Power HD has announced the introduction of their brand new high-voltage brushless GTS series servos, which can support the FLYSKY i-BUS2 protocol! The servos can get used with every other radio as well. The GTS Series includes four different servos such as the GTS-3, GTS-5, GTS-6, GTS-7. The servos will be available in shops around the world very soon!
*GTS series support FLYSKY radio’s i-BUS2 protocol : servo parameter setup / data logging / warning / and other functions
*GTS-5/6/7 use four-pole brushless motor : high torque/ high performance/ long Life-span/ heat-resistant/ faster response
The season opener in Apeldoorn is over, and we had a great event in the Netherlands. Today we like to inform you about the 5 things we have learned from ETS RD1 Season #16 2023/24 at AMCA Apeldoorn. Read about tires, the club, our drivers of the weekend, Orlowski on a mission, and Axon working on a touring car!
1.) AMCA Apeldoorn – simply one of the best tracks and clubs all around the world
The AMCA Apeldoorn has become a permanent fixture in the Euro Touring Series racing calendar. Once again, the club did a great job and all the drivers, mechanics, helpers and spectators were very impressed with the professional work that the AMCA crew does year after year. From the cafeteria to the pits, from the toilets to the tribune, everything was in perfect shape and the team around Gaston van Kleef, Peter Jongeling and Martijn van der Heijden was always there to help everybody.
When talking about the racetrack itself, there is no way to describe it in words. The AMCA track is just AMAZING and a pure joy to drive on. Everyone who has never been to Apeldoorn should give it a try, be it an ETS, a TOS, a Tamiya Cup or just a nice and relaxed day of practice.
2.) Orlowski is on a winning streak
Schumacher factory driver Michal Orlowski is enjoying the ETS as he never did before. After winning the final race of the last season on carpet at the Sporthotel Grafenwald in Daun, he was on fire again at our season opener in Apeldoorn. It was his first big touring car race win on asphalt and he was mega happy after the race. He worked so hard with his team around Andy Murray and Mattia Collina, and earned a well-deserved win in the Netherlands. For sure, he was also benefittign a little bit from Rheinards DNF in the last A-Main, but finishing races is also a key to success and Orlowski used this key in the right moment.
Sadly, Michal Orlowski will miss ETS RD2 in Austria due to a very important buggy race (his main class), but he will be back in Andernach to score important points for the championship. Until then, good luck at all your Offroad races Michal…!
It is just incredible to win here in Apeldoorn. After the race win at the season finale on carpet in Daun we had not been 100% sure if we can be as competitive on asphalt too. The last time here in Apeldoorn I was only in the B-Main, so today is a very special day for me and the team. I like to thank my team around Andy and Mattia for all their help, as well as all my sponsors for their trust in me.
Michal Orlowski (PL) Schumacher | Hobbywing
3.) Dankel and Kölbel – the drivers of the weekend
At every ETS, there are drivers scoring amazing results. We like to talk about two of them which (from the perspective of our reporter) had been the drivers of the weekend at ETS RD1 in the Netherlands:
Eric Dankel
The Mugen Seiki factory driver achieved his first ETS podium in the modified class after a brilliant weekend. He was able to put his Mugen Seiki MTC-2R on fourth place on the grid and with two third, and one second place in the finals he moved up to P3 in the end. Eric won some ETS races in the Pro Stock class many years ago, before he switched to modified racing. When looking back onto the last races, Eric was in the A-Main at every of his last eight races, crowning this great result with a well-deserved podium in Apeldoorn. Congratulations to Eric Dankel!
I had an amazing weekend here in Apeldoorn and my package worked flawless right from the start. I also had a little luck during the races but my pace was also very good and I am more that happy to step onto the podium in the modified class for the first time. Thanks to all my sponsors for their support and also to the whole Mugen team for the great time in the pits.
Eric Dankel (DE) Mugen Seiki | Hobbywing
Renè Kölbel
The Austrian racer is our second “driver of the weekend”. Mostly known for his Formula racing, Kölbel (Xray) is now also starting in the 1up Racing 40+ Masters class. With the setup help of his good friend Patrick Gollner (Xray), he was able to seal the TQ spot in qualifying which was already kind of a big surprise. In the finals he had to show strong nerves and he also had to survive some tough moments but in the end he took the overall win in this highly competitive class at his first race. Amazing job Rene Kölbel.
Wow, I didn`t expect to win this race when we came here. My goal was to put the car into the main. But thanks to my friend Patrick (Gollner), my car was so good and I could quickly get up to speed. It was super to race with all the 40+ Masters guys and I am already looking forward to the next race.
Renè Kölbel (AT) Xray | LRP
4.) Axon working on a complete Touring Car
The Axon team was in attendance with their lead driver Akio Sobue, and company owner and race mechanic Hidetoshi Mitsusada. Akio was on a good top 5 pace for most of the weekend, and he finished sixth overall after some eventful triple A-Mains. But what is the story now? We noticed that Axon is working on their first complete touring car which they will try to release to the market until the end of the year. In the last years, the Axon car was a conversion kit which customers could use to convert a Yokomo BD10 into an Axon car. But now, the team around Mitsusada, Sobue, and Ishioka is creating something new and they were running the first version in Apeldoorn. We were not allowed to take some pictures, but our reporter saw the car on the table and it already looked very close to production. Axon is always making high quality products and we can expect their touring car to be a good one for sure.
5.) New Matrix tire compound was ultra fast, and also very challenging
No doubt, the topic of the weekend had been the Matrix touring car tires. A week before the race it became clear that the Matrix tire could not get produced in the same way anymore. The reason for this was a raw material shortage which came almost out of nowhere. A quick solution was needed, and Cristian Boni from Matrix made a different tire for the ETS race in Apeldoorn. Without his hard work, we would have had a very big problem: A lack of racing tires. So with the start of ETS Season #16, the drivers had a new compound on the table and everybody was excited to find out about it`s performance. And the tires performed. They had been so fast, that the modified drivers did one lap more (!) than last year with the “old” Matrix tires. The track recore went down from 14.0 to 13.6 which was just insane!
However, the tires also created some challenges as they were more critical to drive in cooler temperatures, and especially in the first few laps when they had been new. The drivers of the slower Stock classes also had the feeling that it was not easy to get the tires to work perfectly. As the stock cars did not generate the same amount of load to the tires (compared to modified), they had a lot of setup work to do to get their cars (and tires) into the perfect window. As we had cooler weather conditions on Thursday and Friday it was not easy, but improved quickly on Saturday and Sunday when the sun was out.
But as most of the ETS racers are really good at setting up their race cars, we could also see that the “handling problems” of day 1 disappeared during the event as everybody invested a lot of work to adapt their car and driving style to the demands of the tires. Drivers started to use the tire warmers for a longer time, they used more additive, or cleaned the tires more often. Like in real motorsports, the teams tried everything and in the end the overall results had been the same as we would have expected them to be with the “old” Matrix racing tires. In the next days, we will quickly inform all racers if the tires will stay the same for our next race in Aigen to make sure that everybody can go for practice with the actual tires for this next ETS race.
The first race of ETS Season #16 2023/24 is over. It was a fantastic event with 220 entries and we saw some great racing all days long with solid weather conditions on Thursday and Friday, followed by two days of sunshine on Saturday and Sunday. We like to thank all our sponsors for their support, and all the racers for coming to the event in the Netherlands. The next race will be in Aigen-Schlägl (Austria) from 20 – 23 of July, the registration is already open.
Matrix Modified
Orlowski wins thrilling ETS season opener in the Netherlands
A3- What a race it was!!! The triple A-Mains of the Matrix Modified class had been exciting, eventful, and super fast. Awesomatix factory driver Marc Rheinard had a good start and was leading the race until his car stopped out of nowhere in lap 10 with a drive belt issue. Terrible luck for Rheinard who was out of contention while driving on the top spot before. Michal Orlowski took full advantage and took the win in A3 ahead of the Mugen duo Eric Dankel and Ronald Völker, followed by Akio Sobue, and Lucas Urbain. The result from A3 brought Michal Orlowski on top of the podium with Lucas Urbain in second, and Eric Dankel in third place. Congratulations guys!
It is just incredible to win here in Apeldoorn. After the race win at the season finale on carpet in Daun we had not been 100% sure if we can be as competitive on asphalt too. The last time here in Apeldoorn I was only in the B-Main, so today is a very special day for me and the team. I like to thank my team around Andy and Mattia for all their help, as well as all my sponsors for their trust in me.
Michal Orlowski (PL) Schumacher | Hobbywing
It is kind of a bitter-sweet second place for me. I came here to win and missed the TQ by only a very small margin. My whole weekend was very consistant and I also drove two very good first finals. In the end, the third A-Main was not a good one for me and that`s why I have to be happy with P2. My car was on point and I like to thank all my sponsors for their ongoing support!
Lucas Urbain (FR) Awesomatix | Orca
I had an amazing weekend here in Apeldoorn and my package worked flawless right from the start. I also had a little luck during the races but my pace was also very good and I am more that happy to step onto the podium in the modified class for the first time. Thanks to all my sponsors for their support and also to the whole Mugen team for the great time in the pits.
Eric Dankel (DE) Mugen Seiki | Hobbywing
Winner B-Main: Frederik Hovgaard (DK) Winner C-Main: Kemp Anderson (US) Winner D-Main: Junichi Kutsuna (JP) Winner E-Main: Peter Ende (NL)
Ellerbrock and Mächler to join race winner Bultynck on an all Awesomatix podium
A3- Lukas Ellerbrock (Awesomatix) took full advantage of his first spot on the grid while overall race winner Olivier Bultynck was watching A3 from the tribune. Ellerbrock took the win from tone to tone with Max Mächler and Jan Ratheisky (Xray) finishing second and third. Mattia Collina (Schumacher) had a great race from eight on the grid to P4 ahead of Dominic Vogl (Yokomo) in fifth position.
Winner B-Main: Jesper Rasmussen (DK) Winner C-Main: Olav Dahle (NO) Winner D-Main: Manuel Stankowitz (DE) Winner E-Main: Dennis Krings (DE) Winner F-Main: Petri Tuomainen (FI) Winner G-Main: Christoph Nungässer (DE)
Izsay secures overall victory after showing strong nerves in A3
A3- It was a thrilling last A-Main in the Hobbywing Frontwheel class. Adam Izsay started from pole with Weffers and van Gog in tow. After van Gog found his way around Weffers, he was chasing the Xray car of Izsay in front of him. In the last minute of the race, van Gog was so close that Izsay decided to give him a little room at his passing attempt to not lose P2. Izsay knew that a second place in front of Weffers would have been enough to take the overall win and he drove a very clever race acting like this. In the overall race result, Adam Izsay took the win with Max Weffers and Roman Borschel in second and third. Robin van Gog had to take a bittersweet fourth place which was not really showing his true pace in the end. Congratulations to all FWD drivers for their great driving and their results.
Kölbel wins big after thrilling last lap in Apeldoorn
A3- Winning an ETS race at the first outing in a racing class is not an easy job – but Renè Kölbel got the job done in the 1up Racing 40+ Masters class. He was leading the race for the entire five minutes, but Toni Mateo didn`t slow down and pushed hard to the end as well. When they entered the fast chicane after the straight in the last lap, Mateo was riding an attempt on Kölbel which unluckily endet in a crash. Elibert Sievers and Eric Anderson went by in the last corner to take first and second ahead of Kölbel while Mateo dropped back to P5. In the end, the results from A1 and A2 had been enough for Kölbel to win the race here in Apeldoorn, with Eric Anderson and Toni Mateo joining him on the podium.
Winner B-Main: Michel Zierold (DE) Winner C-Main: Marc de Witt (BE) Winner D-Main: Siegfried Costa (AT)
Siebert wins A3 ahead of Baumbach to secure second overall
A3- After not being able to race in A2 due to a self-made shortcut in the ESC, Timo Siebert (Mugen Seiki) was starting on pols as race winner Bergheim was watching from the sideline. Siebert had a good start and checked out a little bit from the rest of the field. At the 4-minute mark, Timo had a little slide and lost some time but it was enough to win his first A-Main heat at the ETS. He will step onto the podium in second place beside race winner Bergheim and third placed Tobias Baumbach (Xray)
Stiebler wins crazy ETS season opener in Apeldoorn
A3- Schumacher`s Andreas Stiebler is the winner of the ToniSport Formula class at ETS RD1 in the Netherlands. Even if A3 was not going to his favour with a P5 over the line, he will step on top of the podium with his first and second places from the first two finals. Jan Ratheisky (Xray) took the win in the last A-Main which secured him second overall ahead of Herbert Weber (Xray) in third place. David Ehrbar missed the podium after some great battles on track with the others. He showed great racing, as well as everybody else in the Formula A-Main – congratulations guys.
Rheinard, Orlowski, and Urbain all going into A3 with a shot to win
A1 – On the sound of the tone,TQ Marc Rheinard (Awesomatix) brought the field around the first corner with Michal Orlowski (Schumacher) and Lucas Urbain (Awesomatix), and Eric Dankel (Mugen Seiki) in tow. Akio Sobue (Axon) found a way by Völker (Mugen) and was running in fifth for a moment before he lost the position to Völker again. Out front, Marc Rheinard was controlling the pace (hot lap 13.758). In lap 3, Michal Orlowski had to retire from the race, which brought Lucas Urbain and Eric Dankel to P2 and P3. Lucas was on a mission (hot lap 13,741) and started to close the gap to Rheinard with a tenth of a second here and there. But as Rheinard` s lead was very comfortable after the first 2 minutes, Urbain had no serious shot to attack Rheinard in the last minute of the race. Eric Dankel (hot lap 13,864) was defending his third position successfully against his teammate Ronald Völker and took a strong third place from A1. Behind the Mugen cars of Dankel and Völker, Christopher Krapp and Yannic Prümper took fifth and sixth place for Yokomo.
A2 – The second A-Main was a tough one for TQ Marc Rheinard. His Awesomatix car was sliding in the fourth corner directly after the timing loop causing a spin after which he got hit by one of the other passing cars. This incident completely ruined Rheinard`s race and Schumacher`s Michal Orlowski took over the lead in A2. He never looked back and took the win in front of the Awesomatix of Lucas Urbain and the Mugen Seiki of Eric Dankel. With the result from A2, we have four drivers who can take the overall win in A3. Marc Rheinard (1st and 9th), Michal Orlowski (10th and 1st), Lucas Urbain (2nd and 2nd), and Eric Dankel (3rd and 3rd) are all in the mix for the victory and we expect an epic third Matrix Modified A-Main here in the Netherlands.
A1 – In the first A-Main of the Awesomatix Pro Stock class, Jan Ratheisky was able to overtake Max Mächler right after the start taking third place, only to lose the position to Mächler again later in the race. Out front it was Olivier Bentinck who was simply untouchable. He drove outstanding and his teammate Lukas Ellerbrock had to take a solid second place in A1 behind Bultynck in an all Awesomatix 1-2-3. In the middle of the pack, we saw intense fights and multiple position changes making it a very interesting A-Main to watch for the spectators. Xray`s Jacques Libar finished fourth in A1, with his teammate Adam Izsay in fifth place. Mugen Seiki`s Sören Sparbier drove all the way from P10 to P6.
A2 – Olivier Bultynck stamped authority onto the Awesomatix Pro Stock class one more time in the second A-Main. He drove another brilliant race and won with a huge gap of 4 (!) seconds ahead of Lukas Ellerbrock and Max Mächler. What a performance from Bultynck at the start of the new ETS season. Congratulations for a great race win! Jan Ratheisky was defending his fourth position like a lion against a hard pushing Tim Benson until Benson was hitting him from behind after the chicane ending the race for Ratheisky. After they collided, Dominic Vogl and Adam Izsay earned fourth and fifth place from them and brought them to the finish line.
A1 – Right after the start, third place starter Robin van Gog was putting a great pass on the car of Max Weffers and took second place. In lap two, van Gog had the better exit onto the straightway, and tried to pass Izsay on the inside line. Izsay`s car touched van Gog as they drove side by side on the straight. Both cars struggled and took third placed Weffers into the grass as well. Izsay was coming out of this situation in the best possible way and was still leading with Roman Borschel taking over second place. Kevin Sparbier had a solid drive to P3 while Weffers and van Gog were not able to recover from the incident in lap 2 anymore. Weffers took P4 and van Gog stopped his car after only 6 laps.
A2 – The second FWD A-Main was a great show of driving in the beginning. Izsay, Weffers, and van Gog drove some super close laps together until van Gog and Izsay collided after two minutes. Weffers took advantage of that and took over the race lead. He never looked back and won A2 with a huge gap in front of Roman Borschel, and Kevin Sparbier. Before the last A-Main, Adam Izsay and Max Weffers are tied on points with botrh scoring a first and a fourth place. The last A-Main will be a real showdown for the win between the Xray of Izsay and the Mugen Seiki car of Max Weffers.
Race win on the line in A3 after Anderson and Kölbel taking A1 and A2
A1 – Pole sitter Renè Kölbel had a perfect start into A1 and was benefitting from the 4 car fight behind him. After 2 minutes, Toni Mateo appeared in the rear view mirror of Kölbel and was hunting him down. In the last minute, Mateo and Thalheimer had closed the gap and drove right behind Kölbel. As Kölbel went a little wide before the straight, Mateo tried to get by and hit Kölbel from behind. Thalheimer wanted to take advantage of that but got caught by the carnage as well and it was US racer Eric Anderson who found himself on top in the last lap. He took the present he was handed over on a silver plate and won A1 ahead of Kölbel, Mateo, and Thalheimer.
A2 – Renè Kölbel took the win in A2 from tone to tone. In the beginning, Elibert Sievers, Toni Mateo, and Mirco Thalheimer were fighting for the positions behind Kölbel, before Sievers lost pace and dropped all the way down to tenth place. Toni Mateo then started to hunt Kölbel down and was coming closer and closer. In the last 5 laps of the race, it looked like Mateo could maybe try to ride a serious attack but Renè Kölbel was driving “cool like an icecube” and brought home the win in A2 after the first final didn`t went to his favour. The win in the 1up Racing 40+ Masters class will be on the line in A3 with many drivers having a theoretical chance to win the season opener here in Apeldoorn.
A1 – After a clean start, Bergheim was leading with Siebert right in tow. After Siebert made a small mistake in the chicane at the end of the straight in lap 2, Baumbach was able to get by and take second. Out front, Bergheim was stretching his legs and pulled a gap to Baumbach and Siebert. In the fight for second spot, Timo Siebert was trying to close the gap to Baumbach again. Laura Pollert was running on a solid fourth place. At the 2-minute mark, Siebert was right on Baumbach`s tail but touched him and had to wait for the Marshall turning Baumbach`s car around again. But with their gap to Laura Pollert being big enough, they could finish second and third behind a dominant A1 winner Tristan Bergheim.
A2 – Timo Siebert had a technical issue and was not able to start in A2. Tristan Bergheim (Awesomatix) had a good start and was in control of the race all the time. Tobias Baumbach (Xray) was running in second place and Laura Pollert (Mugen Seiki) in third. Behind the top 3, a nice battle for the positions was going on and the drivers enjoyed themselves in the sunshine of Apeldoorn. After five minutes, Tristan Bergheim crossed the line in first place and took his first ever ETS race win after a dominant performance all weekend long. Congratulations to Tristan for a great drive!
Ehrbar wins A1 while Stiebler takes chaotic A2! Overall win on the line in A3
A1 – After the start, David Ehrbar (Xray) passed Jan Ratheisky (Xray) in lap one in the right section of the track. Jan Ratheisky spun around and dropped down to P4. David Ehrbar was leading the race with Andreas Stiebler (Schumacher) in second. Ratheisky quickly found his way back to third position and closed the gap to the leaders lap after lap. But as Ratheisky was running out of time in the end, Ehrbar was able to win the race after a brilliant drive in front of Andreas Stiebler and Jan Ratheisky. Herbert Weber and Renè Kölbel completed the top 5 in A1 of the ToniSport Formula class.
A2 – The second A-Main was a controversial one. Ehrbar was making an aggressive (but clean) move on Ratheisky in the first lap. Ratheisky was holding fully against it and both cars flew off the track right before the front straight. This handed the lead over to Andreas Stiebler who took the win in A2 ahead of Herbert Weber who made a fantastic pass against Michael Lipperheide. Renè Kölbel was also able to overtake Lipperheide and took third place away from A2. The win here in Apeldoorn will be on the line between Ehrbar, Stiebler, and Weber in A3 and we will see what will go on as TQ Ratheisky will still start ahead of all of them without any chance to win the race.
Marc Rheinard (Awesomatix) was on a mission in the last round of Matrix Modified qualifying. With himself, Orlowski (Schumacher), and Urbain (Awesomatix) all having one last shot for the TQ spot, Rheinard took the win in an intense and fast heat. With this result, Rheinard will start in front of Orlowski and Urbain. Orlowski finished third in the last qualifier and Urbain had to take a P5. Mugen Seiki`s Eric Dankel took second for the round after a fantastic drive and will line up fourth on the grid, right in front of his Mugen teammate Ronald Völker. Axon`s Akio Sobue (6th), the Yokomo trio Christopher Krapp (7th), Yannic Prümper (8th), and Loic Jasmin (9th) as well as Mugen Seiki`s Remi Callens (10th) are completing the 10 car A-Main grid at ETS RD1 in the Netherlands.
I like to thank Tim Wahl for his great work on my car. He has played a major role in this team success and I really hope that I can convert the pole position into a race win tomorrow. The car felt great and everything was absoluteley on point!
Marc Rheinard (DE) Awesomatix | Orca
Cars in the A-Main: 3 x Mugen Seiki | 3 x Yokomo | 2 x Awesomatix | 1 x Axon | 1 x Schumacher | 1 x Jambo
Triple A-Mains coming up on Sunday morning – don`t miss the show and follow our ets.racing website when the best Modified drivers on the planet will go for the big win at the AMCA Apeldoorn track.
Ellerbrock takes final round of Pro Stock qualifying
The last round of qualifying in the Awesomatix Pro Stock class went to Lukas Ellerbrock. He had a great run with his Awesomatix A800R and will start second on the grid behind TQ Bultynck and in front of Awesomatix team manager Max Mächler who will line up third. The best “non Awesomatix racer” is Jan Ratheisky who will start from P4, right in front of Tim Benson with his self-made Jambo car.
Izsay with last moment TQ after van Gog and Weffers rolled it over
In the Hobbywing Frontwheel class, Adam Izsay from Hungary is the top qualifier after four rounds of qualifying. Izsay was running close with van Gog and Weffers for the entire 5 minutes and it was a last minute decision for the TQ. In the last lap, Weffers and van Gog were lapping a car which gave them enough space to go by but for some reason, both cars flipped and Izsay was the lucky guy who walked away with the win and the pole position in the Hobbywing FWD class.
Austrian Xray racer Renè Kölbel was the biggest surprise in the 1up Racing 40+ Masters class. He had some great qualifying runs and will start first into the finals at his first 40+ Masters race – excellent job from the previous Formula ETS race winner. Two-time Apeldoorn race winner Elibert Sievers will start from second with Toni Mateo in third place. Mirco Thalheimer placed his Xray car fourth on the grid and US racer Eric Andcerson will start from P5 with his Awesomatix A800R ride.
The last round of qualifying went to Tristan Bergheim again. With three TQ runs he will start from a well-deserved pole position into the triple A-Mains on Sunday. Tobias Baumbach and Timo Siebert finished second and third again and will be the hardest contenders for Bergheim. Laura Pollert and Karl-Heinz Moritz will line up on P4 and P5.
Ehrbar secures front row starting spot as he takes ultimate Formula qualifier
The last round of ToniSport Formula qualifying went to David Ehrbar. This result was enough for him to secure P2 on the grid in front of Andreas Stiebler. Everybody is expecting a great race in the triple A-Mains on Sunday.
Now we are heading directly into the finals. Check our amazing livestream options in our “LIVE” section here on the ets.racing page. To get quickly to the results of all classes simply navigate to the “RESULTS” area on our landing page!
Qualifying is almost over here at ETS RD1 Season #16 2023/24 in the Netherlands. With only one last chance remaining for everybody, the heat is on at the beautiful facility of the AMCA Apeldoorn. Find out what happened in Q2 and Q3 in our combined Saturday report.
Matrix Modified
Rheinard, Urbain, and Orlowski to chase TQ spot in Q4
Q2 – Awesomatix factory driver Lucas Urbain took the second round of Matrix Modified qualifying. He had a very close and intense fight with Schumacher`s Michal Orlowski as they raced very close to each other on the track. They had some tough moments, but always managed to loose no time to their competitors Völker, Rheinard, Krapp, and Sobue. In the end, Lucas took the win 0.5 seconds ahead of Orlowski, Rheinard, and Völker. Yokomo`s Christopher Krapp took fifth for the round.
That was a bit of a lucky TQ run as Michal made a small mistake. He gave me plenty of room afterwards which was really nice from him. My car was good and I am happy with the pace of my A800R. Now I need to think about my tire strategy for Q3 and Q4 as I really like to take the overall TQ here in Apeldoorn.
Lucas Urbain (FRA) Awesomatix | Orca
Q3 – As everybody was watching the fight at the front between Orlowski and Urbain, it was Marc Rheinard taking the win in the third round of Matrix Modified qualifying starting from the fourth position. Rheinard was chasing the Mugen Seiki car of Ronald Völker (starting third) in front of him and worked his way up to P1 until the end of the race. He took the win with the advantage of 4 tenths from Urbain, with Axon`s Akio Sobue and Mugen`s Eric Dankel taking third and fourth for the round. Orlowski lost some time in lap 15 letting him drop down to P6 and Ronald Völker was unfortunately out of the race after 3:30 minutes. With three TQ drivers out of three qualifiers, we will see a real showdown going on here in Apeldoorn when the drivers will start into the ultimate round in the afternoon. Will it be Rheinard, Urbain, or Orlowski on pole?
My pace was already there in Q1, but due to the technical problems I could not transform the pace into a good result. In Q2 I went out with used tires to see if everything would be fine again and scored a solid P3. For Q3 everybody was on new tires again and after some difficult laps in the beginning I found my rhythm and was able to TQ the round with the faster time compared to Lucas TQ run from yesterday. I am happy with the car as the balance is amazing after the changes we made before Q1. I just hope to repeat my run in Q4 because pole position would help a lot to win the race here in Apeldoorn.
Bultynck is TQ after dominant qualifying performance in Apeldoorn
Q2 – After winning the opening round of Pro Stock qualifying on Friday evening, Olivier Bultynck took another win in the second one driving his Awesomatix A800R in front of Lukas Ellerbrock (Xray) and Max Mächler (Awesomatix). With two out of two, Bultynck had the best chances to seal the pole position for the finals in Q3. Sören Sparbier (Mugen Seiki) and Mattia Collina (Schumacher) completed the top 5 in Q2.
After my car was difficult to drive in Q1 and 2, we made some changes for Q3 and the car was a lot better. I am happy about my TQ and in the final I will just try to win the race – as simple as it sounds 🙂 But I know that the guys behind me will push hard so I need to stay focussed.
Olivier Bultynck (BE) Awesomatix | LRP
Q3 – With another perfect run, Awesomatix driver Olivier Bultynck secured the pole position for the triple A-Mains of the Pro Stock class. Jan Ratheisky (Xray) posted the second fastest time out of the second fastest group and is now sitting second overall followed by Tim Benson (Jambo) and Max Mächler (Awesomatix). Behind top qualifier Bultynck, the fight for all other positions on the grid will come down to the final round of qualifying here in Apeldoorn.
TQ decision between Weffers, van Gog, and Izsay shifted to Q4
Q2 – The second qualifier was a close fight between Robin van Gog, Max Weffers, and Adam Izsay. They changed positions many times and in the end the heat win went to the Xray of Izsay with a small margin of 0.2 seconds from Awesomatix racer Robin van Gog and the Mugen of overnight TQ Max Weffers in third place. Kevin Sparbier (Mugen Seiki) and Henrik Heitsch (ARC) rounded out the top 5 in Q2.
Q3 – Robin van Gog was the third FWD driver laying down a TQ run onto the AMCA track in Apeldoorn. The fight in Q3 was between Izsay, van Gog, and Weffers and we will see these drivers battling it out for the overall TQ in the last round of Hobbywing FWD qualifying. The finishing order in Q3 was van Gog, Weffers, Izsay, Heitsch, and Borschel. Let`s see who will have claimed the TQ spot when qualifying is over.
Q2 – In the 1up Racing 40+ Masters class it was US racer Eric Anderson (Awesomatix) who took the second qualifier. With the top 4 in about one second, Renè Kölbel (Xray) finished second for the round followed by Mirco Thalheimer, Elibert Sievers, and Q1 winner Toni Mateo.
After my team told me I was driving like a p…. yesterday, I was going a little more aggressive into Q2. I am getting used to the track more and more and hope to get another good run done in the next one!
Eric Anderson (US) Awesomatix
Q3 – After we saw Toni Mateo and Eric Anderson taking the first two rounds of qualifying, Renè Kölbel from Austria took the third round with his Xray car. He had a fantastic run on top of the field and was really happy after the 5-minute run. It is the first touring car race for Formula 1 expert Kölbel and he seems to really enjoy it. The overall TQ is wide open, and the decision will be between Kölbel, Mateo, and Anderson in the last round of Orca 21.5 Stock qualifying.
Siebert and Bergheim taking Q2 and Q3 – overall TQ still undecided
Q2 – Timo Siebert (Mugen Seiki) took the second round of Orca 21.5 Stock qualifying on early Saturday morning. He had a perfect run and crossed the line 3 tenths of a second ahead of Q1 winner Tristan Bergheim (Awesomatix). Behind Siebert and Bergheim, we saw Tobias Baumbach (Xray) taking another solid P3 ahead of Karl-Heinz Moritz and Jan Vogler.
Q3 – After loosing Q2 to Timo Siebert, Awesomatix driver Tristan Bergheim was back on top in the third round of Orca 21.5 Stock qualifying. However, it was a close race all time and Bergheim`s gap was at only 0.4 seconds after 5 minutes. Timo Siebert and Tobias Baumbach had a great battle for second and swapped positions multiple times with the better end for Siebert. Laura Pollert and Jan Vogler scored good points with P4 and P5 securing them a spot in the A-Main already.
Q2 – Xray`s Jan Ratheisky scored another TQ in the second qualifier of the ToniSport Formula class. He also had the fastest lap to his favour and there is no doubt about the fact that a win will only go over Jan Ratheisky. This time, it was Andreas Stiebler with his Schumacher car who finished second behind Ratheisky with David Ehrbar taking third for the round.
Q3 – This time, Ehrbar was charging really hard to deny Ratheisky the TQ, but in the end it was again Jan Ratheisky who crossed the finish line in first position with a very small gap of 0.098 of a second. With 3 out of 3, the pole position in the ToniSport Formula class is booked for Ratheisky who will see David Ehrbar or Andreas Stiebler lining up directly behind him in second place. The rest of the grid will be decided in the upcoming last round of Formula qualifying.
On our website you will not miss anything as you can find our livestream on the landing page. To get quickly to the results of all classes simply navigate to the “RESULTS” area on our landing page. Q4 will be up next!
Torsten Baggendorf is using the new ARC A10-23 in the 1up Racing 40+ Masters class here at ETS RD1 in the Netherlands. We had the chance to top off the body for taking a look under the hood of the newest ARC touring car. Toresten is using a Blitz CLA bodyshell, LRP batteries, and some option parts from Torpine in his car.
The opening round of qualifying at the ETS in Apeldoorn is in the books after two days of practice and tons of setup work for all racers and teams. Tomorrow, we will see three more qualifiers on the AMCA track to find out who will start on the grid of the A-Mains in all of our ETS racing classes. The weather forecast looks good for Saturday with the expectation of slightly increased temperatures.
Matrix Modified
Schumacher`s Orlowski takes super intense first modified qualifying
The first of four rounds of modified qualifying was as close as it could be. From the start to the end of the race, the top 5 or 6 drivers stayed together in a couple of tenths on the scoring and timing. Lucas Urbain (Awesomatix) was leading for the first 3 minutes of the race, before the lead changed and Marc Rheinard (Awesomatix) was on top of the field. As the top 5 changed positions in almost every lap, it was a thriller to watch on the timing board. Ronald Völker (Mugen Seiki), Michal Orlowski (Schumacher), and Akio Sobue (Axon) gave everything they had to catch Rheinard and Urbain and everybody was on the absolute limit.
As we entered the last 30 seconds of the race, we saw the lap times of Rheinard, Sobue, and Urbain dropping down a little bit (compared to Orlowski and Völker), and in the last lap, race leader Marc Rheinard had no more power as he came onto the straightway and dropped all the way back to the end of the field. Urbain took second for the round on the last drop of power and Sobue finished fourth behind the LRP powered Mugen of Völker in third place. Meanwhile, Michal Orlowski took the win after an impressive drive and is the the overnight TQ here at the ETS season opener in Apeldoorn!
I had a very good qualifying run after having some weird practice sessions yesterday. I had to stand on the right side of the driver stand which I am not used to here in Apeldoorn. But my car felt good, and I knew that I could do something with it. After the results from the seeding practice, I could change my position on the driver stand again for Q1 which made me even more confident. The setup we found together with Mattia (Collina) and the team seems to be almost perfect for the tires and conditions here and I hope that I can repeat this result tomorrow.
Top seed Olivier Bultynck took the win in the opening round of Pro Stock qualifying. Tim Benson, Lukas Ellerbrock, and Max Mächler pushed their cars hard around the track to create pressure on the race leader but it was not enough for them to finish the run ahead of the Awesomatix A800R of Bultynck who also posted the fastest lap of the race. Jan Ratheisky and Dominic Vogl posted the third and fourth fastest times for the round out of the second fastest group. The top-5 ranking list after the first round is: Bultynck, Benson, Ratheisky, Vogl, and Ellerbrock. Three more qualifiers are awaiting the drivers tomorrow and it will get even hotter on track in the Awesomatix Pro Stock class.
In the Hobbywing Frontwheel class, we saw Max Weffers (Mugen Seiki) posting his first ever TQ run at the ETS. He was on fire and was battling it out with Robin van Gog (Awesomatix) and Adam Izsay (Xray) during the entire run and crossed the line half a second ahead of van Gog and Izsay. Congratulations for a great run Max. Roman Borschel and Kevin Sparbier rounded out the top five while top seed Henrik Heitsch lost some pace, finishing only in sixth place.
I had a very clean run, just had to lift one more time in the trafic when I passed a lapped car. In the last laps I became very nervous when I noticed that Robin was on top again but in the end the race went to my favour and I am super happy today. My Mugen is working great, I just need a tiny little bit of extra steering. I wil think about a small setup change this evening together with my team!
Mateo on point on Friday afternoon as he takes Q1 from Stankowitz
In the 1up Racing 40+ Masters class, Toni Mateo (Awesomatix) did what he loves the most – scoring important TQ runs! Starting only from P4, he quickly moved up to the top of the board and had a very close fight with Elibert Sievers (Awesomatix), and top seed Manuel Stankowitz (Iris). With the top 3 only separated by 0.5 seconds at the end, Mirco Thalheimer (Xray) and Renè Kölbel followed in P4 and P5 ahead of US racer Eric Anderson who started with a solid sixth place into qualifying. With a TQ run in the bag, Toni Mateo will have a good night of sleep with some sweet dreams about the pole position in the 1up Racing 40+ Masters class.
First round of qualifying goes to Bergheim while Siebert and Baumbach took second and third
In the first round of Orca 21.5 Stock qualifying saw top seed Tristan Bergheim (Awesomatix) taking the win after 5 minutes. With a gap of only 1.1 seconds in front of Timo Siebert (Mugen Seiki), the race was closer as we expected after the practice results. Siebert was pushing really hard behind Bergheim and took second place for the round. A great start into qualifying for the Mugen racer. Tobias Baumbach (Xray) finished third in Q1 and will try to improve this result in the next one for sure. Baumbach comes along with a lot of racing experience, and we can expect something to come from him in the next three rounds of qualifying. Laura Pollert and Jan Vogler completed the top 5 on Friday afternoon!
The first round of ToniSport Formula qualifying was a close race between top seed David Ehrbar and Jan Ratheisky. Both Xray drivers had the best pace on track and pulled a gap of 4 seconds to Schumacher`s Andreas Stiebler who finished third for the round. Michael Lipperheide and Herbert Weber completed the top 5. After we have seen the great pace of Ratheisky and Ehrbar, we are excited for tomorrows Formula qualifying where Andreas Stiebler and the other drivers need to find some serious pace to fight with the leaders.
ETS Controlled Practice Report RD1 Season #16 2023/24
The two rounds of controlled practice here in Apeldoorn are in the books. Now, all drivers are re-seeded into their qualifying heats. The seeding practice was close between the top drivers in each class, and we are all looking forward to the start of qualifying at the AMCA track. Seeding practice is always good to find out about each driver`s 3-lap pace. But in the end, it is even more important to have a good pace with the smallest possible amount of performance drop during the entire 5-minute run. It will be exciting to see, who found the perfect setup to extract the maximum from the race tires during qualifying.
Matrix Modified
Urbain is top seed in the Netherlands with Völker and Sobue sitting second and third
The seeding practice of the Matrix Modified went to Awesomatix and Lucas Urbain. The French driver, who won the TOS race at the same place some weeks ago, is in a great form and his 3 fastest laps had been 0.019 faster than the laps of Mugen Seiki`s Ronald Völker. Japanese Axon ace Akio Sobue was on pace in the last round of seeding as well and is sitting in third position right now. Marc Rheinard (Awesomatix) wil start from P4 into qualifying with a very fast Eric Dankel (Mugen Seiki) in fifth place. Let`s see who will take Q1 in the evening. Will it be Urbain, or Völker, Sobue or Rheinard, or will we see somebody else on top of the board after the 5 minute run?
The Top 5 after controlled practice (3 consecutive laps)
1. Lucas Urbain (FR) 41.121 (Awesomatix|Orca) 2. Ronald Völker (DE) 41.140 (Mugen Seiki|LRP) 3. Akio Sobue (JP) 41.292 (Axon|Orca) 4. Marc Rheinard (DE) 41.558 (Awesomatix|Orca) 5. Eric Dankel (DE) 41.567 (Mugen Seiki|Hobbywing)
Bultynck on top for Awesomatix after great practice performance
The Awesomatix Pro Stock class saw Olivier Bultynck from Belgium being the fastest on track. His Awesomatix A800R looked dialed and he was able to extract the best 3-lap pace from the Matrix tires. Jacques Libar (Xray) and Kevin Sparbier (Mugen Seiki) took second and third which was a little surprise. Tim Benson and Max Mächler came out of practice as the fourth and fifth fastest Pro Stock drivers. As we are heading into qualifying now, all eyes are on top seed Bultynck. Can he score a TQ run in the evening?
The Top 5 after controlled practice (3 consecutive laps)
1. Olivier Bultynck (BE) 48.753 (Awesomartix|LRP) 2. Jaques Libar (DE) 49.284 (Xray|Nosram) 3. Kevin Sparbier (DE) 49.441 (Mugen Seiki|LRP) 4. Tim Benson (DE) 49.619 5. Max Mächler (DE) 49.623 (Awesomatix|Sunpadow)
ARC racer Henrik Heitsch made an impressive comeback to racing after a couple of months without a transmitter in his hands. Heitschi was able to lay down the fastest 3 laps in controlled practice with his A10MF and will start from P1 into qualifying. Mugen Seiki`s Max Weffers will start second with Xray`s Adam Izsay and the Awesomatix of Robin van Gog right behind him. Jacques Libar completed the top 5 at the end of seeding practice in the Hobbywing Frontwheel class. Qualifying will be a close affair for sure and we can`t wait to get it underway.
The Top 5 after controlled practice (3 consecutive laps)
1. Henrik Heitsch (DE) 59.234 ARC 2. Max Weffers (DE) 59.280 Mugen Seiki 3. Adam Izsay (HU) 59.514 Xray 4. Robin van Gog (NL) 59.645 Awesomatix 5. Jacques Libar (LU) 59.742 Xray
Iris racer Stankowitz is top seed in the Masters class
Reigning ETS 40+ champion Manuel Stankowitz worked his way to the top of the field throughout all the practice sessions. Compared to his last season with an Awesomatix car, Manuel is now racing the relatively new Iris ONE car designed my Andreas Myrberg (Ruddog). Stankowitz topped the time sheets in the last round of seeding practice where all the top 5 drivers posted their three fastest consecutive laps on the track. Mirco Thalheimer and Elibert Sievers are also having a great pace on track, followed by multiple ETS 40+ race winner and Season #14 champion Toni Mateo, and Christian Grabher.
The Top 5 after controlled practice (3 consecutive laps)
1. Manuel Stankowitz (DE) 53.232 Iris 2. Mirco Thalheimer (DE) 53.490 Xray 3. Elibert Sievers (NL) 53.573 Awesomatix 4. Toni Mateo (ES) 53.889 Awesomatix 5. Christian Grabher (AT) 53.974 Awesomatix
The fastest yesterday, Tristan Bergheim, didn`t slow down today and was still the fastest driver in seeding practice. Timo Siebert, Tobias Baumbach, Petri Tuomainen, and Jan Vogler will start behind Bergheim into qualifying to see if they can throw something at him in the four rounds of Orca 21.5 Stock qualifying. Round 1 will be up next here on Friday evening. Can Bergheim score his firet ever ETS TQ run, or will somebody challenge him in Q1? We will find out about it very soon!
My car was good in every run and I could concentrate on my driving. It is also important to have a good feeling for the tires on this track. For qualifying I will just see how it goes. Making no mistakes will be the key for sure as it is very difficult to catch up time once you have lost it.
Tristan Bergheim (DE) Awesomatix
The Top 5 after controlled practice (3 consecutive laps)
1. Tristan Bergheim (DE) 53.770 Awesomatix 2. Timo Siebert (DE) 53.967 Mugen Seiki 3. Tobias Baumbach (DE) 54.075 Xray 4. Petri Tuomainen (FI) 54.717 Awesomatix 5. Jan Vogler (DE) 54.735
Ehrbar fastest ahead of Stiebler and Ratheisky in very close seeding practice
David Ehrbar (Xray) will start first into Formula qualifying. He had a small advantage over Schumacher`s Andreas Stiebler and his Xray teammate Jan Ratheisky. Michael Lipperheide and Robert Kampehl completed the top 5 and we are expecting a close fight at the top between all these amazing Formula racers here at ETS RD1 Season #16 in the Netherlands.
The new Hobbywing Combo is amazing to drive in the Formula cars and I enjoy it a lot. I am very sure that this class will grow again as the foam tire racing makes it so much better. I am having a great time on track with my Xray car and I hope for some great battles with all the others.
David Ehrbar (DE) Xray
The Top 5 after controlled practice (3 consecutive laps)
1. David Ehrbar (DE) 49.731 Xray 2. Andreas Stiebler (AT) 49.887 Schumacher 3. Jan Ratheisky (DE) 49.924 Xray 4. Michael Lipperheide (DE) 50.920 Xray 5. Robert Kampehl (DE) 50.945 Schumacher
We are looking forward to the start of Qualifying here at ETS RD1 where we expect some great action and close fights for the A-Main spots in all classes. On our website you will not miss anything as you can find our ETS livestream as well as our PullstartTV livestream in our “LIVE” section. To get quickly to the results of all classes simply navigate to the “RESULTS” area on our landing page.
Enjoy ETS RD1 in the Netherlands together with us – no matter where you are!
We catched some voices during a quick Thursday pitwalk “presented by RC Maker” at the season opener of ETS Season #16 in Apeldoorn. Hear from Christopher Krapp (Yokomo), Marc Rheinard (Awesomatix), Robert Pietsch (Mugen Seiki), and Akio Sobue (Axon) about their expectations for the race!
