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Video – 1/10th Qualifying Rd3

Posted: 20 May 2017 11:00 AM PDT

Kurzbuch claims first point of new season with ENS France TQ

Posted: 20 May 2017 10:57 AM PDT

Simon Kurzbuch has notched up the first championship point of his title defence by securing the overall TQ at the Euro Nitro Series season opener in France.  The Shepherd driver went into the final qualifier up against unexpected TQ challenger Bruno Coelho with the Xray driver needing to take the round. A super close encounter at the end of the 4-minutes however it was Toni Gruber that would post the TQ run ahead of Naoto Matsukura confirming Kurzbuch’s 5th ENS career TQ.  For Gruber, his TQ run will result in him starting in the position he finished up in last season’s overall standings as he demoted ENS debutant Matsukura to a still impressive 4th on the grid.  Former champion Robert Pietsch would make for a very diverse line up of cars at the front of the grid as his Mugen will occupy 5th on the grid ahead of last year’s vice Champion Dario Balestri.

Continue reading this report here or view our complete event coverage here.

Kurzbuch claims first point of new season with ENS France TQ

Posted: 20 May 2017 10:55 AM PDT

Simon Kurzbuch has notched up the first championship point of his title defence by securing the overall TQ at the Euro Nitro Series season opener in France.  The Shepherd driver went into the final qualifier up against unexpected TQ challenger Bruno Coelho with the Xray driver needing to take the round. A super close encounter at the end of the 4-minutes however it was Toni Gruber that would post the TQ run ahead of Naoto Matsukura confirming Kurzbuch’s 5th ENS career TQ.  For Gruber, his TQ run will result in him starting in the position he finished up in last season’s overall standings as he demoted ENS debutant Matsukura to a still impressive 4th on the grid.  Former champion Robert Pietsch would make for a very diverse line up of cars at the front of the grid as his Mugen will occupy 5th on the grid ahead of last year’s vice Champion Dario Balestri.

‘It is a great way to start the first race.  The performance of the whole team has been great’, was how Kurzbuch’s reacted to being Top Qualifier at the season opener for the first time.  Commenting on the final qualifier, the defending two time ENS Champion said, ‘the first 3-minutes was good, it was really close between 3-4 cars but then I made a little mistake and Matsukura was right behind me so I let him passed so he could TQ, I knew I only had to watch Bruno.  In the end Toni won which is great for him’. Looking ahead to tomorrow evening’s 45-minute final, his pitman & father Christian known for being one of the best in the pitlane, Kurzbuch said, ‘The tyre wear is high so I think this gives some room for different strategies’.  He continued, ‘Fuel consumption is very low here so that also allows for a different strategy’ adding, ‘the pitlane is very long here so thats a factor as you will earn more time if you can do less stops and on the exit it is very easy to damage your tyres or body’.  On the number of tyres stops he expects to do, the World Champion simply replied ‘100% more than one’.  In terms of his changes to his car, he said he was ‘not sure yet but probably I will change the rear roll centre to give me a more stable car on small tyres’.

Commenting on his career best 1:8 qualifying, Coelho said, ‘Its a great result as I haven’t raced 1:8 since last ENS’.  He continued, ‘Fighting with the guys who always race nitro is the perfect result for our new car’.  On his final qualifier, he said, ‘I tried to force too much which cause me to lose control a few times but it was super close’.  On his strategy for the final, he joked, ‘I don’t have so much experience so we will have to try copy some of the other’s strategy’.  He continued, ‘The tyre wear is quite high so our strategy is super important but my engine has good power and run time so I think in this area we are OK’.

‘To qualify third overall is a good start with a new team’, was Gruber’s reaction.  The WRC driver said other than change to a new body which was the same type as the one he ran in the earlier qualifiers his car was unchanged but for him the grip was better than in Q3 allowing him to TQ.  Asked about the final, the 21-year-old replied, ‘I guess I will try to have fun with the car’.  On tyre consumption he said one stop would be ‘too difficult’ and ’15-minutes per set’ was the most he feels could be realistically expected. ‘Happy with the car’, he plans no changes to the set-up.

Considering he didn’t even know he was doing the race this time last week, Matsukura said, ‘I happy but would have been more happy if in Top 3’.  As an electric racing specialist, when asked about racing for 45-minutes, the 1:12 & 1:10 World Champion simply replied, ‘I hope to finish’.  Setting the fastest lap of the final qualifier, he said he was pleased with his car set-up for qualifying and they would think it over tonight if they need to change anything.  Asked about set-up he said his 1:12 experience meant he had a 50% say in the set-up they have arrived at.  Asked about strategy he said, ‘My goal is to finish so I will let someone else decide the strategy because I don’t know enough yet but I want to race 1:8 more’.

‘Could be better but we’re pretty close’, was Pietsch’s summary of his qualifying. The Mugen designer & former World Champion was to get lost with his set-up following a battery issue. The German said, ‘I had a problem with a low voltage battery.  I was changing the car because it was not doing what I expected.  Then we realised it was the battery but it mean’t we were starting again from zero.  He said since then the car has been getting better and better adding were it is at now he is ‘confident’ for the final.  Admitting ‘the first guys are super fast’ he said the final presents a number of challenges with the pit lane one of them.  With the exit a place were a lot of time can be made or lost he said the high tyre wear will also effect this as it will get more difficult as the tyres get smaller.

View complete event results here.

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Kurzbuch & Coelho to battle it out in final qualifier

Posted: 20 May 2017 09:11 AM PDT

Simon Kurzbuch and Bruno Coelho are set to battle it out for the first TQ of the new season at ENS France.  Having taken the opening qualifier, engine trouble for Kurzbuch would see Coelho post his first ever 1:8 TQ in the second round bettering the class master’s Q1 time.  With the fastest time the deciding factor should qualifying come down to a tie breaker, Kurzbuch would fight back in the penultimate qualifier with a second TQ run that improved on Coelho’s pace by 6/10ths. For Coelho mistakes in the round would leave him with a P3 with Naoto Matsukura just pipping him by 0.003 of a second, the 1:12 World Champion looking to have taken to 1:8 Onroad like a duck to water.  On current form the Japanese driver is on target to start tomorrow’s 45-minute Main at the difficult Mulhouse track 3rd on the grid although a TQ in the final round could see him split Kurzbuch and Coelho.

Continue reading this report here or view our complete event coverage here.

Kurzbuch & Coelho to battle it out in final qualifier

Posted: 20 May 2017 09:06 AM PDT

Simon Kurzbuch and Bruno Coelho are set to battle it out for the first TQ of the new season at ENS France.  Having taken the opening qualifier, engine trouble for Kurzbuch would see Coelho post his first ever 1:8 TQ in the second round bettering the class master’s Q1 time.  With the fastest time the deciding factor should qualifying come down to a tie breaker, Kurzbuch would fight back in the penultimate qualifier with a second TQ run that improved on Coelho’s pace by 6/10ths. For Coelho mistakes in the round would leave him with a P3 with Naoto Matsukura just pipping him by 0.003 of a second, the 1:12 World Champion looking to have taken to 1:8 Onroad like a duck to water.  On current form the Japanese driver is on target to start tomorrow’s 45-minute Main at the difficult Mulhouse track 3rd on the grid although a TQ in the final round could see him split Kurzbuch and Coelho.

Commenting Q2 & 3, Kurzbuch said, ‘we had an engine issue in Q2.  In motorsport these things happen when everything is on the limit. We put in another engine for Q3 and I pushed hard to get a better time than Bruno and managed it.  Now in the next one we will try to bring the point home’.  With the overall TQ carrying a bonus championship point, the reigning champion is confident in his Shepherd/Novarossi package with only another 2nd gear adjustment planned to compensate for the reducing tyre size with the Swiss driver adding the ‘the grip levels are getting better and better each round’.

Summing up his two encounters, Coelho said, ‘I was having a good fight with Simon in Q2 but then he got a broken engine and after that I just tried to push to the end.  The time was faster than Q1 was it was perfect’.  On the third round, the Xray driver added, ‘I ran the same set-up but had two mistakes which cost me 1.5-seconds and the TQ so for the next one I will try to make no mistakes’.  Asked about going for the overall TQ, the Portuguese driver replied, ‘For sure I will go for it but with 2nd or 3rd on the grid I am already happy because I don’t think I have ever directly made it to the A-Main  This result is good for our new car’.

Somewhat overshadowing Coelho’s new found competitiveness in 1:8, Matsukura’s reaction after Q3 was ‘almost’.  Finishing just less than 7/10ths off Kurzbuch, the Infinity driver is really pleased with how qualifying is going saying his own driving is improving everytime he gets on track.  Making a set-up change to get his car to steer more through the rear of the car, he said this had induced a little bit of understeer which he hopes to dial out with a further change ahead of the final qualifier.  With the Top 3 clearly making their mark in Mulhouse, outside of them new WRC Racing signing Toni Gruber is current best of the rest sitting fourth with a round to go.  The German had engine issues in Q1 but came back with a P3 in Q2 and a P5 in his latest run. With a fourth in Q2, Mugen’s Robert Pietsch holds provisional 5th on the grid going into the fourth & final qualifier.

View complete event results here.

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Video – 1/8th Qualifying Rd3

Posted: 20 May 2017 08:52 AM PDT

Escandon TQ’s 2nd qualifier at ENS season opener

Posted: 20 May 2017 07:27 AM PDT

Eduardo Escandon has TQ’d the second round of qualifying at the season opener of the Euro Nitro Series in France.  The Spaniard, who had transponder issues in Q1 but was later credited with a P5, topped the Q2 times from Leo Arnold with Kyle Branson once again completing the Top 3.  With Q1 pace setter Bruno Coelho get hit by Eric Dankel on the last lap while on a target for a second TQ run, it was the Shepherd of Escandon who had the best pace to take advantage of the incident to finish just 7/100th up on Arnold.  Having opened his ENS account as an Xray driver backing up Coelho for a 1-2 in Q1, like his team-mate it looked like another good run but half way through the Italian would make a ‘stupid mistake’ hitting the curbing in a slow corner and flipping his car.  After a tough opening round, Q2 would prove more positive for reigning champion Teemu Leino as the Infinity driver posted the 5th fastest time behind Dankel.

Continue reading this report here or view our complete event coverage here.

Escandon TQ’s 2nd qualifier at ENS season opener

Posted: 20 May 2017 07:25 AM PDT

Eduardo Escandon has TQ’d the second round of qualifying at the season opener of the Euro Nitro Series in France.  The Spaniard, who had transponder issues in Q1 but was later credited with a P5, topped the Q2 times from Leo Arnold with Kyle Branson once again completing the Top 3.  With Q1 pace setter Bruno Coelho get hit by Eric Dankel on the last lap while on a target for a second TQ run, it was the Shepherd of Escandon who had the best pace to take advantage of the incident to finish just 7/100th up on Arnold.  Having opened his ENS account as an Xray driver backing up Coelho for a 1-2 in Q1, like his team-mate it looked like another good run but half way through the Italian would make a ‘stupid mistake’ hitting the curbing in a slow corner and flipping his car.  After a tough opening round, Q2 would prove more positive for reigning champion Teemu Leino as the Infinity driver posted the 5th fastest time behind Dankel.

Having made the switch from KM Racing to join Shepherd over the off season, Escandon was clearly pleased not just with his TQ run but also with his new team.  Asked how the event was going, he replied, ‘I’m really happy with my new car and team are really good people to work with’.  Having ‘played safe’ on his Q1 run, the second round would not start so well as he had a mistake on the first lap but putting in clean laps for the remainder of the 4-minutes he was ‘really happy’ to post the TQ time.  Now with ‘two good runs’ that will lock him into tomorrow’s 45-minute A-Main, he said, ‘I a still discussing it with my mechanic but as I am safe in the A-main I will make a little change to see if we can get a little more steering’.

Having lacked rear traction in Q1, Arnold said, ‘the car was much better and had more traction but now the problem was I had a super shit setting on the clutch’.  Setting the fastest lap of Q2, the Frenchman said ‘with this right it should be even better for the next one’.  Another driver with two runs that will put him up towards the front of the A-man grid, he also plans to test for other changes in the remaining two rounds. Asked what happened to him in Q2, team-mate Coelho replied, ‘I was taken out by Dankel’.  He continued, ‘he said I had got sideways but everyone watching said he took me out, anyway the car was still good so its no problem’.

‘I would say it was a bit better’ was how Branson summed up his car after Q2.  Making changes to his Capricorn, he said it now had more steering and while harder to drive overall the steering ‘felt pretty nice’.  For Q3, the World Championship finalist will ‘work on getting more on power traction’.

Having set the pace in Thursday practice, Dankel said, ‘the car was better before the rain’.  The ENS’ inaugural champion, the Mugen driver who suffered a 3-second mistake in Q1 felt they improved the car for Q2 however in the last corner before the straight he can feel nothing with no feedback from the car as to what it is doing’. Asked about his incident with Coelho, the German said, ‘I let him by at the previous corner and then in the next corner he was slower and I just nudged him. There was no body tuck’.

View complete event results here.

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Kurzbuch takes Q1 ahead of Matsukura at Mulhouse

Posted: 20 May 2017 06:11 AM PDT

Simon Kurzbuch has taken the opening 1:8 qualifier at the season opener of the the Euro Nitro Series in France but its his closest challenge Naoto Matsukura who is the biggest surprise.  With seeding practice throwing up a bit of a surprise as Bruno Coelho posted the fastest 3-consecutive laps ahead of Matsukura with Kurzbuch third, the 1:8 World Champion resumed his more regular position when he TQ’d the opening round of qualifying.  The Shepherd driver would top the time by 7/10ths of a second from the 1:12 World Champion with 1:10 Offroad World Champion Coelho completing the Top 3.  Behind the assortment of World Champions, ENS debutant Takaaki Shimo would post the fourth fastest time with Lars Hoppe and 1:10 World Champion Dominic Greiner rounding out the Top 6.

Continue reading this report here or view our complete event coverage here.

Kurzbuch takes Q1 ahead of Matsukura at Mulhouse

Posted: 20 May 2017 06:09 AM PDT

Simon Kurzbuch has taken the opening 1:8 qualifier at the season opener of the the Euro Nitro Series in France but its his closest challenge Naoto Matsukura who is the biggest surprise.  With seeding practice throwing up a bit of a surprise as Bruno Coelho posted the fastest 3-consecutive laps ahead of Matsukura with Kurzbuch third, the 1:8 World Champion resumed his more regular position when he TQ’d the opening round of qualifying.  The Shepherd driver would top the time by 7/10ths of a second from the 1:12 World Champion with 1:10 Offroad World Champion Coelho completing the Top 3.  Behind the assortment of World Champions, ENS debutant Takaaki Shimo would post the fourth fastest time with Lars Hoppe and 1:10 World Champion Dominic Greiner rounding out the Top 6.

‘Perfect, its great to start with a TQ’, said a very happy Kurzbuch after his run adding, ‘I don’t know what else to say’. Asked whether he was surprised by Coelho and Naoto’s pace in practice, he replied, ‘I already knew from Thursday Bruno would be fast.  In seeding I just didn’t get 3-laps together.  The speed was there but I lacked consistency but I was able to improve that for qualifying’. Building up ‘a good gap over the first 2-minutes’, he said he then just had to ‘finish off the run’ adding ‘there is still room to go quicker’.  Describing his car as good, adding the team had worked hard in the off season, he said the only change he might make for Q2 is to get 2nd gear to change a little later.

‘1:8 is super fun’ was the reaction of very happy looking Matsukura. With the decision on him making his ENS debut only made during last weekend’s ETS encounter in Italy, the Japanese driver likened 1:8 to 1:12. A 4-time 1:12 World Champion, he said he is really enjoying the driving style of the cars but added there is still a bit of fine-tuning he needs to do in terms of his driving. With his car unchanged from Thursday’s free practice, the former EP Touring Car World Champion said the only changes for Q1 came from him. Having been using ‘too much throttle’, he said he had learnt to be ‘more steady’ with adjustments to the tuning of his OS engine also helping him to get ‘better throttle control’. Also a fan of the handout MR33 foam tyres, he described the Mulhouse track as being more like a 1:12 layout concluding it is ‘super fun’.

Summing up his P3 having TQd the first round of 1:10, Coelho said, ‘It was very good until I had a mistake at the beginning of the straight which lost me 2-seconds. Without this I was on point but it was my own mistake’.  Expected to be a front runner in 1:10 but not previously considered a main contender in 1:8 when asked if the improvement was down to the new Xray 1:8 chassis, he replied, ‘for sure the car is improved from last year but this track is super particular so we need to see how we go at other tracks but here is it working really well so it looks promising’.

Another Japanese driver making his ENS debut, Shimo said while his car was not bad it had an overall lack of grip.  Describing the track as ‘a little difficult’, the new for 2017 Infinity signing reported having to deal with a ‘little understeer’ and due to his lack of traction was having to be ‘very smooth’ with his throttle inputs.  To try improve his set-up so he can push harder in Q2 he will run a harder rear set-up.

Making the switch from ARC to Shepherd over the winter, Hoppe was much happier with his car compared to Thursday.  A former podium finisher, the German said, ‘now its better to drive, we have improved the car every run since Thursday when it was not so good’. His first international event with Shepherd, he said he was very happy to start out the event in the mix adding his time should have been better but for a ‘stupid mistake’ on the second last lap.  Pleased with his car and how the team is working together the only change he is considering for Q2 is a rear wing adjustment.

‘I’m very happy’ was how 1:10 specialist Greiner summed up his first attempt at an 1:8 ENS qualifier.  The German, who is again working with his thrusted 1:10 pitman Thomas Günsel, continued, ‘the first two minutes were good but then I had a few small mistakes but still I was close to P4’.  Still getting used to how aggressively the 1:8 can be driven compared to the 1:10, he knows there is still more time to come from adapting to that adding his current pace is ‘not bad for the moment’.  Feeling his Novarossi engine was a little bit too lean they will try to improve the tuning for the next run.

View complete event results here.

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Coelho takes opening 1:10 qualifying at ENS France

Posted: 20 May 2017 04:38 AM PDT

Bruno Coelho took the opening round of qualifying at ENS France, heading an Xray 1-2 ahead of new for 2017 team-mate Alessio Mazzeo. Opening the fourth season of the ENS by topping the morning’s two rounds of seeding practice from former champion Jilles Groskamp, Coelho would be almost 3-second quicker than Mazzeo over the 4-minute qualifier. Preventing an Xray Top 3 , Capricorn driver Kyle Branson would set the third fastest time just ahead of the Xray of Mulhouse track resident Leo Arnold.   With Groskamp completing the Top 6 behind the Serpent of Mark Green to be the quickest of the Infinity drivers, for team-mate & reigning champion Teemu Leino it was not a good first round. Posting the 12th fastest time, the Finn said, ‘I was just making donuts.  When I hit the gas I would just spin so we need to figure something out’.

Continue reading this report here or view our complete event coverage here.

Coelho takes opening 1:10 qualifying at ENS France

Posted: 20 May 2017 04:35 AM PDT

Bruno Coelho took the opening round of qualifying at ENS France, heading an Xray 1-2 ahead of new for 2017 team-mate Alessio Mazzeo. Opening the fourth season of the ENS by topping the morning’s two rounds of seeding practice from former champion Jilles Groskamp, Coelho would be almost 3-second quicker than Mazzeo over the 4-minute qualifier. Preventing an Xray Top 3 , Capricorn driver Kyle Branson would set the third fastest time just ahead of the Xray of Mulhouse track resident Leo Arnold.   With Groskamp completing the Top 6 behind the Serpent of Mark Green to be the quickest of the Infinity drivers, for team-mate & reigning champion Teemu Leino it was not a good first round. Posting the 12th fastest time, the Finn said, ‘I was just making donuts.  When I hit the gas I would just spin so we need to figure something out’.

‘It was a very good round’ was Coelho’s summary of Q1.  The Portuguese driver, who is a huge fan of the track layout, continued, ‘the last practice we tried different stuff and it was not good so we went back to our normal set and for the 4-minutes it was very consistent’.  Top Qualifier at last year’s season opener, held in Bologna, he would also make an engine change for the first of the four qualifiers.  Not happy with the feeling of the engine, he said they opted to change everything engine related with bad fuel tubing suspected to have been the issue.  Setting the fastest lap, a 17.717, he will leave his Max powered NT1 unchanged for Q2.

Mazzeo described his first heat as ‘not so bad’ adding ‘but we must still work on the set-up’.  Pointing out it is his first ENS encounter with Xray, the friendly Italian feels he is a little behind in getting his new car set-up due to weather limiting running – yesterday having been rained off. Looking to ‘learn the car more’, the World Championship podium finisher and former ENS race winner said, ‘the problem is the car is loose in the rear under braking so we will try changing the down stops for the next one and see’.  Asked about the track layout, this the ENS’ first visit, he replied, ‘it is one of the best 1:10 tracks in the World.  I really like it’.

While summing it up as a ‘good first run’, Branson was somewhat disappointed with his pace. The British driver, who returns to Capricorn after briefly departing the Italian manufacturer, said, ‘the car is ok but it needs more steering and more on power traction. I just drove around.  This was the best I could do, its consistent but not quite fast enough’.  Referring to Coelho, ‘as one of the best in the World’ adding ‘Bruno is Bruno’, he hopes to get closer to him in Q2 by changing the rear swaybar and ‘maybe a rear roll centre change’.

On his P4 Arnold said, ‘It was OK but my car was loose on the rear’.  Also losing some time having to open to let Coelho passed, he plans to make a spring set-up change for Q2 to get more traction.  A driver who knows the track better than anyone else having start in the sport here, when asked about traction levels following Friday’s rain he said they were already back to Thursday’s levels with him predicting that the traction would remain ‘stable’ for the rest of the day.

‘I’m quite happy. My car and engine are quite good’, was Green’s reaction to posting a P5 run, adding, ‘I’m trying to improve my driving more than anything’. The veteran British driver continued, ‘as normal I’m struggling with my braking points, I’m inconsistent but everything else is OK’.  Finishing half a second up on Groskamp, behind them new Shepherd recruit Thilo Todtmann would be P7 ahead of former Champion Eric Dankel who was the quickest Mugen.

View complete event results here.

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Track Focus – Mulhouse

Posted: 20 May 2017 01:59 AM PDT

Track Name – Mulhouse
Club – Mini Car Club de Mulhouse (MCCM)
Country – France
Location – Mulhouse (close to the Swiss and German borders)
Direction – Clockwise
Surface – Asphalt
Previous ENS hosted – None

New on the calendar for 2017, the Euro Nitro Series season opener at Mulhouse marks the first international event to be hosted by the long established Mini Car Club de Mulhouse.  Built on government provided land in 1988, the club of around 40-members, is in for a busy 2017 going from none to 2 international events in the same year, the European Championship’s coming here later in August. In preparation for the arrival of the international visitors, the club has been busy investing in the facility including a brand new kitchen to cater for drivers and their teams.  The biggest entry the mainly nitro club has had to cater for, they have also extended the area of asphalt on which to set-up pit spaces.

In terms of the track itself a lap covers 305 metres and the surface is still the original asphalt that was laid 29-years ago.  One change the track has undergone is new curbing. Explaining the change top French racer Leo Arnold, who learnt his trade at Mulhouse as it is his local track, said, ‘the original curbing was higher and particularly high at the chicane and the beginning of the straight and it was super hard especially if you got your line wrong now the curbs are lower and its much better’.

In terms of the track all drivers agree its more challenging that traditional nitro track layouts with Bruno Coelho going as far as saying, ‘its one of the best tracks I have driven on to date, I really like the track’. Looking strong in both 1:10 & 1:8 practice, the Xray driver continued,’It has fast parts and super difficult parts, its not an Italian style full throttle track.  You need really to work and not just pull the throttle’.

With 1:10 Champion Teemu Leino calling it one of the most difficult tracks he has ever driven on, 1:8 Champion Simon Kurzbuch described it as having a ‘special layout’. The Shepherd driver continued, ‘It more technical than other 1:8 layouts but it is exciting to drive’.  Asked the most challenge sections, he highlighted the end of the straight chicane saying it was possible to go ‘full gas’ through it but only if you are on the right line.  He said how you take the chicane will then determine your entry into the infield which he said if you miss the apex of one corner is hard to get correct lines for the following corners.

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