Hächler makes it ‘all Swiss front row’ at Dutch ENS

Silvio Hächler is to start second on grid for tomorrow’s opening round of the Infinity Euro Nitro Series in the Netherlands. Having jumped into contention for a starting position at the front of the A-Main grid with a P2 run in the penultimate qualifier, the ARC driver repeated the feat again in Q4 to put himself second behind Top Qualifier Simon Kurzbuch. For reigning champion Kurzbuch the final qualifier would be the opportunity to test small tyres having wrapped up the overall TQ a round early, but even ‘as a test run’ the Shepherd driver could complete a clean sweep of qualifying with his fourth TQ run. With Dario Balestri third quickest in the final qualifier, that is where the Infinity driver will line up for the 45-minute encounter ahead of surprise of the weekend Jeffrey Rietveld and Robin D’Hondt.

‘An all Swiss front row’ joked Hächler. Bettering his previous best ENS qualifying position of a 4th he took last year in Aigen, he continued, ‘yes it was again a good run. I had a small mistake which put me behind Jeffrey but I could overtake him again when he hit traffic so in the end it was a good run’. Describing his R8.1 as ‘easy to drive’, he added, ‘it should be good for tomorrow’. Asked his thoughts on the track’s high tyre wear he replied, ‘I have to think about it tonight but I think 2-times all four tyres’.

Balestri summed up his P3 with, ‘I had trouble in traffic in the previous one (Q3) and we lose second position because of this’. Standing next to Infinity boss Kenji Taira, the World Champion continued, ‘I already say to my boss I think it will be hard to beat Simon really. We need to improve the balance (of the car) for the bumps’. Asked about strategy the Italian replied, ‘I don’t think strategy will be an issue because after 10-minutes the tyres are finished’.

‘This is really exceeding my expectations. I was hoping to be at the front in the C-Main’, was how Rietveld summed up his impressive P4 on the grid. The Serpent driver added, ‘from the first few practices the car was on the pace but then in controlled practice we made a few stupid mistakes with set-up and that is why I ended up 15th’. On his final qualifier the 22-year-old said, ‘I was really on the pace but with 1-minute to go I hit a train of traffic and that cost me 2nd’. Looking to the final he said, ‘I think it will be about tyre management & strategy and fuel, it is going to be really close’.

View the complete event results here.

View our event image gallery here.

Mazzeo claims first TQ at Dutch ENS

Alessio Mazzeo has claimed his first ever TQ start of the ENS.  The Xray driver secured pole position for tomorrow’s season opener by taking two of the four rounds of qualifying in the Netherlands today. He will start ahead of the day’s other two TQ runners, Jilles Groskamp and Teemu Leino.  With Mazzeo backing up his ‘rocket round’ Q1 TQ with another fastest time in Q3, it was then only Groskamp who could challenge him for the top spot in the final qualifier.  A slower track however prevented this and while Groskamp would finish ahead of Mazzeo it was Leino who would register the TQ time, albeit it the slowest of the day.  This would secure Leino third on the grid ahead of Shepherd’s Eduardo Escandon. For title favourite Dominic Greiner, an unlucky day will see him line up 5th but given how closely matched everyone is, the Serpent driver knows it is still all to play for for the win.

‘For sure I’m super happy. It is the first TQ of the ENS for me’, was Mazzeo’s reaction after securing pole.  The Italian continued, ‘the competition this year is very high with all the Infinity team, Dominic, and Eduardo, and this is important for the 1:10 category because it is a Worlds year’. With one previous ENS win to his credit, he said, ‘we worked a lot over the winter and now we are in a good direction with the car’.  Suffering a broken tyre from the first lap of Q4 but still able to post a P3 time, on the final and the track’s high tyre wear he said, ‘I think we change tyres two times but in the practice tomorrow we will see of we can do something different with the strategy.  Engine is also important because it is a lot of the time in 2nd gear so we need to be safe for this’.

Groskamp said, ‘It is a shame the track was slower. I already knew the TQ was gone so I tried a harder front diff which didn’t make much difference but again the times were close’.  The former EP Touring Car World Champion continued, ‘Dominic was very fast but again had a problem with his car. We are very close so I think it is going to be all about the strategy.  We have a good car but the tyre wear is quite high so it is going to be interesting who decides what to do.  On Thursday I did a long run and my car felt good on small tyres but it takes so long to change tyres in 1:10. You could save a lot of time changing only the outside tyres instead of a full change. It’s going to be interesting’.

Commenting on his TQ run Leino said, ‘we changed to my good engine we will use in the final and even though I had one spin I was still able to make TQ.  The engine change was a big step forward for sure’.  Asked about the tyre wear and a possible strategy, the Finn replied, ‘I think everyone will do the same, we are all going to measure the tyres after the practice and then decide the same thing. Everyone is very close, nobody is faster when they have a good run, so it is going to be a very close final’.

Escandon said, ‘I’m happy with 4th but we made changes for Q3 & 4 and went the wrong way. I will go back to a mix of both set-ups for the final tomorrow and think it will be OK’. On his strategy for the final, the Spaniard said, ‘I will check in practice, I think tyre wear is ok for me. My car is good on small tyres but I think someone will play with the tyre strategy. It is super close so everyone needs to push so maybe it will be driver mistakes that will decide the race’.

‘A very unlucky day today’ was how Greiner summed up qualifying.  The World Champion, who was the benchmark in practice yesterday would suffer his second retirement of the day in the final qualifier.  Having broke a rear belt in Q1 in the warm-up and not starting, he would break a front belt in Q4.  Still, the championship’s most crowned Top Qualifier and joint race winner, is positive for tomorrow saying, ‘we are confident for the final. 5th is not too bad and it is very close at the front so we can battle for the win.  We just need to check how often we need to change the tyres’.  Behind Greiner, team-mate Mark Green will start sixth ahead of Melvin Diekmann and Lamberto Collari, who makes his 1:1o race debut tomorrow.

View the complete event results here.

View our event image gallery here.

Kurzbuch to start title defence from the TQ at Dutch ENS

Simon Kurzbuch is set to start the defence of his Infinity Euro Nitro Series title from the TQ. The Shepherd driver claimed the first championship point of Season #5 by posting a third TQ run in as many qualifiers on the championship’s first visit to the Netherlands.  Opening the day with a TQ run over rival Dario Balestri, he would continue to reign over proceedings in Q2 and 3 to secure his ninth ENS career TQ.  Fastest from Dutch surprise Jeffrey Rietveld in the second qualifier, it would be fellow countryman Silvio Hächler who get P2 in the penultimate qualifier with the ARC driver now looking to make it a Swiss 1-2 on the grid in the final qualifier.

‘One point already, it’s perfect. We start as we finished’, was Kurzbuch’s reaction his 5th consecutive pole position of the championship.  With Q3 the slowest of TQ runs, he said, ‘there was a lot of traffic and we were all together.  The first plan was to stay behind because I had a good gap but then it started to get very tight again but we did it.  In the end it was really tight with my friend Silvio who I wouldn’t mind losing out to but still it good to have the TQ done already’.  Asked about track conditions, Q3 taking place at a similar time to tomorrow’s A-Main, he said,  ‘it was a bit slower but the handling felt the same’.  With one qualifier still remaining, the 2015 World Champion plans to use the track time to test the 45-minute final.  He said, ‘I will not change the set-up but I will try small tyres to get the feeling and fuel consumption’.

A very happy looking Hächler said, ‘Before the race I was pretty confident but then I struggled with the track the first two days.  It was a combination of the car and my driving. I had trouble with the corner onto the straight which was really difficult’.  A Worlds Finalist, he said, ‘we made a small change in the set-up which had dramatic consequences in improving the car and I also improved my driving so everything came together’.  Asked about the final qualifier, he concluded, ‘Now we go for a Swiss 1+2 on the grid’.

Getting another Top 3 in the penultimate qualifier to go with his opening run, Robin D’hondt was pleased with his performance. The Capricorn driver said, ‘we tried a different engine for that one and it had more bottom power but slightly less at the top.  We also ran harder oil in the front for the warmer weather’.  Holding P4 on the grid going into the fourth & final qualifier he said, ‘we will leave the car like it is and push but try to make minimum mistakes and see what happens’.

Summing up his latest two qualifiers, Rietveld said, ‘Q2 was really good. We made the engine a little leaner and that gave me extra power. I again had a clean track and could push hard the whole time’.  On Q3 in which he was 4th quickest, the Serpent driver said, ‘I didn’t change anything but got stuck in traffic.  I think without this I could have got a TQ run.  Vying for a Top 3 starting position when his only other ENS outing saw him race in the C-Final, the Dutch driver said, ‘I hope for clean run and we have to see what the track will do but my car is good when it is hot or cool.  Another Top 3 would be nice’.  Behind Rietveld it would be Indonesian driver Chavit Saligupta who would be best of the Infinity runners finishing ahead of Japanese team-mate Takaaki Shimo while World Champion Balestri posted a P10 leaving him 6th overall with one qualifier to go.

View the complete event results here.

View our event image gallery here.

Groskamp takes Q2

Jilles Groskamp has taken the second round of the qualifying at the Infinity Euro Nitro Series in the Netherlands, the Infinity driver reversing the result of Q1 to top the times from Alessio Mazzeo.  Teemu Leino would again complete the Top 3 after a spin with 3 laps to go dropped him off the TQ pace. Eduardo Escandon would also repeat his Q1 result with another P4 run. Having failed to start Q1, Top Seed Dominic Greiner’s bad luck continued with a chunked tyre causing him problems including an off on the final lap leaving him to finish P7.

‘It is nice to TQ a round of the ENS again, the last one was quite some time ago’, was Groskamp’s reaction.  The former Champion continued, ‘It was a good run. The first lap the engine was quite rich but it came in nicely.  The track was a little more loose as the temperature came up’.  He concluded, ‘Things are really close but I am really happy with my package’.

Mazzeo said, ‘It is very close for sure. That was the hottest track conditions we have had so far but we made a change for it to improve the corner speed’.  The Xray driver added, ‘I had luck with that one mistake from Teemu which gave me second but for sure we are competitive and it is going to be a good battle for the overall TQ’.  As it stands, the Italian holds the advantage of having the faster TQ time which could prove critical in a tie break giving how closely matched the leading drivers are.

‘It was good. We changed the car a little bit and I was leading until the 2nd or 3rd last lap and spun coming onto the straight and lost the TQ. It was my mistake’, was how Leino summed up his second qualifier.  He added, ‘the track was slower because the sun has come up but my lap times were faster so it shows the car was better’.  Also suffering an moment coming onto the straight in Q1, he said, ‘I will try to have no mistake the next one’.

Commenting on his second attempt Escandon said, ‘I played safe but I think it was too safe from my side’.  The Shepherd driver added, ‘It’s ok because I have two good results and now I can push harder and try some things on the car’.  Behind the Spaniard, Mark Green would register his first time following his engine failure in Q1 warm-up with 1:10 rookie Lamberto Collari completing the Top 6.

Having got his weekend off to the perfect start by topping both free and timed practice, qualifying hasn’t gone the way of pre-season title favourite Greiner.  With a DNS in Q1, the Serpent driver struggled with tyres for Q2.  ‘The tyre gluing was bad and the car was difficult to drive but then they chunked and it was almost impossible to drive.  Its only been bad luck so far but I think the pace is there.  We changed a few things so the car is easy to drive and consistent’.

View the complete event results here.

View our event image gallery here.

Kurzbuch takes opening qualifier at Dutch ENS

Having set the pace in practice yesterday, reigning 1:8 Champion Simon Kurzbuch opened qualifying at Round 1 of the Infinity Euro Nitro Series with a TQ run.  The Shepherd driver, who again topped the time sheets from Dario Balestri, stopped the clocks with a 1-second advantage over his Italian rival who in turn had a 1-second advantage over third. Backing up his strong showing in seeding yesterday, it was Robin D’hondt who completed the Top 3 at the De Baanbrekers track ahead of the surprise of Q1, Jeffrey Rietveld, the Serpent driver running in the second fastest heat.

Summing up his first qualifying attempt, Kurzbuch said, ‘The car was perfect. I had a really good feeling and was able to push over the first 3, 4 laps and pull away. After that I was able to control my pace’.  Describing the track as ‘different to yesterday’, the Swiss driver said , ‘there was more grip which better suits my car’.  As for his plans for Q2, he replied, ‘I will leave it as is for the next one and try to put in the same run again’.

Balestri said, ‘I think everything was OK, we just need to find something to go a little faster’.  He continued, ‘I think we will try a different pipe to close the gap to Simon, but this is not news it is alway like this’.  The World Champion concluded, ‘We will try to use qualifying to improve the car for the finals’, a statement which appeared to be an admission that he was conceding the TQ to Kurzbuch.

‘It was a good run but I lost a little time trying to catch Naoto’, was D’hondt’s view on Q1.  The Capricorn driver added, ‘the car was very good but felt a little too easy to drive’.  Planning changes for Q2 to make the car a little more aggressive, the reigning European Champion said, ‘I will change the set-up but I’m not sure yet what’.

Only 15th fastest in timed practice, Rietveld was very happy with his P4.  Only returning to racing last year after a break of a number of years, the 22-year-old Dutchman said he had a ‘flawless run’.  Reporting his engine as being ‘a little rich’ he said ‘I think I can go a little faster’.  Making the C-Main on his only previous ENS outing last year at Ettlingen, he said he has previous knowledge of the track having tested here last year but it is not his local track.  Putting part of his impressive run down to having a clear track ahead of him he said, ‘I was lucky not to have any traffic so I could go flat out the whole session’.

Posting a P5 run ahead of Lars Hoppe, Carmine Raiola wasn’t overly pleased with his run.  The Italian former Worlds Finalist said, ‘I just tried to finish and get points. I played safe’.  Asked about his car, the Infinity driver replied, ‘It is OK but we need to find a better set-up, we need more steering’.

View the complete event results here.

View our event image gallery here.