Joy for Wischnewski, Heartbreak for Balestri

There was a dramatic outcome to the 2009 EFRA 1:10 200mm European Championships here in Gubbio, Italy this evening, with heartbreak for race dominator Dario Balestri and total joy for new Champion Dirk Wischnewski. Starting from pole Balestri’s Novarossi powered Team Magic was untouchable allowing the defending back to back Champion to lap the entire field, but in the final 10 minutes of the race the Italian suffered gearbox problems ending his quest for a hat trick of titles.

With Balestri out of contention, eventually retiring on lap 134, it was Wischnewski who was best placed to take over the lead.  Having recorded the fastest lap of the race the German Champion had a 6 second gap on second placed Alexander Hagberg. With Hagberg involved in an intense battle with Manuel Huber, Wischnewski was able to extend the gap eventually crossing the finish line over 11 seconds clear to claim his first ever European A Championship title. Behind it was nitro Euros rookie Hagberg who took the runners up spot but just with Huber only 0.674 behind the Swede after 45 minutes of hot racing.

After the race the very down to earth Wischnewski was clearly surprised by his win saying, ‘My car, engine and mechanic were all perfect in the race. Once Dario lapped me I thought second is a great result for me as my aim was just to make the final but when he went out I started to feel a little nervous because I was now fighting for the European Championship. I just tried to stay calm for last few minutes and it was a great relief to reach the finish. I’m so happy and I want to thank my pitman Bertram Kessler who was a big part of this victory’.

Making his 1:10 200mm European debut Hagberg was very happy with second. Progressing from the 1/4 Finals, the electric touring car ace came here aiming for a place in the main final but said finishing on the podium was far more than he expected. The Xray/Max driver, who is competing in only his first year of nitro racing, said it was a very close battle with Huber but his one stop less fuel strategy gave him the upper hand.  With his home country Sweden hosting next year’s European Championship Hagberg said he will do pre event testing at the Vast 8 track unlike this year and hopes that will help him to go one better.

After a good start to the race, Huber was to lose half a lap following a crash involving Francesco Tironi. This forced him to push his Xray very hard as he recovered the lost ground but over the last five minutes he struggled with tyres and although surprised to claim his first European podium he was a little disappointed to miss out on second having come so close.

Finishing a lap down on the leaders, fourth placed Martin Hudy was disappointed with his race.  The factory Xray driver, a podium finisher at the Worlds, said he couldn’t push after the wrong tyre choice left him with understeer.  With his engine also set to lean, the Slovak said while it a frustrating race for him he was delighted for Xray who took the Top 6 places in the final.

The final wasn’t a good race for any of the four direct qualifiers. One can’t help feel for Balestri and his crew as they came so close to becoming the most successful team in 200mm. It’s going to be a very sombre drive home for him and his large entourage who had been accustomed to taking home the winning trophy. The normally very jolly Francesco Tironi was also very down after the final. The factory Sirio driver said his race was over after the first lap as he struggled with a very difficult to drive car and finishing 10th was not how he had envisaged his home event. Jerome Renaux missed the start as he couldn’t get his engine to start but took some consolation from the fact he bettered his two 10th places finishes at the Euro B Championship to claim sixth. Wonder kid Biagio Spataro may not realise yet how big an impression he has made on the sport and will be disappointed to not have finished higher but the new Junior European Champion’s big day is sure to come.

After a week of echoing to the sound of high revving engines, silence has fallen on the Gubbio track here in Italy with a new name added to the list of European Champions. For some the trip home with be a chance to reflect on what could have been but overall the biggest winner of this European Championship is our sport. The organisation here has set a new standard as to how an event given the task of hosting such a prestigious event like the European Championship should be presented and run. The attention to detail was superb and we say well done to Mr. Agostinelli and his crew for raising the bar. We hope now EFRA will ensure that level is maintained. Finally a special thanks to Raimondo Gilletti who acted as our Italian translator in the pits. Ciao.

Final overall standings
1. Dirk Wischnewski (Xray/NR) – 159L 45:03.983
2. Alexander Hagberg (Xray/Max) – 159L 45:15.194
3. Manuel Huber (Xray/Max) – 159L 45:15.868
4. Martin Hudy (Xray/Max) 158L 45:05.808
5. Giorgio De Felici (Xray/Max) – 153L 45:01.774
6. Jerome Renaux (Xray/NR) – 138L 45:13.132
7. Dario Balestri (TM/NR) – 134L 38:12.900
8. Biagio Spataro (Xray/JP) – 134L 45:09.379
9. Gerhard Kandelhardt (Xray/NR) – 116L 45:02.446
10.Francesco Tironi (Mugen/Sirio) – 112L 34:23.133

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