ETS #8 concludes with record entry
The Yokomo Euro Touring Series concludes its 8th season this weekend (June 26-28) at the World famous Hudy Racing Arena in Slovakia with the sixth & final round highlighting the championship’s continued world wide appeal. Attracting a record 365 entries, the season finale will also mark a new record for the number of nations represented with the flags of 36 different countries set to hang at the 45th running of an ETS race weekend. On the track the main focus come Sunday will be on crowning champions with both the Ride Modified and the Xray Pro Stock titles still to be decided.
A championship widely regarded now as one of the most prestigious titles the sport has to offer, defending champion Ronald Volker is close to extending his reign over the ETS to a fifth season however as seen at Round 5 in Luxembourg nothing can be taken for granted. Expected to sow the title up there, the Yokomo driver ended up not even making the podium handing his long time arch rival Marc Rheinard an outside chance of capturing back the title he last held in 2010. Last year the Hudy Racing Arena proved a successful hunting ground for Tamiya with Rheinard heading a TRF 1-2 with Volker third.
A season that has produced four different race winners, Volker, Rheinard, Prumper and Coelho, one driver looking to add his name to that list will be former 2-time champion Jilles Groskamp. Moving from Tamiya to HB/HPI Racing this season, the 2012 World Champion came so close to winning in Luxembourg and backing that up with a Euro Nitro Series 1-2 behind team-mate Teemu Leino in Austria, it is clear the Dutchman is revelling in his new surroundings. Knowing the speed is now there, Groskamp’s confidence has never been higher. Joining HB’s regular ETS squad of Groskamp, Andy Moore and Freddy Sudhoff for his first outing of this season will be JJ Wang. The Shanghai driver will be one to watch after displaying some impressive race craft at this year’s Reedy Race of Champions that grab the attention and respect of a number of touring car’s establishment.
The driver who has injected a new lease of interest into the world of electric touring car racing, Bruno Coelho proved last time out that he is the real deal by claiming his first ETS win. With this weekend the home race of his Xray team, the factory where the T4 is produced overlooking the track, the Portuguese star will be hoping to carry the momentum of Round 5 and give the Hudy family cause for great celebration. Team-mate Alexander Hagberg, one of the seven world champions competing this weekend, qualified P2 in Luxembourg and won A3 would like nothing better than to end his campaign with a win having occupied the other two podium positions this season.
Elsewhere, having finished second in Slovakia 12-months ago Viktor Wilck would like to conclude his first ETS season with Serpent with a strong showing. The 2-time race winner, both with Tamiya, has shown flashes of speed with his new team and maybe this weekend he and team-mate Marc Fischer will pull it all together to give the marquee its first win.
In Pro Stock, the ETS’ biggest class with 388 drivers having registered championship points so far this season, Lars Hoppe is looking to end Xray and Marek Cerny’s title reign. ARC driver Hoppe and Cerny have had a great championship battle sharing two wins each but there is no love lost between the duo after they clashed in Luxembourg allowing Serpent’s Julian Borowski to claim his first win. With already crowned Formula Champion Jan Ratheisky, team-mate to Cerny, going out of the title chase at Round 5, it is advantage Hoppe going into the decider but last year Cerny pulled it off after a late turn around of his campaign that saw him go head to head for the title with Ratheisky. All of the action from the Hudy Racing Arena will be streamed live via Red RC.
