The 4WD portion of the 2023 IFMAR World Championship is done in Chandler, Arizona (USA). Team Associated`s Davide Ongaro it the newly crowned world champion after winning A1 and A3 from his hard-fought pole position. Local hero Spencer Rivkin (Team Associated) finished second overall after a stellar drive from 5th on the grid and a win in A2. Schumacher`s Michal Orlowski took the third place on the podium, starting from second place on the grid.
2WD is up next and everybody is awaiting another chowdon in Arizona!
The HGT update kit for the Mi8 has been hugely popular and provided some fantastic results. For the winter season an Alloy Chassis version will be available soon. This chassis is suitable if you have already purchased the HGT C/F kit in the past. (U8562)
(This chassis will not fit a standard Mi8 without the HGT conversion)
U8645 – Alloy Chassis – Mi8 HGT Conversion
If you are new to the Mi8 or only race on carpet an Alloy Chassis version of the HGT kit will be available. The HGT conversion features an alternative suspension geometry to free the car up in the corners and create more rotation. It also includes new shock mounts to lower the centre of gravity.
Ryan Maker has released many new option parts for the Mugen Seiki MTC-2R touring car. The parts have just reached europe and are waiting for you. RC Maker offers several topdecks, upper bulkheads, a bumper pate, a multi tool for the bulkhead alignment, as well as ceramic bearings and a front hood stiffener.All parts are made in Australia and will help your MTC-2R to look and perform even better on track!
The fourth round of the actual ETS Season #16 2023/24 will take place in the Trans World Hotel Auefeld in Hann. Münden, GER from 16th to 19th of November 2023. It is the first indoor race of the actual season and last year`s race at the same venue was a tremendous success with over 270 entries. The ETS crew will work hard from now on to ensure another highlight of the season for you. We hope to see the same amount of interest from your side as we had last year, and maybe we can reach the mark of 300 or more entries – that would be awesome!
Registration is OPEN
The registration on MyRCM is open. Be quick and place your entry to give us a first impression what we need to organize in case of tables, chairs, pit space, catering, and so on!
The race in Hann. Münden is scheduled as a 4-day event. Sometimes we get asked for 3-day events but we have decided to make it the usual 4 days. We like to give everybody enough track- and especially practice time, which will be more difficult with a fully booked 3-day event. As we expect the same amount of entries as last year, we just don`t like to extend the very long days into midnight or cut qualifying heats down to 4 minutes. We think that we are way more flexible with the 4-day format and it also helps us with the logistics, the media team setup, and many other little things.
All drivers who can not come for practice on Thursday will get the chance to have at least 2 free practice runs on track early Friday morning before the normal schedule continues. We will control this at the driver stand to make it fair and relativeley for everybody.
Available from: Wednesday, 15.11. to Sunday, 19.11.2023
Room Rates:
Single Room 114,–€ per night including Breakfast and Dinner (Buffet) Double Room 159,–€ per night including Breakfast and Dinner (Buffet)
Note: The accommodation tax of the city of Hann. Münden of 3.5% is not included. This tax is only levied on the accommodation fee (i.e. excluding the catering portion) and is also payable on site at the end of the stay.
Reservations via E-mail only
Please contact the Hotel via E-Mail to guarantee a smooth booking process.
reception.auefeld@twhotels.eu
Book now and enjoy the race in November together with us.
Great news from the UK where Elliott Harer has announced his return to the world of RC racing. Here is the Schumacher press release for you:
Schumacher Racing are delighted to welcome back IFMAR Worlds, EFRA European podium finisher, and former BRCA Champion Elliott Harper to the team. Elliott stepped away from racing in 2020 but the love that is RC is still in the blood and we’re glad he chose us to come back with. He had the following to say;
“I’m really excited to be re-joining the Schumacher team. I retired from racing after a 16-year career in 2020 to spend more time on life outside the RC world. However, and like many others, I couldn’t stay away from the sport I loved! I enjoyed some great years working with Schumacher in the past between 2015 and 2018, and I’m looking forward to seeing what the future holds with our new partnership. I’ll primarily be racing in the UK, focussing on the BRCA Nationals and Essex Winter Series (EWS). I can’t wait to see you all again at the track soon – do pop over for a chat and say ‘hi’!”
Eliott Harper (UK) Schumacher
Alongside the Mi8 HGT he will use Hobbywing electronics and Intellect batteries to power his ride.
Elliott’s first race will be the final BRCA National at Colchester on 16-17th September.
After the third race of ETS Season #16 2023/24, it is time to look at the overall standings of the championship for the second time. There is still a long way to go but after the asphalt season is completed there will be even more tension when carpet racing will start!
The tables are showing the points including ALL three races of the season. Most of the tables are showing an almost perfect order, but you have to keep in mind that we will only count 4 out of the 6 races at the end of the season.
Matrix Modified
Rheinard still leading from Dankel and Völker but Orlowski has the real advantage
As the headline says – Awesomatix star Marc Rheinard is still on top of the rankings, followed by the Mugen duo of Eric Dankel and Ronald Völker. What looks like a 1 point championship lead is actually right, but only one side of the medal. Schumacher driver Michal Orlowski is not in the top 10 now because he was not able to attend RD2 in Austria. But with his 2 race wins (including one TQ) from Apeldoorn and Aigen, he has a 4 points lead over Rheinard if we would only count 2 out of 3 races right now. That means for Orlowski, that he is still sitting on the captain`s seat of the championship airplane with Rheinard only taking the seat of the first officer. Eric Dankel and Ronald Völker have booked a business class ticket so far and they have to wait what happens at the start of the indoor season. Michal Orlowski will miss out one more race (Hann. Münden) due to his attendance at the Florida Carpet Champs (Offroad) and he needs to deliver two more great results in Daun and Wiener Neustadt to win his first ever ETS title. He has no chance to throw out a bad race result anymore as he needs all the points to count for the championship. This situation can be one of the last chances for Rheinard, Dankel, and Völker to finish ahead of Orlowski at the end of ETS Season #16 2023/24.
Current Situation: Rheinard with a deceptive lead while Orlowski is aiming for the championship. Völker and Dankel waiting for their chance. The rest of the field needs a miracle to step back into the game!
Ellerbrock and Izsay two points behind Bultynck ahead of the carpet season
The Awesomatix Pro Stock class is not a one man show this season. It is a very nice battle between Lukas Ellerbrock (Awesomatix), Adam Izsay (Xray), and championship leader Olivier Bultynck (Awesomatix). At Arena33, Ellerbrock had the best weekend of his ETS carreer so far and walked away with his first ever victory. Bultynck is still ons point ahead of Ellerbrock and Izsay, but we can expect very intense second half of the season when racing will continue on black ETS carpet.
Current situation: Bultynck leading by one point from Izsay and Ellerbrock. The driver with the most consistant top 3 finishes will win the title for sure as no mistakes are allowed. Jan Ratheisky (Xray) is in fourth place and already 11 points behind Izsay and Bultynck. Ratheisky need a winning streak on carpet if he want`s to win the big trophy!
Izsay extends his points lead at ETS RD3 in Andernach
Adam Izsay finished on the podium for the third time this season in the Hobbywing Frontwheel class. After the Xray driver could win both races in Apeldoorn and Austria, a third place at Arena33 was ennough for him to extend his points lead over second placed driver Max Weffers (Mugen Seiki). Schumacher`s Andy Murray is still in third position. Izsay scored the most consistant results so far while all the others struggled a lot to collect good points at every race!
Current situation: Nobody is really close to Adam Izsay after three races – is the championship already decided? Roman Borschel is a little bit under the radar as he only raced twice so far. But with one win and one third place, he might be the stealth hunter of Adam Izsay on carpet!
Thalheimer leads Masters class by seven points and is top favourite for the title now
In the 1up Racing 40+ Masters class, Mirco Thalheimer celebrated his first victory last weekend. His lead over the rest of the field is 7 points now, and the race win will give him a huge additional boost. Thalheimer is the top favourite for the title now and with some decent results on carpet he can make the dream come true.
Current situation: The same as in FWD. One driver scores consistant points (Thalheimer), the others are batteling with each other and are throwing their title chances away! Will there be a “master” to challenge Thalheimer on carpet?
Berhgeim still on the sunny side of life with comfortable gap to his contenders
Tristan Bergheim can travel to the upcoming carpet races very relaxed and in a good mood. His championship lead is very big and when there will be no other driver staring to win more races, the championship will be his at the end of the season.
Current situation: Bergheim has all the cards in his hands. Daniel Pöhlmann could be a guy to challenge him hard on carpet while Timo Siebert and Phil Langner both need to get closer (pace wise) in qualifying if they want to make a first ETS race win to happen this season!
Ehrbar closes the gap to championship leader Stiebler after impressive win at Arena33
Andreas Stiebler won the first two races of the season, and took Q1 and Q2 in Andernach as well. As everything looked quite easy for the Schumacher driver, David Ehrbar (Xray) came on stage and snatched the pole position and the race win away from Stiebler. The gap between both in the championship has noe melted down to 4 points. Still a comfortable gap for Stiebler, but the momentum is now with Ehrbar who will for sure practice a lot before ETS Rd4 in Hann. Münden, GER.
Current situation: Ehrbar will try everything to get closer to Stiebler on carpet. Stiebler needs some more good finishes ahead of Ehrbar to win the title again. And there is another driver we can never ignore: Jan Ratheisky. Will he tip the scales?
There’s no better way to dress up your car than with trick hardware, and 1up Racing Pro Duty Titanium Screws are as trick as it gets! Pro Duty Titanium Upper Screw Sets replace all of the kit M3 Button and Flat Head screws with our LowPro and Flat Head screws. These sets also include the Lockdown Screws where possible so you won’t have to purchase any extras after upgrading to a Pro Duty Upper Screw Set!
The screw sets are available for many different cars including the touring cars from Mugen Seiki, Yokomo, Awesmatix, and many more!
Today we like to inform you about the 5 things we have learned from ETS RD3 Season #16 2023/24. Read about rain, press conferences, FWD body shells, the ETS family, and new drivers joining the circle of ETS rcae winners!
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1) We welcome two more drivers in the circle of ETS race winners
Lukas Ellerbrock shows that patience and hard work pays off as he wins at the ETS for the first time
Lukas Ellerbrock is racing at the ETS since many years. He got quicker and quicker, and stepped up his game with switching from Xray to Awesomatix one year ago. He had many great races in the past, scored some decent podium positions, but always came short to the race winners. This weekend at Arena33, Lukas Ellerbrock finally got the job done after having a perfect weekend. He drove flawless in each and every run on track and was TQ after qualifying. In the triple A-Mains, Lukas never looked back and took the win in A1 and A2. A very well deserved win for the Awesomatix driver who is using LRP batteries to power his car. It will be interesting to see what he can do in the fight for the championship until the end of the season. Congratulations Lukas Ellerbrock and welcome to the circle of ETS race winners!
Thalheimer joins circle of ETS race winners after long awaited victory at Arena33 in Andernach
The second driver who conquered the top step of the podium last weekend for the first time was Xray racer Mirco Thalheimer. Known as one of the fastest drivers in the 40+ Masters class, he always raced in the top group of the field since he entered the class some years ago. Thalheimer was close to a victory many times, but small mistakes here and there, as well as collisions with competitors always crossed his plans – until now! His performance at Arena33 was great, especially in qualifying where he was super fast. In the finals he showed some kind of nerves with riding a curb too much here and there, but in the end he took the win ahead of the rest of the field. It was easy to see that a big rock had fallen off his shoulders after the third A-Main. Winning is never easy and Mirco Thalheimer finally did it at the ETS. Congratulations Mirco Thalheimer, you are an ETS race winner now!
2) Changing body shell trend in the Hobbywing Frontwheel class
Bittydesign and Blitz the dominant forces at ETS RD3 in Germany
When looking on the equipment charts in the final race report of ETS RD3, we noticed one very interestig fact: The body shell choice of the FWD A-Main finalists.During the last seasons, the ZooRacing Gorilla body shell was in use by most of the drivers and only some guys used different ones from time to time. Then the Blitz YRS came onto the market and was getting more and more attention. The same now with the Bittydesign CA45 which seems to be very famous.
At the last races in Apeldoorn and Aigen, the Protoform Speed3 was the body to have and many drivers used it (especially in Apeldoorn where race winner Izsay had the Speed3 on his car). But as the availability of the Protoform Speed3 body is almost zero here in europe, drives switched to the Blitz YRS and Bittydesign CA45 for the race in Aigen-Schlägl where no other body was in the final. This trend continued now at ETS RD3 in Andernach where we only saw the Bittydesign CA45 and the Blitz YRS in the A-Main. A very strict change of a trend in a class which was dominated by the ZooRacing Gorilla for almost 2 seasons. What is the reason of that? Good question, but many drivers reported that the Gorilla does not work great with the actual Ride FWD tires. In the past, the Ride tires had been totally different and the Gorilla was the best way to find a good balance. With the full slicks now, the drivers found out that other bodies are faster – as simple as it sounds! As the ETS asphalt season is over now, the carpet portion of the campaign is waiting for us and the drivers have to test and select a body shell again. We will keep an eye on this topic as it is a very interesting one!
3) New at the ETS: Press Conferences
We will bring you closer to the top drivers and ask them about their races
Together with our new media partner RC Racing TV, we have set up a press conference after Qualifying and after the A-Mains of the Matrix Modified class. It was a first try, and we are happy with the outcome and also with the feedback so far. We will continue to do this at the upcoming events and we will further improve the style and look. You can already be excited about the next ones at ETS RD3 in Hann. Münden. If the schedule allows us, we will also do a press conference for other ETS classses too. Here you can watch the show from ETS RD3 again:
Saturday Press Conference
Final Sunday Press Conference
4) The ETS family stayed together in the rain of Andernach
It was great to see everybody staying together and having a good time during the rain-cancelled Friday
After we had a day of dry conditions on Thursday (free practice), the weather changed and we had terrible rain all friday long. No racing was possible as the track was completely flooded. Some drivers used their rain cars (from their national series) to have some fun and it was great tro see some cars running in the wet. The talks about racing in the wet came up once again and some people told us that they would love to race in the rain at the ETS. With the handout motors we are using in all stock classes, it is just not possible to do it as we then would need the double amount of motors for a season just to make sure that we have enough of them. The second aspect which makes it difficult is the high number of heats we always have. Rain in the middle of a qualifyer makes it impossible to have a fair counting of results and repeating a complete round takes to much time. Luckily, we had not a lot of rain in the past years.
However, it was great to see so many drivers staying trackside all day, supporting the canteene with buying food and drinks, wrenching on their cars, and just having a good time. On Friday morning a group of drivers helped to get the track dry with using gas burners walking around the track. Everybody had the same goal and teamwork made the dream work. This is what the ETS family is all about. At the upcoming three indoor races we do not have to check weather apps and datas so everyting will be more on the easy side 🙂
5) The ARC A10MF-24 is a real competitor
First race for the car, first TQ, and second overall – not a bad debut!
Henrik Heitsch had a strong race in the FWD class and was TQ after qualifying. The finals had been tough for Henrik and he had to walk away with second place overall. Anyway, the car he used was the new ARC A10MF-24 and it was looking very fast on track. Heitsch won three out of four qualifiers and had an amazing pace. It seems like the new FWD car from ARC is a real contender.
Third ETS victory in a row – Orlowski on a mission
A2– What looked like a walk in the park all weekend long, came to a great ending in A2 when Michal Orlowski crossed the finish line with his Schumacher ride in front of Ronald Völker`s Mugen Seiki car. Thirteen years ago, Michal Orlowski won the ETS Hobby class at the “old” Arena33 track, and now he has done it again against the top dogs in modified. Congratulations to Michal and his team for an outstanding job all weekend long. He is now leading the championship and will be on the line at RD5 and RD6 to fight for the overall title.
Michal had a great start, and Ronald Völker tried everything (like in every other race of the weekend) to built up a high amount of pressure on Orlowski. Völker was able to close the gap to Orlowski over the weekend, but he just missed that one second over five minutes to be close enough for switching to “attack mode”. However, Völker showed a great race all weekend long and never gave up, the same as third placed Awesomatix lead driver Marc Rheinard who was finishing third in almost every round. Behind Orlowski, Rheinard, and Völker, we saw Yannic Prümper (Yokomo) and Eric Dankel (Mugen Seiki) confirming their 4th and 5th positions again.
A3– Ronald Völker took an unchallenged win in A3 ahead of Marc Rheinard and Eric Dankel who was able to get by Yannic Prümper. Dankel came close to Rheinard in the last laps of the race but was running out of time. This result puts Ronald Völker to second on the podium, with Marc Rheinard in third. Eric Dankel and Yannic Prümper finished fourth and fifth overall.
Winner B-Main: Simon Lauter (DE) Winner C-Main: Fabian Nitschke (DE) Winner D-Main: Peter Ende (NL)
A2– On the sound of the tone, it was Lukas Ellerbrock (Awesomatix) who never looked back and drove a brilliant race. He had never won an ETS race but this time it was “his weekend”. Lukas was fast in qualifying, started from pole, and took the win in A1 and A2. There is no better way to win a race. Congratulations Lukas, well-deserved! Behind the winner, Oliver Bultynck and Adam Izsay had an intense battle with the better ending for Bultynck. Jesper Rasmussen and Jan Ratheisky took fourth and fifth place in the second final.
A3– With race winner Lukas Ellerbrock watching the last A-Main from the side-line, the battle for the remaining podium positions was still undecided as the third final got started. Bultynck had a good start, but Izsay was directly pressuring him with a lot of tension. Bultynck had to show his best driving to keep Izsay behind and was able to bring home the win in A3 which ensured him second place overall on the podium. Adam Izsay finished third in the last run, the same position he took on the podium.
Winner B-Main: Benjamin Elsasser (FR) Winner C-Main: Michel Zierold (DE) Winner D-Main: Emely Ratheisky (DE)
Borschel is the king of Arena33 and wins from second on the grid
A2– Henrik Heitsch was able to break away from the rest of the field in the first minute of the second A-Main. But Roman Borschel was never giving up and got quicker until the end of the race. He was super close to Heitschi in the last 30 seconds of the race and attacked him in the penultimate lap. Borschel dived to the inside of the corner after the very long right turn in the infield section. He was on the inside and a wheel ahead as the cars got in contact and Heitsch`s ARC rolled over. It was a hard, but fair move (when looking on the Gens Ace Replay in the livestream), and Borschel was able to drive to the win after this. Henrik Heitsch still finished second in A2, followed by Adam Izsay in third place. Congratulations to Roman Borschel for taking a hard-fought win away from Arena33.
A3– Henrik Heitsch was able to win the last final which puts him second overall on the podium. Not the win he was aiming for, but a strong result for the new ARC FWD car anyway. Behind A3 winner Heitsch we saw close (and sometimes hard) battles for the positions. Marwin Riedelbauch finished second in the last A-Main, with Max Weffers and Adam Izsay right in tow. The overall result is: 1st Roman Borschel, 2nd Henrik Heitsch, 3rd Adam Izsay.
Winner B-Main: Phil Langner (DE) Winner C-Main: Carlos Gabriel do Pinhal (LU) Winner D-Main: Emely Ratheisky (DE) Winner E-Main: Manuel Hähnel (DE) Winner F-Main: Arjan Putters (NL)
Another first time ETS winner as Thalheimer takes the big trophy home
A2– After a good start, Mirco Thalheimer was leading the field around the first corners until he made a very small mistake on the curb before coming onto the main straight. Toni Mateo went by, just to give the lead back to Thalheimer at the end of the straightway again. The leaders battled hard and changed positions for two more times before they both touched each other and lost their positions. Sometimes, intense racing is costly! Michel Zierold took full advantage of this incident and won the second A-Main from third on the grid in front of a strong driving Frank Fuchs, and Werner Schmitzer. The decision for the win was on the line in A3.
A3– Mirco Thalheimer got off the line and immediately saw the car of Michel Zierold in his rear-view mirror. Toni Mateo was not racing anymore in A3, the same as Torsten Baggendorf and it was all about Michel Zierold to hunt TQ Mirco Thalheimer down. Thalheimer had to keep the dark shadow of Zierold behind for the entire 5 minutes and did an amazing job to seal his first ever ETS race win. Congratulations Mirco, well deserved! Beside Thalheimer, Michel Zierold took second overall, and Werner Schmitzer celebrated his third place on the podium with the CR7 shoutout “Siuuuuuuuuuuuu”
Clean sweep from Bergheim as he wins in a dominant way
A2– Tristan Bergheim got the job done – he is the winner of the Orca 21.5 Stock class here in Andernach after another clean victory from start to finish. Behind him, Phil Langner was once again able to benefit from a small mistake of Timo Siebert in front of him. Bergheim, Langner, and Siebert was the running order as the cars crossed the finish line and Karl-Heinz Moritz and Kai Gerhard took fourth and fifth place. Congratulations to Tristan Bergheim for his second victory of the season.
A3– The remaining podium positions had been up for grabs in A3 and it was a fight between Timo Siebert and Phil Langner for second and third overall. After a clean run, Timo Siebert was able to win A3 ahead of a faster looking Phil Langner in second, and Alexander Bremer in third place. Robert Kampehl and Lien Lu completed the top 5 in the last A-Main. Timo Siebert and Phil Langner joined Tristan Bergheim on the podium at ETS RD3 in Andernach.
Ehrbar is the overall winner at ETS RD3 in Germany
A2– After a good start, Andreas Stiebler (Schumacher) was all over David Ehrbar (Xray) for some laps. But as the race continued, Ehrbar could pull a small gap to Stiebler and was able to bring home the win in A2 after a brilliant drive. It`s been a long time since Ehrbar has won a Formula race at the ETS and he was very delighted after he crossed the finish line. Andreas took second place again and Jan Ratheisky finished third. Luka Jovicic and Robert Kampehl rounded out the top 5 in the second ToniSport Formula A-Main.
A3– Race winner David Ehrbar was not on the line in A3 anymore and Andreas Stiebler took the win to seal his second place overall at Arena33. This result is very important for him as he still has a comfortable lead in the championship rankings. Tomas Sova and Herbert Weber finished second in third in the last final while Luka Jovicic joins David Ehrbar and Andreas Stiebler on the Arena33 podium.
