Italian 1/8th On-road Nats Rd3 – Qualifying Roundup

After winning three out of four rounds of qualifying today at the third round of the Italian 1/8th Nitro On-road Nationals on the outstanding Cassino track, Alberto Picco took the overall TQ and he will start from the pole position into tomorrow’s 60-minute long final. Behind him, the second spot on the grid was earned by Mirko Salemi, who TQ’d round one and kept his car consistently in the top three spots throughout the day. Third on the grid will be Francesco Tironi, who improved his car round by round until finishing only two seconds behind Picco in the last round despite being forced to refuelling one more time than Alberto. Marco Vanni, the championship leader, will start the fight for his first title from 6th.

“To start ahead of the pack is always very important, but tomorrow it will be fundamental”, is how Picco commented his TQ. Forced to win and to hope for a bad result from Vanni, the veteran added strategy will be very important, and while his engine will grant him a better fuel economy, the call is still to be done about the tires: worried to finish on the rims, he is still not sure whether to go for one or two changes.

Satisfied with his qualifying day, Mirko Salemi didn’t miss the chance to praise the TQ, stating that “Today there was only one driver faster than me”, while pointing at Alberto Picco. “It was impossible to make up the time lost with the extra fuel stop, so to take TQ was not an option”. Planning to make some changes during tomorrow’s free practice, he also added that strategy will be key, and his goal is to step on the podium.

Very happy after his last qualifier, Francesco Tironi confirmed that all the setup changes he made throughout the day paid off, giving him a very fast Velox V8, that still has some room for improvements as it was challenging to drive. Worried about traction rolling with the big tires for the final, he is thinking about some setup changes to the front end of his Shepherd, aiming for an easier to drive car.

Race will resume tomorrow with the finals that will decide the title.

Source: AMSCI News [amscinews.com]