Greiner takes opening qualifier at ENS

Dominic Greiner has taken the first round of qualifying at the Euro Nitro Series in Germany.  The Serpent driver topped the times from Shepherd’s Dirk Wischnewski, the two Germans considerable faster than their rivals over the 4-minute qualifier around the Ettlingen track.  Behind them Patrick Nahr would post the third fastest time just ahead of Teemu Leino. After a good showing in practice when he posted the fourth fastest time, unfortunately for reigning champion Eric Dankel an engine cut 1-minute in would ruin his qualifier.

‘It was a good run’, that was how Greiner summed up outpacing Wischnewski by 1.3-seconds.  Top Qualifier at the previous ENS encounter in Austria, he said the run didn’t start off so well. Running a new set of the handout pre-trued Shepherd tyres, while trying to get as many laps on them as possible for the qualifier he would flip his Max powered 747 damaging one of the tyres.  Needing to change it for the qualifier, he was only able to run one lap on it before the start off the qualifier.  Making the car ‘a little difficult’ for the first 2 to 3-minutes he said it got better towards the end.  Describing his car and engine as ‘very good especially for the high temperatures’ in which they are having to work, his only plan for Q2, which should be cooler, was to again fit new tyres.

Summing up his opening attempt as ‘a solid run’, Wischnewski said traffic cost him a few tenths.  Also feeling his Orcan engine was set slightly too rich he said overall it was a good run and it was ‘good’ having a speed advantage over the others.  Last season’s championship runner-up he said his Velox V10 is good and the only thing that needs improving for Q2 is the tune on the engine.

Former European B Champion Nahr was most happy that he finally completed a run without flipping his Novarossi powered example of the Velox V10.  Making a front anti-roll bar change for Q1 he said this improved the car with Wischnewski joking about the change that his team-mate finally listened to him.  Happy to leave the car unchanged for his next run, he said the only thing he needs to do is rebuilt his rear diff which developed a leak over the final 2-minutes of the heat.

Asked how he thought his opening qualifier went, Leino replied ‘not so well’.  The ENS Round 2 winner felt he was off the pace and he was ‘not sure why’.  With his car ‘sometimes fast, sometimes not’, the Finn plans to run a new tyres the next one to see if that improves things. A double ENS Top Qualifier the HB driver added ‘the Germans are fast here so its not so easy’.

Making it a good showing for Shepherd Rene Pupke would post the 5th fastest time.  The German said his Orcan powered example of the V10 was ‘perfect’ and the only issue was that the driver ‘missed the lines a few times’.  Describing the track as difficult but liking the layout he will continue with the car as is and aim for ‘a second clean run’.

Completing the Top 6 ahead of the Capricorns of Thilo Tödtmann and Leo Arnold, Jilles Groskamp declared Q1 as ‘just a steady run’.  The joint championship leader said with his ‘car not the fastest’ his aim now is first to just make the Main.  Having got lost with his set-up and ‘struggling’, he has started over with the set-up for Q1 and while it was ‘safe’ it was ‘too slow’.  He continued ‘the local guys are super fast and obviously know some tricks for what he repeated is ‘a difficult track’.  With good points from Q1, he added ‘we have four more rounds to get the car right for the final and with the heat causing a number of drivers issues it is still all to play for’.

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