Euro Touring Series » Announcement

September 11, 2012

Hudy Racing Arena joins as host of season finale

The schedule for the sixth season of the Euro Touring Series has been finalised with the exciting news that the Hudy Racing Arena in Slovakia will open its doors to its first international race meeting by hosting the season finale of the world famous electric touring car championship next Summer. The official test track of reigning ETS Pro-Stock Champions Xray, Round 6 of the upcoming season is scheduled as an outdoor event but should the local weather give rain for the July 19-21st date the state of the art facility can quickly switch to an indoor event ensuring racers who make the trip to the historical city of Trenčín will still get to race no matter what the weather. The other big announcement for the new season is that Modified champions Yokomo will continue as title sponsor for a third consecutive season with the series to continue to be officially known as the Yokomo Euro Touring Series.

With a growing number of requests from new countries and cities looking to host a round of the ETS which last year saw 718 drivers register championship points, the planning of the calendar for Season No.6 was one of the greatest challenges faced by series organisers Uwe Rheinard and Scotty Ernst since it creation back in 2007. New to the series last season, Muelheim-Kaerlich will once be the venue for Round 1 over the weekend of October 12-14th. The biggest race of 2011/12, the German event looks set to enjoy the same status this year with it attracting over 300 entries within 24-hours of the race registration opening.

Making a return to the ETS after a year out to host the opening round of the inaugural Euro Offroad Series, Hrotovice in the Czech Reublic makes a welcomed comeback as the venue for Round 2 on January 18-20th. Having hosted the second round last year but unable to secure a venue for this season, Italy will take a year out with a view to returning in the future with a new location. Poland will also take a year out from the ETS as the club take on the honour of hosting the opening round of Season No.2 of Euro Offroad Series as part of one of the country’s main Hobby Shows.

New to last year’s calendar and one of the most talked about events in terms of Christopher Krapp’s maiden victory and the pre & post race celebrations that took place, Gran Canaria will again be the third stop of the schedule with a much larger entry expected to descend on the Spanish holiday island this time round for the March 1-3 event.

Set to host its fifth ETS race making it the most used track in the series’ 7-year history, the beautiful outdoor Apeldoorn track in the Netherlands will kick start the second half of the season on May 17-19th. New to the ETS and venue for the finale of Season No.5, where four drivers went head to head for the overall modified title, Traiskirchen in Austria will again feature on the 2012/13 schedule. With its unique roof covered asphalt track it will hold the penultimate round on June 14-16th. The conclusion of the sixth season of the Yokomo Euro Touring Series will take place 5 weeks later at the Hudy Racing Arena.

The ETS will once again partner with Ride as the supplier of controlled tyres for all three championship classes while Speed Passion continue as the official speedo & motor provider for the Pro-Stock & the Formula classes.

2012/13 Yokomo Euro Touring Series Schedule
Round 1 – Muelheim-Kaerlich, Germany – 12–14 October 2012
Round 2 – Hrotovice, Czech Republic – 18–20 January 2013
Round 3 – Gran Canaria, Spain – 01–03 March 2013
Round 4 – Apeldoorn, Netherlands – 17–19 May 2013
Round 5 – Traiskirchen, Austria – 14–16 June 2013
Round 6 – Trencin, Slovakia – 19–21 July 2013

July 3, 2012

Four manufacturers chase ETS title at season finale in Austria

The stage is set for the most exciting title battle in the history of the ETS with four drivers representing four different manufacturers in with a chance of becoming the 2011/12 Yokomo Euro Touring Series Champions at this weekend’s (6-8th July) season finale in Traiskirchen, Austria. Having enjoyed it’s most successful season to-date with close on 700 drivers set to register points in the World famous electric touring car series, the fifth running of the championship has also produced its most competitive year of racing with four different drivers taking to the top step of the podium in the premiere Ride Modified class. Kyosho’s Christopher Krapp and Xray’s Alexander Hagberg both claimed their first ever ETS wins putting them in the position of going head to head with Team Yokomo’s defending Champion Ronald Volker and Tamiya’s former Champion Marc Rheinard for the prestigious title at the sixth & final round.

A new addition to the ETS calendar, Traiskirchen is the perfect venue for such an exciting climax to the season with the roof covered asphalt track ensuring that the current unsettled European weather can play no part in deciding whether the elusive ETS Modified Champions roll of honour remains at just three names (Jilles Groskamp, Rheinard & Volker) or gets the addition of a fourth worthy Champion. The Top 4 in the standings are seperated by just 7-points with a maximum of 156 points up for grabs so its very much still all to play for and as was witnessed at the preceeding round in Apeldoorn, where Rheinard rescued his campaign by taking the TQ and win, anything can happen in racing with Volker and Hagberg both failing to make the A-Main at the Dutch event.

While the focus of the weekend will be on the title battle, there will be a number of drivers among the World Class entry of over 200 racers who with no championship to worry about will be looking to make their own mark, this being the last major international touring car race before the World Championships that take place in the Netherlands at the end of the month. Having finished sixth at Round 5, his first ETS outing this season, former World Champion & ETS race winner Atsushi Hara will be hoping for a more competitive outing in Austria as will Team HB team-mates Andy Moore and Shin Adachi.

Having topped a round of qualifying to line up third on the grid in Apeldoorn, Serpent’s Marc Fisher will be looking to build on that performance this weekend and bring home some silverware for his small team. Also looking to convert his unquestionable raw talent in to a victory will be Volker’s Yokomo team-mate Yannic Prumper. Prumper finished runner up to Rheinard at Traiskirchen last year when it hosted the European Championships and the young German must be close to ending his 3-year victory drought.

In the Xray Pro Stock class, which has also produced four different winners this season, the title will too be decided in Austria in a duel between Xray’s Zdenko Kunák and Team HB driver Oliver Franke. A new addition to the ETS this year the Formula class, for 1:10 2WD Formula 1 cars which like Pro Stock use a controlled Speed Passion speedo/motor combo, is wide open with no less than five drivers in with a chance of becoming the inaugural champion.

While those in contention for a title will be holding off on any celebrations until Sunday evening, for the rest of the competitors they will be able to celebrate the successful conclusion of Season No.5 of Uwe Rheinard and Scotty Ernst’s Euro Touring Series with the now traditional end of season party planned for Saturday night at the track. With the organisation of the Traiskirchen ETS encounter being headed up by top Austrian touring car racer Thomas Pumpler with help from former European Electric Offroad Champion Peter Pinsch, the weekend is sure to be of a very high standard something that racers have now come to expect from ETS events.

Round 6 of the Yokomo Euro Touring Series will be covered live throughout the weekend on Red RC where you can follow how the title battle unfolds over the three day event.

May 29, 2012

World’s best touring car drivers descend on Apeldoorn for ETS Round 5

World’s best drivers decend on Apeldoorn for Rd5

This weekend (June 1-3) the Netherlands plays host to the penultimate round of the Yokomo Euro Touring Series with Apeldoorn the stage for what is set to be the most competitive race of the 2011/12 season. In addition to the regular line-up of world class drivers who are contesting the full 6 race ETS calendar, the beautiful Dutch venue will be bolstered by an increased presence of international factory drivers who are using the fifth round of the World famous electric touring car series to gauge their competitiveness ahead of the upcoming bi-annual World Championships.

The 26th running of an ETS event, the race has attracted a massive 240 entries including all nine members of the elusive modified class winners club. One of those victors making his first appearance of season no.5 is former World Champion Atsushi Hara. A two time ETS race winner, one of which he claimed in the Netherlands when the race was held at the MACH in 2010, Hara heads a much expanded Team HB entry this weekend. 2006 World Champion Andy Moore, who currently sits sixth in the ETS standings, will be joined by Hara and new for 2012 team-mates Shin Adachi and former European Champion Teemu Leino who both make welcomed returns to the series.

Tamiya, who are the most successful manufacturer in series with 3 titles and 14 race wins to their credit, also have an expanded squad for the penultimate round with former 2-time champion Jilles Groskamp returning to compete in his home event. Now based in Thailand, Groskamp’s presence at Apeldoorn should be a big boost for the TRF squad who are already riding high following Viktor Wilck’s victory at the prestigious Reedy Race of Champions last weekend in the USA. Tamiya have not yet scored a win this season in which Kyosho and Xray both took maiden victories, but 12 months ago at the Dutch venue the then defending champion Marc Rheinard claimed the team’s first win of the season on a weekend that saw the first double win for TRF as Dutchman John Bruins won the Pro Stock class.

Having taken the top step on the podium in both the Ride Modified and Xray Pro Stock classes at the preceding round in Poland in April, Xray will be hoping to continue their form this weekend and are another team with an increased presence. Star driver Alexander Hagberg who is joint third in the standings will be joined in the team by US Champion Paul Lemieux for whom this marks the American’s fourth ETS appearance.

After a tough weekend at Round 4 following his hugely popular win at the previous round in Gran Canaria, factory Kyosho driver Christopher Krapp is looking forward to competing again on asphalt. The German, who is in contention for the Euro Touring Series title, predicted his TF6 SP would be quick on asphalt and backed that up with a win at the first asphalt round and is relishing this weekends return to asphalt.

Defending champion and points standings leader Ronald Volker has never won an outdoor ETS event and would love to set that record straight on Sunday. The Team Yokomo driver TQ’d and won the opening two rounds of the season, both carpet events, and if he can pull off victory in Apeldoorn it would put the title beyond the reach of his rivals.

Elsewhere factory Awesomatix driver Freddy Sudhoff is a serious contender to become the 10th name on the role of honour of ETS race winners. The German was very fast in Poland where he finished fourth and is being tipped by many as having the potential to spring a surprise at the World Championships at the end of July.

Round 5 of the Yokomo Euro Touring Series gets underway with practice on Friday and culminates with triple mains for all drivers on Sunday. All the action from Apeldoorn can be followed live throughout the weekend on RedRC.

May 1, 2012

Lemieux to contest ETS Apeldoorn

Xray have confirmed that American Touring Car ace Paul Lemieux will contest the penultimate round of the Yokomo Euro Touring Series over the weekend of June 1-3 at Apeldoorn in the Netherlands. Having made annual appearances in three of the four previous seasons of the world famous electric touring car series, this will be the US National Champion’s fourth time to race in the ETS but will be the Wisconsin driver’s first experience of the Apeldoorn venue which is rated by many top drivers as one of Europe’s greatest race tracks. The RC America/Thunder Power backed driver will join factory Xray drivers Alexander Hagberg and Martin Hudy at the fifth round as the Slovakian manufacturer looks to build on their maiden victory in the Ride Modified class at Round 4 in Poland that has moved Hagberg into contention for the overall 2011/12 ETS Championship title.

The ETS’s third visit to Apeldoorn since its inspection in 2008, the Dutch venue is the second of three asphalt events on this season’s calendar and is expected to see the regular World class field bolstered by a number of additional factory entries. Having claimed his first ETS victory at the first outdoor race in Gran Canaria, factory Kyosho driver Christopher Krapp is one of the pre-event favourites for Round 5 but can expect tough competition in particular from World Champion Marc Rheinard who took his first of two wins there last year. The Tamiya Racing Factory driver needs to take his first win of the current season if he is to have any chance of denying Team Yokomo’s Ronald Volker back to back Euro Touring Series titles.

April 11, 2012

ETS motors to Poland for second half of season

After a 6-week ‘mid term’ break, the second half of the Yokomo Euro Touring Series gets underway this weekend (13-15 April) with drivers traveling to Poland for the fourth race of six that make up the calendar for season number five of the world renowned electric touring car championship. While Poland has been a regular fixture on the annual ETS schedule, like the opening three races of the 2011/12 season another new venue awaits competitors with the country’s fifth largest city Poznan playing host to drivers from 22 different nations. Adding to the excitement of the Polish round is the race being a part of Motor Show Poznan, a full size car motor show which has previously attracted 46,000 visitors.

Following his hugely popular maiden ETS win in Gran Canaria Christopher Krapp is the man who sits at the top of the points standings in the premiere class ahead of current & former champions Ronald Volker and Marc Rheinard who are equal second, two points adrift of their fellow German. Also securing Kyosho’s first win in the series’ history, Krapp’s wrapping up of the overall win on the holiday Island in the second A-Main is already the most watched race of the season with 10,000 views. Starting out the season with a podium finish at Round 1 in Germany and then fourth in Italy, the 19-year-old now has that first win under his belt and will be looking to continue his form which has put him right in contention for the overall championship title.

Having dominated the opening two races of the season, Volker will be looking to put the finals day drama of Round 3 to the back of his mind this weekend and try get his title defense back on track. Having qualified third in Gran Canaria, the factory Yokomo driver was forced to withdraw from the asphalt event following the practice final after the last of his prototype speed controllers expired. Back to racing on carpet in Poland, the European Champion is widely recognised as the best carpet racer in the World currently and will be looking to capitalise on this the last carpet track of the season.

World Champion Rheinard knows that this weekend is a crucial one for him if he is to have any chance of lifting the ETS title for a second time. The Tamiya driver has struggled to be any match for his great rival Volker and even when the defending champion hit trouble at Round 3 he could not capitalise coming away with another 3rd, the same result as he achieved at the previous race in Italy.

Outside of the Top 3 in the championship standings, Team Xray’s Alexander Hagberg and Yokomo’s Yannic Prumper could spring a surprise in Poland. Hagberg was very fast at round 3 and took a well deserved second behind Krapp and the Swede is very hungry for that first ever ETS victory. Showing great form in Italy where he finished second to team-mate Volker, 18-year-old Prumper has a single ETS win to his credit and that came in Poland but that was three years ago. Forced to miss Round 4 due to school commitments, the German is back and more determined than ever to put an end to his winning drought.

In the biggest category of the ETS, the Xray Pro Stock class where 269 drivers have already registered championship points, the lead in the standings is shared between defending champion Martin Hofer and Ivan Laptev despite neither driver having won a race yet this season. Third in the standings, former Hobby Class Champion Michal Orlowski will be extra motivated to do well this weekend as he races in front of his home crowd and seeks his first ETS Pro-Stock win. Having missed Gran Canaria, Round 1 winner Zdenko Kunák is back this weekend as is Round 2 victor Steffen Leinburger. A surprise winner at Round 3 on his first ETS appearance of the season, Czech racer Marek Cerný will be hoping he can continue where he left off.

In the new Speed Passion Formula class young Polish racer Bartlomiej Zambrzycki, who is second in the standings, will be hoping he can show his more senior rivals the way round this weekend in front of the expected large crowds. Round 4 of the Yokomo Euro Touring Series gets underway with practice on Friday and culminates with triple mains for all drivers on Sunday. All the action from Poznan can be followed live throughout the weekend on RedRC.

January 17, 2012

First Italian ETS encounter attracts World class entry of nitro drivers

This weekend (January 20-22) the Euro Touring Series travels to all new territory as Italy plays host to the second round of the Yokomo backed 2011/12 Series with a massive 300 strong entry set to descend on the town of Scandiano in the North East of the country. A nation famed for its motoring passion and in rc racing for producing world class nitro drivers, the event has attracted one of the sport’s greatest legends Lamberto Collari who will be joined by other big names from the onroad nitro scene such as Dario Balestri, Walter Salemi and Andrea Pirani. A nine-time 1:8 Onroad World Champion, Collari has already shown his ability to quickly adapt to 1:10 electric touring cars having made the A-Main at the Italian Charity Race in December which attracted a quality field as the main factory teams used it as a warm-up event for the first ever Italian ETS encounter.

Racing a Yokomo chassis, Collari will be in good hands on his ETS debut having reigning Modified Champion Ronald Volker for a team-mate. The Team Yokomo lead driver got his title defence off to the perfect start at the season opener in Germany at the end of October when he took a dominant victory over his great rival Marc Rheinard and the driver who carries the unofficial title of being the World’s best touring car driver on carpet is sure to have plenty of top tips for Collari who is much more at home on asphalt tracks.

Having been victorious over Volker when they used the Italian Charity Race as preparation for this weekend, Tamiya Racing Factory’s Rheinard will be hoping he can take his first ETS carpet success since Poland two seasons ago. The World Champion lost his crown as Champion of what is now the World’s biggest championship for electric touring cars to Volker last year after the Team Yokomo driver dominated the first half of the season on carpet and Rheinard knows the key to retaking the title is denying his fellow German a victory indoors.

Having secured his first ETS podium finish at this seasons opening round, Kyosho’s Christopher Krapp will be aiming to build on that result this weekend but will have to see off tough opposition from rival factory drivers in the Ride Modified class. Two such drivers are Team Xray’s super fast Swede Alexander Hagberg who must now be due his big break and Team Associated’s Juho Levanen who looked very good at the Asian Touring Series pilot event at Yatabe in November where he finished runner-up to Volker.

In the Xray Pro Stock class Zdenko Kunák will be looking for a repeat of Round 1. In Germany we witnessed a very popular maiden victory for the Team Xray driver when the talented Slovak racer final got the job done holding off the Hot Bodies of former race winner Oliver Franke and the Schumacher of defending champion Martin Hofer.

Being a country steeped in Formula 1 history, the organisers of the ETS have chosen the Italian round to debut the new Formula class that will now join the Modified and Pro Stock Touring Cars classes as the third category on the race program at each of the remaining 5 rounds of the 2011/12 series. Replacing the Hobby class, Formula racing is enjoying growing interest around the world and the first race has had a very positive response with a healthy 45 entries registered for this weekend.

Round 2 of the Yokomo Euro Touring Series gets underway with practice on Friday and culminates with triple mains for all drivers on Sunday. All the action from Scandiano can be followed live throughout the weekend on RedRC.

October 27, 2011

Xray support for 2011/2012 ETS

After a successful season in 2010/2011 Xray is proud to announce that the 2011/2012 Euro Touring Series will be again 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 as 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.

Xray support for 2011/2012 ETS

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.

October 26, 2011

Yokomo extends Euro Touring Series sponsorship

With the 2011/12 Euro Touring Series set to get underway later this week in Germany the organisers of the world’s biggest r/c touring car championship are delighted to announce that Yokomo has extended their title sponsorship of the ETS for a second season. Coming onboard as title sponsor of the six round series in 2010, the Japanese company enjoyed a perfect first season as an ETS partner with their star driver Ronald Volker dominating the opening races en-route to beating the world class field of factory drivers to the overall championship title. In recognition of Yokomo’s extended support of the ETS the series will continue to be officially known as the ‘Yokomo Euro Touring Series’.

Along with the news of the extension of their relationship with Yokomo, ETS founders Uwe Rheinard and Scotty Ernst also made the announcement of an all new partnership with Japanese company Ride who will be the official controlled tyre supplier for 2011/12. Probably best known for their sponsorship of former World Touring Car Champion and ETS race winner Atsushi Hara, the deal with Ride came about following very positive feedback from competitors who got to run their tires at last season’s finale in Andernach. Two other companies the ETS organisers are pleased to welcome onboard are new associated sponsors Team Orion and Thunder Power.

Kicking off its fifth season this weekend with an all new event in Muelheim-Kaerlich, Germany, the popularity of the ‘Yokomo Euro Touring Series’ looks set to continue to grow with the 22nd running of an ETS race having received a record 301 prepaid entries. Last season a total of 641 drivers registering championship points over the three classes that form the race program of the three day events.

Having started out in 2007 with just four dates, the Euro Touring Series has established itself now as a six round championship that combines both indoor and outdoor events. Starting at a new location near Koblenz in Germany, the series features a very different 2011/12 calendar featuring five new venues with Italy and the holiday Island of Gran Canaria two exciting additions.