Chassis Focus – Jilles Groskamp

Chassis – Infinity IF15
Engine – Max XP3 World Edition
Fuel – Maxima
Tires (handout) – Matrix
Radio/Servo – Sanwa/Sanwa
Body – Xtreme Hammer

Remarks – Jilles Groskamp is running what he calls a standard IF15 from Infinity with the optional stiffer chassis. Looking for a mix between corner speed and steering he feels he has found a good balance using his standard setup from fast tracks like Fiorano. Going for a softer setting on the front anti-roll bar to get the initial turn in, he says the Bologna track is deceptive in its speed as while it has some very fast corners there are a number of very tight hairpins. Also playing with different bodies he is currently using the Hammer from Xtreme but feels that the P47 from Protoform would make the car more settled and so is an option for the main.

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Chassis Focus – Leo Arnold

Chassis – Xray NT1 2019
Engine – Max XP3 World Edition
Fuel – Maxima
Tires (handout) – Matrix
Radio/Servo – Sanwa/SRT
Body – Protoform P47

Remarks – Top seed for qualifying Leo Arnold is running the much improved NT1 from Xray. The 2019 spec features a whole host of changes to the rear of the car, the result being much improved rear traction and with this extra traction Leo says he can now make a more aggressive front end. Running it for the first time at last weekend’s French Nationals, he is using the same setup from that track with only minor changes to the front and rear roll centre.

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Groskamp takes Q2 as rivals hit trouble

Jilles Groskamp has topped the 2nd round of qualifying here in sunny Bologna this morning, aided to some extent by problems for his competitors. Teemu Leino first hit trouble when his back pressure tube came off causing him to slow dramatically. This in turn forced a fast approaching Leo Arnold to take avoiding action, resulting in him clipping the pitlane and breaking both right side tires. Another to suffer a broken tire was Alessio Mazzeo who felt the damage occurred when he clipped the inside of the curb coming on the straight. Behind Groskamp was the inseparable Shepherd team lead by Worlds podium finisher Eduardo Escandon in 2nd, Thilo Todtmann in 3rd and Melvin Diekmann in 4th with Jakub Rozycki taking 5th. Having changed to a stiffer, and more importantly new, chassis plate on his IF15, Groskamp said the pace was similar but now much easier to drive, enabling him to carry more corner speed. Planning to make the rear suspension slightly stiffer for Q3, the Dutchman concluded by saying ‘so far I’m very happy, the pressure is now on the other guys’.

Spanish driver Escandon described his run as OK, admitting he was a ‘little nervous’ at the start and that he made a number of small mistakes in the 4 minute run. Happy to have Alex Kempe on hand to help him with his car setup as well as in the pitlane, his first duty however was to talk to race control and get back a lost lap which failed to be counted. For the next round he will make some adjustments to the clutch and go for a repeat performance.

The second of the Shepherd team in Q2, Thilo Todtmann said it was a clean run and that he benefitted from the mistakes of the others. Feeling that the track is changing every run because of the sun, this is causing him problems with finding the right setup. For Q3 he will make some changes to the front of his Velox V10, making the anti-roll bar stiffer in an effort to bring back some more corner speed.

The last of the trio of Shepherd drivers, young German Melvin Diekmann was happy with his 4th place describing it as ‘really good’. Quick to admit that he was helped by the problems that hit the others in the run, he also felt that the car was better this run, having focused on aerodynamics rather than the chassis itself which he says is really good. Changing body position as well as adjusting the rear wing, he found more mid corner steering and was able to make it less edgy in the big corner before the main straight. He will again change body for Q3 to compare and see if it was in fact the body change or the track conditions that was the cause of the improvement.

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Kurzbuch cuts it fine with fuel to take 1/8th Q1

Simon Kurzbuch has taken the opening round of qualifying at the ENS season opener in Bologna as a number of the leaders struggled with fuel on the last lap of the 4-minute qualifier. Carmine Raiola took the 2nd spot from the 2nd fastest heat, while Dario Balestri took 3rd having lead the heat until coming up dry on the final lap. Lamberto Collari took 4th on his home track while Mirko Salemi ended Q1 in 5th, just ahead of top seed Robert Pietsch who struggled with traffic at the beginning of the run which threw him out of his rhythm. Running out of fuel directly after crossing the line, Kurzbuch admitted that it was ‘really tight’ and he was lucky that the qualifying was over when his car came to a halt. Happy to take the first round TQ he said the first 2 minutes were good but then he came upon two other cars in the run but he wasn’t able to close the gap and so lost a lot of time in the final half of the run. Having flamed out at high speed, the Swiss driver will now check over his Novarossi engine for any potential damage.

Having had a difficult timed practice, Carmine Raiola was able to pull it together when it mattered and take the 2nd spot from the 2nd fastest heat. Able to push at the start of the run, at the end he was not able to push because of a lot of traffic which meant he lost some time. For Q2 the plan is to ‘push, push’ and get another good run in the books.

Dario Balestri was not happy despite taking the 3rd fastest time, the World Champion running out of fuel on the last lap and spluttering across the finish line. Before that it was a ‘good run’, the Infinity driver on for the TQ before the fuel problems. He will now check his fuel tank to ensure he has the maximum allowed capacity and may change carburettor venturi on his Max engine to a slightly smaller diameter in order to get some more fuel mileage.

Multiple World Champion and track owner Lamberto Collari came through the heat with no problems to take 4th at the end, declaring the run as ‘not too bad’. Admitting to ‘little problems with setup’ which he explained as the car being too loose, he will work on the setup for tomorrow. Unlike his fellow front runners, he did not have any problem with run time with his Max Power engine, perhaps the benefit of 10s of thousands of laps on this track giving him the experience to better control his fuel mileage. Capricorn driver Mirko Salemi would take 5th for the round from the 2nd heat with Robert Pietsch, Jeffrey Rietveld, Silvio Hachler, Rick Vrielinjck and Francesco Tironi, who had a coming together with Dominic Greiner, completed the top 10. In the 40+ class, it was Andrea Hachler who took first blood ahead of reigning champion Arie Manten in 2nd with Angelo Fagnani in 3rd.

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