Euro Touring Series

November 1, 2013

Chassis Focus – Juho Levanen

Fri-LevanenTC62-1

Chassis Name – Team Associated TC6.2
Motor – Reedy
ESC – Hobbywing
Batteries – Reedy
Tires – Ride (handout)
Radio/Servos – Sanwa
Remarks – Juho Levanen is running a pre production version of the all new TC6.2 chassis, which he ran for the first time at the recent IIC race in Vegas. Apart from the wishbones, uprights and steering block assemblies the car is completely new and is now more in line with the current touring car designs on the market with a new steering assembly, floating servo mount, flex over the entire chassis and chassis mounted lower suspension arms. Expected to be released at the end of this year, compared to the previous model it turns in better and can carry more corner speed.

Image Gallery

November 1, 2013

Video – Controlled Practice Rd1

November 1, 2013

Volker tops free practice at ETS Season opener

Ronald Volker

Reigning Yokomo Euro Touring Series Champion Ronald Volker has kicked off the defense of his 3rd consecutive title by putting his Yokomo top the times sheets in free practice. Drivers had two rounds of free practice this morning for the Czech Republic event, with the German fastest from team-mate Yannic Prumper. Volker’s main title rival for the past three seasons, Marc Rheinard was third fastest around the track which is proving popular with the drivers with Marc Fischer, Andy Moore and Viljami Kutvonen completing the Top 6.

Ronald Volker

Winner of this event on the last two occasions the ETS traveled to Hrotovice, Volker said after a poor opening practice run changes for FP2 gave him a much more consistent car although he would like to find a little more steering. The first ETS race to feature handout additive and tyre cleaner, the additive set to be a different colour for each round of the series, the 8-time ETS race winner welcomed the move describing it as ‘a good thing’. Hinting that he isn’t a big fan of tyre additive testing, he said for the two controlled practice rounds he will work on his tyre strategy to determine whether to run new or used, scrubbed or unscrubbed tyres in qualifying. Asked about going for a fourth consecutive title, Volker said his approach this season is no different to before and as always his aim will be to try and go as fast as possible. Rating Prumper as being his biggest title rival, he said it is great to have Naoto Matsukura here for the opening race as he is ‘always fast on carpet’. Unable to gauge the true pace of Tamiya’s Rheinard and Vicktor Wilck with the new TRF418 on carpet, he said in addition to his own team-mates he feels Serpent’s Marc Fischer will be strong this weekend as he was last year here.

Yannic Prumper

Prumper declared himself happy with his free practice. Liking the track in the second practice he ran two cars, preferring his own to the car of his long time mentor/mechanic Toni Rheinard. Setting the seventh fastest time 1:12 World Champion Naoto Matsukura described the track as difficult due to the high traction. The Japanese ace, who depending on the outcome of this weekend could contest the full season of ETS, said his BD7 feels pretty good but he plans to make some small changes to try and get it a little easier to drive for the high bite conditions.

Marc Rheinard

Having spent the days leading up to the season opener testing at the Hudy Racing Arena, Rheinard said so far things were going ‘OK’. Cautious about how his Much More powered TRF418 will cope should the traction get any higher, he said he probably could have ran a faster time in FP2. Trying two cars in the 4-minute run he said for him the controlled Ride tyre was only really starting to come in when he stopped to change car. Back to back testing two set-ups the former World Champion said the first car he ran felt better and he will run this for the first controlled practice.

Marc Fischer

Despite setting the fourth fastest time, Fischer said he has work to do. The runner-up here last season, he said his S411 is hard to drive and feels like it is on the limit of traction rolling. While his pace over 3-laps is competitive he said over 5-minutes with the current set-up he is not very confident. Setting himself a target of a Top 5 result this weekend, the German hopes a shock position & spring change for controlled practice will result in his car being a little easier to drive.

Viljami Kutvonen

Running Awesomatix’ new A700L EVO for the first time on carpet, Kutvonen said the car is much easier to drive. Putting in a very competitive performance here last year with the old car, the Finn said that with a few more small set-up changes he thinks they are on a for a good result again this year. Team-mate Freddy Sudhoff, who was on the podium here last time, declared himself really happy with the performance of the new car. Although he failed to register a competitive time, the German said the new parts have improved the car. For the first controlled practice, Sudhoff will run a new design of differential in his car which was only delivered to he hotel just before lunch time. He said the diff is ‘typical Oleg (Babich) design’ and just in his hand already feels a lot smoother than the previous design.

Hagberg

Setting the 8th fastest time Alexander Hagberg was the fastest Xray. The Swede, described his ORCA powered T4 as ‘very easy to drive’. Having also spent the earlier part of the week testing at the Hudy Arena adding that it was good having other manufacturers there to better gauge their pace, he said while over 3-laps he’s ‘not super fast’ with his car very consistent to drive he should be good over the 5-minutes of the qualifiers. Team-mate Adrian Berntsen said he is struggling a little with his car something that was not helped by his throttle not being properly matched between his speedo and radio.

Levanen

Running a pre-production version of the soon to be released Associated T6.2, former ETS race winner Juho Levanen is very upbeat about his chances this weekend. Having raced the same car at the recent IIC in Las Vegas, the Finn said he hopes he can build on that performance declaring himself very happy with how free practice went. Featuring ‘almost all new parts’, he said the overall result is that the car now has more steering and more corner speed.

View our event image gallery here.

November 1, 2013

Track Focus – Hrotovice

Fri-Track-1

Host – Mibo Sport
Country – Czech Republic
Location – Hrotovice
Venue – Sport-V-Hotel
Track type – Temporary
Surface – Carpet
Direction – Anti-Clockwise
Previous ETS races hosted – 3

The Yokomo Euro Touring Series is in the Czech Republic for the opening round of the 2013/14 season, marking the fourth time the small town of Hrotovice has hosted a round of the world famous championship. Joining the series in Season #3 & 4 it switched to hosting the opening round of the EOS during season #5 before returning to the ETS calendar for the past two seasons.

Run in the large sports hall of the Sport-V-Hotel, a facility that is very popular with racers, the race is hosted by Mibo Sport. Run by top Czech racer Michal Bok, the company which is a distributor for Yokomo uses the venue as the base for its very successful Mibo Cup race series with Ronald Volker, Marc Rheinard and Marc Fischer attending the most recent round as practice for this weekend.

One noticeably difference over last year is the lighting in the hall which has been converted to an LED lighting systems which makes the hall much brighter giving a more natural feeling of light. In terms of the track layout of the black carpet track defending champion Ronald Volker said compared with last year the layout features more long corners making for a more flowing track. Lap times are expected to be in the region of low 12 seconds for the series’ fastest category, the Ride Modified class.

Image Gallery

November 1, 2013

‘Race Control’ Day 1

Track

Today marks the start of Season #7 of the Euro Touring Series with Day 1 made up of practice and the first of 4 rounds of qualifying. First up for the close on 300 entries here in the Czech Republic is two rounds of free practice followed by two controlled practice rounds from which each driver’s fastest 3-consecutive laps will determine the seeding of the heats for qualifying.

October 30, 2013

ETS descends on Czech Republic for start of Season #7

The World’s top electric touring car racers and teams will descend on the Czech Republic this weekend (1-3 Nov) for the opening round of Season #7 of the Euro Touring Series. Once again defending champions Yokomo are to be title sponsors of the world famous championship and the Japanese manufacturer will be looking to get the start of their title defense off to the perfect start just as they have done by winning the opening race of the last three seasons. With Ronald Volker chasing a fourth consecutive ETS title, in addition to ETS race winner Yannic Prumper Yokomo have bolstered their team for Round 1 by entering their reigning 3-time 1:12 World Champion Naoto Matsukura. However once again Volker’s biggest challenger is set to be fellow German Marc Rheinard, Tamiya’s 3-time former World Champion having finished runner up for the past three seasons having been champion of the 2009/10 season.

Despite being the most winning driver in the ETS with 11 victories to his credit with Volker next with 8 wins, Rheinard has in previous seasons always been left to play catch-up over the season such is Volker’s pace on carpet. Both drivers, together with Serpent’s Marc Fischer, attended a recent round of Michal Bok’s MIBO Cup at the Sport-V-Hotel complex as preparation for the ETS season opener but Rheinard struggled to match his arch rival finishing third behind him and Fischer. A driver not normally known for his pre-event testing efforts, the lack of competitiveness at the MIBO Cup has pushed Rheinard to travel to the Hudy Racing Arena in Slovakia where he is currently testing alongside the Xray team trying to better get to terms with his new TRF418 on carpet.

The big surprise of last year’s Czech encounter when he pushed Volker very hard for the overall win forcing the event to be decided in Leg 3 of the A-Main, Fischer will be one to watch this weekend. The event marked his and Serpent’s first ETS podium finish and having been unable to repeat the result since, the German will be extra determined to get the small team’s new season campaign off to a strong start by putting his S411 back on the podium. Also claiming his only podium finish of last season in Hrotovice, Awesomatix lead driver Freddy Sudhoff will be looking to put the Russian company’s new A700L Evo in the mix over the three day event.

The only driver apart from Volker & Rheinard to take to the top step of the podium last season when he won in Gran Canaria, Tamiya’s Viktor Wilck will be hoping he can avoid the same result as last year when he found himself in the B Final for the first two races of the season. HB’s Andy Moore suffered a similar start to his campaign, but the former World Champion ended the season strongly and will be hoping to carry that form through to this weekend. After a disappointing 2012/13 campaign, former race winner Alexander Hagberg will be hoping he & Xray can return to the form that made them a title contender for the Ride Modified class during Season #5 of the ETS.

One interesting entry for Round 1 is Kyosho’s David Ronnefalk. With lead touring car driver and former ETS race winner Christopher Krapp unable to attend the season opener, Kyosho are sending their Swedish offroad star. The reigning 1:8 Offroad European Champion and Euro Offroad Series frontrunner has very little previous touring car experience but said he is excited about making his ETS debut and seeing how he gets on against the world of onroad racing’s best drivers.

With the Xray Pro Stock class making up 150 of the close on 300 entries for Round 1, the biggest class of the ETS undergoes a big change for the new season with Muchmore the new supplier of the classes handout electrics. Racers will use Muchmore’s FLETA EURO ESC in combination with the FLETA ZX 13.5T motor with Xray’s reigning Champion Marek Cerny heading the entry. The Czech driver won his home event last year on the way to his first title and is highly motivated to get his title defense off to the perfect start spending the lead up to the event testing at the Hudy Racing Arena.

Continuing it successfully growth, the Formula class will also undergo an electrics change for its third season on the ETS schedule. Attracting an impressive 43 entries for the season opener which will be headed by defending Champion Jan Amser, the growing variety of different chassis being used will all feature the same handout electrics from new partner Hobbywing.

October 29, 2013

Luxembourg replaces Italy on ETS Calendar

ETSLux

The calendar for season #7 of the Yokomo Euro Touring Series, which kicks off this weekend in the Czech Republic, will see Luxembourg replace the originally scheduled return of the series to Italy. Making a hugely popular appearance on the 2011/12 ETS calendar when the second round of the series traveled to Scandiano, Italy was set to make a return this season and host the 5th round of the 2013/14 series. Regrettably problems for the host track in getting the necessary support of the local government it required to stage such a large scale international race meant that an alternative had to been found. Thankfully Mini-Circuit “Ville de Luxembourg”, which hosted the 2009 European Championships, has stepped in to host the race which will remain on the same June 6-8 date.

Commenting on the calendar change, ETS organiser Uwe Rheinard said, ‘It is a great shame that after working hard to bring the ETS back to Italy that something outside the control of the host club have left them with no choice but to give up the race. The ETS has lots of friends in Italy who come to all our races and when we went to Scandiano they made everyone feel so welcome with the race having a very special atmosphere. I hope for next season we can finally get Italy back on the calendar. He continued, ‘While drivers will be disappointed that Italy is now off the calendar, I know they really like the Luxembourg track with its Laguna Seca corners so we are really excited that they could accommodate us’.

Round 1 – Czech Republic, 1-3 Nov
Round 2 – Germany, 31 Jan-2 Feb
Round 3 – Gran Canaria, 28 Feb-2 Mar
Round 4 – Austria, 9-11 May
Round 5 – Luxembourg, 6-8 June
Round 6 – Slovakia, TBA

October 23, 2013

Muchmore joins ETS as official electronic supplier

MM ETS

With 10-days remaining until to the opening round of Season #7 of the Yokomo Euro Touring Series in the Czech Republic, the organisers are excited to announce Muchmore as their new electronics partner for the Xray Pro Stock class. The biggest of the three classes on the ETS program, 383 drivers having registered points in the 13.5T Touring Car class last season, the deal with Muchmore will see racers use a handout FLETA EURO ESC in combination with the FLETA ZX 13.5T motor which will also be laser engraved with the ETS logo and unique serial number.

Introducing a handout motor/speedo combo during the 2009/10 season in response to growing disillusionment among drivers with the rapid pace of speedo development, the concept has proven key to the success of the world famous electric touring championship. Having worked for the past three & a half season’s with Speed Passion, ETS organiser Uwe Rheinard wished to thank them for their contribution in making the concept both possible and successful. Welcoming Muchmore onboard he said, ‘The entire ETS team is very excited about working with Muchmore. We have a long running relationship with Mr. Jang who was one of the first to get behind our vision with Muchmore the main sponsor of the first ever season of the ETS.’

Round 1 of the Yokomo Euro Touring Series takes place over the weekend of November 1-3, with Team Xray’s defending Champion Marek Cerny heading the 150 plus Pro Stock entry. The Czech driver won his home event last time, when it was the second race on the calendar, and will be hoping for a repeat win to get his title defence off to the perfect start.

ETS Combo

Specification of 2013/14 Xray Pro Stock electrics Combo –

FLETA ZX 13.5T Motor
ETS control Motor : Zero Timing (not for sale)
If costomer practice use buy FLETA ZX 13.5 Type-W (Change to timing zero)
Motor stator : FLETA ZX Type W
Motor rotor : 12.3mm x 7.25mm (Normal Type-W Blue ring)

FLETA EURO ESC
ETS control ESC : Blinky V1.1 firmware
FLETA EURO Specification
Current Continuous : Continuous 80A, Pulse 480A
Input : 4-8 cells NiMh/NiCd or 2S LiPo, 2S LiFe
Built-in BEC: 6V@3A
Suitable Motor : Over 9.5T
Supported Motor Type: 540 size 2 pole brushless with sensor type
Size : 30mm(L) x 36mm(W) x 19mm(H)
Weight : 32g
*Factory pre-installed Blinky(Non Boost) firmware.

Pre-installed Set
Operation Mode :*Forward/Brake
Reverse Speed :*25%
LVC Threshold : Disable
Drag Brake : *0%
Initial Brake : *=Drag Brake
Full Brake : 100%
Brake Frequency : *1Khz
Power Level : *Level 9
Drive Frequency : *16Khz
Neutral Dead Band : 6%
Temperature Set : *off
Rotation Mode : *Normal