Pietsch Top Qualifier with new Mugen

Mugen designer Robert Pietsch gave his latest creation the MTX-5 its first accolade by securing Top Qualifier honours at the 200mm European Championships in Ettlingen, Germany. Top Qualifier at the World Championships using the MTX-5’s predecessor, the German ace claimed his first Euros TQ with his time from yesterday’s second round of qualifying as no one could take advantage of the dry Q4 conditions to better his time.  The main improvements in the final qualifier were Xray pairing Dirk Wischnewski and Eric Dankel who set the 2nd & 3rd fastest overall times respectively to demote Q1 pace setter Patrick Schäfer to fourth in the final ranking.

Delighted to put the brand new MTX-5 top in qualifying on its race debut, Pietsch used the fourth & final qualifier to test ‘super big’ tyres in preparation for tomorrow’s finals.  While the car was expectedly a little harder to drive on the larger diameter foam, the 1:8 Onroad World Champion said he could not get the car to traction roll, something that was a problem with the MTX-4.  Very happy with the test and the amount of tyre wear over the 7-minutes of the heat, last year’s podium finisher added that the overall feeling of the car is really good for the Semi.

Top Qualifier at the Euros for the last two years, Wischnewski said he ran a little safe and was relieved to finally complete a full run having run out of fuel in both of yesterday’s qualifiers.  The 2009 Champion said his chances of securing a third consecutive TQ were lost yesterday and while happy to be on pole for the Semi B Final he really wanted to be Top Qualifier.  Getting to within less than a second of the TQ time, he described his Orcan powered NT1 as ‘OK’ saying there was a little less traction than yesterday but with the glorious weather that arrived on the final day of practice set to return tomorrow he is not concerned about his set-up.  Backed by Matrix tyres, the 200mm specialist said his focus for now is on calculating tyre wear so he can work out his strategy for the finals.

Dankel, who made two small mistakes in Q4, said today’s cooler conditions suited his Novarossi powered NT1 much better.  Switching from a solid front axle to a diff as a test for the finals, the German National Champion said the diff was a much better option for the finals in terms of tyre wear.

Having tried in Q2 to run 5-minutes between fuelling, and failed, Schäfer again tried for the magical distance.  Switching to a different Novarossi engine he said it went the distance but got too lean loosing power and over a final the risk was too high.  Planning to switch back to a 4 minute 30 second engine for the finals the Team Shepherd boss said he is hoping for hotter conditions tomorrow as they suit his driving better.

The quickest non-German with the fifth fastest time was 2007 Top Qualifier Teemu Leino.  The Finn, who sat 3rd overnight, tried a different set-up on his LRP powered Xray in Q4 but said it wasn’t good and plans to revert back to the set-up he used on the opening day of qualifying.  Making it four Xray’s in the Top 6 local talent Simon Balk was delighted with how his Euros debut is going.

One of the best electric touring car drivers in the World, Ronald Volker was one driver who pulled off a major turn around of fortunes in the final qualifier.  A newcomer to nitro racing, having only signed with Team Shepherd at the start of this year, the former electric European Champion was sitting third from last heading into his final heat after two days of off track matters he would rather forget. Taking the approach of a safe run so as to try and make the Top 14, Volker actually managed the 3rd fastest time for Q4 which moved him up 111 places to 7th overall.

The best of the Italians, former back to back Champion Dario Balestri claimed the 8th fastest time thanks to his opening qualifying run.  The KM Racing driver got a Stop & Go penalty in the final qualifier for bad refuelling but said a quick time was never on the cards as a change of diff oils in his Novarossi powered H-K1 was the wrong way to go.  The star of the 2009 Euros in Gubbio, fellow Italian Biagio Spataro also failed to improve his Q2 time, which included a Stop & Go penalty, saying his Xray was better in the hotter conditions and he dropped from 7th to 10th.

In between the two Italians Norwegian National Champion Adrian Berntsen improved his time in Q4 by 1 second but still dropped two positions to ninth.  Unlike previous years when the Top 4 qualifiers went directly in to the Main, everyone must now secure their spot in the title deciding race by coming through from the Semi finals.  The drivers completing the magical Top 14 and securing a starting place in those Semis are Giuseppe D’Angelo, Giorgio De Felici, Manuel Huber and Rico Kröber.  In terms of cars Xray have secured nine of the Top 14 places with two Shepherds and one car each from Mugen, KM Racing and Capricorn.

Inaugural champions of 200mm, Serpent just missed out on the Semis with multiple British Champion Mark Green bumped out of the Top 14 by 2009 podium finisher Huber in the very last heat.  Green will start pole in 1/4 A Final while former World finalist Jilles Groskamp will start at the front of the 1/4 B grid.

Our coverage of the finals, which is supported by Team Shepherd, Matrix Racing Tyres and Mugen Seiki, will start in the morning with updates from the 1/4 finals through the main event when the 9th EFRA 200mm European Champion will be crowned.

Final Top 14 Qualifiers
1. Robert Pietsch – Mugen/Novarossi – 31/7:06.232 (Q2)
2. Dirk Wischnewski – Xray/Orcan – 31/7:07.487 (Q4)
3. Eric Dankel – Xray/Novarossi – 31/7:11.365 (Q4)
4. Patrick Schäfer – Shepherd/Novarossi – 31/7:11.444 (Q1)
5. Teemu Leino – Xray/LRP – 31/7:11.708 (Q2)
6. Simon Balk – Xray/Orcan – 31/7:12.029 (Q2)
7. Ronald Völker – Shepherd/LRP – 31/7:12.085 (Q4)
8. Dario Balestri – KM Racing/Novarossi – 31/7:12.297 (Q1)
9. Adrian Berntsen – Xray/Capricorn – 31/7:12.482 (Q4)
10.Biagio Spataro – Xray/Gi-Mar – 31/7:13.131 (Q2)
11.Giuseppe Dangelo – Xray/Max – 30/7:00.411 (Q1)
12.Giorgio De Felici – Capricorn/Novarossi – 30/7:00.610 (Q1)
13.Manuel Huber – Xray/Max – 30/7:00.734 (Q4)
14.Rico Kröber – Xray/Novarossi – 30/7:00.821 (Q2)

View the full event results here.

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Drivers sit out Q3 following overnight rain

Overnight rain in Ettlingen, Germany, meant few drivers took to the track for the third round of qualifying for the 200m European Championships.  Although the rain stopped before the commencement of the penultimate round of heats and the track looked dry but conditions were extremely slippy.

After a disastrous day yesterday world class electric touring car racer Ronald Volker set the pace for Q3 with a 19 lap run compared with yesterday’s 31 lap TQ time set by Robert Pietsch showing just how slow the track was.  Suffering an engine bearing failure in Q1 and then setting the 7th fastest time in Q2 only to be excluded after his exhaust stinger was found to be marginally outside the permitted 200mm track width, Volker said some corners didn’t actually feel too bad but other parts of the track had just ‘zero traction’.  With the overhead clouds looking very threatening at the moment, the Team Shepherd driver is praying for a chance of a dry run in the final qualifier otherwise he said he is in for a busy afternoon as he looks set to qualifying third last of the 120 entries.

In the top heat the only driver to venture on track was Jilles Groskamp.  The 2008 World Championship Top Qualifier did just three laps in the warm-up to check a different Orion engine in his Shepherd Velox V10 but said afterwards the car looked like it had done a full final after it picked up all the loose tyre foam.

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Pietsch provisional Top Qualifier in Ettlingen

Mugen’s Robert Pietsch is the overnight Top Qualifier for the 8th running of the 200mm European Championships after the German ace bettered Patrick Schäfer’s Q1 topping time by over 5-seconds in the second round of qualifying this evening in Germany.

Having reported a lack of feeling in his throttle after Q1 following a change of gearing on his MTX-5, Pietsch discovered during the warm-up for Q2 that the settings on his distinctive Sanwa radio, which features the throttle on the right, had been tampered with.  Describing the discovery as ‘upsetting’, the 1:8 Onroad World Champion managed to reset the throttle positioning in time to start his run.  Able to put the matter to the back of his mind, Pietsch was able to run 31 laps in 7:06.232 saying a change to a harder shore tyre on his Novarossi suited the cooler conditions well. Bringing the matter of his radio being interfered with to the attention of race officials Pietsch plans to bag his radio for the remainder of the event but said despite this he is very happy with his day especially as rain is being forecast for tomorrow’s final two rounds of qualifying.

Using Q2 to test a different exhaust set-up with a view to attempting to run 5-minute stops in the finals, Schäfer said he just fell short of making the time. Pitting after 2-minutes his Novarossi powered Shepherd Velox V10 ran dry on the main straight on his final lap.  Having proven to himself that 5-minute stops are too high a risk, the German said he will stick with 4:30 stops. Very happy with how his car is working he said if tomorrow is dry the only change he plans is to revert back to the exhaust/manifold he used to TQ the opening qualifier.

Jumping from 11th fastest after Q1 to end the day 3rd, Team Xray’s Teemu Leino gave a lot of the credit to a super fuel stop by 1:12 European Champion Simo Ahoniemi who is here as his pitman.  The Top Qualifier at the 2007 Euros in Spain, where Xray made their 200m class debut, the Finn said it was a good run but he actually preferred the hotter conditions of Q1.  Having had to change little on his NT1, Leino said he particularly happy with the performance of his prototype LRP engine on the high speed track.

Impressing the establishment with his run to the fifth fastest time in Q1, local driver Simon Balk was able to better his time in the second round moving himself up to fourth.  The Xray/Orcan driver said that despite the better track conditions his NT1 was still difficult to drive, something he hopes to cure tomorrow, if the weather holds, by changing the shore of tyre he has been using.

Sitting fifth at the end of the first day of qualifying Dario Balestri managed only a single lap in Q2 after the rear diff broke in his KM Racing H-K1. Behind him in sixth Eric Dankel also failed to improve as he ran out of fuel. The Xray driver said upon catching a group of four cars he descided to pit a lap earlier than planned but it left him short at the end of the 7-minutes. Xray team-mate Dirk Wischnewski also ran out of fuel due to pitting too early.  Describing his Orcan powered NT1 as ‘really good’ he felt he had the pace to TQ, a new fastest lap for the day proof of that. Having run out of fuel in both his qualifiers the 2009 Champion said he hopes tomorrow morning is dry so he can try put in a full run. Despite stopping on his second qualifier the run was still fastest enough to move Wischnewski in the all important Semis with him lying 9th overnight.

Another driver moving inside the Top 14 was young Italian talent Biagio Spataro. The Gi-Mar engines backed driver was running a very fast pace which put him on target for the second fastest time but he received a Stop & Go penalty for bad refuelling. His pitman said afterwards that the rule was that the car and fuel bottle must remain behind the line and not his elbow but the race official who called the penalty said it was deserved.

Top 14 after Q2
1. Robert Pietsch – Mugen/Novarossi – 31/7:06.232 (Q2)
2. Patrick Schäfer – Shepherd/Novarossi – 31/7:11.444 (Q1)
3. Teemu Leino – Xray/LRP – 31/7:11.708 (Q2)
4. Simon Balk – Xray/Orcan – 31/7:12.029 (Q2)
5. Dario Balestri – KM Racing/Novarossi – 31/7:12.297 (Q1)
6. Eric Dankel – Xray/Novarossi – 31/7:12.643 (Q1)
7. Biagio Spataro – Xray/Gi-Mar – 31/7:13.131 (Q2)
8. Adrian Berntsen – Xray/Capricorn – 31/7:13.429 (Q1)
9. Dirk Wischnewski – Xray/Orcan – 30/6:55.806 (Q2)
10.Giuseppe D’Angelo – Xray/Max – 30/7:00.411 (Q1)
11.Giorgio De Felici – Capricorn/Novarossi – 30/7:00.610 (Q1)
12.Rico Kröber – Xray/Novarossi – 30/7:00.821 (Q2)
13.Mark Green – Serpent/Novarossi – 30/7:01.383 (Q2)
14.Toni Gruber – Serpent/Xceed – 30/7:01.965 (Q2)

View the full event results here.

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Schäfer tops opening qualifier

Team Shepherd’s Patrick Schäfer has topped the opening round of qualifying at the 200mm European Championships in Ettlingen, Germany outpacing World Championship Top Qualifier Robert Pietsch by 11/1000ths of a second with former back to back champion Dario Balestri third fastest.

The owner of Team Shepherd which is based less than 30 minutes from the track, Schäfer said with rain forecast for tomorrow his target for Q1 was to just run a safe run and he never expected it would produce the fastest time. A clean run, the German said his car, engine and tyres performed perfectly and he had a really good feeling with the whole package.  Confident that his time of 31 laps in 7:11.444 is good enough to put him in the Top 14, and therefore in the all important Semis, Schäfer said he will use today’s second & final qualifier to test an exhaust he is considering using for the finals.

Pietsch, who is not enjoying the incredibly hot conditions on the rostrum, said he ran a shorter gearing on the new MTX-5 which caused him to loose feeling in the acceleration.  A slower track than this morning, the Mugen designer said it was a clean run but he expects this evening to be faster as the temperature should be lower. The German ace said he will revert back to the longer gearing he ran during controlled practice.

Driving for KM Racing Dario Balestri was a lot happier with his car having changed to harder springs all around.  The Italian, who was champion in 2006 & 2007 when he drove for Team Magic, decribed the run as clean but thinks the times will tumble this evening and if the rain holds off feels tomorrow morning will be the ‘rocket’ round.  Setting the fastest time for the round he is not planning any major set-up adjustments for Q2 but will try a different shore of Contact tyres.

Setting the fourth fastest time despite one small mistake, Team Xray’s Eric Dankel said he was at 100% but the super hot conditions just don’t suit the NT1.  Having tried a number of set-up changes in free practice yesterday when it was also very hot he said what they are running now is the best set-up they have and he just hopes the weather will turn cooler.  Xray team-mate Dirk Wischnewski, who set the pace in practice, failed to finish his opening qualifier after he ran out of fuel.  The 2009 Champion said his Orcan engine wasn’t right and ran too rich causing his car to come to a halt with less than 10 seconds of the 7-minute heat remaining.

Local driver Simon Balk, who is competing in his first A Euros, said recording the fifth fastest time was fantastic but in terms of the car it was not so good.  The 20-year-old, who runs the same chassis/engine package as Wischnewski, said the hot temperatures made his car very difficult to drive.

Completing the Top 6 Adrian Berntsen was not happy with his driving feeling he could have been quicker.  The Xray driver said he couldn’t fault the car and he just need to tidy up his driving after making too many small mistakes over the run.  Just missing out on 31 laps, Giuseppe D’Angelo now driving for Xray set the seventh fastest time followed by Capricorn driver and fellow Italian Giorgio De Felici.

Elsewhere Biagio Spataro and Jilles Groskamp who both featured strongly in this morning’s controlled practice had a troubled first qualifier. Spataro rolled his Gi-Mar powered Xray when he had a back marker turn in on him while Groskamp had his Orion go off tune and pushing hard to make up for the lack of low end power also rolled his Shepherd.

Top 14 after Q1
1. Patrick Schäfer – Shepherd – 31/7:11.444
2. Robert Pietsch – Mugen – 31/7:11.455
3. Dario Balestri – KM Racing – 31/7:12.297
4. Eric Dankel – Xray – 31/7:12.643
5. Simon Balk – Xray – 31/7:13.003
6. Adrian Berntsen – Xray – 31/7:13.429
7. Giuseppe D’Angelo – Xray – 30/7:00.411
8. Giorgio De Felici – Capricorn – 30/7:00.610
9. Rico Kröber – Xray – 30/7:01.504
10.Mark Green – Serpent – 30/7:02.086
11.Teemu Leino – Xray – 30/7:02.558
12.Alexander Hagberg – Xray – 30/7:02.830
13.Patrick Nähr – Shepherd – 30/7:02.981
14.Manuel Huber – Xray – 30/7:04.701

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CP2 Update

The second controlled practice, the final ahead of qualifying for the 200mm European Championship in Germany, was to prove slower than this morning’s session with Robert Pietsch topping the sheets from Xray pairing Eric Dankel and Adrian Bernsten.

Although Pietsch improved on his morning time he was unable to match Dirk Wischnewski’s fastest time.  Using CP2 to run ‘Final’ tyres Wischnewski also used the session to run in three new glow plugs and so the German didn’t post a representative time.  The 2009 Champion said they have been experiencing problems with new glow plugs blowing if run under race conditions from new and by running them for a short time in the car it eradicates the problem.  Running the larger diameter tyres he said the car felt pretty good on them.

Sixth in CP6 Dankel managed a 31-lap run this time out, the German saying his NT1’s steering was much improved after he lowered the rear roll centre. The German added that he also found a lot of time in cleaning up his driving.

The current Norwegian National Champion, Bernsten was very happy with his run after a change to heaver oil in the rear of his Capricorn powered NT1 gave him the steering he was lacking earlier.  The 17-year-old is confident he can carry his new pace into the opening round of qualifying.

2006 & 2007 Champion Dario Balestri enjoyed his best run taking his Novarossi powered KM Racing H-K1 to the fourth fastest time.  Behind the Italian local German driver Simon Balk put his extensive track knowledge to good use by setting the 5th fastest time outpacing back to back Vice-Champion and fellow Xray driver Alexander Hagberg by 1/1000th of a second.

Third fastest in the morning Biagio Spataro was unable to better his time going only seventh fastest but the Italian teenager did post the fastest lap time of CP2.

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