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August 12, 2016

Mazzeo wins Super Pole

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Alessio Mazzeo has booked his place in the Nitro Touring Car World Championship final alongside fellow countryman & Top Qualifier Dario Balestri. Running third of the four Super Pole contenders, there was a huge roar from the crowd as the Serpent driver bettered the time of provisional pace setter Dominc Greiner who bettered the opening time of Robert Pietsch. With Simon Kurzbuch to run last, Mazzeo wasn’t content with his lap and sending the crowd into a frenzy with a blistering 6th & final lap that was almost 1/10th faster. With the benchmark clearly set, 16.302 the time to beat, Kurzbuch would try but was no match for the popular Italian managing a best time of 16.467 on his last lap, an identical time to that of Greiner.

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August 12, 2016

Kurzbuch takes final qualifier in Gubbio

Simon Kurzbuch has taken the final round of qualifying at the 1:10 Nitro Touring Car World Championships in Gubbio. With the overall TQ decided yesterday when Dario Balestri posted his third TQ run in the penultimate round, the Shepherd driver topped the times from Mugen’s Takaaki Shimo with 2012 World Champion Meen Vejrak completing the Top 3. With Balestri using the sixth qualifier to run in a new rod and diffs in the Capricorn, it was Kurzbuch who laid the TQ pace eventually taking it by just over 2/10ths from Shimo. The big focus of the final qualifier would be on who would make the new for 2016 Super Pole that will be fought out by the drivers qualifying from 2 through to 5. In the end other than Kurzbuch the round would only see Q6 count as an improved points haul for former Worlds Top Qualifier Robert Pietsch who got a P6 to secure the final Super Pole placing behind Serpent pairing of Dominic Greiner and Alessio Mazzeo.

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August 11, 2016

Balestri is World Champs Top Qualifier

Dario Balestri is the Top Qualifier of the seventh running of the Nitro Touring Car World Championships. The Capricorn driver claimed his first World Championship pole position with a third TQ run in the penultimate round of qualifying at Miniautodromo Internazionale M.Rosati. After a tough start to Day 2 of qualifying in Gubbio, Balestri took control for the second half of the day as he topped the rescheduled Q2 concluding heat backing that up shortly afterwards with another perfect performance to put the overall TQ beyond the reach of his rivals. Despite conditions being cooler for Q5, which was run later in the day due to the rescheduling of the timetable following yesterday’s rain, the Italian was able to see off Team Shepherd’s Simon Kurzbuch with Mugen’s Takaaki Shimo completing the Top 3. For Q3 topping Alessio Mazzeo, a spin at the end of the straight would end his quest for the overall TQ while for surprise Q4 pace setter Syoki Takahata the round would result in a P11.

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August 11, 2016

Surprise TQ run for Takahata in Q4

Syoki Takahata took a surprise TQ in the fourth round of qualifying at Worlds in Italy. Running in the fourth fastest heat, the KM Racing driver would set the fastest time ahead of Dominic Greiner who looked set to take the round as his rivals self destructed in the top heat. Coming to the line on the TQ pace, Greiner would launch his car across the loop believing it would be his finishing time but he got there 0.002 too early. Spinning in his attempt to get the best possible finish time, once he discovered he was still on the clock and recovered he ended the qualifier with 24-second lap time around the 16-second Miniautodromo Internazionale M.Rosati track. With Greiner 8-seconds off Takahata, the pair the only drivers to run 19-laps, best of the rest on 18 would be Greiner’s Serpent team-mate Tadahiko Sahashi who completed the Top 3. Unfortunately a partly stripped rear belt which occurred in the warm-up would leave Q3 Top Qualifier Alessio Mazzeo to struggle around for a P4 for the round.

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August 11, 2016

Mazzeo TQs third qualifier at WC

Alessio Mazzeo has TQ’d the third round of qualifying at the Nitro Touring Car World Championship. After a delayed start to the second day of qualifying as the rain that halted Q2 continued overnight in Italy, the Serpent driver was fastest in the slower track conditions ahead of Robert Pietsch and team-mate Tadahiko Sahashi. Having taken the opening round of qualifying yesterday, Dario Balestri would manage only the 7th fastest time, as he was hampered by a shock issue on his Capricorn. Again Bruno Coelho would show strong running on a TQ pace like in Q1 but this time rather than a mistake of his own the Xray driver would crash into the Shepherd of Simon Kurzbuch which spun in front of him in the windy conditions.

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August 10, 2016

Rain brings halt to opening day of quali at WC

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Rain has brought a halt to the opening day of qualifying at the Nitro Touring Car World Championships, a decision finally made that no more acton will take place today in Gubbio. Just as the top heat started their engines for Q2 forecast rain arrived just 10-minute too early with the Top 10 seeded drivers not even making it out on to the track. An initial heavy shower was followed by more and heavy rain with thunder & lightning thrown into the mix. The plan now to resume with the third round of qualifying tomorrow and then review track conditions with a view to running Heat 13 of Q2 with Round 4 so as the entire round doesn’t need to scrapped. In Q2, as it stands it was Kyle Branson that holds the fastest time. Running in the second fastest group, the Capricorn driver was quickest from fellow British driver Andy Moore, the pair separated by just 1/1000th of a second. As it stands the overnight TQ is held by Capricorn Dario Balestri who TQ’d the opening qualifier from Simon Kurzbuch and Robert Pietsch.

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August 10, 2016

Balestri takes opening qualifier at WC

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Dario Balestri has TQ’d the opening round of qualifying at the Nitro Touring Car World Championships. The top seed took the first of the 6 scheduled qualifiers after a super close battle over the five minutes with Bruno Coelho, a last lap mistake leaving the latter with the 7th fastest time. While Balestri was to cut it ultra close in terms of his run time, his Tesla engine cutting as soon as he crossed the finish line, the Capricorn driver was to take the 5-minute qualifier ahead of Simon Kurzbuch by 2/10ths of a second. One second off the TQ pace, Robert Pietsch would complete the Top 3 followed by the Serpents of Dominic Greiner, Alessio Mazzeo and Mark Green.

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August 10, 2016

Adam Drake dominates Great Lakes Showdown

This past weekend the 2016 Great Lakes Showdown was held at The Track in Michigan. The “The Track” venue offers a large 1/8th off-road track as well as a smaller 1/10th off-road track and it was Adam Drake that was the top qualifier in Nitro Buggy, Nitro Truck, and 1/8th E-Buggy. Drake went on to win both 45 minute Nitro finals as well as the two 10 minute E-Buggy A-main legs to make it a title trifecta.

Source: Mugen [mugenracing.com]