Friday, October 15, 2010
Record entry gets Season 4 underway Categories - Racing - comments closed
The hall here in Kastellaun is a hive of activity with a record entry in attendance for the opening round of the 2010/11 ‘Yokomo Euro Touring Series’. Season four of what has become the largest electric touring car championship in the world has not just attracted the biggest entry in terms of numbers but also in the quality of the entry with a growing number of factory squads committed to the entire series.
Heading the entry here in Germany in the Xenon Modified class is defending champion Marc Rheinard. Having designed the track layout for this event, even the three time World Champion admits that this is set to be the toughest ETS encounter yet. Tamiya have been champions for the last three season and won here last year with Viktor Wilck. The Swede, who also took TQ honours 12 months ago, is aiming to repeat his only ETS win of the 2009/10 season but also agreed with his team-mate that the competition is greater this time round. Within their own squad the they will have to watch out for their young team-mate Elliot Harper who is making his debut at the Kastellaun event.
One of the biggest challenges to Tamiya’s domination comes from Yokomo. Having become the title sponsor of the series the Japanese company have been enjoying a run of success with Ronald Volker. Last year was only the German’s second carpet event with the BD5 and that was reflected in qualifying as he lined up 7th before going on to take a very impressive second splitting the Tamiya’s of Wilck and Rheinard. Now fully up to speed with the car on carpet having won both the DHI Cup and the EFRA Indoor Euros the European Champion is really looking forward to his weekend. Yokomo will also be strong contenders in Pro-Stock with Martin Hofer, runner-up here last year, and Yukijiro Umino who is here not just as Volker’s mechanic but also as a racer.
Another factory outfit signing up to a full ETS program is Xray. The Slovak company, who are a primary sponsor of the series and will have the Pro-Stock class named after them, are here with their new T3′11 chassis which will debut in the hands of Teemu Leino, Alexander Hagberg and Martin Hudy. Leino, who is just back from 1:8 Buggy testing in Thailand, said his first few runs are going to be used to re-adjust his driving back to onroad. Hagberg on the other hand is ready to get straight down to business, the fast Swede hasn’t raced since the 1:10 Nitro Euros in Gotenburg back in August but with a preference for carpet racing he is looking forward to the event and having tested the new car at home is confident of a good showing.
Andy Moore and Freddy Sudhoff form the factory Hot Bodies line-up. Former World Champion Moore has been doing a lot of carpet testing with the TCX back in England which has been very productive but says the carpet used here is different but thinks that shouldn’t be too much of a problem once the traction comes up. Hot Bodies are the clear favourites for the victory in the Xray Pro-Stock class with Alexander Stocker. The defending champion and only driver to ever win here in Kastellaun this is only the German’s second race with the TCX chassis and his first on carpet.
The winner of the first ever Euro Touring series race here four years ago Juho Levanen is the sole entry for Team Associated. The Finnish ace has been doing a lot of carpet testing at home as he gets used to the new TC6. Although the car he is running is still a pre-production version, he expects his first production kit next week, he said he is pretty pleased with how that testing as gone, but this weekend will give him a true indication of where they are at with the car in terms of indoor set-up.
With 2009/10 Champion Michal Orlowski having graduated to Pro Stock the third of the ETS categories, the Speed Passion Hobby Class, is wide open this year. Today’s schedule will see four rounds of practice followed by the first of five rounds of qualifying. A reseed of the heats will be made based on each drivers best three consecutive laps from the 3rd and 4th practice runs when we should start to bring you news of where the various teams are in terms of pace.
View our event image gallery here.
Monday, October 11, 2010
Hudy to sponsor 2010/2011 ETS Categories - Announcement, Racing - comments closed
Hudy is proud to announce that they will be one of the primary sponsor of the Euro Touring Series 2010/2011. Moreover, the organisers together with the Slovakian company have prepared a very special and unique promotion for every Hobby and Stock Class racer. At every round of the ETS series, Hudy will provide one unique tool from the new 25 Years Anniversary exclusive tool line. That means that at every race, a different Hudy tool will be given for free to every racer in the Hobby and Stock categories, so those drivers who participate at all 6 rounds will have (at the end of the season) a nice collection of the most frequently-used RC tools.
The 25 Years Anniversary limited edition of the Hudy Exclusive Tool Line features super-lightweight CNC-machined Swiss 7075 T6 aluminium handles that reduce weight by 30% as well as a diamond-pattern surface for unsurpassed grip. The new generation of Hudy tips is hand-made from special world-renowned, top-secret, self-developed Hudy Spring Steel, individually precision-ground, sized and shaped for perfect fit with fasteners and the unique hardening processes make the tips ultra-durable. Each tool includes a press-fit protective black cap in the handle end; optional color-coded plastic caps (violet, red, blue) are available to customize the tools to your preferences. A laser-engraved ETS logo is the finishing touch.
Collect your free Hudy tool at these races:
1st Round – Germany – Allen Wrench 1.5mm
2nd Round – Czech Republic – Allen Wrench 2.0mm
3rd Round – Austria – Allen Wrench 2.5mm
4th Round – Poland – Allen Wrench 3.0mm
5th Round – Netherlands – Arm Reamer 3.0mm
6th Round – Germany – Socket Driver 7.0mm
Source: Hudy [hudy.net]
Friday, October 8, 2010
Xray support for 2010/2011 series Categories - Announcement, Racing - comments closed
Xray is proud to announce that the 2010/2011 Euro Touring series will be supported and sponsored by Xray. Both the ETS organisers and the Xray company have agreed to create a mutual cooperation that will see the Slovakian company become a primary sponsor of the world’s biggest r/c touring car championship. This is a great news for all Xray drivers as the Xray factory team will be available at all six rounds of the ETS to provide full support and service. Xray guarantees that their service team will also be available at every race with a complete range of all spare parts and will provide technical and set-up help to all Xray drivers. Just look for the familiar Xray tent.
To cap it all off, all Xray drivers at every race will receive a FREE promo package that includes Xray T-shirt, pit towel and stickers.
Source: Xray [teamxray.com]
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Yokomo back 2010/11 Euro Touring Series Categories - Announcement, Racing - comments closed
With the start of the 2010/11 Euro Touring Series just one week away the organisers of the world’s biggest r/c touring car championship are delighted to announce they have concluded a deal with Yokomo that will see the Japanese company become title sponsor.
The fourth season of the ETS, the championship will be known as the ‘Yokomo Euro Touring Series’ and backs up the company’s continued commitment to the competition r/c market in Europe in what has been an ultra successful season for their BD5 Touring Car. 2010 has been a very fruitful year for the team with factory driver Ronald Volker claiming five major titles in Europe winning the DHI Cup, both the Indoor and Outdoor EFRA European Championships, the LRP Masters along with the highly competitive German National Championships.
As part of their title sponsorship Yokomo, who competed in selected rounds of last season’s ETS, will field a full factory assault on the Euro Touring Series as they aim to become the first manufacturer to topple Tamiya’s domination of the modified class over the past three seasons.
Speaking about their new partnership with Yokomo legendary race announcer Scotty Ernst, who together with Uwe Rheinard created the ETS, said, ’We are delighted to welcome Yokomo onboard as title sponsor for what is going to be our biggest and best season yet. I have known the guys at Yokomo for many years through my work as a race announcer and it is great to have this opportunity now to work together with a company I have so much respect for. From a racing point of view it is also great that the Yokomo team will compete in all our races as together with Ronald Volker they are one of the most competitive packages in Electric Touring Car in the World and that will add to the spectacle for everyone attending ETS events this year.’
The six round 2010/11 ‘Yokomo Euro Touring Series’ kicks off next weekend, 15-17 October, when a record entry of almost 300 drivers will desend on the town of Kastellaun in Germany for the season opener. Once again the ETS will continue to use hand-out tyres from Xenon Racing and a controlled speedo & motor in the Pro Stock and Hobby classes from Speedpassion who have been a partner of the series since its creation back in 2007.
