ENS heads to home of German Grand Prix

This weekend (13-15 June) the Euro Nitro Series will take competitors to the home of the German Formula One Grand Prix with Round 3 of the all new onroad nitro championship taking place at the famous Hockenheimring. The only temporary track on the inaugural four race calendar, the venue has played a key role in the creation of the ENS which so far this season has produced 4 different Top Qualifiers and four different race winners. Offering up its annual ‘European Nitro Challenge’ event to be part of the ‘Pilot Series’ run by the ENS organisers last year, it was the success of this that lead to the creation of a full championship for 2014.

The winner of the season opener in Melzo, Eric Dankel goes into his home event as a strong favourite and joint leader of the points standings. 12-months ago, the Capricorn driver dominated 1:10 at the Pilot Race topping qualifying and taking the win from France’s Basile Concialdi. A year earlier he also took the TQ and was on his way to the win until a flame out left him second behind Dirk Wischnewski. Considered a home race for Team Shepherd, their headquarters just a short drive away, Wischnewski, who shares the points lead with Dankel and Round 2 winner Dominic Greiner, would love nothing more than to take his first win with his new team this weekend. Mastering the wet conditions in Austria, giving Serpent’s new 748 Natrix victory on its debut, Greiner didn’t race at Hockenheim last year but that shouldn’t hinder the talented German who will have Mark Green, who took the 1:8 win last year, back along side him after the British ace was absent from Round 2.

Top Qualifier at Round 1, HB’s Teemu Leino will try to put the disappointment of failing to convert that into a win behind him as well as making up for the disaster that was Aigen when he didn’t even make the A-Main. Runner up at his home event, Italy’s Francesco Tironi was Top Qualifier in Austria but the World Championship podium finisher would have a terrible race finishing 9th. Despite this the Shepherd driver holds fourth in the standings only 3 points off the leading trio and as the lead Italian challenger this weekend he will be determined to reverse the result of Melzo and beat the German’s on home soil.

Adding to the already ultra competitive 200mm field this weekend will be electric touring car aces Ronald Volker and Alexander Hagberg. Having secured his fourth consecutive title in the world famous Yokomo Euro Touring Series last weekend in Luxembourg, Volker joins the ENS thanks a deal put together by Mugen designer Robert Pietsch. Having contested Round 4 of the ETS with one of Volker’s Yokomo chassis, Pietsch is returning the favour by providing Volker with a prototype MTX-6 for Hockenheim. Volker last raced nitro at the 2012 World Championship in Thailand and is very much looking forward to his return with Awesomatix lead driver & former 200mm Euro B Champion Freddy Sudhoff acting as his mechanic. Hagberg, who raced at the second of the Pilot Races last year, makes his series debut after electric touring car commitments ruled him out of the opening two races.

In the championship’s biggest class, 1:8, it is Swiss driver Simon Kurzbuch who comes to Hockenheim as the championship leader with a 3 point advantage over former World Champion Pietsch. The Team Shepherd driver was third at Round 1 and second at Round 2 and will be hoping to continue on that trend this weekend. With last year’s Pilot Race winner Green focusing on 200mm, the favourite for the win has to be Pietsch. In 2012 the German TQ’d and won the European Nitro Championships and last year he was Top Qualifier. Topping qualifying in Melzo but losing out on the win late in the thrilling finale to Lamberto Collari, Pietsch was only 7th last time out and will be hoping his Hockenheim result will ensure that it is his dropped round. Securing a debut win in Aigen, Xray’s John Ermen will be looking to back that up with another strong run this weekend. The Dutch driver is another who didn’t race at the event last year but that shouldn’t hamper him on the large open track where Enneti will provide the controlled tyres for both classes.

Sitting third overall in the standings, Round 2 Top Qualifier Oliver Mack is sure to be in the mix again with the unassuming German having always shown strong at Hockenheim in the European Nitro Challenge. A class that has enjoyed the arrival of a number of new manufacturers, two such teams WRC and BMT will be looking to Italian drivers to bring them their first podium finishes of the championship. WRC’s Andrea Pirani holds 4th in the championship 1 point ahead of BMT’s Daniele Ielasi with the pair involved somewhat in a pride of Italy battle. Veteran racer Michael Salven heads the challenge from 1:8 class stalwarts Serpent. A key supporter of the ENS, the German had a competitive qualifying in Aigen and will be looking to emulate the success his team-mate Green had in Hockenheim last year.

Hagberg to bolster Xray entry at ENS Hockenheim

Having taken their first win of the Euro Nitro Series at Round 2 of the all new nitro onroad championship last month in Austria, Team Xray are to bolster their factory team line-up for Round 3 at Hockenheim in Germany in two weeks (13-15 June). Taking his RX8 to victory in the 1:8 A-Main in Aigen, Dutch ace John Ermen will be joined by Alexander Hagberg as the Slovakian manufacturer looks to also take a first 1:10th ENS victory. While Xray are one of the main sponsors of the ENS, other racing commitments have prevented Hagberg from attending since his participation in the second of last year’s ENS Pilot Races in which the Swede finished 4th.

A race winner and title contender in this season’s world famous Yokomo Euro Touring Series, Hagberg will be hoping to transfer that success over to the highly competitive ENS where he will go up against the same drivers who he will battle with later this year at the 1:10 200mm World Championships in Thailand. Already over 110 entries have been received for Hockenheim, which last year made up the first of the two ENS Pilot Races with Serpent’s Mark Green (1:8) and Capricorn’s Eric Dankel (1:10) taking the wins at the famous German 1:1 racing circuit venue. Both Green and Dankel, who was winner of the season opener in Melzo, are among the entry for Round 3.