NEWS FLASH – Balestri takes the title

The race is just over and the 2006 European 1/10th scale Champion Dario Balestri has retained his title after a great finals day that saw him move up from the quarter finals to claim a place in the final. The young Italian racer finished ahead of Xray racer Jilles Groskamp in 2nd with European B Champion Alessio Mazzeo finishing in 3rd. Pole position man Teemu Leino led for just a few laps and was quickly passed by Oscar Cabezas, who then led for close to 10 minutes until running out of fuel handed the lead to Alessio Mazzeo. A very fast Dario Balestri got past Mazzeo for the lead and never looked back and in the closing stages Mazzeo was passed by Jilles Groskamp who claimed the 2nd spot.

European Championships
Madrid, Spain
Open Final Result
1. Dario Balestri – Team Magic – 153 laps in 45:14.866
2. Jilles Groskamp – Xray – 152 laps in 45:17.457
3. Alessio Mazzeo – Serpent – 151 laps in 45:01.035
4. Teemu Leino – Xray – 151 laps in 45:01.664
5. Guiseppe D’Angelo – Mugen – 151 laps in 45:09.004
6. Oscar Cabezas – Serpent – 151 laps in 45:11.246
7. Martin Hudy – Xray – 149 laps in 45.13.604
8. Niki Duina – Xray – 142 laps in 45.04.138
9. Martin Christensen – Xray – 140 laps in 45.12.048
10. Adrien Bertin – Kyosho – 103 laps in 33.04.688
Fastest lap – Dario Balestri – 16.776

Download the complete final results here (PDF). Qualifying list is also available here (PDF).

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Balestri and Duina win Semis

Reigning European Champion Dario Balestri is in flying form today in Madrid winning his Semi Final to give himself a chance at defending his title. The Italian Team Magic driver had struggled in qualifying but a change in car set-up this morning gave Balestri new found pace. Winning his Quarter final to line up 8th on the grid for the Semi B he went on to win the 20 minute encounter from Adrien Bertin and both now bump up to the Main Final.

In the Semi A it was an Italian 1-2 with Xray driver Niki Duina winning from Giuseppe D’Angelo. The final two places in the Main Final go to Martin Hudy and Denmark’s Martin Christensen as the two fastest Semi times outside of the Top 2.

Big names to fall by the wayside include Mark Green, runner up for the past two years, who suffered an engine cut out after rolling his Serpent early in the Semi B. Another to go out at Semi stage was Sirio top man Francesco Tironi who hit a marshal resulting in damage to his Kyosho. Rick Vrielijnck didn’t get past the 1/4 Final after his fuel tank failed to seal correctly during his run. Multiple European Champion Michael Salven was eliminated from the Semi A when his car was first spun by one car and then collected by the next forcing instant retirement for the German.

Semi Final B Result
1. (8) Dario Balestri – Team Magic – 68 laps in 20:08.835
2. (1) Adrien Bertin – Kyosho – 68 laps in 20:09.917
3. (6) Martin Hudy – Xray – 68 laps in 20:12.377
4. (5) Martin Christensen – Xray – 67 laps in 20:05.666
5. (7) Helge Johannessen – Xray – 67 laps in 20:06.361
6. (9) Basile Concialdi – Xray – 67 laps in 20:09.310
7. (3) Josue Artiles – Mugen – 66 laps in 20:05.959
8. (2) Mark Green – Serpent – 59 laps in 19:57.921
9. (4) Francesco Tironi – Kyosho – 37 laps in 11:36.537
10.(10)Israel Solis – Mugen – 15 laps in 06:27.087

Semi Final A Result
1. (7) Niki Duina – Xray – 67 laps in 20:16.284
2. (2) Giuseppe D’Angelo – Mugen – 67 laps in 20:16.685
3. (3) Juanito Hidalgo – Team Magic – 66 laps in 20:03.107
4. (9) Mario Spinello – Team Magic – 66 laps in 20:06.202
5. (1) Darren Johnson – Team Magic – 66 laps in 20:10.401
6. (4) Daniel Tomaschko – Serpent – 65 laps in 20:01.837
7. (8) Mark Gilliland – Xray – 62 laps in 20:07.156
8. (6) Javier Hidalo – Serpent – 60 laps in 20:01.322
9. (8) Arnaud Chaussard – Serpent – 12 laps in 4:56.271
10.(5) Michael Salven – Serpent – 8 laps in 2:30.052

Leino TQs 1:10 200mm Euros

In a less dramatic that expected final round of qualifying for the 2007 EFRA 1:10 200mm European Championships in Madrid it is Teemu Leino who is the Top Qualifier. The flying Finn improved on his provisional overnight pole time by almost a second in this morning’s fourth and final heat but was never seriously challenged for the TQ time as the track conditions were much hotter than expected.

Serpent’s Oscar Cabezas did improve his time as expected but it was not enough to deny Leino and Team Xray their first 1:10 Nitro European Championship TQ honours.

Biggest improvement this morning came from Dutch driver Jilles Groskamp who improved his time by 4 second for third position and secures a place in Sunday’s all important Main Final. Making it two Xray’s and two Serpent’s that will occupy the front two rows of the grid, young Italian talent Alessio Mazzeo will line up fourth with his Max powered 720.

Another major improver in the final heat was Britain’s Darren Johnson who broke into the 16 second laps for the first time and will start from pole for one of the Semi Finals as the leading Team Magic driver. Top Mugen starter is Italy’s Guiseppe D’Angelo who improved his time this morning to end up 7th fastest just ahead of Serpent’s Mark Green.

Reigning European Champion Dario Balestri looks to have his work cut out for himself if he is to defend his title after qualifying a disastrous 26th. Others facing a challenge to make the Main Final are Michael Salven (13th), Martin Hudy (16th) and Rick Vrielijnck (23rd) .

Final Qualifying Result
1. Teemu Leino – Xray – 18 laps in 5:06.772
2. Oscar Cabezas – Serpent – 18 laps in 5:08.371
3. Jilles Groskamp – Xray – 18 laps in 5:08.931
4. Alessio Mazzeo – Serpent – 18 laps in 5:09.569
5. Darren Johnson – Team Magic – 18 laps in 5:09.612
6. Adrien Bertin – Kyosho – 18 laps in 5:09.880
7. Giuseppe D’Angelo – Mugen – 18 laps in 5:10.332
8. Mark Green – Serpent – 18 laps in 5:10.968
9. Juanito Hidalgo – Team Magic – 18 laps in 5:11.315
10.Josue Artiles – Mugen – 18 laps in 5:11.400
11.Daniel Tomaschko – Serpent – 18 laps in 5:11.525
12.Francesco Tironi – Kyosho – 18 laps in 5:11.911
13.Michael Salven – Serpent – 18 laps in 5:11.996
14.Martin Christensen – Xray – 18 laps in 5:12.200
15.Javier Hidalgo – 18 laps in 5:12.243

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Leino holds overnight TQ position

Teemu Leino can return to his hotel tonight a happy man after putting his Xray in the overnight TQ position. The Flying Finn produced the fastest run of the day in the first of the day’s three qualifying heats and the nitro European Championship debutant was naturally pleased with his day if not slightly cautious about tomorrow, ‘I’m very happy, it was a good day for me but there are still two more days to go so we will see’.

Fastest man outright setting a new lap record today for the ARCA track was local star Oscar Cabezas. The young Serpent driver had his first trouble free run of the day in Round 3 producing a superb time for the conditions to go second on the time sheets just over one second off Leino. ‘I had a lot of problems in the morning, in the first heat on the first lap the engine cut because of the low temperature but the car was working very good. In the second heat the car rolled and hit the barrier in the warm up. For the third heat I was very nervous because I was last but I got a good result. Tomorrow is a big day for me.’

Alessio Mazzeo drops to third retiring from the final heat suffering from grip roll but the European 1:10 B Champion is confident that he can challenge for the TQ position in tomorrow mornings final qualifier when the track should be at its best.

Adrien Bertin continued his climb up the order after failing to finish the opening qualifier having run out of fuel. Despite the slower track in the final heat the Team Orion driver put in a strong run to move himself in that all important top 4 however the former World Champion believes tomorrow will be better, ‘I think the last shot will be tomorrow morning. I feel the traction coming up and I thought the last one was Ok I just ran the engine way too lean.’

Francesco Tironi failed to improve on his morning time and the Sirio team driver falls to 5th. Germany’s Michael Salven, who had a troubled first two heats, finally completed a run and it was good enough to put the Serpent driver into sixth place.

Others to improve their times in the final run were Martin Christensen, Darren Johnson and Dario Balestri who sit 7th, 14th and 17th fastest respectively overnight.

The general feeling among all the drivers in Madrid is that the times will tumble in the final qualifying heat tomorrow so it should be a very exciting if not tense atmosphere at the track in the morning.

Qualifying after Round 3 of 4
1. Teemu Leino – Xray – 18 laps in 5:07.684
2. Oscar Cabezas – Serpent – 18 laps in 5:08.895
3. Alessio Mazzeo – Serpent – 18 laps in 5:09.569
4. Adrien Bertin – Kyosho – 18 laps in 5:09.880
5. Francesco Tironi – Kyosho – 18 laps in 5:11.911
6. Michael Salven – Serpent – 18 laps in 5:11.996
7. Martin Christensen – Xray – 18 laps in 5:12.200
8. Martin Hudy – Xray – 18 laps in 5:12.270
9. Niki Duina – Xray – 18 laps in 5:12.276
10.Helge Johannessen – Xray – 18 laps in 5:12.328
11.Jilles Groskamp – Xray – 18 laps in 5:12.680
12.Mark Gilliland – Xray – 18 laps in 5:12.697
13.Andreas Myrberg – Xray – 18 laps in 5:12.707
14.Darren Johnson – Team Magic – 18 laps in 5:13.363
15.Rick Vrielijnck – Mugen – 18 laps in 5:13.701
16.Walti Beat – Xray – 18 laps in 5:13.720
17.Dario Balestri – Team Magic – 18 laps in 5:13.844
18.Basile Concialdi – Xray – 18 laps in 5:13.934
19.Teemu Saarinen – Mugen- 18 laps in 5:13.949
20.Giuseppe D’Angelo – Mugen – 18 laps in 5:14.003

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Bertin biggest mover but Leino stays on top

With the temperature rising for the second round of Euros qualifying in Madrid there was little change in the Top 10 as the track lost its grip with Adrien Bertin being the most significant mover. The Kyosho driver, who ran out of fuel during his first heat, recorded 18 laps in 5:12.706 to jump to 9th on the time sheets and bettered his fastest lap time from the mornings opening run.

With all of this mornings top 10 failing to improve their times it is Finland’s Teemu Leino who remains in the provisional Top Qualifier position from Italian’s Mazzeo and Tironi.

Other big names to improve in round 2 but still someway off the pace were Mugen’s Guiseppe D’angelo and the Team Magic pairing of Dario Balestri and Darren Johnson. D’angleo improved by just under 3 seconds to move up two places to 19th overall while fellow countryman and reigning champion Balestri made 18 laps jumping 21 places to go 23rd fastest. Johnson ran his first full five minutes but could only manage 17 laps and is well down the order in 35th.

The fastest man in Madrid so far in terms of outright pace, Oscar Cabezas again had misfortune in Round 2 and failed to start after his car rolled in the warm-up causing damage to his Serpent. Similar bad luck struck team-mate Michael Salven whose engine dropped a plug at the start of the run.

Drivers have one last chance today to improve their times and with temperatures starting to fall the track should be fast again when the leading drivers go out. We will bring you a full update later.

Qualifying after Round 2 (Provisional)
1. Teemu Leino – Xray – 18 laps in 5:07.684
2. Alessio Mazzeo – Serpent – 18 laps in 5:09.569
3. Francesco Tironi – Kyosho – 18 laps in 5:11.911
4. Martin Hudy – Xray – 18 laps in 5:12.270
5. Niki Duina – Xray – 18 laps in 5:12.276
6. Helge Johannessen – Xray – 18 laps in 5:12.328
7. Jilles Groskamp – Xray – 18 laps in 5:12.680
8. Mark Gilliland – Xray – 18 laps in 5:12.697
9. Adrien Bertin – Kyosho – 18 laps in 5:12.706
10.Andreas Myrberg – Xray – 18 laps in 5:12.707
11.Rick Vrielijnck – Mugen – 18 laps in 5:13.701
12.Walti Beat – Xray – 18 laps in 5:13.720
13.Martin Christensen – Xray – 18 laps in 5:13.863
14.Basile Concialdi – Xray – 18 laps in 5:13.934
15.Teemu Saarinen – Mugen- 18 laps in 5:13.949

Leino takes provisional pole

Finland’s Teemu Leino is the provisional pole sitter here in Madrid after the first round of qualifying for the 2007 European 1:10 200mm Championships. The Xray team driver who is making his Nitro Championships debut posted a time of 18 laps in 5:07.684 making the most of the cooler track conditions at the ARCA track with the weather being noticeable colder today.

Alessio Mazzeo was second fastest proving his European B Championship win was well deserved. The young Italian Serpent driver ending up just under 2 seconds shy of Leino. It was another Italian Francesco Tironi driving a Kyosho who was third making it three different makes of car in the top 3. Martin Hudy, Niki Duina and Helge Johannessen complete the Top 6.

Adrien Bertin with a time of 16.842 but the Team Orion driver Adrien Bertin was fast setting the second fastest lap time but ran out of full at 4:50. Serpent’s lead drivers Michael Salven and Mark Green also ran out of fuel while on target for a top position. Oscar Cabezas, the fastest man in yesterday’s timed practice, had engine trouble at the beginning of his run and currently lies 96th of the 146 runners but once the young star got going he set a new track lap record of 16.712 .

Drivers have two more qualifying rounds today.

Qualifying Round 1 (Provisional)
1. Teemu Leino – Xray – 18 laps in 5:07.684
2. Alessio Mazzeo – Serpent – 18 laps in 5:09.569
3. Francesco Tironi – Kyosho – 18 laps in 5:11.911
4. Martin Hudy – Xray – 18 laps in 5:12.270
5. Niki Duina – Xray – 18 laps in 5:12.276
6. Helge Johannessen – Xray – 18 laps in 5:12.328
7. Jilles Groskamp – Xray – 18 laps in 5:12.680
8. Mark Gilliland – Xray – 18 laps in 5:12.697
9. Andreas Myrberg – Xray – 17 laps in 5:12.707
10.Rick Vrielijnck – Mugen – 18 laps in 5:13.701