Balestri is Top Qualifier in Miami
Dario Balestri is the Top Qualifier at the 1:10 200mm World Championship in Miami. The Infinity driver pulled off his third consecutive Worlds pole position in as many years with another TQ run in the penultimate round of qualifying. Having made a mistake in the day’s opening qualifier, the reigning 1:8 World Champion put in a perfect Q5 making 24-laps to top the times for a third time and deny team-mate Naoto Matsukura and Andy Moore the chance of a first nitro World’s TQ. Having taken the third round of qualifying, Moore had issues in the pits in his fifth run while a mistake from Matsukura while setting the TQ in front of Balestri ended his hopes and he ended up 5th for the round. It would be Dominic Greiner who was closest to Balestri but missing out on going 24-laps. Simon Kurzbuch would complete the Top 3, matching his surprise P3 in Q1, only this time the Shepherd driver took a more traditional route and made a fuel stop like everyone else during the 7-minute qualifier. Robert Pietsch made it four different manufacturers at the top for the round also equalling his best performance so far, while Mugen team-mate Shoki Takahata completed the Top 6.
Top Qualifier at the 2016 Worlds in Gubbio and at the 1:8 World last year in France which he went on to win, Balestri said, ‘I have no words. Honestly I try to change somethings in the car but my experience from the years told me to change something small. So I made a super small change and it saved my life because Naoto is really fast’. Having struggled by his standards in practice, just making the top heat with the 10th fastest time in seeding, the Italian continued, ‘I have to thank Max, Kenji San, Antonio San, Massimo San, everybody. We now also have a car that is safe for the final’.
Reacting to his run Greiner said, ‘I made a little change and for sure it was better but I had to pass Collari again. He never opens the door. I lost time a little but was not the difference there was to Dario’. The reigning champion continued, ‘I am pretty pleased with the car now and with Super Pole taking place in cooler conditions it is better for our car and if that doesn’t work our car is now working good for the Semis’.
‘I really needed that run’, was Kurzbuch’s reaction. The Swiss driver continued, ‘In the last one (Q4) I drove too slow and the pit stop was not good but this time we tried something on the car and it paid off’. Currently sitting 5th overall, the last position to make this evening’s Super Pole the winner of which will join Balestri directly in the A-Main, the 2015 1:8 World Champion said, ‘I need to somehow get into the Super Pole. I know the car is super good in the evening conditions and I have good feeling in my mind for the final qualifier’.
Commenting on his latest performance, Pietsch said, ‘I tried something on the car compared the run before and it took the best out of it. The car was not on the same pace as the run before. Still it was an OK run’. Suffering from ‘big traffic’ in Q4 which cost him 2-seconds he said he was lucky not to crash out of that one after he slid out of the corner and almost collected him’. Looking to the final qualifier, the 1:8 World Champion at this track in 2011, said, ‘we need to find something again for the conditions to be as fast as earlier’.
A frustrated Matsukura reacted with, ‘Aaah, I made a mistake’. Having started the day with a TQ run after some issues yesterday, he continued, ‘I made two mistakes. I was leading and it hit the board on the inside of the corner and then had another mistake 2 laps later’. Holding the fastest qualifying time of the event, the Japanese driver said, ‘my car was ok that time but the engine was a little rich. Before the fuelling it was very good but after it had a different feeling. Still I think I am in the Super Pole and there is still one more to go so I will try for another TQ run’.
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