Greiner fastest in 3rd round of seeding
Dominic Greiner finally hit the top of the times sheets in seeding practice ending Tadahiko Sahashi’s run of fastest times in the first half of the day at the 1:10 Nitro World Championship. Only P9 in the day’s opening round, the Capricorn driver improved to P4 in Round 2 before going fastest in Round 3. Mister consistent in practice Jilles Groskamp was P2 for a third time with Sahashi, whose Round 1 time is still the fastest of the day, completing the Top 3. Another of the leading contenders to struggle in the opening round, Shoki Takahata improved his Mugen to post the fourth fastest time. For reigning World Champion Naoto Matsukura, the penultimate round was his best so far as he set the sixth fastest time behind team-mate Carmine Riola. Top qualifier at the previous 1:10 and 1:8 World Championship, Dario Balestri has had a challenging day with the Italian having a best run of P8 in Round 2 leaving him currently sitting 11th which would see him seeded in the second fastest heat for qualifying.
‘For sure better’, was Greiner’s reaction to topping the third round. The 2016 Champion continued, ‘the 2nd run I definitely had a bad set of tyres but time it was good’. Having changed his set after the opening run he said they went even further towards a set-up they ran yesterday but added they need to make one more change and that should give him a car that is ‘again drivable and fast’. Needing to top the final practice and better Sahashi’s time to be the overall Top Seed for qualifying, he said, ‘the seeding is not important. You only start first for Q1 so it does’t mean much. I have tried for years to change this so you start each qualifier in order of seeding but they don’t listen. Anyway our focus is on getting the car right for qualifying’.
Groskamp said, ‘again second but it is still going ok’. The former Electric Touring Car World Champion said he has just been making minor changes in anticipation for the track conditions and trying to get information together for tomorrow. He continue ‘my car is fast and consistent so that is good’ but cautioned ‘Dominic found pace back again that one’. Feeling he lost pace in the early part of his 3rd run he said ‘when I look at the lap times it was OK. I think there is variations in the shore of the tyres so this changes when the tyres work at their best but overall I can’t really complain with how it is going’.
Feeling he has improved his car in terms of getting a qualifying time from it as apposed to the fastest 3-consecutive laps Sahashi said trying to keep the car was flipping is his main focus. The Japanese driver said track conditions are not high bit but the problem is caused when the rear of the car slides about and catches one the track many bumps and causing it to want to flip. The former 1:8 World Champion plans to use the final practice to try another se-up change ahead of start of qualifying tomorrow.
Having started off the day with the same set-up as yesterday, Takahata said he has had to make a number of changes to adapt his car to today’s track conditions. Taking little steps in the changes he is making, he feels he is headed in the right direction. Asked what his main issue is he replied he ‘needs more grip’.
Asked how his car is working, Matsukura replied, ‘it is too easy to drive so it is a little slow’. While he feels this could help in putting in a good run over the 7-minute duration of the qualifiers he is hopeful he can make changes for the final seeding run that will make the car a little faster. So far the Japanese driver has a P14 from Round 1 which he followed up with a P7 and P6.
View our event image gallery here.
