Q4 Update – Dankel is 1:10 Top Qualifier

Eric Dankel will start the first ever Euro Nitro Series from pole position after the Capricorn driver posted his third Touring Car TQ run in a row in the penultimate round of qualifying at the Hockenheimring late on Saturday night.  The German shaved 4/10ths off his Q3 time to record the fastest 4-minute run of the day, 1.4 seconds clear of Patrick Schafer.  Driving his latest creation, the Velox V10 Pro, Schafer was one of three Shepherd’s to make the Top 4 with team drivers Patrick Nahr and Freddy Sudhoff setting the 3rd & 4th fastest time respectively.  Backing up his Q3 performance Tom Kragefski took his Serpent to the fifth fastest time ahead of Team Xray’s Dirk Wischnewski who had a difficult round.

In 1:8 the driver who will start from pole position for the 45-minute 12 car main will be decided in the morning in the fifth & final qualifier after Robert Pietsch denied Mark Green a third TQ run by just .022 of a second with a blistering fast final lap.  Pietsch said afterwards he struggled with seeing his Mugen in the fading light and he was delighted that he could keep his chances of the TQ honours alive.  Only 3/10ths behind, Michael Salven set the third fastest time the veteran driver again proving he still has the speed by again setting the TQ pace during the run.  Making it three Serpents in the Top 4 Toni Gruber posted his best run with fourth, with Shepherd’s Lars Hoppe best of the drivers on 13 laps ahead of Tobias Hepp who completed the Top 6 as the fastest Xray.

1:8 Qualifying Round 4
1. Robert Pietsch – Mugen/Novarossi – 14/4:13.812
2. Mark Green – Serpent/Novarossi – 14/4:13.834
3. Michael Salven – Serpent/Xceed – 14/4:14.158
4. Toni Gruber – Serpent/Xceed – 14/4:15.813
5. Lars Hoppe – Shepherd/Sonic – 13/4:00.776
6. Tobias Hepp – Xray/Novarossi – 13/4:03.669
7. Merlin Depta – Serpent/Xceed – 13/4:05.125
8. Alexander Thilo – Shepherd/Sonic – 13/4:06.821
9. Sascha Wettengl – Serpent/OS – 13/4:07.402
10.Tobias Kerler – Serpent/Picco – 13/4:08.811

1:10 Qualifying Round 4
1. Eric Dankel – Capricorn/Novarossi – 12/4:03.216
2. Patrick Schafer – Shepherd/Sonic – 12/4:04.658
3. Patrick Nahr – Shepherd/Sonic – 12/4:05.621
4. Freddy Sudhoff – Shepherd/LRP – 12/4:05.680
5. Tom Kragefski – Serpent/OS – 12/4:08.927
6. Dirk Wischnewski – Xray/Novarossi – 12/4:09.632
7. Sebastian Burge – Shepherd/Sonic – 12/4:11.875
8. Philip Hagnauer – Capricorn/OS – 12/4:12.504
9. Michael Derderian – Xray/G-Mar – 12/4:13.014
10.Bernd Rausch – KM/Orion – 12/4:13.244

View complete results here.

View our event image gallery here.