Pirani quickest in practice at ENS Finale

Andrea Pirani has topped practice at the season finale of the Euro Nitro Series in Italy.  Rain yesterday meant drivers would have only three practice rounds to find a set-up for qualifying, the first practice effectively a track drying run.  The WRC driver was quickest in the third & final practice ahead of Italian compatriot Dario Balestri, the pair separated by 0.15 over their best 3-consecutive lap times.  Behind them despite not improving on his pace from the second of the practice runs, ARC’s Toni Gruber would complete the Top 3 ahead of newly crowned champion Simon Kurzbuch.

‘This time it was very good’ was Pirani’s reaction to being fastest.  A podium finisher at the season opener, a body change for the final practice would allow him to improve his time by half a second.  Running Xtreme Aerodynamic’s R18 body he used one that was mounted 1mm more forward in his GTX which he said gave him better steering.  Admitting ‘it is a little easier for (him) than other tracks as (he) practiced a lot here’ and given the reduced track time because of the weather, he declared ‘we are all very close’.  Happy he has a good car for qualifying, 1:8 running 2 of their 3 qualifiers tonight due to a threat of further rain on Sunday, he said his aim was to get ‘2 clean rounds in and hope it is not wet in the morning’.  With 2 of the 3 counting towards the final grid two decent runs could prove very important.

Balestri, who is in contention to become Vice-Champion, summed up practice with ‘it was ok’.  The Capricorn driver described track conditions as ‘a bit different to normal’ with ‘less grip’.  Changing his rear shock oil to get more stability from the car he said it was ‘ok’ in the final practice adding ‘I hope its good for the first qualifier’.

‘All in all really good’ was how Gruber described how practice had gone.  The ARC driver, who has been one of the stars of this year’s ENS, was to suffer from losing a screw from his layshaft pulley in the final practice.  Asked about his R8.0 set-up the German replied, ‘there was not much time to find a perfect set-up but I think its all good for the first qualifier’.

Chasing a clean sweep of wins to cap off his championship winning campaign, Kurzbuch said his practice had gone ‘not so bad given we had 2 times 4-minutes of practice’.  The Team Shepherd driver added, ‘I didn’t work too much on the car but instead tried different bodies and re-learned the track’.  Running both the R18 normal and Flat versions from Xtreme Aerodynamic his preference was with the flat as it ‘give more traction in the front which is good for a fast lap time around this track’.  Planning to check over the car for Q1, he said ‘I might make some little changes but I think I’m ready for qualifying’.

Winner when the ENS made its first visit to the Mini Autodromo Jody Scheckter track 3-years ago, Lamberto Collari would post the 5th fastest time.  The 9-time World Champion, for whom the race marks his first year with Team Infinity, declared himself content saying, ‘the feeling is OK’.   The Italian said, ‘we tested very few times here and with the bad weather reducing track time we can only try fine adjustments. We don’t have the knowledge to do more’.  For qualifying the legend of the sport expects the track to be ‘worse every round’ due to the evening humidity, conditions much colder than previous visits to the track which where also in the month of October.

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Mazzeo tops practice in Fiorano

Alessio Mazzeo has set the pace at the end of a reduced practice at the Euro Nitro Series in Fiorano.  The Serpent driver went quickest in the final practice ahead of earlier pace setter Erik Dankel as the traction came up at the Mini Autodromo Jody Scheckter track after a wet start to the season finale.  The only driver to run 3-consecutive laps in 49-seconds, the Italian would end up little over 1/10th of a second faster than Dankel with Bruno Coelho completing the Top 3.  After struggling in his first practice, CP2 the first dry run, leading title contender Teemu Leino would manage the fourth fastest time in the 3rd & final practice albeit 7/10ths off Mazzeo’s pace.

‘Now good’ was Mazzeo’s reaction to topping the third round.  Winner of this race last year after passing champion to be Jilles Groskamp on the penultimate lap, the World Championship podium finisher said, ‘to be fast the (racing) line is very little.  In the first practice my car was not so good but we made a lot of changes and for that one I’m very happy’.  The former European Champion continued, ‘It is not perfect, I don’t think anyone has a perfect car yet, but it is a good package to be going into the first qualifier with’. Asked about changing the car for the improving track conditions he replied, ‘I think I will make just a little change’.

Dankel summed up his final practice with, ‘I was more used to the track that time and once I don’t push too hard it was OK’.  The Mugen driver said while the track was better he expected traction to have been higher for the second dry run.  Runner-up behind Leino at the previous round in Austria, his best result this season, the ENS’ inaugural champion said for the opening qualifier he ‘need(s) to talk to Robert (Pietsch) but maybe I will change the car because I need more steering mid corner but the goal for Q1 is to get a clean run in’.

‘Very good pace now’ was Coelho summary of his final practice.  The Portuguese ace added, ‘I didn’t drive nitro since the World Championship so I think to be this close already is very good’.  Describing the track as having ‘improved a lot’ between the two rounds, in terms of his Max powered NT1 he said, ‘we are still missing some stability, normally we have too much, but we are there on pace and will make some small changes to improve the car for Q1’.  Team-mate and designer of the NT1, Martin Hudy would complete the Top 6 with his example.

A much happier looking Leino said, ‘I changed bodyshell, shocks, camber, everything and now the car is more easy to drive’. Switching from a Protoform SRS bodyshell to a SRC Spark, the Team Infinity driver said ‘the car already feels OK now but I forgot to change one thing’.  Running 5-degrees of toe-out in the front, he said for Q1 he ‘will go to what I normally run’.  He added, ‘there is no need to win practice, its more important to find the right car set-up’.

‘The second one was super’ was how Patrick Schafer summed up his final practice.  The Team Shepherd boss and designer continued, ‘the first practice I struggled a lot so I changed the car a lot and seems I found the right spot’.  A former ENS podium finisher he added, ‘Maybe I will change the front toe in otherwise I will leave it the same.  I am really satisfied too with my engine so the important thing for the first one (qualifier) is to put in a safe clean run’. Unfortunately for his lead team driver and points leader Dirk Wischnewski his practice pace wasn’t to improve.  Winner of the season opener, he said ‘we are struggling a bit.  I have too much steering and this is making the car edgy to drive.  He continued, ‘I expected a lot more understeer from the track but we will change the car now for the higher traction’.  Asked if he knows what changes he needs to make he replied, ‘we are guessing.  It’s a gamble and I think the others who are fast just got their gamble right’.

Ending up 9th fastest behind team-mate Alex Thurston, Dominic Greiner would struggle in the final practice after an engine change.  The World Champion said, ‘I needed to use the run to have a second engine ready but it wasn’t right’.  Changing his 748 set-up, he said ‘the car is much better’ but added ‘without power it difficult to fully tell’.  For Q1 the German plans to leave the car unchanged but is unsure whether to put in his first engine or to risk running a different one.

Third fastest in the previous practice, reigning champion Jilles Groskamp could only manage the 13th fastest time on the faster track.  The Team Infinity driver said, ‘I didn’t change anything. There was more traction and my car got loose, it even flew off the track one time’.  The former Electric Touring Car World Champion continued, ‘I don’t know why I had too much steering but I think I will change bodyshell.  With just 2 practices on a changing track its hard to get it figure it out but I think I will just change from an SRS to an SRC body which I think should improve the car enough to allow me have a clean run’.

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Chassis Focus – Enrico Burato

Chassis – ZF Z4
Engine – XRD FT Line
Fuel – Homemade
Tires (handout) – Matrix
Radio/Servo – Sanwa/Futaba
Body – Protoform R18

Remarks – Italian veteran Enrico Burato is debuting the new Z4 car from the all new company ZF, which takes its name from the initials of its owner Federico Zugno, formerly involved in the production of a very successful classic car. Nearing the end of the development process, the car is totally designed from scratch and although this example still features a pre-production front end due to a delay in the production of the molds, for the rest it is the very same car that will be available soon.

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Dankel sets early pace at ENS finale

Mugen’s Erik Dankel set the early pace in a shortened practice ahead of the title deciding season finale of the Euro Nitro Series in Fiorano, Italy.  The former Champion, who is one of the key contenders for the 1:10 title, was fastest over 3-consecutive laps of the Mini Autodromo Jody Scheckter track from World Champion Dominic Greiner with reigning ENS Champion Jilles Groskamp completing the Top 3.  With the first round of practice being sat out by most of the top drivers due to rain yesterday & overnight rain meaning drivers arrived to a wet track, title favourite Teemu Leino’s single practice would see the Team Infinity driver go only 7th fastest on the mainly dry track.

‘I didn’t expect it, it went really well’, was Dankel’s reaction to being quickest by 7/10th from Greiner.  The German, who comes into the weekend 2nd in the points behind fellow countryman Dirk Wischnewski, continued, ‘Its a really positive start that my car worked straight away because if I struggle at the start of an event it can get into my head sometimes’.   Feeling his ‘lines are not perfect’ around the track he added ‘I need to get more used to the track’ – originally drivers where scheduled to get six rounds of free practice yesterday but rain prevented any dry running.  Expecting ‘its going to be close like every time’ once qualifying gets underway, the first round on schedule for later this evening, he said in terms of his car he will leave it unchanged for the final practice as he expects the track to get better but not knowing how it will be ‘no point to change anything for now’.

One of the few drivers to test in the wet yesterday, Greiner said he had ‘a strange feeling’ from his car in the second practice.  The Serpent driver said his 748 was ‘loose on power’ and while expecting the track conditions to get better which should help alleviate this added he will still need to make changes to his car. With Matrix the handout tyre for this race he said the characteristic of the tyre is to give the car more steering and he needs to change his set-up to account for this.  Team-mate and winner of this event last year, Alessio Mazzeo would take his 748 to the fifth fastest time behind Eduardo Escandon, the Spanish KM Racing driver having had a good showing here last year when he qualified 6th.

‘Felt really good from the start’ was how a very pleased looking Groskamp summed up his car.  The Team Infinity driver, who missed the 3rd round of the ENS due to EP World Championship commitments, said, ‘I’m running the same set-up as Gubbio (World Championships) and the balance and the steering are good’.  Having ran at the Bologna track, host of the season opener, in the lead up to the race to break in engines for the weekend the Dutch driver added, ‘maybe we could have run my engine a little leaner but I’m happy’.  Admitting ‘Erik is really fast’, he continued ‘the track will of course improve and I know the track and really like how it flows so for a first run we are looking OK’.  In terms of car changes he said, ‘I wont be making many changes as we have little track time now after the rain so it will be just little adjustments we might try’.

Almost 1.4-seconds off Dankel’s pace, Leino summed up his practice run as ‘not so good’.  The Finn, who has won the last two rounds, said ‘the car feels twitchy’.  Feeling it is a combination of the track conditions, some moisture still in the track, and his set-up he said ‘we will change (the set-up) a little bit for the next one’.  Also planning to change engine, saying ‘I need to have two ready for the race’, he concluded, ‘It is a little difficult with not so much practice’.  For Leino’s key title rival and the season’s only other race winner Wischnewski the first practice would see the Team Shepherd driver somewhat off the pace with only the 13th fastest time just behind Xray’s lead driver Bruno Coelho.

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Track Focus – Mini Autodromo Jody Scheckter

Track Name – Mini Autodromo Jody Scheckter
Club – Racing Minicar Fiorano
Country – Italy
Location – Fiorano (20km South-West of Modena)
Direction – Anti-clockwise
Surface – Asphalt
Previous ENS hosted – 2014 & 2015

For the third year running the Mini Autodromo Jody Scheckter track in Fiorano, Italy, again hosts the fourth & concluding round of the Euro Nitro Series.  One of the Worlds’s most famous and driver favourite onroad nitro tracks, it is located in the heartland of Italian motoring passion with Ferrari’s Fiorano test track just 500 metres away, while the Ferrari factory is just a 5-minute drive away. Built in 1996, the impressive facility covers a total area of 13,000 square metres allowing for the large and spacious pits which are much appreciated by racers.  At the helm of the successful Racing Minicar Fiorano club is club president Angelo Gesualdi who originally got the city of Fiorano to support the creation of the 297 metre track by providing the land to the club.

As the track was being built and in keeping with the huge motoring history of the area it was decided to name the track after Ferrari’s last world champion Jody Scheckter and the 1979 World Champion from South Africa was happy to give official endorsement to naming the track after him.  A very popular track with racers,  newly crowned 1:8 ENS Champion Simon described it as ‘beautiful to drive’ adding ‘it’s not easy to get fast laps’.  The Team Shepherd driver, who wrapped up his second ENS title at the previous round in Austria, said, ‘it’s really fast & technical and you need lots of steering mid corner.  You also need to get right up on the curbs for the right line for the next corner. I really like it’.  Also famed for his unique pit atmosphere the World Champion said, ‘It’s a perfect facility.  It has a great restaurant too which always serves great Italian food so it’s always great to come racing here’.

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