Euro Touring Series

February 9, 2019

Chassis Focus – Freddy Sudhoff

Chassis – Awesomatix A800X Evo (MMCX-A)
Motor – Hobbywing G3 5.0T
ESC – Hobbywing Prototype
Batteries – Team Silverback 5500 Spiral-G
Tires – Volante (handout)
Radio/Servo – Sanwa/MKS HBL SL575
Bodyshell – Protoform Type S

Remarks – Very much on form here at ETS Round 2, Awesomatix’s Freddy Südhoff is running the latest version of the Russian designed car including the MMCX-A conversion set. His mechanic and Awesomatix Team Manager Max Mächler prepared the car with the newly released BW22 Battery Holders for the use of ultra LCG Batteries. The wiring on the car is credit to Max’s attention to detail on the car. Other optionals on the car include the long suspension arms, and Awesomatix Aluminium Screws on the topside of the car to lower the centre of gravity. Freddy is running a 5.0T motor on the large indoor Daun track combined with a Prototype stage ESC from Hobbywing (blurred out in Chassis Focus photos as requested by Hobbywing).

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February 9, 2019

Sudhoff hits the top in Q3

Freddy Sudhoff finally delivered on the TQ potential he showed but was denied in the opening two qualifiers, when the Awesomatix driver became the third different driver to top the qualifying times at Round 2 of the Euro Touring Series in Germany. Sudhoff was again the only one to take the challenge to the Xray team, this time however he only had to contend with Bruno Coelho as Alexander Hagberg didn’t have the pace that saw him take Q2. Unfortunately for Coelho having successfully found a way by traffic the same car would run into the back of him in one of the track’s many 180 degree corners costing the Q1 pace setter almost a second and allowing Sudhoff some breathing room to bring home the TQ run. Despite a second incident of his own doing on the final lap in which he rolled his car, Coelho would get a second for the round albeit over 2-seconds off Sudhoff. Hagberg would get a P3 from the round with Yannic Prumper backing up the first run of the day as best of the rest to post another P4 ahead of former World Champions Ronald Volker and Marc Rheinard.

A very pleased Sudhoff summed up his Q3 TQ run with, ‘Third time lucky’. The German, who is chasing after his first ever ETS win, added, ‘we changed the car a little to get more steering but I think the track is slower and that was causing more push’. Acknowledging, ‘Bruno had bad luck with a back marker’, and having had some very slight errors in Q1 & 2, he said, ‘It was a completely clean. It was my best run from a driving point of view’. In the hunt for his first ever ETS overall TQ going into the final qualifier he concluded, ‘the thing we changed felt weird so we need to decide if we change something else for the last one but my confidence is there as I did the 5-minutes without any mistake’.

Asked his thoughts on his run, Coelho replied, ‘Let’s say I was just unlucky’. Sharing Sudhoff’s commenting on the track, the Portuguese driver said, ‘I think the track was slower and more loose. I think because it was more hot in the hall’. Making changes to his T4 for the round he said ‘the car was better for sure’ but they planned more changes for the deciding qualifier.

Hagberg wasn’t happy about his lack of pace to contend for a second TQ run. The Swede said, ‘I had a clean run. I didn’t touch the car, I just switched to my other set of tyres to have both sets with equal amount of runs of them but I lost 3-seconds out of one set of tyres’. He added, ‘I will revert to my other tyres for the last one because this set just didn’t have the grip of the other set’.

Best of the Infinity team once again, Prumper said, ‘I used a completely different car, this one had a softer chassis’. The multiple ETS race winner continued, ‘the two cars feel much the same but this one was easier to drive at the chicane but on other parts was more difficult so I don’t know what to do’.

Yokomo driver Volker said, ‘the car was now similar to Q1 and I almost got another 3rd. I just missed out by a couple of tenths but overall I’m fourth so basically best of the rest. The Top 3 are a different pace’. Having tried changes for Q2 that left him with a complete lack of pace, the German said, ‘we will do more changes for the next one. We need to find more rotation without upsetting the balance. In the last one my best lap was one of the slowest of the heat’.

While it is still all to play for in terms of the Volante Modified overall TQ, the first to secure TQ honours in Daun has gone to Alexander Stocker. Taking the TQ and overall win in the Infinity 40+ Masters class at the season opener in Vienna, the former Pro Stock champion made it another TQ run in the third round to secure pole for tomorrow’s triple A-Mains. In Formula, Jan Ratheisky backed up his Q2 result for a second TQ run, this time ahead of Olivier Bultynck with David Ehrbar, Ratheisky’s only challenger for the TQ going into the final round, third.

In Pro Stock, Max Machler was obviously spurred on by Sudhoff’s performance in Modified, with the Awesomatix Team Manager topping Q3 just ahead of Xray’s Leo Arnold who took the previous qualifier. Topping the opening qualifier Ratheisky completed the Top 3 with everything up for grabs in the fourth & final round of qualifying. In 17.5 Stock, Daniel Pöhlmann became the third different driver to top the times when the ETS Vienna winner took it from Alexander Müller and Alojzij Osvald.

View complete event results here.

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February 9, 2019

Chassis Focus – Alexander Hagberg

Chassis – Xray T4 2019
Motor – Hobbywing G3 5.0T
ESC – Hobbywing Prototype
Batteries – Sunpadow LCG 3800 Gold Series
Tires – Volante (handout)
Radio/Servo – Sanwa/BR1 BC1863X
Bodyshell – Montech Racer

Remarks – Having TQ’d the second round of qualifying Alex is running Xray’s T4 is fitted with two preproduction items. The first of those is the alu chassis which features chamfered edges and which Xray didn’t want photographed. The other preproduction part is a brass material shortie pack battery holder. In terms of optionals, Alex is using a 1.6mm top deck to match the flex that comes with running an alu chassis, steel solid axle outdrives and a 1.3mm front anti roll bar which is softer than the kit bar and helps create more front traction. Finally Alex is running a new prototype speedo, which Hobbywing have asked us to blur in the chassis photos.

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February 9, 2019

Super close Q2 sees Hagberg top Sudhoff

Following a close opening qualifier last night at ETS Daun, Q2 threw up another super close battle for the TQ with Alexander Hagberg coming out on top by just 0.039 of a second ahead of Freddy Sudhoff. Having conceded Q1 to Bruno Coelho, Sudhoff was again the main challenger to the Xray team but just the slightest of errors on the penultimate lap cost the on-form Awesomatix driver 2/10th and although he finished with his fastest lap of the qualifier such is the pace at the front he would again end up second. Getting his car up on 2-wheels with three laps to go Coelho would complete the Top 3 with almost a 2 second advantage over the rest of the field. Best of the rest would go to Yannic Prumper who was 4th fastest ahead of Christopher Krapp and Thimo Weissbauer.

After a slow start to Q1 due to his tyres taking time to come-in leaving him to recover for a P5 for the round, Hagberg had no such problems today saying, ‘the car was better today. From lap 1 I had traction’. The Swede continued, ‘I reverted back to my set-up from practice and that gave me more front traction which meant more steering’. Looking to the third of the four qualifiers, the former ETS race winner said, ‘I will try to repeat my performance and do a clean run. I will probably stick with the same set of tyres’.

‘Same story just a different driver beat me’, was Sudhoff’s reaction. The German continued, ‘the car was on point but maybe had a little understeer compared to yesterday. I had a bad lap and lost 2/10th but this caused me to be only second. Maybe it will be third time lucky’. Asked if he planned to change his set-up for Q3, he replied, ‘I need to discuss with Max (Machler). He said the car has less steering to yesterday so we need to think what we could change to improve this’.

Coelho said, ‘It was very difficult at the beginning because the car was loose in the rear. In the middle (of the qualifier) it was OK and I could fight with Alex and Sudhoff but then I hit a dot on the rear and the car went on to two wheels’. He added, ‘I lost 3/10ths but on this level it was like losing 3-seconds’. Asked if he knew why his car was loose at the start, the reigning ETS Champion replied, ‘we changed something to get more steering and maybe it was because of that. We need to check’.

‘A little better but we are still quite far off’, was how Prumper summed up Q2. The Infinity driver added, ‘In Q1 the gap was 4-seconds now it is 2-seconds but the problem is the car is still missing rotation in the 180 corners. We will now discuss what we can try for the next one. The change I made between Q1 & 2 was an improvement so I might go more in the same direction with this’.

Heading the Yokomo challenge in Q2, Krapp said, ‘the position was good but if you see the gap to the front it’s too slow’. The German continued, ‘Myself and Ronald (Volker) need to try something. The gap is just too much’. On his own BD8’s performance he said, ‘Personally my problem is that after 4-minutes it gets loose in the rear so I could push. I need to get it good over the full 5-minutes’.

In the Scorpion Power System Formula class, reigning champion Jan Ratheisky pulled of a TQ run having been beaten by Serpent’s David Ehrbar in Q1. The Xray driver completed the 5-minute qualifier a massive 4-seconds up on Herbert Weber, the former champion running in the second fastest heat group. After his Q1 TQ, Ehrbar would get a P3 ahead of Andreas Stiebler. In the Xray Pro Stock second qualifier, France’s Léo Arnold was fastest ahead of ETS Vienna winner Simon Lauter with champion Ratheisky, who took Q1, completing the Top 3.

The new 17.5 Stock class Torsten Baggendorf, bettered his opening round by one spot to register a TQ run. With Q1 pace setter Luis Moreno having a difficult run, the second fastest time would be set by Alojzij Osvald ahead of Alexander Müller. In the Infinity 40+ Masters class Alexander Stocker continued his reign over proceedings with a second TQ run this time ahead of Andreas Weyhoven and Toni Mateo with defending champion Thomas Oehler fourth.

View complete event results here.

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February 9, 2019

Chassis Focus – Viktor Wilck

Chassis – Infinity IF14
Motor – Dash Rtune V2 5.5T
ESC – Dash AI Pro
Batteries – Arrowmax 5200 Ultra Low Profile
Tires – Volante (handout)
Radio/Servo – Sanwa/Dash
Bodyshell – Protoform Type S

Remarks – Making his race debut for the Infinity team here at ETS Round 2 in Daun, Viktor is running an overall kit standard IF14 from the Japanese manufacturer. Enjoying the more conventional chassis design of the IF14 compared to his Serpent, which means using more traditional set-up theories, the car has been fitted with optional shock towers, a two piece motor mount and low friction belts. Pleased with the overall performance of the car, the Swede said the big influence on performance this weekend is bodyshell choice.

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February 8, 2019

Close Q1 sees Coelho just take it from Sudhoff

A close opening qualifier at the Yokomo Euro Touring Series second round in German has seen the first strike of the weekend go to Bruno Coelho with the Xray driver just seeing off the charge of a very on-form Freddy Sudhoff. Top seed in practice, Coelho had the advantage of starting out front while Sudhoff had to contend with finding a way passed a slow starting No.2 seed Alexander Hagberg. Setting the fastest lap of the race with two laps to go it looked like Sudhoff was on target for the TQ but Coelho responded with his fastest lap of the race which together with a moment from Freddy on the last lap gave Bruno the first TQ run of the weekend. With the Top 2 having a distinct advantage over the rest of the field being, the only drivers to make 21-laps, it was Ronald Volker who came through to post the third fastest time with 3rd to 6th separated by only half a second. Behind, Elliot Harper got a 4th from the first of the four qualifiers ahead of Xray team-mate Alexander Hagberg with the Top 6 completed by Christopher Krapp.

‘It was very close with Freddy’, was Coelho reaction with the reigning champion adding, ‘his car looks very good. It was very close between us all the run and it was all decided in the last laps’. Looking to repeat the win he took on the Daun event’s debut on the ETS calendar last year, the World Champion said, ‘Our cars are working good but mine is still not 100%. It’s missing steering but now that we have one safe qualification we can try something for tomorrow. We will decide tonight what we will do’.

A very pleased looking Sudhoff said, ‘that was a close one. The car was on point from the first lap on’. The Awesomatix driver continued, ‘Once I passed Alex I found my rhythm. It was just some super small mistakes that cost me the TQ. It was super close with Bruno’. Posting a 14.712 fastest lap time, for tomorrow morning’s second qualifying encounter the Worlds Finalist concluded, ‘I will focus more on my driving tomorrow and just leave the car the same. It’s on point’.

Only managing P7 in seeding, Volker look relieved to kick off qualifying with a Top 3. The Yokomo driver said, ‘We improved the car so that was the best it has been all day. I can’t be unhappy with 3rd especially with how close the 5 guys were behind me’. Asked what his issue in practice was, the championship points leader replied, ‘The balance was off and the car was sliding too much. For qualifying we went to a set-up closer to Christopher’s (Krapp) and our ETS Round 1 set-up’. He continued, ‘In reality the Top 2 are far ahead so we need to make further changes tomorrow to close that gap’.

‘The car was really good but my first few laps didn’t go quite so well’, said Harper. The British driver explained, ‘I tried a different motor position in the warm-up and it didn’t work so I pulled in to get my mechanic to change it. He did it super quick but the other cars had already started going for it (to start their qualification)’. Looking to Q2 in the morning, he said, ‘I want to change the balance slightly so it is smooth in the high speed corners but still has rotation at low speed’.

Commenting on his run to the 5th fastest time, Hagberg said, ‘I had a slow start. The tyres I used were less broken in than my other set and they took time to come in so it was probably a wrong decision’. Having to open for Sudhoff, the Swede continued, ‘Once the tyres came in the car was on pace. I will run them again in the morning so hopefully I will be on the pace from the start’.

In the Scorpion Power System Formula class David Ehrbar came out with the first TQ run. The Serpent driver emerged with just 2/10ths of a second advantage over Olivier Bultynck with top seed Jan Ratheisky getting a P3 more than 2-seconds further back. Ratheisky would however take the top spot in the first of the Xray Pro Stock qualifiers leading a Xray 1-2 from practice pace setter Leo Arnold, the French driver’s time 3/10ths off the TQ.

Winner of the opening round of the Infinity 40+ Masters class, Alexander Stocker maintained his practice form to TQ the first qualifier. The Awesomatix driver had a comfortable advantage over class champion Thomas Oehler with Vice-Champion Christian Drießle 3rd quickest. In the new 17.5 Stock class it was also the Top seed who would take Q1 as Luis Moreno narrowly pipped long time pace setter Torsten Baggendorf. ETS Vienna winner & points lead Daniel Pöhlmann got a P3 for his efforts.

View complete event results here.

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February 8, 2019

Chassis Focus – Alexandre Duchet

Chassis – Associated TC7.2
Motor – Muchmore (Handout)
ESC –Muchmore (Handout)
Batteries – Reedy Zappers 6000mAh
Tires – Volante (handout)
Radio/Servo – Sanwa/Reedy
Bodyshell – Bittydesign M410

Remarks – Making his first ETS appearance here in Daun as a factory Team Associated driver, the former Pro Stock Champion is running a standard kit version of the American manufacturers TC7.2 Touring Car platform which has been slightly modified to try and get the car more suited to European tracks. Directly supported by AE and in collaboration with their two big European distributors, CML in the UK and German based Ruddog, Andreas Myrberg is working on Alexandre’s car. He has given the French driver a chassis which has had the main cut outs increased to induce more flex as the standard version is too stiff for European tracks. Myrberg has also done some modifications to the motor mount to add a ‘different flex characteristic’. Apart from the chassis and motor mount mods the only non standard parts on the car is a Hero Seiko screw set.

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February 8, 2019

Xray 1-2 in seeding as Coelho tops final practice at ETS

Xray has claimed a 1-2 in seeding at the second round of the Yokomo Euro Touring Series in Germany this evening, with Bruno Coelho setting the fastest 3-consecutive laps in the second & final controlled practice ahead of team-mate Alexander Hagberg. The reigning champion bettered the opening time set by Freddy Sudhoff by more than 2/10th while Hagberg also found 2/10ths to move ahead of Sudhoff who wasn’t able to better his time. One of the big improvers between rounds, Yannic Prumper would end up the top Infinity driver ending up fourth fastest ahead of team-mate Marc Rheinard who failed to better his CP1 pace. Again it was Christopher Krapp who would round out the Top 6 with a slight improvement in his time to remain in front of Yokomo team-mate Ronald Volker.

‘We made quite a lot of set-up changes and they were very good. We followed what set-up Alex had and now the car is working well’, was Coelho reaction after CP2. The World Champion added, ‘I am still missing a little steering but it’s super easy and safe to drive. If I force a little more I can’t go faster and all the time I am on full lock but our 1-2 in practice shows the car is working well’. Looking to tonight’s Q1, which will conclude the first day of action in Daun, the Portuguese driver said, ‘we need to discuss if we take the risk to change sometime on the car or not but I think what we have now looks good for 5-minutes’.

Hagberg summed up CP2 by saying, ‘the car is on pace so its going not too bad. I’ll try to keep it like this for qualifying and go for a clean run’. The multiple ETS race winner added, ‘I changed the roll centre and it was a bit better that time. Myself and Bruno are running identical set-ups. I will stay with what I am running for Q1 and see where it takes us’.

Explaining his failure to improve his opening time, Sudhoff said, ‘I tried a set-up change on the speedo and didn’t like the feeling. I adjusted the feeling and didn’t like it so I will go back’. The Awesomatix driver, who despite being a regular front runner has yet to register an ETS win, added, ‘My 5-minute rhythm is pretty good and it’s also good compared to the the others. I will keep the same car set-up for the first qualifier and just focus on getting a clean run in’.

‘Much better than before. It was pushing like hell in first two practices’, was Prumper’s response to how CP2 had gone. The former ETS race winner explain, ‘we changed to a geardiff, changed the ackermann and switched to a (Protoform) Type S body. The body feels fast but the (Zoo Racing) Preopard was easier to drive so I will use this for the first round (of qualifying)’.

Also switching to a Type S body for the final practice having earlier ran Zoo Racing’s Preopard, Rheinard said, ‘It was not what I had hoped for. They had similar speed but I prefer the feel of the shell I used before’. He continued, ‘I see Bruno ran the (ZooRacing) DXB in the last practice and he improved so I will try it for Q1’. A lower design profile than the Preopard, the former World Champion said, ‘The DXB should be a little more aggressive, the Preopard is a little lazy’.

On his performance in the final practice, Krapp said, ‘It felt slower than it was. I made some changes on the front end and it didn’t make the improvement I expected. I will go back to how it was before and just push in qualifying’. The former ETS race winner concluded, ‘I’m enjoying the track layout’.

In Pro Stock and Formula it was also to be Xrays that topped seeding. Nitro racer Léo Arnold was fastest of the biggest class of the ETS from DHI Cup winner Tim Benson. Winner of the opening round in Vienna Simon Lauter was third fastest ahead of his Awesomatix team-manager Max Machler. In Formula, defending champion & one of the busiest racers on the planet Jan Ratheisky set the pace from Vienna winner David Ehrbar and Matej Dobnikar. In the Masters, former Pro Stock champion Alexander Stocker was the benchmark ahead of Toni Mateo while the new 17.5 Stock Touring Car class top seed is Spanish driver Luis Moreno from championship leader Daniel Pöhlmann.

View complete event results here.

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