Euro Touring Series

April 12, 2008

Qualifiying Round 2 report

Hugo vd Berg

Hugo Van den Berg bounced back having been the pace setter yesterday to take Heat 2 victory from Heat 1 winner Jilles Groskamp. Van den Berg took the win for the Mod class by 3/10th of a second but the run was slower than that set in opening round of heats. Bart Wubben took third spot just ahead of Serpent team-mate Rene Cornella with the Serpent pairing looking strong around here. Both Rheinard and Tamiya Racing Factory team-mate Vilck dumped on the final lap and so did not finish.

Vasco Christiaanse

In Pro Stock, Heat 1 winner Vasco Christiaanse made it two out of two by winning the second qualifier in a slightly slower time that he put down to a couple of errors he made during the run. Second fastest was Schumacher’s Ronald Bestman who was much happier with his pace having shadowed Christiaanse for the entire heat. Team-mate Jimmy Maddison was third but is still not completely happy with his Mi3 and is now changing shock oils & spring for the third qualifier.

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April 12, 2008

Qualifiying Round 1 report

Vasco Christiaanse

Round 1 of qualifying has just taken place here at the MACH and its Vasco Christiaanse and Jilles Groskamp who are first to register qualifying wins at Round 3 of the ETS. Christiaanse, who is at the controls of Kyosho’s TF5 Stallion Shin edition, produced the quickest Pro Stock run we have seen so far today as the sunshine came out and track temperatures started to rise. The Dutch driver told us his car is really good since he fitted all his race equipment but believes there is more time to come and will make some small adjustments to give him some extra steering for the second round of the heats. Chris Van Der Hagen driving a Tamiya took second while Jimmy Maddison was third ahead of practice pace setter George Spitteler. ETS Series leader Jan Van Steeg could only managed 8th fastest in the run.

Rene Cornella Action

In Modified Jilles Groskamp took the win from team-mate Marc Rheinard but once again his time was slower than that he posted in the first timed practice this morning. Splitting the Tamiya factory team is current Dutch Vice-Champion Hugo Van Den Berg with his Xray T2 ‘008 who posted the third fastest run just ahead of Viktor Wilck while Rene Cornella is top Serpent in 5th position.

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April 12, 2008

ETS Holland – Practice complete

Jilles Groskamp on the driver stand

Practice has come to a close here in Holland and we are just about to get down to the serious business of the weekend. For the first time we finally got an official indication of where newly crowned 1:12 European Championship Marc Rheinard and DHI Cup Champion Viktor Wilck are in terms of pace. Rheinard was quick enough to post the 4th fastest run of the morning and Wilck looked on a similar pace until he had a big off going on to the straight. Once again it was their team-mate and pre-event favourite Jilles Groskamp that set the pace for the run but the Tamiya driver appeared frustrated coming off the rostrum as it was fractionally slower than Practice 1.

Saturday Stock Grid

In Pro-Stock local Corally driver George Spitteler produced a good run to put himself top of the time sheets from Ronald Bestman. Jimmy Maddison had his first run of the day but wasn’t happy with the Bestman settings he transfered to his car this morning. He said the car was better balanced but need tweaking for better turn in on the faster corners.

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April 12, 2008

Cold start to Day 2

MACH Track

Its been a very cold start to Day 2 of the Dutch leg of the Much More backed European Touring Series with the first of two controlled practice runs now complete with Robert Bestman and Jilles Groskamp setting the pace over the 5 minute run.

Robert Bestman

Bestman continued were he left off yesterday and was again pleased with his Pro Stock Schumacher Mi3, posting a 16 lap run in 5:11.89 despite the very cold track conditions. His team-mate Jimmy Maddison didn’t make the first practice because he was rebuilding his car to the same spec as that of Bestman. Having switched to his race motor this morning, ETS Round 2 winner Nicolai Nielsen pulled up early as he struggled with a lack of top end speed in his Serpent S400. The Danish driver is at a loss as to know what is causing this. Kyosho driver Vasco Christiaanse posted the second fastest run with ETS Pro Stock Series points leader Jan Van Steeg next up at the controls of his TOP Scythe.

Jilles Groskamp on the grid

In Mod the general comment from the drivers is ‘its too cold’ but making the most of the conditions is Jilles Groskamp. The Tamiya driver says traction is good but due to how cold it is the batteries are down on power. His team-mates Marc Rheinard and Victor Wilck once again ran no transponders with Wilck commenting after the run that his car was ‘so, so’. Rob Janssen, an A finalist in Denmark, looked good this morning and posted the second fastest run with his Serpent S400 with a run that was 4.8 seconds off that of Groskamp’s 18 laps in 5m 3.16. Third fastest was the S400’s designer Rene Cornella.

Modified drivers stand

Bart Wubben, who together with Cornella and Janssen should provide the main Serpent challenge here at their home track, had an eventful morning. On his way to the track he got caught up in traffic causing him to arrive just before his run and with no batteries charged he was forced to borrow a set but after one lap of practice he pulled up with a total lack of power!

Drivers have one more free practice session before we get down to the serious business of qualifying.

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April 11, 2008

Vd Berg tops Mod practice times

Hugo vd Berg

Controlled practice has come to a close here in Holland for the 3rd round of the ETS and its the locals that are showing the way with Hugo van den Berg recording the fastest lap, with a time of 16.27. Vd Berg, driving an Xray T2 ‘008 heads his National rival Bart Wubben, the Dutch Champion managing a 16.36 lap. Jilles Groskamp is third fastest on lap times with 16.52 but the Round 2 winner and track record holder is confident he can achieve a very low 16 second lap in the morning’s two controlled free practices.

Marc Rheinard Action

Marc Rheinard, winner of the recent LRP Masters, didn’t run a transponder today but the German says his biggest issue is run time. The former World Champion isn’t making a full 5 minute run around the high speed MACH track and says this might be a problem for him this weekend. DHI Cup Champion Vicktor Wilck looked to be running fast with his Speed Passion powered Tamiya but he too is also marginal on a run time.

Ronald Bestman & Jimmy Maddison

In Pro Stock Ronald Bestman out did his team-mate Jimmy Maddison to post a best time of 18.41. Local racer Bestman has been testing his Schumacher here all week and has been using the wonders of the internet to perfect his car. Using the track’s four webcams he was able to take set-up advice from Maddison who was watching the car from back in the UK! With the two physically at the track today they have further fine tuned the set-up of their Mi3 with good results.

Nicolai Nielsen pushing hard

ETS Pro Stock Round 2 winner Nicolai Nielsen appears to be short on pace but the Danish driver says his Serpent s400 feels really good. He can’t pin point where he is losing the time but feels that come race day he should be OK and in the main mix.

Drivers will have two further opportunities in the morning to fine tune their cars, and for some improve run time, before the first of five rounds of qualifying gets underway at 11:30.

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April 11, 2008

Groskamp & Maddison set practice pace

Jilles Groskamp Action

Local ace Jilles Groskamp continues to set the pace in the Modified class here in free practice for the 3rd Round of the Much More backed ETS while Schumacher ace Jimmy Maddison is fastest of the Pro Stock runners around the fast MACH track.

Rene Cornella Action

As expected Groskamp, who is sporting a fresh new hair cut, is showing all the Mod runners the fastest way round his home track. Currently the TRF driver is almost 2/10th faster than his nearest rival Bart Wubben. Wubben is another local and together with Serpent designer Rene Cornella the pair are showing the potential of the S400 around the Dutch manufacturer’s base track. Marc Rheinard continues to run without a transponder but according to team-mate Groskamp the newly crowned 1:12 European Champion is on a very similar pace to him.

Jimmy Maddison Mi3

On his first visit to the Netherlands, Jimmy Maddison is showing why he is Pro Stock Champion of the IIC Vegas Race and DHI Cup as he puts in some fast laps. Running a one off chassis which has different positioning of the cell slots to give the Mi3 better balance on the fast sweeping corners, the Englishman has posted a best time of 18.77 seconds. Local driver Ronald Bestman who is pitting next to Maddison and working closely with him on set-up suggestions is next fastest with an 18.82. TOP driver Eric Mulder is third fastest.

Testing continues with Modified currently out on track.

March 16, 2008

Podium lock out for Tamiya

Modified top 3

The curtain has come down on the second round of the inaugural European Touring Series and it was Jilles Groskamp and Nicolai Nielsen that leave Vejle in Denmark with the main silverware. The weekend produced plenty of thrilling race action but in the end it was those that set the pace in qualifying that ruled the finals.

Groskamp over came strong pressure from his Tamiya team mates in Leg 1 of the finals to score an important opening victory over Marc Rheinard and Viktor Wilck. One thing that really stood out this weekend was the great team work being done by the factory squad and as a result the TRF416 was the car to beat, filling the top 3 places on the grid and ultimately the podium. Kyosho’s top man Steen Graversen did try his best but the combined forces of Groskamp, Rheinard and Wilck was too much. Team Associated’s Joel Myrberg endured a tough weekend and unfortunately couldn’t mount the challenge expected.

Leg 2 of the Modified A-Main saw another great drive by Dutch star Groskamp who again was helped by his team mates this time for the wrong reasons as Rheinard and Wilck made contact at the second corner after the start and dropped to the tail of the field. This allowed Graversen to move into second but he was never really a threat to the pole sitter who went on to take his second win and overall victory of the Danish event. Rheinard did a good job to recover to take third.

The final Leg was a battle for the final two podium placings. Groskamp lead for most of the race under pressure from Rheinard who didn’t need a second invitation to pass his team mate when he went wide as the pair came off the main straight. Groskamp then caught a dot and the former World Champion got the break he needed to come home for the win and which would secure him 2nd overall. Wilck also got by in the same move to claim 2nd and the final overall podium placing.

Pro Stock Podium

In the Pro Stock class it was Danish drivers armed with Dutch cars that fought for the victory. Nicolai Nielsen driving a Serpent and Rasmus T. Callesen at the controls of a Corally battled throughout qualifying and the finals but in the end it was the former that claimed the pole and eventually the overall victory. The two were inseparable on the large carpet track but Nielsen kept cool under the pressure and won the opening two legs to secure glory. Nielsen opted out of the third leg leaving Callesen and Palle Hornum to fight for second and Callesen looked to have it in the bag but 3-minutes into the race his pinion came lose leaving Hornum’s Xray to take the win and second overall.

Sport Class Top 3

The Sport class, introduced to give club racers the opportunity to race at a high profile event, proved to be a huge success and the racing went right down to the wire between Germany’s Axel Thoms and local racer Lasse Scholt. Thoms won Leg 1 from pole but Scholt came right back in Leg 2 forcing the title decision to be made in the final leg. The German racers trip to Denmark proved to be worthwhile however as he took the final leg and overall win ahead of Lasse.

March 16, 2008

Repeat wins in Leg 2 secure ETS glory for Groskamp & Nielsen

Jilles Groskamp wins overall

Jilles Groskamp and Nicolai Nielsen have secured overall victory at Round 2 of the European Touring Series in Vejle, Denmark. The pair claimed the wins in the 2nd leg, backing up their leg 1 Finals victory with a second win, thus making them unbeatable with one leg still to run. In the Modified Class Jilles Groskamp once again stayed cool as his team mates came together on turn 2 of the opening lap which dropped them to the back of the field. The pair eventually recovered but up front it was Groskamp all the way. The Dutch Speed Passion team driver did get some early attention from Steen Graversen but his lead was never really threatened. Coming back through the field Rheinard clocked up the fastest lap of leg with a 13.83 and just pipped Schmacher’s Soren Eskildsen for third while Wilcks recovered to take fifth from Johan Eskildsen.

Nicolai Nielsen Wins Pro Stock

Nicolai Nielsen secured another win in Pro Stock after making another good start from the pole. Posting the fastest lap of the race Rasmus T. Callesen did his best to unsettle the Serpent racer but it was to be in vain. Palle Hornum ended up third for the second time running.

In Hobby things are set to go down to the wire as Axel Thoms and Lasse Scholt have one win a piece going into the third leg.

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