ENS Champions to be crowned in Fiorano

The Infinity Euro Nitro Series concludes this weekend (21-23 September) and while the new for 2018 1:8 40+ class champion is already confirmed, the overall 1:10 and 1:8 titles are still to be decided. One of the world’s most popular tracks among drivers both for its layout, facilities and unique atmosphere, Fiorano is once again the venue for the season finale, the race marking the 20th ENS Championship race and the conclusion of Season #5. With the 1:10 World Championships in the US just one month away the fourth stop on the ENS calendar carries even greater significance this year as it is the last major international race before the Worlds and an opportunity for teams and drivers to gauge form for next month. Given the year that is in it, 1:10 has been ultra competitive this season and former champion Jilles Groskamp comes into the weekend leading the points with reigning World Champion Dominic Greiner set to challenge him for the title. In 1:8, the title fight is between three drivers with Simon Kurzbuch also facing competition from the reigning World Champion in the form of Dario Balestri and Toni Gruber.

With Greiner ultimately needing to TQ and then win on Sunday to lift the ENS title for the first time, the Serpent driver does come with a good record at the iconic onroad nitro track. The Championship’s most winning driver, the German has won on the last two visits and TQ for the last three years, his 2015 dominance of 1:10 only ended by an engine failure in the final. The only other winners were Dario Balestri in the inaugural year of the championship and Alessio Mazzeo the following year, denying Groskamp in the final laps of the race. Groskamp has enjoyed two wins this season with Infinity and last time out in Aigen the team enjoyed a 1-2 finish with Francesco Tironi taking second. This weekend former champion and reigning European Champion Teemu Leino is back to make for a very strong Infinity line-up.

While out of contention for the overall title, Mazzeo isn’t making the trip to the season finale to make up the numbers. The Xray driver has been quick all season but has had his issues. He started off his campaign with a TQ at the season opener and on a track where he is always strong he will be looking to add that win he has been working so hard for, a result that could see him become Vice Champion. Elsewhere Mugen will be hoping former Champion and Round 2 podium finisher Eric Dankel can deliver a win, backed up by Dirk Wischnewski.

In 1:8, Kurzbuch has his sights set on a fourth ENS title and will be aiming to achieve it with his 11th ENS career win, a result that would give him a more than 50% success rate. The Shepherd driver has won the season finale for the last three years with the only other Fiorano winner being 9-time World Champion Lamberto Collari in 2014. Despite his winning record, Kurzbuch has only started from the TQ once (2017) with Balestri having the best qualifying record with TQs in 2015 & 16. The Italian had a DNF at the previous round in Austria but taking each drivers worst score into account is only 1-point off his Swiss rival. The Infinity driver secured his 2015 ENS title at Fiorano and will now be aiming to give Infinity its first 1:8 ENS title to go along side Arie Manten’s 40+ championship victory.

Having missed the season opener, Gruber lies 13th in the championship but with podiums in the other two races he could become champion with a victory. The WRC driver has yet to join the ENS Winner’s Roll of Honour, only 7 drivers having achieved this in 5-seasons, but there is no doubting the German’s ability or speed. Elsewhere, after securing his first podium finish at Round 3, Serpent’s Merlin Depta will be aiming to secure a Top 3 in the overall championship but faces strong competition from Shepherd’s Lars Hoppe, 3rd coming into the weekend, and Mugen’s Robert Pietsch.

Hotly contested ENS title battles continue in Austria

After a thrilling first half to the season that produced a different winner each round, the 2018 Infinity Euro Nitro Series travels to Aigen in Austria this weekend (6-8 July) for the continuation of the hotly contested battle for Season #5 title honours. The third & penultimate round of the championship, this will be the fifth visit to the picturesque track located high up in the Austrian hills with it a make or break event for a number of potential title contenders. Despite having won on the last three visits to the Aigen track, Simon Kurzbuch’s 2018 season is void of a victory and that is something the Shepherd driver needs to put right if he is to have any chance of going into the season finale to retain his 1:8 title. Winner of Round 2 in Germany last month, it is Dario Balestri who leads the points standings and the World Champion will be determined to make the trip to Aigen worth his while by registering his first win there having finished second to Kurzbuch there in 2016. Last year the Infinity driver opted not to contest the Austrian round and with the track having been resurfaced just ahead of the 2017 visit this will be the Italian’s first time on the transformed surface which was previously very hard on tyre wear.

In 1:10, the track had been a happy hunting ground for Teemu Leino with two previous wins there, however, illness has forced the former champion to withdraw from the weekend. Instead it is his Infinity team-mate Jilles Groskamp who will lead the challenge coming into the weekend as the championship leader at a track which the Dutchman quite likes. 1:10 is proving ultra competitive this season as it is a World Championship year for the class and the drivers have really been showcasing the category with some great racing. Taking the win at the previous round after issues at the season opener, reigning World Champion Dominic Greiner has the best track record of the drivers in attendance this weekend having won on his first visit and TQ’ing the following year.

Sitting second in the 1:10 points, just two points off Groskamp, Alessio Mazzeo has been right in the mix this season and is a very likely third different winner. This will be the Xray driver’s first visit to Aigen but as he showed at the season opener when the ENS made its debut at the Rucphen track in the Netherlands he doesn’t need long at a track to be quick with him securing the TQ. In Germany, the Italian would finish second behind Greiner and despite being one of the sport’s friendliest drivers he wants to reward his team for their hard work with the win. Mugen’s Erik Dankel kicked off his campaign with a podium in Germany having missed the season opener. Dankel has been to Aigen twice before and took second behind Leino in 2016. Representing 1:10’s fifth major manufacturer, Team Shepherd will be pinning their hopes on Thilo Todtmann who last year finished the event second behind reigning Champion Bruno Coelho.

In 1:8, World Champions Balestri and Kurzbuch are certainly the benchmark but they still face some serious threats to their reign namely in Toni Gruber and Robert Pietsch. Having missed the season opener due to the small matter of getting married, Gruber took his WRC to a podium finish in Ettlingen. While the German struggled somewhat at the race in 2017, qualifying 5th and finishing 9th, the former championship podium finisher is now in his second season with WRC and has a much better understanding of the car. Pietsch also showed really good speed in Germany and the Mugen designer is a former Top Qualifier in Aigen so expect him to be in the mix. While in the main 1:10 and 1:8 classes drivers are looking to join the title fight, in the new 40+ Class Infinity’s Arie Manten is making the journey to Austria with his eye on taking home the big prize as he aims for three wins in a row and the inaugural 40+ title.

Intense 1:10 battle expected at ENS Germany

After a successful opening round to the 2018 Infinity Euro Nitro Series in the Netherlands last month, Round 2 of the high profile Onroad Nitro Championship is back on familiar asphalt as the world’s best drivers descend on the Minidrom Ettlingen track in Germany this weekend (8-10 June).  With the championship’s debut in Rucphen adding two new winner’s names to the ENS roll of honour, Jilles Groskamp taking 1:10 and Robin D’hondt winning 1:8, Ettlingen is a track which presents its own unique challenges.  The fourth year of inclusion on the ENS calendar, the track has a traditional nitro layout but has one particularly distinct characteristic, a very fine asphalt from the 2014 resurfacing of the track. In terms of winners, in 1:10, the class proving ultra competitive given it is a World Championship year for touring cars, the track has produced a different winner each visit. In 1:8, Simon Kurzbuch has won on the previous two visits with Dario Balestri winning on the track’s first appearance on the ENS calendar in 2015, but with the championship’s 17th race attracting over 110 entries the battle for victory will be as intense as ever.

Opening Season #5 with his first ENS career win, despite having been Champion in 2015, Groskamp comes into the weekend with high confidence. While the Infinity driver only raced 1:8 at the event last year, he is a previous 1:10 podium finisher at the track and he will be aiming to leave Germany on Sunday evening having extended his early championship lead. Team-mate Teemu Leino was one of Groskamp’s main rivals at Round 1 until a flame out ended the 2016 Champion’s challenge for victory.  One of the previous winners at Minidrom Ettlingen, the Finn will be looking to become the first double winner there to get his title campaign firmly back on track and make Round 1 his dropped round.

Top Qualifier for the season opener but suffering engine issues in the final which left him P4 at the end of the 45-minute A-Main, Alessio Mazzeo again heads up the challenge from reigning champions Xray. Very disappointed at not being able to translate his qualifying pace into at least a podium finish in Rucphen, the Italian will be looking to finally register his second ever ENS career win. Enduring a tough debut at Ettlingen in 2016, when he failed to make the A-Main, last year the Italian showed well qualifying 3rd while team-mate & champion-to-be Bruno Coelho took the TQ, but the race didn’t go his way and he ended up 10th, Coelho fairing worse with his race ending in a DNF. The winner would be Erik Dankel, who having missed Round 1, returns this weekend along with Mugen team-mate Dirk Wischnewski who is the third of the track’s previous winners.

The world benchmark in terms of 1:10 pace, Dominic Greiner lacked in the luck department at Round 1. Qualifying 5th, low by his normal standards, the World Champion’s weekend in the Netherlands didn’t improve and he retired from the final. With 2018 marking his return to a full 1:10 campaign, the Serpent driver is a former Top Qualifier at Ettlingen but has yet to register a win here; something he will be aiming to put right this weekend so he can fight for the title which has so far eluded him.  For Team Shepherd, having kicked off 2018 with a podium, Eduardo Escandon had a good run in Germany last year finishing second and the Spaniard will be looking to go one better this time round and secure his first ENS race win.

In 1:8, with work commitments preventing D’hondt from travelling to Germany, we are going to get our second different winner of the season. Kurzbuch comes into the event as the clear favourite.  The Shepherd driver had a flame out at the season opener but recovered to finish on the podium and having TQ’d on all previous visits to Ettlingen he is the marker for his rivals. World Champion Balestri was his main challenger at Round 1 and the Italian will again lead Team Infinity’s high profile line-up of drivers.  With the business of having just got married forcing him to miss Round 1, WRC’s Toni Gruber is back and the German should be right in the mix. At Serpent, Jeffrey Rietveld will be hoping he can back up his super impressive Round 1 performance, where he qualified 4th, while at Mugen Robert Pietsch will again lead the Japanese manufacturer’s assault.  Having become the first winner of the newly introduced 1:8 40+ class, Infinity’s Arie Manten leads the growing entry this weekend.

ENS Season #5 kicks off with first ever Dutch encounter

The fifth season of the Infinity Euro Nitro Series kicks off this weekend with the high profile Onroad Nitro championship travelling to the Netherlands for the first time in its 16 race history.  Rucphen is the venue for the first of the four events over which the World’s best drivers will do battle to become the overall champion, with reigning champion Simon Kurzbuch going after a third 1:8 title in a row.  In 1:10, a class that has crowned a new champion at the end of every ENS season, that pattern looks set to continue.  Last year Bruno Coelho added the ENS title his ETS and EOS titles but, as one of the most versatile and therefore busiest drivers in the sport, his schedule prevents him from defending his title. The competition will still be fierce however, given it is a World Championship year for 1:10, and with the ENS a title that has eluded current World Champion Dominic Greiner he goes into Season #5 as the firm title favourite.

For Kurzbuch, the main challenge for the Shepherd driver is expected to come from World Champion Dario Balestri. The Infinity driver took the World title from his great Swiss rival in France last year and is the only other driver apart from Kurzbuch to have been crowned 1:8 ENS Champion. Despite this, Balestri has only once taken an ENS victory in 1:8 compared to Kurzbuch’s impressive tally of 9 wins. Next best on the championship’s roll of honour is Balestri’s team-mate Lamberto Collari, who has been on the top step of the podium three times.

Third in the championship standings last season, behind Round 1 winner Coelho, Robert Pietsch will be aiming to put Mugen in this year’s title hunt. The former World Champion is one of only 6 drivers to enjoy an ENS win in R/C racing’s premiere class and can always be counted on to be in the mix for the podium. For the only other 1:8 race winner in attendance, this weekend is a home race with ARC’s John Ermen hoping he can put local track knowledge to good use and give himself an extra reason to put on a party come Sunday evening.

Having debuted in 1:8 Onroad last season and shown he clearly has the outright speed, Naoto Matsukura will be aiming to translate that pace into a maiden victory. The multiple electric World Champion is spectacular to watch and now that he has more experience of running longer, strategy based nitro finals, he should be able to mix it with Kurzbuch and Balestri for the full 45-minutes. Another Japanese driver to debut in the ENS last season was Matsukura’s team-mate Takaaki Shimo. The highly respected onroad nitro driver just missed the podium at the Season #4 opener and will be looking to get his second season with Infinity underway with at least a podium result.

While racing the first 3 rounds of last year’s championship in the 1:8 class as preparations for the World Championships, Greiner returned to his favourite class in style winning the season finale in Fiorano from the TQ. The Serpent driver is full-on 1:10 again for 2018 and starts out as the clear title favourite. While sharing the honour of the greatest number of 1:10 ENS wins, with 3, but holding a clear lead in his TQ tally, 6, the German’s main rival is going to be one of those with whom he shares the same number of wins. Champion in 2016, Teemu Leino leads a strong Infinity challenge that also includes 2015 Champion Jilles Groskamp. Interestingly, Rucphen will mark 9-time 1:8 World Champion Collari’s 1:10 race debut. Without Coelho in the ENS, Xray will be pinning their hopes on Alessio Mazzeo. The Italian is a former ENS race winner, finishing runner-up to his team-mate last season, and will relish the opportunity to lead the team in the 2018 title fight.

Elsewhere in 1:10, Shepherd’s efforts will be led by Thilo Tödtmann and Eduardo Escandon who finished 3rd & 4th respectively in last year’s points standings. Spaniard Escandon was one of the revelations of last season on joining Shepherd and he’ll be hoping continuity will help him reap the rewards in the season ahead.

Kurzbuch & Coelho go head to head in Italy for ENS title

The fourth season of the Euro Nitro Series concludes this weekend in Italy where all eyes will be on the 1:8 title show down between reigning champion Simon Kurzbuch and Bruno Coelho, the latter also vying for his first ENS title in 1:10.  Since the creation of the ENS in 2014, the world famous nitro circuit of Fiorano once again hosts the season finale and for Kurzbuch the trip this year presents a very different senario to 12-months ago when he went there already crowned the champion and chasing the record of a perfect season, something the Shepherd driver duly achieved when he took his fourth win of the four race calendar.  This time round he faces a new title rival in Coelho, the rc all round star having surprised everyone with a genuine first 1:8 win at the season opener in France.  Backing that up with second place finishes at Round 2 & 3, pushing Kurzbuch for the win at both rounds, it will now all come down to Sunday’s final – 3 from 4 rounds to count.

While the title contenders focus on their battles, there are a number of drivers who come to Fiorano with the aim of capping off their 2017 season on a high note and have no points scenarios to consider. Newly crowned 1:8 World Champion Dario Balestri had a challenging start to his ENS campaign but having finally claimed the sport’s top prize the former champion will be looking to set that right for his home round. The only Italian winner in Fiorano is Lamberto Collari, Kurzbuch winning on the other two visits, although Balestri has enjoyed a victory there in 1:10. With the season opener in Mulhouse his first competitive 1:8 onroad outing, Infinity team-mate Naoto Matsukura has shown he is unquestionably one of the world’s fastest drivers.  Making a lot of new fans with his performance at the World Championships in France, he will be hoping to finally convert his raw speed into a first victory.  In terms of the overall championship, Jilles Groskamp carries the best hopes for Infinity with the former 1:10 Champion in contention for an overall Top 3 in the championship.

That batte for third overall is wide open. Currently sitting third in the points is Mugen’s Robert Pietsch but he is far from guaranteed keeping the position in which he also finished up the 2016 championship. Behind him is Lars Hoppe who is excelling since joining the Shepherd team this season and having made the Worlds final in France the quiet German’s confidence will be high. On the podium in Fiorano last year to secure third overall in the championship, Toni Gruber has a chance of the overall podium again. The WRC driver had a good start to the season with second at the opening round but things haven’t gone as well since. Of course being Fiorano there are sure to be a some very quick Italians in the mix.

In 1:10 Coelho comes into the deciding round with 2 wins and with ENS Germany winner Erik Dankel not making the trip to Fiorano, the Portuguese driver is clear favourite for title honours. An ENS title win would complete the triple crown for Coelho who has already lifted the Euro Touring Series and Euro Offroad Series titles this year. Holding second and third in the points stadings Thilo Todtmann and Marco Kaufmann could clinch the title should things not go Coelho’s way.  With Dankel’s abscence, Dirk Wischnewski is heading the Mugen charge, the big news for Fiorano is the return of World Champion Dominic Greiner. The Serpent driver had been focused on 1:8 this year for the Worlds, qualifying 6th, but has openly declared his excitment about returning to 1:10. The German won the season finale last year just ahead of Dankel with Alessio Mazzeo, winner a year earlier, completing the podium. Mazzeo of course will be aiming for a return to the top step of the podium this weekend.

Another interesting boost for the touring car class is that of Toni Gruber. While he is the reigning European Champion in 1:10, his ENS focus has always been 1:8 but this weekend he will compete in both classes adding to the competitiveness of the Round 4 entry. For reigning champion Teemu Leino a DNF at the season opener left him the back foot. Fourth at Round 2 was an improvement but with testing for the 1:8 Worlds forcing him to miss the third round, his title chances were over. As a result the Finn, who claimed Infinity’s first ever major title last year when he won the 1:10 championship in Fiorano, will only race 1:8 this weekend. In addition to looking to Todtmann for a strong championship finish, Shepherd will have high hopes their quick new for 2017 Spanish recruit Eduardo Escandon can go one better on the competitive 2nd place he took in Ettlingen.

Coelho & Kurzbuch ready to resume title battle on all new Aigen surface

The Euro Nitro Series enters into the second half of the season this weekend as Aigen in Austria hosts Round 3 of the championship with the main focus of the weekend set to be on the 1:8 title battle between reigning champion Simon Kurzbuch and a surprise 1:8 contender Bruno Coelho. Located high in the Austrian mountains near the German border, this is Aigen’s fourth year on the ENS calendar and since last year’s visit when a new pit area greeted competitors, MAV Aigen have not let up on their commitment to providing racers with a top class facility. This year’s improvement is set to have a far greater direct effect on the racing than previous work with the track having just recently been completely resurfaced with new asphalt. This should make for a more level playing field with the previous surface presenting drivers with the challenge of high tyre wear. For Kurzbuch the track has been a happy hunting ground with the Shepherd driver the winner on the last two visits and second on the inaugural visit behind John Ermen. For Coelho, this will be only his second outing at the track, the Xray driver’s previous 2015 visit netting him fourth in the 1:10 A-Main.

Coelho leads the 1:8 standings, his double win at the season opener in France catching the entire 1:8 establishment by surprise. Showing that it wasn’t just his liking of the technical Mulhouse track layout, Coelho and the RX8 were right there again at Round 2 in Germany and it was only a mis-communication with his pit crew that resulted in a flame out that denied him from being right with Kurzbuch at the end. Still the Portuguese driver got second to stay put at the top in the standings and he will be looking to extend that by preventing Kurzbuch from making it three wins in a row in Aigen come Sunday. Having claimed the latest Euro Touring Series and Euro Offroad Series titles, Coelho is after a very unique hat trick and unlike Kurzbuch also has the 1:10 championship to focus on. Claiming his second TQ of the season in Ettlingen unfortunately the A-Main would end in retirement with new championship leader Erik Dankel taking the win but with Dankel not making the trip to Austria Coelho will try to regain ground and set-up a shoot-out for the season finale at Fiorano in Italy in October.

Since notching up his first ENS career win, Kurzbuch has been the benchmark at Aigen. The Swiss driver wrapped up his second ENS title there last year when he claimed his third win of the season but this year having faltered on his fuel strategy at the season opener, his focus is on making Round 1 his throw out round. As the last ENS encounter before the World Championship next month, the weekend will also be an important build up to France for the reigning World Champion.

A former Top Qualifier in Aigen but having to settle for second on that occasion, Robert Pietsch comes into the weekend sitting third in the standings. The Mugen driver has yet to make the podium this season but has been on the podium at the Austrian round the past two years. Behind Pietsch in the standings in Dominic Greiner. Better known for his 1:10 exploits, the Serpent driver taking the win in Aigen in the inaugural ENS season he has switched to 1:8 this year due to it being a World Championship year. Making the A-Main at the opening two rounds, the German will be hoping to target his first podium finish at a track he has always been quick at having also TQ’d there in 2015.

Having a brilliant 1:8 A-Main on the technical Mulhouse track to finish 2nd behind Coelho, Jilles Groskamp is also a fan of the Aigen track and he will single handedly represent the Infinity team at the third round. The former Touring Car World Champion was runner-up to team-mate Teemu Leino, last year’s winner, in 2015 enroute to becoming the 1:10 Champion. Fellow Dutchman, John Ermen took a wet win in 2014 in Aigen and just missed the podium the following year and following his best result in some time at Round 2 the ARC driver will be looking to be in the mix. Always one to go well in Aigen, Lars Hoppe will be another to watch. Making the switch to Shepherd for the 2017 season, the German is enjoying the atmosphere within his new team and kicked off the relationship with a strong Round 1 performance.

In 1:10, Coelho’s main opposition is set to come from within his own Xray team namely in the form of quick Frenchman Leo Arnold. Marco Kaufmann, having secured his first ENS podium last time out in Ettlingen, should also be the mix. Hoping to split up the Xray’s will be Shepherd’s Thilo Tödtmann who was on the podium last year with Leino and Dankel. Former Euro B Champion Patrick Nähr should also put Shepherd in the hunt.