EN
Brilliant opening victory with the new Serpent 990 Evo R
The first race of the season in the JumpstartRC Trophy at MC Ettlingen was Thilo Baldes’ first race of the 2026 season and also his first race with the new Serpent 990 Evo R. And at the end of the two-day event, which attracted over 100 participants, the 15-year-old was able to celebrate from the top step of the podium after a brilliant performance.
The Serpent driver had completed a series of test days on the tracks in Wiesbaden, Dormagen, Bad Breisig and Ettlingen, as well as in Rucphen in the Netherlands, in the run-up to the event, testing numerous set-ups and gaining promising impressions of the new R chassis. He also had a positive experience with the powerful Ielasi engines, which he will be using from this season onwards. After having to miss Friday’s practice, Thilo demonstrated just how well he is set up with the Serpent-Ielasi package in the three practice runs on Saturday morning: third place in the ranking list. Thilo even managed to top this performance in the qualifying runs. After the first heat on Saturday afternoon, he was third; in the third and final heat on Sunday morning, he caused a stir by finishing first and thus securing pole position for the A final.
Together with his dad Joerg, the 990 Evo R was carefully prepared for the 40-minutes final. It was a tight start, and there were two collisions during the opening lap that dropped the Serpent youngster tumbling back from first to tenth position. But Thilo kept his head cool and put on a spectacular comeback from then on, moving further up the field lap by lap. In the closing stages, he even managed to reclaim the lead and held on to it right to the finish line. “What a race, 171 laps of intense focus and pushing all the time,” said Thilo, who was absolutely delighted with this remarkable success. “The car and engine were simply brilliant. Both represent a significant step forward compared to last year. Michael Salven has brought an outstanding chassis to the tracks in the form of the 990 Evo R – a genuine evolution. It’s just great fun to drive this chassis.” Incidentally, Thilo Baldes was one of three drivers to clock a 12-second lap time this weekend.
No wonder, then, that Thilo Baldes was beaming from ear to ear on the podium in the excellent spring weather and was delighted to receive so many congratulations. “A fantastic event with over 100 participants. Many thanks to everyone who contributed.” Team Baldes would like to thank all Serpent drivers for the lively exchange and congratulate Jesse Keller on tenth place in the A Final and Ricardo Hofmeijer on 13th place.
The action continues the weekend after next (7–10 May) on the magnificent Ettlingen circuit, this time with the top-class Euro Nitro Series (ENS).
Setup can be found here
