Balestri continues to set the pace at Worlds
Dario Balestri continues to set the pace at the 1:8 World Championships with the Infinity driver topping the second round of seeding practice at Steel City RC Speedway. Slightly slower track conditions saw Balestri go fastest over 3-consecutive laps as Japanese drivers came to the fore with Infinity team-mate Takaaki Shimo putting in the second fastest time ahead of Shoki Takahata and 2013 World Champion Tadahiko Sahashi. While Carmine Raiola had an improve run setting the fourth fastest time, for some of the expected title contenders it was a tough round. Simon Kurzbuch was only 28th as he struggled with his car traction rolling, a problem which also left Dominic Greiner uncompetitive for the round. Star of the last 1:8 Worlds, Naoto Matsukura had a spectacular exit from the round when his steering came off as he turned off the straight resulting in his car being firmly buried under the track barrier.
Commenting on his latest run, Balestri said, ‘I am still first so it’s all good but I still think we can improve something in the car’. The defending Champion continued, ‘It is too much on the limit. I don’t really know what to change to improve it but I think maybe we will change the body for the next one’.
Running a prototype of Infinity’s next 1:8 chassis release along with Lamberto Collari while the rest of the team run the current IF18, Shimo said, ‘the car was good but my clutch was slipping a little’. Improving the car the multiple World Vice Champion said, ‘I made the car lower. The first round it was not bad but I lowered the ride height .5mm and it made it easier to drive’. Asked if he had more changes planned for the 3rd of the 4 seeding rounds he said, ‘the car is good so I will leave it and just tighten the clutch’.
Having tried a different set-up for the first run of the day which he described as ‘not good’, Takahata returned to his ‘good’ free practice set-up for the second run and in doing so returned to form. Running a front chassis stiffer from Yurugix on his Mugen, which he says has improved his car a lot in the high traction conditions here in California, the 25-year-old Worlds podium finisher wants to try to make his car quicker from the start of the run. Like the majority of drivers, he said his car is not good at the beginning of the run and this is an area he wants to focus on improving ahead of qualifying tomorrow and he will now discuss with his team what possible changes to make for this.
Sahashi was happy with his run claiming his car was now good from the start of the run right through to the end of the 8-minutes. Changing to a softer rear spring he said this made the car easier to driver particular in the left side chicane’. With former 1:10 World Champion Keisuke Fukuda as his pitman this week, he plans to discuss further set-up changes for the third round which should take place at the hottest time of the day.
‘It was better this round’, was Raiola’s reaction to his P5 time. Only 20th on his first seeding attempt, the Italian explained, ‘we changed the shock oil to harder and and made the ride height super down in the rear. It made it want to flip less so I was able to drive now. We will try harder oil in the front now and see what happens’.
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