Chassis Focus – Eric Dankel

Chassis – Mugen MTX6R
Engine – Orcan RS3R
Fuel – Maxima
Tires (handout) – Matrix
Radio/Servo – Sanwa/GM
Body – Protoform P47

Remarks – A track which Eric says does not favour the Mugen, he is running a standard kit car with all the options.  The most significant of these are the titanium axles and screw set.  Finding the Fiorano ‘asphalt too rough’ and the ‘traction too low’ for their car to work probably, he said compared to the set-up he ran at Aigen in Austria the car is much softer this weekend with a softer diff and softer springs to try and make it more aggressive.

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Pit Focus – Dominic Greiner

Team: Serpent
Neighbours: Klaus Lechner (left), Merlin Depta (front)
Charger: Arrowmax
Tools: Arrowmax
Setup Tools: Arrowmax setup board, Arrowmax set up station.
Car Stand: Arrowmax
Transport Bag: Xceed
Extra items: A fan to make the hot Italian weather this weekend more comfortable and rather than water Dominic likes his drinks sugary with a bottle of Coke the perfect fix.  A little red note book in which all the juicy set-up information of the World Champion can also be found.

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Kurzbuch to start title defence from pole

Simon Kurzbuch will defend his Euro Nitro Series title tomorrow at the Season Finale in Italy from pole position.  The Shepherd driver made it a clean sweep of qualifying for the 2018 season as he wrapped up his fourth TQ from the championship’s four races.  Having suffered a broken front belt in Q3 and title rival Dario Balestri getting the TQ for that round, Kurzbuch had to wait until the final round to bag himself the extra championship point which could prove vital at the end of tomorrow’s 45-minute final.  He took the final qualifier ahead of Robert Pietsch and Toni Gruber after a hard pushing Balestri had a mistake in the second half of the qualifier.  The Italian will start 2nd with Pietsch third while Andrea Pirani makes it four different manufacturers at the head of the grid.  Kurzbuch’s TQ today eliminates Gruber from the title fight, the WRC driver at best being able to equal the leaders points tally with a win but losing out on the tie break.  Between himself and Balestri, however, if the Italian wins he must be sure to finish on the podium with a 3rd place giving him his 3rd consecutive title on tie break with the only driver who has previously denied him becoming champion.

Reacting to what would be the slowest of his three TQ runs this weekend, Kurzbuch said, ‘It was a really good run. We used the engine we have for the final and the feeling was really good.  We got good knowledge about fuel consumption’.  Chasing his 11th ENS career win from his 12th TQ starting position, he added, ‘now we will prepare the car so we don’t have any issues tomorrow’ – his belt failure a rare mechanical fault for the Swiss driver.  He continued, ‘to get all four TQs this season compensates for the Rucphen and Ettlingen results’.  Asked about strategy for the final he replied, ‘the tyre wear is surprisingly low compared to other years so there will be less stops than before’.  On fuel he said, ‘we are quite fast on lap times so it is quite high but it is the same for the Top 5 drivers.  I hope we have a clean final tomorrow. We are looking to bring home the overall title not the win but if there is a chance of course we will go for the race win too’.

Balestri said, ‘I needed a 4:12/13 time to make the TQ so I had to push and made a mistake.  I had nothing to lose’.  The Infinity driver continued, ‘from one side I am a bit disappointed.  I had a lot of traffic and this cost me the TQ already this morning.  On the other side it is interesting to start behind Simon.  I can follow him and make pressure’.  The World Champion concluded, ‘we have a lot of speed and we can fight for the win’.

Commenting on his final qualifier which secured him P3 on the grid, Pietsch said, ‘It was again a good run and the car was really good but still I have this little lack of power after 2-minutes’.  He continued, ‘At the start I have the same power as Simon but in the last 2-minutes it drops just a little.  I expect in the final this wont be an issue and we will be the same pace because it was the same at the Euros in qualifying and but in the final all was fine’.  On the final, the former World Champion said, ‘Dario, Simon and myself are doing the same time between stops so its going to be a straight up race for the win and not a strategy race’.

Pirani said, ‘I lost the third place (on the grid) in the last round but 4th is ok for me and for a long race it changes nothing’.  A former ENS podium finisher, the ARC driver said, ‘in the third qualifying I got 2nd and the car was very good but for the last one I ran new tyres so the lap times on bigger tyres went down and I got P5 which cost me the position on the grid’.  Asked about the final he said, ‘I am confident for tomorrow.  I will think about possible set-up changes tonight and maybe test some things in the final practice but I am looking forward to a good race.

In the 40+ class, newly crowned champion Arie Manten will go for the perfect campaign from pole position tomorrow.  Like Kurzbuch, the Dutch driver secured his fourth TQ of the season and will start the 30-minute final ahead of fellow Infinity driver Bo Nielsen who TQ’d the final qualifier here in Fiorano.  Andrea Hächler will start 3rd.

View the complete event results here.

View our event image gallery here.

Chassis Focus – Andrea Pirani

Chassis – ARC R8.1
Engine – Ielasi Tuned Raptor
Fuel – Energy
Tires (handout) – Matrix
Radio/Servo – Sanwa/HD Power
Body – Xtreme Aerodynamics R18

Remarks – Qualifying fourth here in Fiorano, the ARC driver is running a self modified shorter wheelbase version of the R8.1.  A modification achieved through cut arms, he first ran at the European Championship at the end of July in Cassino where ‘it worked well’.  Giving the car better steering he has continued to run this set-up with it paying divides here with a strong qualifying.

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Title ‘still alive’ as Greiner secures TQ at ENS Italy

Dominic Greiner’s hopes of a first Euro Nitro Series title are ‘still alive’ after the Serpent driver secured the overall TQ in the fourth & final round of qualifying in Fiorano, Italy.  Needing the bonus championship point so as to start the final with a chance denying championship leader Jilles Groskamp his second title, Greiner took Q4  by over 1.3-seconds from Alessio Mazzeo.  The only driver who could potentially start on pole having TQ’d Q3, Teemu Leino couldn’t match Greiner ending up third quickest ahead of his Infinity team-mate Groskamp.  Overall the result means Leino will start second with Mazzeo moving ahead of Groskamp to start third with Erik Dankel completing the Top 5 on the grid.  In order for Greiner, the championship’s most winning driver, to secure the title he first must win and then hope that Groskamp is third or lower.

‘It is still alive. The first step is done’, was the reaction of a happy looking Greiner.  The 2-time Fiorano winner continued, ‘that was the final set-up we ran and it was very stable and easy.  For sure it is closer than other years.  We have improved with the new car but they have improved a lot.  With Teemu and Alessio it be will be a hard fight for 45-minutes’.  Asked about strategy, the German said, ‘there is less wear than previous years but if its 1 side or all four (tyres) we will see’.  On fuel and run time he said, ‘the run time is ok for the speed we have’.

Commenting on Q4, Leino said, ‘that didn’t work out’.  The Finn explained, ‘We tried a little change in the set-up.  We changed the droop but had less grip and steering.  Its still close anyway’.  Asked his feeling about tomorrow’s final he replied, ‘Many people can win.  I think everyone will change tyres one time and while the (fuel) run time here is not bad I think there will be differences.  Jilles can run long like always.’  Asked if he could help his team-mate to the title, the former champion replied, ‘I will just do my own race.  I am here to win.  Jilles just needs to finish second’.

Feeling the heat after his qualifying saying, ‘it is very hot, even though I am not moving on the driver stand I feel like I have just run 5 or 6km’, Mazzeo put in ‘a safe drive’.  The former winner of the event added, ‘our car is a little hard to drive in the hot conditions and I saw the others were quicker so I concentrated on making a safe run and save 3rd position on the grid’.  Thinking of the final, the Xray driver added, ‘Tomorrow I think will be very close between the Top 4.  Strategy will be very important to the outcome of the race, more than the other races.  The Groskamp style race of 6-minute stops and no tyre change, I think you need this style tomorrow’.

A disappointed Groskamp reacted with, ‘I tried everything but I can’t stop Dominic this time.  I tried many things and the gap was still the same’.  The season’s only double winner continued, ‘I hoped I would start more at the front of the grid but with Alessio and Teemu a little faster than me maybe 4th is not so bad and hopefully they can fight with Dominic’.  Asked his approach to the final, he said, ‘We will do something a little different for the final and I think we have a good strategy.  We don’t have the pace so the strategy is key’.

View the complete event results here.

View our event image gallery here.

Chassis Focus – Dario Balestri

Chassis – Infinity IF18
Engine – Max World Champion Edition
Fuel – Energy
Tires (handout) – Matrix
Radio/Servo – Sanwa/Savox
Body – Xtreme Aerodynamics Diablo

Remarks – In contention for the ENS title here is Fiorano, Dario is running ‘a standard’ version of Infinity’s latest IF18.  The biggest feature of the car according to the Italian is the use of 100g of chassis weight to balance out the use of aluminium screws in the upper part of the car.  In the power department, the Max Power backed driver, says his World Champion Edition engine features some updates they are testing that should feature in the next season’s production.

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