Matsukura to defend World title as Top Qualifier

Naoto Matsukura is to defend his 1:10 Nitro Touring Car World title from pole position, the Infinity driver becoming Top Qualifier after his TQ time from Q3 gave him the tie breaker over team-mate Dario Balestri.  Three drivers went into the sixth & final qualifier vying to secure the pole position for the 9th running of the World Championship. With Balestri delivering an impressive performance his IF15 cornering on 2-wheels throughout the 7-minutes as Matsukura tried to match his pace.  While Matsukura couldn’t do so, unfortunately a slower track mean’t Balestri’s time was 1.2 seconds short of what he needed to repeat his 2018 TQ start.  The other contender for the top spot, Jilles Groskamp would get a P4 for the final effort behind Tadahiko Sahashi, a result that would count towards his third overall ranking.  Having TQ’d the second round of qualifying yesterday Dominic Greiner would flip in the warm-up, although not in contention for the overall TQ he damaged his car and had a DNF but overall ends up fourth so get so second chance to book a direct spot into Saturday’s 1-hour final with Super Pole.  Qualifying 5th in the final ranking ahead of the countryman Shoki Takahata, Sahashi is the final driver who will try to lay down the fastest lap later this evening in that Super Pole shoot out to try join Matsukura in the final.

‘I’m super happy and thanks to the boss Kenji and Miura for everything’, was Matsukura’s reaction to being confirmed Top Qualifier.  He said, ‘It was a safe drive because Dario was fast in the beginning I couldn’t catch him.  My car felt good so I drove with focus on the final.  Saturday I have no idea how the temperature or traction will be but I think we have a good car.  I have a practice session before the final so will see then what I need to do’.  Ask about strategy for the final, he said, ‘I think we change tyre one time.  Tyre wear is very low and I think 40 minutes no problem but the for last 20-minute you have big tyres and more risk to flip so I think just change at 30 minutes’.  He concluded, ‘For now I am looking forward to watching Super Pole’.

Commenting on his TQ run, Balestri said, ‘I tried my best but the track was not as fast as Naoto time yesterday evening but looking at how it was 36-hours before for me it’s OK’.  Having struggled early in the event with the challenging & very unique track conditions, the Italian has been finding his form today and asked about Super Pole he replied, ‘I just need one lap so I see what I can do’.

‘It was close again but I lost too much time in the beginning’, said Groskamp.  A former Top Qualifier of these championships, he explained, ‘I did a lot of adjustments to the car and engine in the warm-up so had less running on the tyres before start but after the fuel stop the car was good.  We made a lot of progress today so I am confident for the finals and of course Super Pole’.  Feeling he has a good set-up for the finals as his car comes in later than his rivals, he concluded, ‘I am happy for Naoto.  Congrats to him and the whole team’.

Having bent the chassis on his Capricorn following the impact with the boards after his flip, Greiner was busily working on his car to have it ready in time for Super Pole.

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Day 2 of quali kicks off with another TQ run from Matsukura

Defending Champion Naoto Matsukura has become the first driver to register multiple TQ runs at the 1:10 Nitro Touring Car World Championship.  Day 2 of qualifying at RC Addict in Bangkok witnessed one of the more unusual causes for a delay in the timetable as works on trees running on the street forced the action to be halted halfway through the fourth round.  While outside the track, there was saw dust from the tree cutting and the large chunks of tree being craned away were very close to the track edge caused about an hour delay to proceedings.  With the section of track clean by the club when qualifying resumed each of the remaining heats was given an extra minute of warm-up time.  In the end it was Matsukura who picked up from where he left off in Q3 yesterday to top the times from Infinity team-mate Jilles Groskamp and Takaaki Shimo.  After posting a TQ run in Q2, Dominic Greiner would be on target for a second TQ at one stage until he flipped.  Dario Balestri suffered similar faith in the edgy track conditions.

‘I’m so happy to get another TQ, I just need one more’, was Matsukura’s reaction, his pace 2.2 seconds off his TQ time from yesterday.  He continued, ‘I expected higher traction but it was low, maybe after the tree cutting, but still the car was always close to flip. So I make a smooth driving’.  With Groskamp, Greiner, Balestri and Shoki Takahata the only remaining drivers who can potentially deny him starting his title defence from pole, the Japanese concluded, ‘no mistake is key to a good result here’.

A very upbeat Groskamp said, ‘I think that was good. I am happy I am more close to Naoto’.  The former Top Qualifier continued, ‘I was on the limit of flipping so to keep it on the ground was nice when you see Dario and Dominic both flipped’.  The Dutch drivers feels he can ‘fight for the TQ’ explaining, ‘I lost time in the pits and also with back markers.  I also need to make the car a tiny bit more easy to drive.  At the end of the straight you can gain time.  Now I am having to let the car roll through the corner too much but overall we found a better set-up now’.  He concluded, ‘2nd is good but I am more happy we got the car working again.

Posting his best qualifier so far, Shimo said, ‘the track was very difficult and it was very easy to flip but this was the same for many guys’.  The veteran nitro onroad racer added, ‘I need to drive very safe to get the result but now I am safe in the Semi Final so maybe I will take more risk in next one and push harder’.

Making a big jump up the ranking taking P4 for the round, Chavit Sligupta, said the performance was down to it being his ‘first time with no mistake’.  With RC Addict being his home track, the 27-year-old said, ‘the car is good but it needs more steering’ and so for the penultimate round of qualifying he will make a change to the front diff.  He concluded, ‘I need two more runs like this’.

Posting a much needed P5 for the round ahead of Takahata, Andy Moore, ‘I made more changes from yesterday to try calm the car down but on the driving side I was a bit nervous because I need the points’.  The former Electric Touring Car World Champion continued, ‘I didn’t push hard, in the warm-up the car felt more normal so I just tried to keep it on the track.  I know others crashed but I’ll take it’.  The British driver believes playing for the weights in his car for Q5 should help him to get the car more to his liking.

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Matsukura hits the top at Worlds to take third qualifier

The first day of qualifying at the 1:10 Nitro Touring Car World Championship has provided plenty of variety with the opening three rounds of qualifying seeing as many different drivers post TQ runs, the latest being the reigning World Champion Naoto Matsukura. Kicking off his title defence with a P4 in Q1 and a second in Q2, the Infinity driver hit the top on his third attempt ahead of team-mate Dario Balestri who was able to shadow in the final stages of the 7-minute qualifier. Behind, Tadahiko Sahashi would complete the Top 3.  Having TQ’d the previous round, Dominic Greiner would suffer a DNF after the rear belt came off just after the German ace left the pit lane following his fuel stop.  Having started the day with a flawless Q1 run to top the times, Jilles Groskamp again flipped and needed marshalling in Q3 but somehow still managed to get a 6th for the round.  Jesse Davis continued his strong form from the second fastest heat as he set the fourth fastest ahead of Serpent’s Bryce Butterfield.

Celebrating his perfect finish to Day 1 of qualifying with a beer, a very pleased looking Matsukura said, ‘my car was pretty easy to drive.  Before I had understeer but the traction came up so now I had good steering and still no flip.  The car and the set-up is good’.  Finishing only 7/10th up on Balestri at the end of the 7-minutes, he said, ‘It was good having Dario just ahead of me (on the track) cause I could manage my pace’.  Already locked into at least a Semi Final starting position, and officially the provisional overnight TQ holder, he said, ‘I made safe points today so tomorrow we can try improve on this.  The team did a good job today’.

Looking a lot happier than he did at the start of the day, Balestri described his run to the second fastest time as ‘not bad’.  A multiple European Champion of the class, he said, ‘again I just tried to survive, if I push I flip.  It really is a lottery and I think this shows because every round we have a new fastest driver’.  Sitting second at the half way point in the qualification rankings, despite not posting a TQ run, he said he went into Q3, ‘thinking points and no mistakes’.  Now that he said he has the option ‘to push tomorrow or at least try to’.

‘It was a safe drive to make sure I had no flip’, was how Sahashi summed up his best round of the day.  The former 1:8 World Champion continued, ‘the car is now very nice’ to drive, a statement that was backed up by him recording the fastest lap of the day and the only driver to go sub 15-seconds with a time of 14.9.  A driver who yesterday excelled in the morning’s seeding conditions, he plans to revert to the set-up used on that occasion.

Having managed to salvage a P5 in Q2 despite breaking a shock tower, Davis summed up his latest run with, ‘no mistake that one, it was a safe run’.  Running in the second fastest heat, he added, ‘I think it was a little cooler for the top heat so it was faster but I think I have a pretty good finals car’.  Looking to tomorrow he said, ‘I’ll work on cleaning up my driving so I am more consistent’.

Ending his day with a Top 5 run, 20-year-old Butterfield said the run was ‘very good’.  After a mistake in Q1, when he bounced off the wall exit following his fuel stop, he said it ‘hurt it enough’ that it caused him to flip.  Q2 was ‘pretty solid with just a small mistake’ and he netted a P9 from that.  On his effort in the third round he said ‘was driving better and starting to trust the car again’.  Feeling his car is ‘where it needs to be’, the newly crowned ROAR National Champion plans to keep working on improving his driving.

‘The day started good but the track didn’t like me that last one’, was how Groskamp summed up Q3, team-mate Balestri interjecting to say ‘the track has never like me’.  Top Qualifier at the 2008 World Championship and still a contender for title, the former ISTC World Champion continued, ‘some drivers are going faster, some are going slower, which just shows how much the track changes’.  Considering some changes to his car in the area of shock springs and oil, he said his corner speed is gone since the sun disappeared as ‘the traction has come up a lot’.  ‘Sixth with a flip at the World Championship is crazy and I am already secure in the Semi Final’.  He concluded, ‘tomorrow is a new game’.

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