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Greiner claims early ENS TQ for 1:10 return

Posted: 30 Sep 2017 10:28 AM PDT

Having not raced 1:10 in this season’s Euro Nitro Series, Dominic Greiner has returned at the season finale to endorse with authority just why he is the World Champion of the nitro touring car class. The Serpent driver claimed his 6th ENS career TQ in Fiorano when he made it 3 from 3 in the penultimate round of qualifying. Becoming Top Qualifier he is the only driver who will have started an 1:10 A-Final from pole position every season since the championship was created in 2014. Providing the main challenge to Greiner has been the Xray pairing of Bruno Coelho and Alessio Mazzeo but both drivers have admitted they have struggled to match the German’s pace.

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Greiner claims early ENS TQ for 1:10 return

Posted: 30 Sep 2017 10:26 AM PDT

Having not raced 1:10 in this season’s Euro Nitro Series, Dominic Greiner has returned at the season finale to endorse with authority just why he is the World Champion of the nitro touring car class. The Serpent driver claimed his 6th ENS career TQ in Fiorano when he made it 3 from 3 in the penultimate round of qualifying. Becoming Top Qualifier he is the only driver who will have started an 1:10 A-Final from pole position every season since the championship was created in 2014. Providing the main challenge to Greiner has been the Xray pairing of Bruno Coelho and Alessio Mazzeo but both drivers have admitted they have struggled to match the German’s pace.

Enjoying being back racing in 1:10 having taking time out to prepare for the recent 1:8 World Championships saying ‘I know this class better’, Greiner said, ‘I’m happy with the result but the car set-up is still not perfect’. With a difference in tyre batches throwing drivers a curveball in the opening round of qualifying the 2-time ENS race winner hasn’t been able to get his 748 Natrix back to the feeling it had when he topped the final seeding practice. He said, ‘the car is fast but I’m not super happy with the feeling yet so we will test some things in tomorrow’s final practice’. With the Novarossi backed driver able to use the final qualifier as a test session, he used the track time to run a different engine which he plans to use in tomorrow’s 45-minute main. On strategy, he said, ‘Without a tyre stop is not possible but I need to check with Thomas (Günsel) how the wear is and then we can decided what we will do’.

Able to take the final qualifier from Xray team-mate David Loppini, Mazzeo having issues, Coelho said 1:10 is a similar situation to his form in 1:8. The Champion elect said, ‘Q3 was a super clean round but I had no chance against Dominic. The car feels OK but it is just slow compared to him’. With little more to say on the matter he concluded, ‘we have to find something for the final but I don’t know what it is’.

Securing 3rd on the grid with the third qualifier his fastest run of the day, Mazzeo said, ‘that one was quite OK. The car was fast but it was very hard to drive consistent for 4-minutes. It was on the limit of a mistake all the time’. He added, ‘Dominic is very fast at this track as always and we have to find a set-up that gives me confidence to push in the final tomorrow’. Asked his thoughts on tyre wear, the former European Champion replied, ‘It is strange, I think the wear depends on the sets of tyres you will get because there are differences in the tyres we are using this weekend’. A driver who would like to see a move away from a single tyre supplier saying the different tyre manufacturers should be able to race one another to prove their products he said, ‘I think everyone will have do one stop in the final’.

Claiming his best ENS starting position, fourth, Loppini said the tyre situation has him ‘going crazy’. Having improved his car for the second qualifier after everyone struggled with difficult cars for Q1, he said described the third run as ‘shit’. He said, ‘I had no grip in the rear for first 2-minutes and then for the last 2-minutes I had no grip in the front. The tyres are are a lottery’. Maintaining his record of having made the A-Main every year at Fiorano, he said while happy with the result of qualifying his concern is whether he will be lucky with his tyres for the final and he hopes for the final practice he can find two sets of tyres that are equal and work with his set-up.

Behind Loppini, Shepherd’s Thilo Tödtmann will line up 5th helped by a P4 run in the final qualifier. Coming into the weekend holding second in the championship standings, the German is looking good to finish as Vice Champion with 3rd placed Marco Kaufmann qualifying for the B but still able to bump up and 4th place Leo Arnold opting to race 1:8 here in Italy. Tödtmann’s team-mate Eduardo Escandon completes the top half of the grid, the Spaniard ending off a disappointing qualifying with an encouraging Top 3 run in the final qualifier. Behind the ENS Germany podium finisher young Italian Manuel Strano lines up 7th.

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Kurzbuch claims first Italian ENS TQ

Posted: 30 Sep 2017 07:44 AM PDT

Simon Kurzbuch is Top Qualifier for the season finale of the Euro Nitro Series in Fiorano. Going into the fourth & final qualifier with only Andrea Pirani having a chance of denying him his fourth overall TQ of the season, the reigning champion topped the round in style having over a second in hand over title rival Bruno Coelho. While twice a winner of the Italian ENS round, today’s result is the first time the Shepherd driver will start from pole. Behind, Pirani will start second having enjoyed his best ever ENS qualifying with Coelho lining up for his shot at the title from 3rd on the grid. Playing a watching brief in the ENS title fight, World Champion Dario Balestri completed qualifying with his best run of the weekend with the P3 securing him 4th on the grid ahead of Lamberto Collari and Francesco Tironi.

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Kurzbuch claims first Italian ENS TQ

Posted: 30 Sep 2017 07:42 AM PDT

Simon Kurzbuch is Top Qualifier for the season finale of the Euro Nitro Series in Fiorano. Going into the fourth & final qualifier with only Andrea Pirani having a chance of denying him his fourth overall TQ of the season, the reigning champion topped the round in style having over a second in hand over title rival Bruno Coelho. While twice a winner of the Italian ENS round, today’s result is the first time the Shepherd driver will start from pole. Behind, Pirani will start second having enjoyed his best ever ENS qualifying with Coelho lining up for his shot at the title from 3rd on the grid. Playing a watching brief in the ENS title fight, World Champion Dario Balestri completed qualifying with his best run of the weekend with the P3 securing him 4th on the grid ahead of Lamberto Collari and Francesco Tironi.

‘It’s a great feeling. I’m super happy as this is my best ENS qualifying result in Italy. We had a lot of fun today’, said a very pleased looking Kurzbuch, this the Shepherd driver’s 8th time to be Top Qualifier at an ENS race. He continued, ‘We have really good pace and we showed that in the last qualifier. I didn’t feel anything but we still had the fastest lap. Everything is good for the final I would say and the TQ puts us one step closer to the goal’.

Going one better than his previous best ENS qualifying, third in Bologna in 2015, Pirani said, ‘Everything has worked good. I’m happy because I arrived at my aim of making the A final. 2nd is super good for me’. The ARC driver added, ‘I had to use a new set of tyres in the last one and I could still manage fourth. The car was working really good on the bigger tyre so I am confident for the final tomorrow’. Asked about strategy for the race, the Italian said, ‘tyre wear is ok and I think it will be just one change for all drivers’. Not planning to take any risks with refuelling, again most drivers reporting normal consumption he concluded, ‘I want to make a safe final without mistake and don’t want to risk any flameouts’.

Coelho, who must win tomorrow to have a chance at the title, said, ‘Now it was a clean round but we were not fast enough compared to Simon’. The Portuguese driver continued, ‘For me the car feels perfect but when I drive against Simon I can see he is faster so we need to work on that in our preparations for the final’.

‘They are more fast than me but all is OK and we will see what we can do tomorrow’, was Balestri’s summary after Q4. Claiming the 2015 ENS title in Fiorano when he took second in the final behind Kurzbuch, the Infinity driver said, ‘I have a lot of grip, maybe too much to be super quick but for the final I think it will be OK’. Team-mate Collari said, ‘we tried a different set-up for the final qualifier but it was not better’. Asked about the 45-minute Main he replied, ‘For the final I will try something else on the set-up and a different body in the practice to see if we can make the car for the final. On strategy he said with tyre and fuel consumption ‘normal’ the important thing was going to be to have a ‘clean race’.

Completing the top half of the A-Main grid, two cars bumping up from the B-Main to make it a 12 car grid, Tironi said, ‘Everyone is really close. The level is really high and if you are not perfect in your driving you lose out.’ The Infinity driver added, ‘I have a good feeling with the car but maybe I will change the engine for tomorrow as this one has driven a lot of runs’. On a strategy for the final he said, ‘normally Fiorano is ok for tyre wear and it is easy to do race with just one change but I need to check (the wear) before we decide our plan’.

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Video – 1/10th Qualifying Rd2

Posted: 30 Sep 2017 06:12 AM PDT

Pirani denies Kurzbuch in Q3

Posted: 30 Sep 2017 05:15 AM PDT

Andrea Pirani continued his impressive return to the Euro Nitro Series to TQ the third round of qualifying and deny Simon Kurzbuch from claiming an early fourth overall TQ of the season. Opening the day with a 5th in Q1, the ARC driver improved for a P3 on his second attempt before delivering a surprise TQ, the Italian running in the second fastest heat. With Kurzbuch taking the top heat ahead of title rival Bruno Coelho it looked like the reigning champion was a step closer to retaining the title but Pirani’s time was almost 3/10ths quicker. This means the Swiss ace will have to wait util the final qualifier to see if he can claim the bonus championship point on offer to the Top Qualifier with Pirani the only driver who can deny him this. Completing the Top 3 would be former Fiorano winner Lamberto Collari who runs in the same heat as Pirani. For Coelho the round would leave him with a P4 ahead of Dario Balestri and Oliver Mack.

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Pirani denies Kurzbuch in Q3

Posted: 30 Sep 2017 05:13 AM PDT

Andrea Pirani continued his impressive return to the Euro Nitro Series to TQ the third round of qualifying and deny Simon Kurzbuch from claiming an early fourth overall TQ of the season. Opening the day with a 5th in Q1, the ARC driver improved for a P3 on his second attempt before delivering a surprise TQ, the Italian running in the second fastest heat. With Kurzbuch taking the top heat ahead of title rival Bruno Coelho it looked like the reigning champion was a step closer to retaining the title but Pirani’s time was almost 3/10ths quicker. This means the Swiss ace will have to wait util the final qualifier to see if he can claim the bonus championship point on offer to the Top Qualifier with Pirani the only driver who can deny him this. Completing the Top 3 would be former Fiorano winner Lamberto Collari who runs in the same heat as Pirani. For Coelho the round would leave him with a P4 ahead of Dario Balestri and Oliver Mack.

‘Now we have enough steering’, said Pirani, the former ENS podium finisher very happy with his run. He continued, ‘Unfortunately I don’t think I have a chance at the overall TQ but anyway I am happy with this result’. Needing to TQ the final round in a faster time than that set by Kurzbuch in the cool morning conditions of Q1, he said, ‘I think it will be quite impossible to TQ because it will be too hot to beat Simon’s time and also I will have to use brand new tyres because I used my last practice set in the last qualifier’. ‘Very happy with (his) car and engine’, he said, ‘I leave all the same for the last qualifier’.

Summing up his Q3 run, Kurzbuch said, ‘It was a good one but on my first lap I lost the rear because I braked a bit too late and I think that cost me the TQ’. He continued, ‘I could catch back up to Bruno and Dario and for me the most important thing is to finish ahead of Bruno. I won the heat but Pirani had a better run but that is OK’. Asked if he felt Pirani posed a threat to him taking the overall TQ, he replied, ‘It will be hard for him to faster given the conditions so I feel pretty confident. Obviously my goal will be to try TQ the round’.

Another driver making steady progress over qualifying, Collari said , ‘It is getting little better step by step’. The 9-time World Champion said his P3 was possible due to finding a little more steering from his Infinity, but added he ‘still need(s) more’. For the fourth & final qualifier he plans to change body shell and well as make some further set-up changes to get the amount of steering he’s after.

It was good at the beginning and I was leading but then it starting sliding in the rear. I had no mistake but I slow down a lot’, was Coelho’s reaction after the penultimate qualifier. Winner of the 2017 season opener in France, he continued, ‘In the beginning the car is very good but then it gets slower and we need to find a solution to make the car more stable over all the run’.

Getting a P4 in the previous qualifier, Balestri summed up his P5 run in Q3 by saying, ‘the car is easy to drive but not so fast’. Saying he is already working on his set-up for the final, the Italian continued, ‘this set-up is not so bad for the final because I think the most important thing in the final will be to make no mistake’, the track layout leaving most drivers evenly matched on pace meaning after mistakes the lost time is hard to recover.

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Greiner continues return form with 1:10 TQ run

Posted: 30 Sep 2017 03:32 AM PDT

Dominic Greiner is continuing to be the benchmark on his return to 1:10 in the Euro Nitro Series with the Serpent driver TQ’ing the opening round of qualifying at Fiorano. Despite setting the fastest time from Xray pairing Alessio Mazzeo and Bruno Coelho, the World Champion and most of his rivals were unhappy after the first of the four scheduled rounds, as the issue of a difference in tyre batches raised its head again. With 1:8 having to be given an extra round of practice as the batch of race tyres proved to be a different shore to those supplied for practice, unfortunately it was in the first 1:10 qualifier that a suspected softer front shore tyre was first run as the handout tyre.

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Greiner continues return form with 1:10 TQ run

Posted: 30 Sep 2017 03:29 AM PDT

Dominic Greiner is continuing to be the benchmark on his return to 1:10 in the Euro Nitro Series with the Serpent driver TQ’ing the opening round of qualifying at Fiorano. Despite setting the fastest time from Xray pairing Alessio Mazzeo and Bruno Coelho, the World Champion and most of his rivals were unhappy after the first of the four scheduled rounds, as the issue of a difference in tyre batches raised its head again. With 1:8 having to be given an extra round of practice as the batch of race tyres proved to be a different shore to those supplied for practice, unfortunately it was in the first 1:10 qualifier that a suspected softer front shore tyre was first run as the handout tyre.

‘Super difficult, the balance was completely different’, was Greiner’s reaction as he went out to marshal. The German continued, ‘I spoke to the other drivers and they had the same problem so it must be a different tyre. My car was super good yesterday but now it is really difficult. We need to check the tyres and work on a new set-up because this is the tyre we will be on for the rest of the weekend’. Asked what he though was different about the latest batch of tyres he replied, ‘the car has more steering, the traction is ok so I think the front tyre now is softer’.

Mazzeo said, ‘My car was undriveable for the first 5 or 6 laps. It was so loose in the rear and I had many mistakes’. He continued, ‘the last 4 or 5 laps it got better and I could push to finish the run but we must work with this new tyre now which is completely different to yesterday’.

Championship leader Coelho also described his car as ‘undriveable’. He added, ‘many drivers complain of the same thing so maybe it is the tyres. My car was really undriveable and it caused me to make many many mistakes that were not my fault. I just lost control of the car’.

Interestingly posting the fourth fastest time Toni Gruber didn’t find his WRC car difficult to drive, the tyres looking to have helped improve his car from yesterday. The European Champion said, ‘the track changed a little bit to yesterday. It was slower but my car had better steering than yesterday and I just tried to drive really safe’. Feeling he lost time due to having run two 1:8 qualifiers this morning before the first 1:10 attempt and it took him some time to adjust back to his 1:10 driving style. Saying his goal was a Top 3 run, he said finishing 22/100ths behind Coelho his P4 was OK given he had a slow start to the heat. For Q2 he said he will ‘for sure drive safe again but push it a little harder’ now that he has got the feeling for 1:10 back again.

‘Not so good’ was David Loppini’s thoughts on Q1. The Italian Xray driver added, ‘I think the tyres change from yesterday because I have a problem with the rear and it was a very difficult qualifier for me’. He continued, ‘with another tyre we will have to change all the car to try get it to suit’. Behind Loppini, Manuel Strano completed the Top 6 ahead of Shepherd pairing Thilo Todtmann and Eduardo Escandon.

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Kurzbuch takes Q1 at ENS Finale

Posted: 30 Sep 2017 01:44 AM PDT

Simon Kurzbuch has taken the opening qualifier at the season finale of the Euro Nitro Series in Italy. Top seed for qualifying, the Shepherd driver took the first of the four rounds by 0.7 of a second from title rival Bruno Coelho, the Xray driver looking a much stronger contender that he had done in practice. Francesco Tironi led the Infinity challenge, posting the 3rd fastest time followed by team-mate Oliver Mack. Making a return to the ENS, former podium finisher Andrea Pirani would take his ARC to the fifth fastest time ahead of newly crowned World Champion Dario Balestri.

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Kurzbuch takes Q1 at ENS Finale

Posted: 30 Sep 2017 01:42 AM PDT

Simon Kurzbuch has taken the opening qualifier at the season finale of the Euro Nitro Series in Italy. Top seed for qualifying, the Shepherd driver took the first of the four rounds by 0.7 of a second from title rival Bruno Coelho, the Xray driver looking a much stronger contender that he had done in practice. Francesco Tironi led the Infinity challenge, posting the 3rd fastest time followed by team-mate Oliver Mack. Making a return to the ENS, former podium finisher Andrea Pirani would take his ARC to the fifth fastest time ahead of newly crowned World Champion Dario Balestri.

‘The car was very good as well as the engine’, was Kurzbuch’s reaction after Q1. The reigning champion and two time Fiorano winner continued, ‘I had a very good feeling from the car in the warm-up. We just had to adjust the engine for the cooler conditions’. Complimenting his new Futaba T7PX transmitter which he is running for the first time this weekend, he added, ‘Naoto was behind me so I could see what he was doing and at the end I was able to drive to bring it home’. Happy to leave his Velox V8 unchanged for Q2, the Swiss driver said, ‘maybe we will switch to another engine to one more set-up for hotter conditions. I have two race engines, one for when its cold and one when its hot’.

‘Very good compared to the other days’, was how Coelho summed up his qualifier. Having struggled yesterday, he continued, ‘we found something very good on the car and it was a good run but I had 3-mistakes when I got on the curbs which were wet and lost time because of the that’. Looking to Q2, he said, ‘the track is very easy, the best lap is the same for everyone so the small detail make the difference. We changed the car a lot yesterday but now it works so we will leave it the same so I can get used to driving it and improve my consistency which is where the time is to be made’.

Seeding No.2 in controlled practice, Tironi said, ‘Like yesterday the feeling of the car was ok and everything worked good. I am happy and with the feeling good I will leave it the same for the next one’. Asked about his driving over the 4-minutes, the Italian replied, ‘I had traffic on the first lap but I don’t lose anything. I had maybe 2 or 3 little mistakes when my line in the corner was not perfect but I think the run was close to my best’.

‘Happy’ was Mack’s reaction to setting the 4th fastest time. Only 13th fastest in the seeding, the former European Champion continued, ‘yesterday I had a good car but I am not so good over 3-laps but over 4-minutes I am ok’. He added, ‘my car was very nervous in the warm-up so we move the wing to the maximum height. It was still nervous but got better during the heat. I’m not sure whether to change something or not but I think I will go the same because 2 count so if I can get one more I’m OK for the final’.

Making a welcome return to the championship, this his first outing with ARC, Pirani said, ‘the car is working better than the days before. We found the steering that we were missing the previous days. I’m happy’. With the Top 5 covered by a second the Italian added, ‘we are all very close so it is important you don’t make a mistake’. On his car set-up he said, ‘I will try to improve the steering again. In racing you always don’t have enough but what we have now is a good base set-up’.

Having a substantial off in the warm-up, Balestri was somewhat coy about his run to the sixth fastest time. Last year’s Top Qualifier at Mini Autodromo Jody Scheckter, he said, ‘It was a slow run to get to the finish. The car was ok but I had a little traffic in the end’. Asked about car set-up having struggled to find balance in his newly built car yesterday, he replied, ‘we will change something’. Behind Balestri, Matsukura would post the 7th fastest time after two bad laps with Jesse Davis, Lamberto Collari and Alberto Picco rounding out the Top 10.

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Video – 1/8th Qualifying Rd1

Posted: 30 Sep 2017 12:54 AM PDT