Pietsch wins Super Pole in Florida

Robert Pietsch has won Super Pole at the 200mm World Championship in Florida booking himself a direct spot on the grid for Saturday title deciding 1-hour final alongside Top Qualifier Dario Balestri.  Qualifying 5th overall, the Mugen driver was first to go and his 17.762 lap was the final lap of 6 was to start.  First to challenge the German was reigning Champion Dominic Greiner but suffering a mistake in the middle of his attempt his best lap was 0.122 slower.  Andy Moore then stood up to the mark but the Q3 Top Qualifier couldn’t break 18-seconds leave him last of the three to run so far.  Taking two rounds of qualifying including the last round, Naoto Matsukura was the final challenger to run but having won Super Pole on his 1:8 Worlds debut last year he it wasn’t going to be another direct A-Main debut for the 200mm rookie.  Completing the 3-minute warm-up, the Japanese driver immediately complained of being unable to see as light faded at the Homestead RC Raceway but continuing to put in his 6-laps his best time came on lap 4 but it was 28/1000ths off Pietsch’s.  Unfortunately for Pietsch after a short live celebration, an official protest by Matsukura to have Super Pole re-run meant official confirmation of the result was delayed by more than an 1-hour,  IFMAR’s international jury unanimous in deciding the result would stand.

Commenting immediately after taking the Super Pole, Pietsch said, ‘Its incredible.  I can’t believe it.  It’s unbelievable’.  Having earlier said he felt not being the youngest of the drivers in Super Pole might go against him, he continued, ‘I knew from before that the track would be worse than the last qualifier for Super Pole because of the break.  In Gubbio I also was the first to run and the conditions were super bad but I was hoping not many people had been walking on the track so it would be good.  In my Warm-up it all felt good and then once I got some 17-second laps I knew I had a chance and for the last lap I kept on the throttle at the loop.  I’m so happy’.

Speaking prior to his protest, a very frustrated Matsukura said, ‘It is not fair.  I can’t see.  It was too dark I can’t see especially at the sweeper’.  Repeatedly shouting from the driver’s stand that he could not see during his timed laps, the Infinity driver concluded, ‘I’m not happy, this is not fair’, before setting about protesting the conditions most drivers and onlookers agreeing the timing of Super Pole was not ideal given how quickly the sun sets in Florida.

Greiner summed up his effort by saying, ‘It was difficult.  I don’t know why but the balance was different again from the last qualifier’.  Only managing two 17-second laps and making a mistake on his 4th attempt, the Serpent driver continued, ‘I was also nervous so my fastest lap was not perfect’. Missing the Super Pole in Gubbio but going on to win from P3 on the grid, he said, ‘maybe this is a repeat and sometimes it is not a bad to to run the Semi Final’.  He will start 2nd on the grid for his Semi behind Matsukura.

After an impressive qualifying performance, on Super Pole Moore said, ‘It was just too dark and the track changed too much’.  The Infinity driver added, ‘the track cooled down too much and my car was way too stable plus it was difficult to see at the end of the straight especially the sweeper’.  The British driver will now vie for his second 200mm Main start from pole in the Even Semi final.

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Chassis Focus – Simon Kurzbuch

Chassis – Shepherd Velox WC ’19
Engine – Novarossi Mito WCS
Fuel (handout) – Maxima
Tires (handout) – Matrix
Radio/Servo –Futaba/Futaba
Body – Xtreme Hammer

Remarks – Better known as one of the quickest 1:8 drivers in the World but a 1:10 Worlds Podium finisher, Simon is making one of his rare 1:10 outings with Shepherd’s new 2019 Velox.  Unlike team-mate Eduardo Escandon who is running the preproduction car of the 2019 kit, Simon is running a full production kit which went on sale last week.   The key feature of the new car is an updated rear end.  A new rear axle allows the use of shorter arms which now mount lower in the car.  A new shock tower is also added to accommodate mounting the shocks to the new arms.

Matsukura takes final qualifier at 200mm Worlds

Naoto Matsukura took the sixth & final round of qualifying at the 200mm Worlds Championship in Florida.  The Japanese driver continued Infinity’s reign over the qualifiers as he registered the fastest time ahead of team-mate Teemu Leino.  Matsukura’s second TQ run of the day, having opening proceedings with a TQ run, it was to be the fastest of the event with the round also seeing Leino join the elusive 24-lap run group, 1-second off.  Robert Pietsch would complete the Top 3 as only the fourth driver to make 24-laps a further 3/10th off Leino while Mugen team-mate Shoki Takahata ended up fourth fastest.  Top Qualifier Dario Balestri was left counting his blessing that he wrapped things up a round earlier as faulty power connector ended his run just before the 3-minute mark.

‘I’m super happy to make a new record in my total time but we made a little set-up change that made the car easier to drive but also a little less pace on the best lap’, was how Matsukura summed up his TQ run.  Qualifying second overall in between team-mate Balestri and Andy Moore, meaning he will go last in the Super Pole, he continued, ‘I will go back to my set-up from before for Super Pole but for the final I will use the set-up I just ran’.  The class rookie also made an engine change for his final run but said, ‘It was also good but it made a lot of smoke so we will adjust this for the Super Pole’.

Failing to make Super Pole, ending up 9th in the final qualifying classification, Leino was pleased with was his best run of qualifying.  The reigning European Champion said he could have been in contention for Super Pole but a flame out during refuelling in the previous round robbed him of a top run.  Overall though the Finn was happy with the pace he had shown in the concluding qualifier adding ‘now the car is good and the engine which is good going into the Semi Final’.

Pietsch, who qualified fifth overall behind reigning champion Dominic Greiner who got a Stop & Penalty in the final qualifier, was content with his P3 for the round despite suffering a brake issue.  Top Qualifier the last time the 200mm Worlds was hosted in the US he explained, ‘in the beginning (of the qualifier) it was better and I could challenge Naoto but after 5-minutes the brake started getting tight and I had to adjust my driving and lost pace’.  Asked about the pending Super Pole, the 2nd to 5th place qualifiers having 6-laps each to set the best time and join Balestri directly in Saturday’s final, laughing he replied, ‘It will be very difficult.  I’m not the youngest in the Super Pole session’.

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Balestri is Top Qualifier in Miami

Dario Balestri is the Top Qualifier at the 1:10 200mm World Championship in Miami.  The Infinity driver pulled off his third consecutive Worlds pole position in as many years with another TQ run in the penultimate round of qualifying.  Having made a mistake in the day’s opening qualifier, the reigning 1:8 World Champion put in a perfect Q5 making 24-laps to top the times for a third time and deny team-mate Naoto Matsukura and Andy Moore the chance of a first nitro World’s TQ.  Having taken the third round of qualifying, Moore had issues in the pits in his fifth run while a mistake from Matsukura while setting the TQ in front of Balestri ended his hopes and he ended up 5th for the round.  It would be Dominic Greiner who was closest to Balestri but missing out on going 24-laps.  Simon Kurzbuch would complete the Top 3, matching his surprise P3 in Q1, only this time the Shepherd driver took a more traditional route and made a fuel stop like everyone else during the 7-minute qualifier. Robert Pietsch made it four different manufacturers at the top for the round also equalling his best performance so far, while Mugen team-mate Shoki Takahata completed the Top 6.

Top Qualifier at the 2016 Worlds in Gubbio and at the 1:8 World last year in France which he went on to win, Balestri said, ‘I have no words.  Honestly I try to change somethings in the car but my experience from the years told me to change something small.  So I made a super small change and it saved my life because Naoto is really fast’.  Having struggled by his standards in practice, just making the top heat with the 10th fastest time in seeding, the Italian continued, ‘I have to thank Max, Kenji San, Antonio San, Massimo San, everybody.  We now also have a car that is safe for the final’.

Reacting to his run Greiner said, ‘I made a little change and for sure it was better but I had to pass Collari again.  He never opens the door.  I lost time a little but was not the difference there was to Dario’.  The reigning champion continued, ‘I am pretty pleased with the car now and with Super Pole taking place in cooler conditions it is better for our car and if that doesn’t work our car is now working good for the Semis’.

‘I really needed that run’, was Kurzbuch’s reaction.  The Swiss driver continued, ‘In the last one (Q4) I drove too slow and the pit stop was not good but this time we tried something on the car and it paid off’.  Currently sitting 5th overall, the last position to make this evening’s Super Pole the winner of which will join Balestri directly in the A-Main, the 2015 1:8 World Champion said, ‘I need to somehow get into the Super Pole.  I know the car is super good in the evening conditions and I have good feeling in my mind for the final qualifier’.

Commenting on his latest performance, Pietsch said, ‘I tried something on the car compared the run before and it took the best out of it.  The car was not on the same pace as the run before.  Still it was an OK run’.  Suffering from ‘big traffic’ in Q4 which cost him 2-seconds he said he was lucky not to crash out of that one after he slid out of the corner and almost collected him’.  Looking to the final qualifier, the 1:8 World Champion at this track in 2011, said, ‘we need to find something again for the conditions to be as fast as earlier’.

A frustrated Matsukura reacted with, ‘Aaah, I made a mistake’.  Having started the day with a TQ run after some issues yesterday, he continued, ‘I made two mistakes.  I was leading and it hit the board on the inside of the corner and then had another mistake 2 laps later’.  Holding the fastest qualifying time of the event, the Japanese driver said, ‘my car was ok that time but the engine was a little rich.  Before the fuelling it was very good but after it had a different feeling.  Still I think I am in the Super Pole and there is still one more to go so I will try for another TQ run’.

View the complete event results here.

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