Xray racer Adam Izsay is the Champion of the Hobbywing Frontwheel class at the end of ETS Season #16 2023/24. Izsay sealed the deal with a victory in Daun and made it three consecutive FWD titles for Xray. The racer from Hungary has improved his racing so much in the last three years and we are sure that this ETS championship was not the last title he won. Congratulations champion!

Congratulations Adam, nobody can overtake you anymore in the rankings of the FWD class – you are the champion. How does it feel to win the ETS class with the highest number of entries since many years?

Thank you, it feels very good as FWD not only has the most entries, but it’s also a very competitive class. I was practicing and testing a lot to be able to win as many rounds as possible and luckily it turned out well for me!

As we mentioned, the FWD class always has the most entries. What do you think makes this class so famous at the ETS and many other racing series?

I think it’s really popular because it has the perfect speed with the Hobbywing ETS combo, not to fast but still really enjoyable to drive for every level of drivers. Also if you don’t race for the top positions you don’t need to worry about the setup as the car works nearly everywhere with the same setup, on the other hand if you fight for the win your setup needs to be on point as the racing is super close that’s why I also like the class so much.

You have raced ProStock and/or Modified together with FWD at most of the races. How difficult is it to switch from slower to super fast and backwards all weekend long?

I always prefer to drive more classes and I also practice like that usually, so after some time I got used to the big change especially between FWD and modified, but for sure it needed some practice at the beginning as it is not super easy.

For sure, the FWD cars are not crazy fast. From your point of view: What are the most import things to get right on the car setup to be as competitive as possible?

Yes they are not crazy fast, but in my opinion that makes the racing so close and enjoyable. To be in the top 10 for sure your setup needs to be on point just like in the other classes, since it’s slower it’s also more difficult to find that tiny bit of advantage, but still the car must be easy to drive as the racing is always so close and you can not miss a single corner.

What was your hardest FWD race this season and the closest battle you can remember?

Almost all 5 rounds were equally difficult, at the beginning of the season I was still learning the class and needed to figure out the setup, but still every round was a close battle for the win. I think about some super close fights with Roman Borschel, especially in Andernach and Daun. I enjoyed it a lot to fight with him!

Schumacher driver Andreas Stiebler from Austria is a dominant force in the ETS Formula class. He won the championship last season and has now successfully defended his title against the best Formula drivers in Europe. Andreas is one of the most sympathic guys you can imagine, always helpful, and very fast on track. Congratulations champion!

Andreas, you secured the championship title in the Formula class at the last race in Daun – congratulations on that. How much does it mean to you that you were able to defend your title from last season?

Thank you very much! Yes, it means a lot to me that I was able to defend my title from the previous season. Winning it once is great, but showing that you can do it again is something special. I would like to thank the whole Team Schumacher for their great support on and off the track. And of course to my family and friends, who always cheer me on!

You were up against tough rivals like Ratheisky, Ehrbar and Kölbel again this season. Did you have to invest more time and training than last season to continue to hold your own against these fast guys?

I already realised before the season that it would be even tougher with the strong and dense field of riders. I didn’t really invest any more time, as the experience I gained in the previous season was already very helpful. When I got my Icon 2 Worlds, I spent a whole day familiarising myself with it. I then used a training day to provoke the handling characteristics that I wasn’t quite so happy with in Hann. Münden and that couldn’t be solved in the short time available on the race weekend, thus perfecting my setup step by step. That proved to be the case in Daun and I was able to adapt my Icon 2 Worlds to the track in Daun with a small setup change.

Have you already celebrated or will you only do so when the season is officially over?

I haven’t really celebrated yet. I don’t think that will happen until the season is over. But after the race in my home country (Wiener Neustadt) I will definateley celebrate a little bit with the important people 🙂

In addition to the Formula class, you also raced ProStock this season. How satisfied are you with your performance there? You could see that you were getting faster and faster.

I’m very happy with my performance and how I’ve improved over the season in ProStock. I didn’t think I’d be in contention for the bump-up to the A final in a race this season. Let`s see what will happen next season!

What would you say to someone who has never attended an ETS before and might not be confident enough to go?

Just take part. The motto is that taking part is everything. Just try to have fun at such a big racing event. You get to know so many great, nice and helpful people, which also allows you to improve your own skills. I think racing at the ETS makes every driver better as the conditions to learn are just perfect all the time!