The ESET Cup is a high-quality amateur motorsport championship offering exciting racing and a motorsport platform for multiple KTM customer teams, plenty of which was on show at the first two rounds of the season. The focus of KTM’s commitment to the series is the KTM X-BOW, with a variety of different models being raced.
“We can be very happy with how the season has gone so far,” said Martin Koch from Motorsport Zentrum Ried (MZR). “We have learned quite a few things already and are developing positively.” The Swiss driver races a KTM X-BOW GTX for the team based in Upper Austria and recently impressed at the Red Bull Ring with class victory in the sprint race and an excellent recovery drive in the endurance race.
Koch is also team manager at MZR, in addition to his driving duties. “We have an extensive programme,” he says. “We also run another KTM X-BOW GT4 EVO for Ralf Ott and a KTM X-BOW RR for Max Grip. The broad range of different models ensures that we can adapt our programmes to each of our drivers. We made some modifications to the RR to make for an even better experience on the race track.”
RTR Projects is another team that competes in the ESET Cup, which is organised together with the Touring Car Masters (TCM). The Czech team picked up three victories in class at the season-opener at the Hungaroring with the GT4 version of the KTM X-BOW. For junior drivers Josef Knopp and Matěj Pavlíček, the event served as a dress rehearsal for ADAC GT4 Germany.
Leo Pichler was another young talent active in the series. Piloting his KTM X-BOW GTX, the 20-year-old was responsible for the highlight of the season so far for his team, razoon – more than racing. In a wheel-to-wheel battle for the lead, Pichler was able to gain the upper hand and take the chequered flag for an impressive victory. Uwe Schmidt (CCS) recorded another win at the Red Bull Ring with class victory in the endurance race.
The teams and drivers have plenty more action to look forward to in 2022, including events in Poznań (Poland), Grobnik (Croatia), the Slovakia Ring (Slovakia) and Brno (Czech Republic).