Redaelli fastest in hotter mid day conditions

With a noticeable rise in track temperature due to the midday sun meaning little chance of the days opening practice times been beaten, the 9th & 10th rounds of free practice at the 1:10 Nitro Touring Car World championships was used by many as an opportunity to focus on engine run times.  Over the two rounds it would be Italian Capricorn driver Luca Redaelli would would set the fastest three consecutive laps from the Serpent of Alessio Mazzeo with Alessio Agostinelli making it an all Italian Top 3 in the hotter conditions.  With the temperature rise Redaelli’s time was almost 7/10th off the current fastest 3-laps of Simon Kurzbuch which was set in FP7 this morning.  Best non Italian for the two rounds would be Dominic Greiner, the Serpent driver fourth fastest having posted a P3 time in FP10, just 0.003 quicker than Kurzbuch’s Shepherd.

Putting his improved pace down to the hotter conditions playing to the strengths of his Capricorn’s set-up as the did yesterday, Redaelli was pleased with his pace adding ‘everyone will have to qualify in these hot conditions so I’m very happy and it was interesting to see others are now not so fast’.  Happy to leave his LAB C03 unchanged and now instead focus on the run time from his Tesla engines.  Fastest overall Capricorn driver in second with a time set last night in FP6, Dario Balestri would be P6 in FP10 with the Italian very content with his programme for the large number of practice runs drivers get.  Using FP10 to test used tyres that he feels would be where the car would be at 20-minutes into a race, he said the chassis was a little low and touching the track but the run was good in terms of gathering information on what he needs to do for the finals.

Having felt earlier that his 748 was missing something for the cooler than expected conditions, Mazzeo said ‘the car was now getting better as it is warmer’.  He continued, ‘For a driver the car is never perfect I think we are good and overall very fast’.  Planning ‘a little change in the steering’ for the penultimate round of free practice this evening he said the main focus on the run will be to gauge the run time of his Gimar engine in preparation for the 5-minute qualifiers.

Topping the times for FP9, Agostinelli said improvements to his Capricorn had given him a better car.  While the time was slower than his FP7 time by over 3/10th, the 23-year-old for whom Gubbio is his local track, said a lower rear and high front roll centre had given the car more steering as well as more rear traction.  Also adjusting the front caster and changing to a harder shock spring this contributed to the car feeling ‘safer through the fast corners’.  Running Novarossi engines, he will change this for his next run to check ‘all (his) engines are good for 5-minutes’.

For FP10 Greiner ‘changed to a better engine’ but the Novarossi unit was set ‘a bit too rich’.  Also making a change to the rear diff on his 748 he said it had made it ‘difficult to drive’ and for the next run he will change to oil half way between what he just ran and what he ran earlier.  Managing a P3 for the round with both these issues he said with a better engine setting it could have been possible to be fastest which he was happy about given ‘it is hot now’.

Also making an engine change from this morning, Kurzbuch said the Novarossi unit was ‘not perfect’ due to the tuning but running it again in FP10 the 5-minute ‘run time was easy’.  Having also changed his set-up from that which he ran this morning reverting back to the set-up for FP10 he said it was good to know he has a car that is good for both hot and cold conditions.

Having struggled with the set-up they arrived in Italy with, Japanese brother team Tadahiko and Yuya Sahashi are making contrasting progress.  According to Serpent designer Michael Salven, his drivers opted to take ‘baby steps’ in moving away from their own set-ups but have finally reached a point that is ‘OK for Tadahiko’.  With language a barrier for the non English speaking drivers, Salven said Edu Picco has been a brilliant help in working with the drivers and somehow replaying information. While  Tadahiko managed the 6th fastest time of the two session with a P2 in FP2, his fastest 3-laps of the event so far, when his brother copied the set-up it didn’t work for him.  Salven said ‘maybe Yuya can’t drive (the set-up) or there is some issue with the car.’

Bruno Coelho would post the 7th fastest time of the two middle of the day practice rounds.  The Xray driver posted the third quickest time in FP3 but after they ‘changed some stuff’ for FP10 his NT1 ‘was not so good’.  Set to go back to his early set-up and then try going a different direction with the set-up, he said his latest run was still useful as they made a 5-minute test for his Max engine which he said was ‘ok with this one’.  Overall the Portuguese driver, who has been the sensation of rc racing over the last 2-years adapting to any class he has contested, said, ‘overall we are not so far from the top and its just about small details’.  He added ‘the track is changing all the time, the warmer it gets the better for us’.

While Robert Pietsch is the lead Mugen in the overall timing with the third fastest time, it was Japanese team-mate Shimo Takaaki who was the best MTX6 over FP9 & 10.  Describing his car as ‘very easy and consistent’ around the track which he said is ‘a very good layout’, he said he needs to make ‘little improvements to make (the car) a little faster’.  Happy with his OS engines’ performance around this power track, he said while his car doesn’t feel much different to drive as the conditions change over the day the change in times is ‘big’ and he ‘now must think what changes to make’ to reduce the difference.

View the event image gallery here.