Chassis – Serpent S411 Eryx 3.0
Motor – Speed Passion 4.5T
ESC – Speed Passion
Batteries – MaxTime 6500mah
Tires – Ride (handout)
Radio/Servo – Sanwa
Bodyshell – Protoform LTC-R
Remarks – The newly Serpent signed Swedish star is running a pretty stock 3.0 Eryx equipped with extra hard suspension arms. With the alu chassis coming in the kit, a carbon bumper plate and a mixed aluminum/titanium screw set are the only other options used.
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While the top of the time sheets at the end of the first timed practice at Round 2 of the Yokomo Euro Touring Series looked familiar with Ronald Volker fastest, it was the performances of Viktor Wilck and Elliot Harper that were the main talking point. Having only made the announcement of his departure from long time team Tamiya on Wednesday and then his signing for Serpent the following day, the Swede got his new deal off to a very encouraging start as he set the 2nd fastest time. Having been left without a drive after Durango shelved its factory team, new Schumacher signing Elliot Harper also made a positive start on what is his first international outing for the British manufacturer as he ended the practice 6th quickest.
Running two cars over the 4-minute practice, Volker was pleased with the second of the Yokomos, the first having suffered from understeer. Describing the better BD7 as more comfortable to drive, the German said the tyres on that car also felt to have the better of his two allocated sets of race tyres. With most drivers using the practices, the day opening with a round of free practice, to scrub in their race tyres, he said the set on the first car left him in particular lacking steering in the right hand corners. Expecting the tyres to further improve with more mileage he said for the final practice he would run just one car so as to further scrub in his good set of tyres.
Having only had limited testing with his new S411, Wilck said for only his second proper run with the car it felt really good. With the car’s designer Michael Salven on hand to oversee the debut of his company’s new signing, Wilck unlike most of the front runners is running just one ‘standard’ car. Describing the car as having a little understeer, the former ETS race winner plans to adjust the front bump steer as well as make a change to the rear diff set-up. Having ran two cars in his practice, team-mate Marc Fischer would end up prefering the ‘standard’ car. Running a prototype alu chassis, designed for high bite conditions, on the car he ran first the German said it felt too lose on power. Switching to the second car he said this one felt OK but could be improved by running a lighter diff oil. Using the ‘standard’ car to post the 7th fastest time he will now focus on this car and in addition to the diff change he will also switch from Protoform’s new Dart bodyshell to the LTC-R.
The Top Qualifier and winner of this event last year, Alexander Hagberg would take his Xray to the third fastest time. Openly a fan of the layout, this year’s track just a slightly tweak version of the 2014 track, the Swede said his car felt loose. With the carpet having stayed very consistent throughout last year’s event he said based on that he needs to work improving his set-up rather than wait for traction to come up. Running a Protoform Speed 6 body, referring to his choice as ‘old school’, he will make a roll centre change to his T4 for the final practice run.
Setting the fourth fastest time, Marc Rheinard said he was ‘still trying stuff’. The Tamiya driver, who has Takayuki Kono over from TRF Japan for support, ran two TRF419 with different set-ups and bodyshells with the second car feeling ‘ok’. Having run an LTC-R in free practice on the car he preferred he will now change from the Dart back to the LTC-R as it gives a better feel and greater corner speed.
Describing his practice run as ‘so so’, Yokomo’s Yannic Prumper posted the 5th fastest time. The German, who was runner up to Hagberg here last year, said his DB7 lacked a little in steering. Using a Dart bodyshell he will switch to the LTC-R as well as changing to a thicker rear diff which he said should give him what he is looking for in terms of steering.
‘A positive start’ was Harper’s reaction to his Top 6 pace over 3-consecutive laps. Having ran carbon chassis car in the free practice, the multiple World Championship finalist switched to an alloy chassis for the timed practice which he said felt better with it having more corner speed. Looking for more steering in the hairpins, the British driver having run with a Speed 6 bodyshell will try either a Dart or LTC-R for his next run. Having run both his sets of race tyres he said now that the Ride tyres are broken in they too should help to improve the steering.
Setting the 8th fastest time behind Fischer, Christopher Krapp described his early pace as ‘pretty solid’. His first ETS outing on carpet for quite some time, the factory Kyosho driver unable to attend the Season #8 opener in the Czech Republic, he ran two cars in the timed practice. Using his World Championship car as well as the car of Tim Benson which has a modified rear bulkhead mounting, the German said he preferred his own car. A podium finisher at this race three years ago, having made a change from a 1.4mm to a 1.3mm swaybar he will go back to the thicker one for the last practice run as it gave him more steering. Behind Krapp, Denmark’s Patrick Hornum and Dionys Stadler completed the Top 10.
In the Xray Pro Stock and Formula classes the pace was set by Jan Ratheisky. Fresh from returning from a very successful trip to the Snowbirds in Orlando where he took no less than 3 titles, the Xray driver topped the times in Pro Stock from Mike Gosvig and Valentin Hettrich. Only changing the car’s electrics to the ETS’ handout Muchmore speedo/motor combo and to the championship’s handout Ride tyres, the German said he ran the car exactly the same as he did when he won at the Snowbirds. Very happy with the T4 he will leave it unchanged for his final practice. In Formula he also ran his X1 as it came off the track in Florida. Although he was able to set the fastest time from team-mate Francesco Martini, he said he wasn’t comfortable with the set-up as he had to steer the car using the brakes. Looking to get more mechanical steering the class champion will add more ackermann, reduce the front droop & bump steer as well as buff his tyres, something he said he doesn’t normally like to do.
View the complete event results here.
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Host – ETS
Country – Germany
Location – Muelheim-Kaerlich
Venue – Philipp-Heift Halle
Track type – Temporary
Surface – Carpet
Direction – Anti-Clockwise
Previous ETS races hosted – 3
The fourth time that the 1344 sq meter Philipp-Heift sports hall in Muelheim-Kaerlich plays host to the Yokomo Euro Touring Series, the world’s biggest touring car race has got even larger with 360 individual drivers making up the 408 entries over the ETS’ three classes – Mod & Pro-Stock Touring Car and Formula 1. An event which last year saw the championship make the permanent switch to black carpet, which now wherever it is used by race organisers has become known as ETS carpet, the race is the only event on the 6-race calendar that is 100% organised by the ETS itself.
Using the same ATA track crew that prepared last weekend’s Euro Offroad Series Round 2 track in Berlin, this year’s 34m wide and 20m deep layout is a tweaked version of last year’s track. Constructed using the Azetx track system, the end of the straight now goes into a tighter radius while the chicane has been made less severe. Commenting on the layout, last year’s race winner Alexander Hagberg joked, ‘they accepted my bribe to keep the layout the same as last year’. Describing it as a ‘nice layout’ he added ‘it’s technical and compared to other tracks you are not on power as much with (it having) more low speed corners’. Defending champion Ronald Volker, who was left somewhat on the back foot at the event last year when he finished 3rd, said while ‘not (his) favourite, the layout is fine’. Describing the chicane as being much easier now that its ‘more open’, he said he would have liked to se a completely new layout more because of the challenge it would present.
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This weekend (6-8 Feb) Round 2 of the Yokomo Euro Touring Series travels to Muelheim-Kaerlich in Germany with the big interest of the weekend set to be on the debut performances of a number of the championship’s leading drivers who since Round 1 last December in the Czech Republic have switched teams. The most significant of these new signings is that of multiple ETS race winner Viktor Wilck. Racing with championship’s most winning manufacturer Tamiya Racing Factory as long as the ETS has been in existence, the Swede will strengthen Serpent’s aspirations to be a winner in the premiere class as he joins podium finisher Marc Fischer.With the German round again as it did last year breaking a new record in terms of the size of the event with over 420 entries, the other big debuts to watch will be those of Freddy Sudhoff and multiple World Championship finalist Elliot Harper.
Having led the charge for Awesomatix bringing the Russian team podium finishes, Sudhoff has switched over to HB doubling the size of their factory effort. Winner of two ETS encounters with Atsushi Hara, the Japanese manufacturer will have high hopes as it gives its new PRO5 chassis its first outing in the championship. Adding to those hopes is the fact that long time team driver Andy Moore now has an equally quick team mate in Sudhoff with the chance to share set-up data sure to benefit both drivers.
Another ETS podium finisher, Harper makes his return to the championship having made only two outings last season. Driving then for Durango, who at the end of 2014 opted to discontinue their factory team, Muelheim-Kaerlich will be Harper’s first international race with Schumacher and should greatly improve their potential for the indoor rounds. Elsewhere fast Swede and regular A-Finalist Magnus Vassmar has made the switch from Xray, winners of the second round last year, to an expanded VBC Racing line-up.
In terms of the championship title contenders their has been no changes since Round 1. Four time consecutive champions, Ronald Volker and Yokomo took the win at the season opener and the German will be looking for a repeat of that performance at his home event. Last year Alexander Hagberg caught everyone by surprise as he dominated the second round taking the win from Yannic Prumper with Volker third. Having finished second at the season opener, the Swede fresh from victory in the US at the Snowbirds will be looking to build on his best ever start to an ETS campaign. Top Qualifier at Round 1 but finishing just 4th in the final, Marc Rheinard will be hoping for a better result this time round despite having no team-mates. Losing long time team-mate Wilck to Serpent, the 3-time former World Champion was expected to be joined by new TRF signing Naoto Matsukura but Tamiya have decided not to send the new World Champion.
In the Xray Pro-Stock class, which has been the reign of Xray, the weekend will mark a more concerted effort from Ride Modified Champions Yokomo. With the title of the ETS’s most popular class eluding them they have signed two key contenders in former Champion Martin Hofer and former race winner & title contender Oliver Franke. They face a formidable challenge however as they take on Xray’s defending champion Marek Cerny, Jan Ratheisky, who comes to Round 2 fresh from an impressive haul of wins at the Snowbirds in the United States, and ARC’s Round 1 dominant winner Lars Hoppe. In the Formula class one interesting entry is that of Touring Car World Championship star Bruno Coelho who along with class regulars will be hoping to give Xray team-mate & defending champion Ratheisky a run for his money.
Ronald Volker has won an extremely close opening round of Season #8 of the Yokomo Euro Touring Series in which four drivers went into the third A-Main in the Czech Republic with a chance of the overall win. Starting from second on the grid behind Marc Rheinard, the pair having taking a win a piece in the first two Mains, the outcome of the race would again be decided by driver error with Rheinard making a similar mistake to the one he made in A2 and Volker made in A1. In the end Volker would win the leg from Alexander Hagberg and Yannic Prumper to continue his run of successive season opening wins with today’s 40th ETS race marking his 5th win of Round 1 of the World famous touring car championship. While Hagberg and Prumper would complete the podium in that order, Rheinard would end A3 last leaving him to end what had started out as a very strong start to his attempt to take back the ETS title from Volker in 4th overall.
Moving into the lead on lap 4 and keeping it there to the finish, Volker said ‘I feel excited now after struggling with myself in qualifying as well as being unlucky in A1’. With his win taking him back equal with Rheinard as the championship’s most winning driver he said ‘this season we had to work harder than before to keep up with the other teams and it is great that it paid off with us getting two cars on the podium today’. Commenting on his A3 race, he said ‘in the beginning I was faster than Marc but after his roll and my own mistake in A1 I lost my confidence through the corner before the straight’ adding this was compounded by the fact he had to go for all or nothing to secure the overall win because of Hagberg having second place finishes in both A1 & 2. Admitting Hagberg ‘got close but not too close’ to the rear of his BD7 he said going into the last lap he knew he had the win adding he had some luck on his side as he somehow managed to avoid Rheinard’s rolling Tamiya. Thanking Yukijiro Umino for again providing him with a car to get the job done, Volker said it was an exciting weekend. Predicting the rest of the season is going to be exciting & intense he said despite having won the title for the last four years he was hungrier than ever to win the title.
‘Drove shit’, that was Rheinard’s response to his race as he lost the lead again due to hitting the curbing. Having to change to his second set of tyres as his first set were done after A2, he said the pace was not there on the second set but added ‘ultimately I made the mistake’. Disappointed to not even get a podium having started the event so well by claiming his first TQ on carpet since 2010, the 1:12 World Champion said at least now he leaves Hrotovice with the knowledge that Tamiya ‘now have a good car’ and ‘with a little more luck next time’ he is confident he can take a ‘long overdue’ win on carpet.
Having redone the tweak on his Xray T4, Hagberg said his car was ‘better that time’ but added he ‘was too focused at times trying to keep Yannic behind’. The Swede was able to close in on Volker for a time until a bad line over the curbing would end that challenge allowing Prumper to apply pressure from behind. Setting the fastest lap of the race he would again close on Volker over the last four laps but he ran out of time. The best start to the ETS for last year’s 3rd place championship finisher, with Round 2 heading to German in February where he took a convincing win last year, the newly crowned nitro touring car World Champion is very upbeat both in terms of his car and in his own performance.
Prumper said his Yokomo BD7 felt better than in A2 but added there was ‘no way to pass on this track’. Starting from 4th on the grid the 21-year-old said the win was never on the cards but as a result of Rheinard’s error he was able to ‘jump up to a podium finish’. Describing it as a good start to the season he said hopefully next time out they can get a handle on the car quicker so as to qualify higher up the grid. Taking another fourth place in A3, Awesomatix’ Viljami Kutvonen would end up fifth overall behind Rheinard with ETS debutant Bruno Coehlo completing the Top 6.
The other class to be decided in A3 was Formula with the outcome also seeing the defending champion Jan Ratheisky take the win. Having won A1 and then thrown away the lead in A2, the Xray driver would easily win the final leg to give his new X1 its first international win. The podium would be completed by the CRC of former champion & A2 winner Herbert Weber and Serpent’s David Ehrbar. Despite having already sewn up his first Pro Stock win in A2, Team ARC driver Lars Hoppe would go on to cap off the perfect weekend with another win in A3. Behind him last year’s winner Ratheisky would finish runner-up with Valentin Hettrich completing the podium. For defending champion Marek Cerny it was not a good start to the defence of his second consecutive title as while A3 would be his best race with 2nd a DNF in A1 and 8th in A2 would leave him 7th overall.
View the complete event results here.
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Chassis – Yokomo BD7 2015
Motor – LRP
ESC – LRP
Batteries – LRP 6000 mAh
Tires – Ride (handout)
Radio/Servo – Sanwa
Bodyshell – Protoform LTC-R
Remarks – Yokomo’s German ace is running a pretty stock, but as usual extremely well prepared BD7 2015. After using shorter suspension arms during qualifying, he and his mechanic Yukijiro Umino reverted to the standard lenght, leaving the only options to be the aluminum chassis and some top deck titanium screws.
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Chassis – Xray T4 2015
Motor – Orca
ESC – Orca
Batteries – Orca 6200 mAh
Tires – Ride (handout)
Radio/Servo – Sanwa
Bodyshell – Protoform Mazda Speed 6
Remarks – The newly crowned nitro touring car World Champion is in contention for the win here in Hrotovice, running an example of the T4 2015 equipped with an aluminum chassis. The Swede’s car also features a Hiro Seiko aluminum/titanium screw set, progressive front shock springs and the characteristic “low friction” white belts. Together with the alu chassis, Alex chose to run a thinner (1.6mm) top deck
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