Greiner deserving World Champion after faultless race

Dominic Greiner is the new Nitro Touring Car World Champion.  Widely regarding one of the world’s fastest 200mm drivers the German finally took the sport’s biggest prize heading a Serpent 1-2 in Gubbio, Italy.  Starting 3rd on the grid, he quickly made the race his own with a faultless drive eventually crossing the line one lap up on his rivals for a much deserved win. With Top Qualifier Dario Balestri’s race lasting just 9 laps due to diff failure,  Super Pole winner Alessio Mazzeo would briefly take over the lead when the problem sent his fellow countryman’s Capricorn on the grass with only 2-minutes on the clock. Staying out front for 2-laps, Alessio couldn’t match the pace of his team-mate and once Greiner went to the front the attention of the race was on who would fill the podium. With less than 10-minutes to go, that would be decided in an epic three way battle between crowd favourite Mazzeo, Simon Kurzbuch and Bruno Coelho. On the last lap it looked like Mazzeo would throw away 2nd but while Kurzbuch would get him into the corner the Italian had better traction to the line snatching the runner-up spot by 6/100ths of a second and sending the large attendance into a frenzy.  Covering a race distance of 209 laps of the fast Miniautodromo Internazionale M.Rosati track, a bad last lap would result in Coelho missing the podium by 1.7-seconds. The best non-European finisher Takaaki Shimo would complete the Top 5 with only one car failing to finish the race.

A driver who has strived so hard to be No.1 and always regarded anything else as a failure by his own standards, Greiner’s raw emotion of becoming World Champion showed just how much he wanted it.  Roaring with the joy & relief as he crossed the finish line, the 2014 Top Qualifier and podium finisher was overcome by the win.  Commenting on the race having no time to let the fact settle in as a stream of people looked to get a selfie with the new World Champion, he said, ‘What should I say, everything was perfect’.  He continued, ‘we trained so hard the last few months for this.  We practiced hundreds of tyre changes and fuel stops to make sure we had it right’.  Giving an overview of the event, he said, ‘the week started very good but then we struggled a bit in the heat but in the end we found the perfect set-up’.  In the race he said ‘after the first tyre stop at that point I could drive just 90% to make it safe’.  Opting to run less camber for the final he said while making the car slightly slower it was ‘better for the long run’ as it meant less tyre wear.  With mechanic Thomas Günsel seen by many as the key to turning Greiner from being one of the fastest drivers into also a race winner, Greiner himself acknowledging his input over the last two years. He said, ‘Thomas is the best help I can have.  This is not only my thing its a team win’.  Also thanking Daniele Ielasi for his help in the pits and also with his Novarossi engines, Greiner said the 1-2 for the 748 today was down to ‘good team work all round’.

‘An amazing race. Today maybe 700 people cheer for me, what an amazing sensation’, was Mazzeo’s reaction to finishing on the podium on his World Championship final debut. Asked about his final lap which had the Italian crowd biting the nails, the popular 24-year-old said, ‘my heart, I just did my best and I’m so happy with second’.  Asked for an overview of the final, he started by saying, ‘I’m sorry for Dario, he is one of the best’.  He continued, ‘For my car they were not good conditions, it was hard to drive because of the temperature.  The strategy for the race was good but I made a mistake by myself and lost time. Dominic got first and I got second so I’m happy’.

Kurzbuch summed up his podium finish with, ‘It was a super good race.  What Bruno, Mazzeo and me showed here was amazing’.  The reigning 1:8 World Champion felt time lost during the first of his two tyres stops cost him a chance at the win – all the front runners stopped on 20 and 40-minutes for a complete four tyres change.  ‘We lost a bit of time in the pits when we dropped a wheel nut’.  Failing to stay in the nut spinner, the Shepherd driver added, ‘you win together & you lose together but we never gave up’.  He continued, ‘my brother was shouting at me to push as hard as I can and we were able to come back in the race and we won third place’.  Team Shepherd’s sole representative in the final, he concluded, ‘we showed the car is good and put on a great race so I’m happy’.

‘For sure an amazing final. After 1-hour three drivers are still fighting for second’, was Coelho’s summary of the race.  The Xray driver continued, ‘OK we did not win but it was still amazing, I don’t see this like a fourth place’.  Offering his congratulating to Greiner he said the new World Champion ‘was stronger than us and could pull away at the beginning’.  Commenting on the performance of his Max powered NT1, the Portuguese driver who goes to China next week as one of the favourites for the Electric Touring Car World title said, ‘Everything was perfect, the car, the engine, tyre stops’.

Commenting on his retirement, having made the final for the first time since 2008 in Portugal, Balestri said, ‘the first time after 3-years’ a reference to his rear diff failure adding ‘and today it broke after 7 laps’.  Having fitted a new diff to his Tesla powered LAB CO3 in preparation for the 60-minute final, the Italian said, ‘After four laps I knew I had a problem as the car was strange’, it shooting out of the lead and onto the grass 4-laps later.

Elsewhere 2010 Top Qualifier Robert Pietsch said his ‘race was done after 3-minutes’.  The factory Mugen/Picco driver would suffer with his engine going lean and while he would pit for tuning the ‘plug was already broken’.  Rejoining the race to finish 8th, the 2011 1:8 World Champion said ‘I’m really disappointed as my lap times were really competitive’, only Kurzbuch setting a faster lap time in the race.  For 2012 World Champion Meen Vejrak, who had been battling with Kurzbuch early on, a flame out as his Capricorn was released from it’s first refuelling would end the Thai driver’s challenge, him eventually classified 9th.

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Semi line-up complete in Gubbio

The 7th running of the Nitro Touring Car World Championship is down to the final 22 with most significant driver to bump up from the 1/4 finals being 2014 runner up Yuya Sashashi.  The Serpent driver bumps up on to the back of the Semi B final grid after finishing third 3-seconds behind Capricorn driver & pole sitter Kyle Branson who in turn was 3-seconds back on the 1/4 B Final winning Team Infinity of Carmine Raiola.  Unfortunately for 2014 Finalists JJ Wang his attempt at the third bump up felt short as he finished 4th, half a lap back on Sashashi.  In the 1/4 A Final Toni Gruber would book his place in the Semis going one better than in 2014 as he took the win ahead of 2010 Worlds runner up Takehiro Terauchi.  There was dramatic finish to the second of the encounters as 1/8 final winner David Loppini ran out of fuel on the last lap while holding third, gifting Dirk Wischnewski the final spot in the Semis.

Bringing newcomers Team Infinity’s tally of cars in the Semi Final to five, Carmine Raiola said he ‘went easy to get the car in to the Semi’.  Pleased with the performance of the prototype car, the 2013 1:8 World Finalist said the Semi final was going to be won making the right decision on tyre strategy.  Asked what he planned the Italian wasn’t giving anything away but added, ‘ask me afterwards and I will tell you if I got it right or wrong’.

Leading the first of the 1/4 Finals from start to finish Gruber said hewas pleased at progressing to the Semi finals for the first time but said the latter part of the race was difficult due to the track’s high tyre wear.  Describing his Novarossi powered Serpent 748 as ‘in the beginning very good’, the German said by the end of the 20-minutes he had ‘no control’, his front right down to the rim adding ‘it was very close at the end and my only plan was to defend’.  In addition to the lack of control he said the small tyres had a huge effect on his top speed.  Registering 105 kph on the track radar, by the end of the race his top speed down the straight was down to 85 kph.  Looking to the longer Semi final he said ‘I think 4 is the only option’ referring to how many tyres he would change during the 30-minute race.

Shaking his head, ‘lucky’ was Wischnewski’s response to making the Semis after Loppini’s misfortune.  The Shepherd driver and current championship leader of the Euro Nitro Series, it was at the Miniautodromo Internazionale M.Rosati track that he won his 2009 European Championship title.  Having had to get to that final through the Semi Finals after qualifying P5, the Top 4 making it direct to the Main, the German said his Velox V10 had very good speed but suffered an engine flame every stop and ‘lost a lot of time’.  Planning to ‘change something on the pit stops’, he said he is a little concerned over his car after he crashed it heavily finishing the race and he said he ‘hope(s) it is OK’.  On his Semi final, him starting the same race that will be led away by team-mate Simon Kurzbuch, he said, ‘now anything can happen’.  On tyres he said ‘we have to change’ adding ‘I have to decide 2 or 4 but you can only push hard if you go for all four’.

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New World Champion to be crowned, Hagberg crashed out

Nitro Touring Car will get a new World Champion this evening as defending champion Alexander Hagberg’s race came to a end on the 1/8 Finals this morning in Gubbio.  Struggling from the start of the event, never featuring strongly on the time sheets, the Xray driver would qualify 34th putting him second on the grid for the Semi B final.  With pole sitter Alessio Agostinelli flaming out on the restart, a timing issuing forcing the race to be stopped after the original 09:00 start, Hagberg took the lead of the race and looked in control.  However 12 laps in to the 20-minute final, the Swede’s race was to come to an end as Joe Kerry excited the pitlane and made contact with Hagberg.  With the contact resulting in a chunked rear tyre Hagberg would have to pit to change the tyre bringing an end to his chances of progressing.  Having struggled like Hagberg in qualifying and bumped up to the 1/8 final after winning yesterday evening’s 1/16 final ahead of Paolo Morganti, JJ Wang would again take the win ahead of his fellow US driver to progress to the 1/4 final.  Australia’s Jeff Hamon would secure what should have been the final bump up spot after holding off the recovering Agostinelli, who after setting the fastest lap of the race, was less than 2-seconds back but after the race Morganti was disqualified for a bodyshell infringement.

‘I’m really disappointed by this kind of reckless driver’, was Hagberg’s reaction to the incident.  He continued, ‘I was leading easy and then Joe Kerry rejoined from the pitlane and crashed me while I was on the racing line.  This chunked my tyre and I had to come in to change it’.

Commenting on his race, 2014 Finalist Wang said, ‘its been a rough week but something has pulled through for the finals’.  Fifth in Bangkok, the Mugen driver said ‘its getting better but a little too late’.  On his car he said, ‘we built a completely new car after qualifying and while it’s not the fastest car it is good for finals’.  While he didn’t suffer the same faith as Hagberg, the Shanghai based driver was also less than complimentary about the driving standards saying, ‘there are some crazy drivers out there’.

In the second of the 1/8 Finals another World Champion’s campaign would come to an end with Daniele Ielasi only able to finish 6th.  Running WRC’s first touring car creation at the race, the 2008 Champion always faced a tough challenge compounded by the fact he has no team-mates with which to share set-up information.  The race would be won by Italian driver David Loppini, leading from start to finish, ahead of the similar Xray of Alessio Menicucci with Dutch Serpent driver Daan Jacobs complete magical Top 3 to bump up.

View complete event results here.

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