classes for the new season. It will be interesting to see how the team will be kind of re-structured after the Coelho departure and it will be all about Hagberg, Ronnefalk, Izsay, and Ratheisky to fly the Xray flag in Apeldoorn. Great to see their full factory team competing at ETS RD1.

On the behalf of the entire XRAY team, I can honestly say that we are really excited to return to the great Apeldoorn facilities again for the ETS! This track and club is always well worth visiting, and as always, the level of competition will be sky high! We will be putting in the maximum amount of effort to do well at this event, but most importantly, to be present to support and help our customers who are also travelling to Apeldoorn to race.
We will be using our latest spec. X4’25 platform in the TC classes, our X1’25 in the F1 class, and our X4F’25 in the popular FWD class! With strong team drivers from all over Europe racing for us, we are expecting to be competitive in each category! See you in Apeldoorn!
Alexander Hagberg (SE)

Picture: RedRC

ETS Apeldoorn is around the corner and it will be a first time for me attending any of the outdoor rounds of the ETS series. It feels like the series is now more competitive than ever before and it will be a fun experience with great racing! Of course I lack track time on these tracks compared to my competitors but I will try to make the very best out of it like always.
A few days of practice the week before will definitely be important for me to get into the grips of the track and condition. Together with the team we will practice for a few days before the event and working together with Martin, Alex, Adam is always great. I’ll try to learn as quickly as possible to be fighting towards the top which is always the goal of course.
Really looling forward to start the new season and Apeldoorn is somewhere I’ve always wanted to go as everyone only have good things to say about the facility!
David Ronnefalk (SE)

I am very happy to drive again at the ETS in Apeldoorn after I had to skip the entire last season. Because of school vacation days I can also bring my Kids to drive 21.5 and F1 so it will be a lot of work for me .Normally I never have any expectations as every race is different by itself. Now, with that big number of drivers it will be a hard return for sure.
But with the return of Team Xray it should be a great challange for us. Frikandel, Burgers, and Coffee will do the rest of the driver setup. Biggest problem will be to get up to race pace quickly as we can’t go to the TOS or any outdoor race before. Anyway. We are happy to come back and this is what counts! See you there!
Jan Ratheisky (GER)

I’m looking forward to the start of the new ETS season in Apeldoorn. With almost every top driver on the entry list the competition will be for sure super high especially in modified I think it’s the best field in many years. I will be driving modified for the first time outdoor at the ETS, but as soon as the weather is getting better we will start testing for it together with Alex, David and Jan.
Adam Izsay (HU)

Overall I´m looking forward for a great ETS saison again after my very first one last year. The main target is again to be in the a-main with our just released new X25 car. The field looks even stronger this season and like a world championship for every round. I hope I can learn from each race more and more to improve the development of the serpent touring car.
I think the very small team did a great job in just one year and our new X25 is really a huge improvement compared to the X24. Also the results from last year shows that the car is now on the level from the other brands with some innovative solutions and design. See you all in Apeldoorn.
Dominic Greiner (GER)

I’m really looking forward to the start of the ETS season and especially to the race in Apeldoorn. After an intensive preparation period, we are in a good position as a team – we have tested a lot and worked on the car to take a step forward in all areas.
The starting field for this race is extremely strong, which of course increases the challenge. But that’s exactly what motivates us. I’m expecting close battles and hope that we can get our performance spot on to fight for a good position.
The team is working extremely well together and the car feels really good – especially in the last tests we saw that our development package is having an effect. In Apeldoorn, I will be driving a prototype of our next development stage of the Iris One.
I’m particularly looking forward to Apeldoorn because the track is technically demanding and the atmosphere is always great. It’s the perfect place to start the season. We are ready and highly motivated – our aim is to deliver consistently, to continue to grow as a team and to be right up there at the front as the season progresses.
Dominik Schimid (GER) IRIS

Enrico Jung

I’m really motivated for my first full season with Team ARC. Just two weeks ago, I drove the A1025 on asphalt for the first time, and my first impression was absolutely amazing!
I definitely hope to fight for the Top 5 again, and my clear goal for this season is to take my first Pro Stock victory. It’s also great to see how the ARC team continues to grow both nationally and internationally… that gives me a lot of confidence.
Enrico Jung (GER)

Ryan Maker returns to Europe after 15 years – “a lot has changed since then”!

The start of ETS Season #18 will be a special race for the RC MAKER team as company owner and car designer Ryan Maker will make the trip to the Netherlands. Ryan has not been in Europe since many many years and it will be his first ETS race in the role of a team manager and mechanic for his team.

With the RC MAKER SP1 and SP1-F platforms being around for over half a year now, it will be the first outing for the team at an ETS race on asphalt. With many fast drivers in the team, RC MAKER will aim to push the car and the brand to score some good results on the fast track of AMCA Apeldoorn.

For me personally, it’s been 15 years since I last visited Europe. Of course so much has changed since then, and the support for RC MAKER all throughout Europe has been overwhelming since the beginning. I’m really looking forward to meeting new people, catching up with old friends, and sharing my passion for this amazing hobby!
I’m really excited to begin our outdoor campaign at ETS for the first time ever, with our SP1 and SP1-F. Our team and I have been working hard on development with our drivers and listening to the feedback of our customers to keep improving the platform in many ways.
Our team is rapidly growing in Europe, and it’s great to see the progress we are making. We are lucky to have many of our best drivers attending the race, and I hope that we will be fighting close to the front! Realistically, we can’t have ultra high expectations being such a young manufacturer against these very well established brands, but since winning is what we are here to do, if you go there with any other mindset you have already lost! 
The event is going to be a spectacle, basically a European World Championship. It’s absolutely amazing to see the health of the hobby, and all of the great things the ETS team are doing to make these events possible. The level of competition in all classes will probably be the highest ever seen at ETS, and we are proud to be a sponsor of this prestigious racing series for many years to come. Safe travels to all competitors, see you all very soon!
Ryan Maker (AU) 

I’m super excited about the event as the field will be extremely strong. For sure the strongest since a long time. I can’t wait to run the SP1 platform as it will be our first ETS asphalt race. We get data run after running and it seems we have a competitive car on asphalt, so I can’t wait to hit the track. It’s great to see the team growing up so fast with many good people.
Antoine Brunet (FR)

I am looking forward to kick off the eighteenth season of the ETS – crazy how time flies by. Overall, I am hoping for a nice weekend with good weather as we expect everybody to be there. The competition will be crazy high and I hope we will be strong as a team. Our SP1 feels way better on asphalt compared to carpet and with the direct support from the boss Ryan Maker as a mechanic we have the best possible asset on our side during the race. I will give everything to put the car into the A-Main. It will not be an easy job but I know that I can do it when everything will work the way I like!
Yannic Prümper (GER)

I am super excited to return to Apledoorn for the ETS! This will be my 3rd time at the beautiful Apledoorn track and the second time for an ETS! The ETS is such an awesome event, the depth of field is crazy. But for me the best part is the people, everyone has always been so welcoming and friendly. Fierce battles on track with smiles and laughs in the pits! This time i will competing with my new team – RC Maker! I am really excited joining Ryan and his project, his passion and enthusiasm is very contagious! Working with some big names like Prümper, Brunet and Hara can only help my ambitions for a good result. I can’t wait to return and say hello to all my European friends!
Jeff Hamon (AUS)

Last year, I was joined ETS in apeldoorn after that long long time 10 years break for ETS. I am very happy to be going to Apeldoorn again this year to joining in the opening round of the new ETS season as Team Cayote. This track is one of my favorites and I love the friendly local people as well as the signature layout. Team Cayote started last year and product, setup, also team have become much stronger then last year. My job to help Team Cayote to perform best in this year. I will be race with Ryan Makar that owner of rc maker SP1 following TITC. I can’t wait to meet the ETS family again as well. See you all at Apeldoorn!
Atsushi Hara (JP)

Apeldoorn is special for me as it has become one of my „local“ Clubs during the Covid times in 2020 when driving in Germany wasn‘t allowed in that times. In Apeldoorn I did my first ETS pole position and double A-Main, also with my „own Iris convention “ car. This year will be even better because I will see Ryan again after more than a decade and I am hoping to archive a great result with his car for him.
Tim Benson (GER)