July 19, 2019

Reigning Champions TQ first qualifier at ENS Austria

The Euro Nitro Series three reigning Champions got their weekends off to the best possible start in Austria this evening as they each TQ’d the opening round of qualifying at Aigen-Schlägl.  Having topped 1:10 seeding, Teemu Leino would start a dominant evening for the Infinity team as he TQ’d the first of the four scheduled qualifiers from team-mate Jilles Groskamp with Jakub Rozycki third.  Next it was the turn of the 1:8 40+ class to run their opening qualifier with 4th seed Arie Manten taking the TQ with one & a half seconds in hand over top seed Klaus Köwenig.  It was however 1:8 that delivered the closest finish, as Dario Balestri just held off Simon Kurzbuch for the TQ by 0.024 of a second!  Having been in the mix for the TQ before an error, a recovering Carmine Raiola completed the Top 3 followed by Oliver Krähemann, Toni Gruber and Dominic Greiner, the latter lacking the pace he had shown in the final practice.

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July 19, 2019

Kurzbuch & Leino top seeding at ENS

Simon Kurzbuch and Teemu Leino are the top seeds at ENS Austria in Aigen.  Second fastest to Carmine Raiola in free practice, Kurzbuch produced a new fastest 3-consecutive laps in the first of the two controlled practices to secure the top seeding ahead of Dario Balestri, the World Champions split by 9/100ths of a second.  Topping CP2 ahead of Kurzbuch, this time would leave Dominic Greiner 3rd overall ahead of Riola who also was unable to improve on the time he set in CP1.  Last year’s race runner-up Toni Gruber will be seeded 5th ahead of Silvio Hächler with Jeffrey Rietveld being the only other driver in the Top 10 to improve his time in CP2 ending up 7th fastest.  In 1:10 Leino was able to remain at the top as he had done in free practice.  Topping both his runs, the Finn’s closest challenger was again team-mate Jilles Groskamp with Shepherd’s Melvin Diekmann stepping into the Top 3.

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July 19, 2019

Raiola sets free practice pace at ENS Aigen

Carmine Raiola has set the pace in free practice for the third round of the Infinity Euro Nitro Series in Aigen, Austria.  The Infinity driver would conclude the 12 rounds of free practice run over the past two days with a best 3-consecutive laps that was 1/10th of a second faster than the unique track’s winner of the last four years Simon Kurzbuch.  Completing the Top 3 would be Serpent’s Dominic Greiner who like those ahead of him ended free practice with his fastest run.  Unable to improve on his time from the 10th round, the second run of today, reigning champion Dario Balestri found himself 4th fastest.

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May 27, 2019

Kurzbuch wins “Really Tough” Rucphen battle

Simon Kurzbuch has taken the win at Round 2 of the 2019 Infinity Euro Nitro Series, but it was anything but easy as the three time ENS Champion seemed unlikely to even make the podium in the first half of the race. Qualifying fourth on the grid after admitting that he had struggled on Saturday, Kurzbuch initially circulated in fourth place, fighting with Dominic Greiner, who had bumped up from the B Final, as the race out front initially seemed to be a fight between the top three qualifiers of Dario Balestri, Robert Pietsch and Carmine Raiola. Deciding only to make one four tyre change at the half way point, as the other top runners chose two full changes, the Swiss driver confirmed that he knew he “couldn’t go at the pace of Balestri and Raiola, so we decided to make one less fuel stop [by running longer between stops] and making only one tyre change”.

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May 26, 2019

‘Great Team Job’ gives Balestri Infinity’s first 1/8th ENS TQ

Dario Balestri has secured Infinity’s first ever pole position in the 1/8th class at the ENS.  The Japanese manufacturer, a supporter of the ENS since the end of the 2015 season has achieved success in almost all categories of racing, but remarkably, a 1/8th ENS TQ had still eluded them.  Reacting immediately after the last run, the current ENS and World Champion instantly remarked that it was a “great team job”, indicating firstly towards team mate Carmine Raiola, who topped the final qualifying round allowing Balestri to secure pole.  Also noting the rest of the team, including the mechanics of the two drivers, he said a small mistake in the last round prevented him taking Q4 as there was “nothing between the top three” – the two Infinity pilots and Mugen’s Robert Pietsch.

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May 26, 2019

Leino TQ’s 1/10th at Dutch ENS

Teemu Leino has taken his fourth overall ENS TQ despite failing to match his earlier results in this evening’s final two qualifiers.  With his earlier wins in Q1 and Q2, that was enough to secure him the overall pole position, the winner in Bologna extended his Championship points lead thanks to TQ bonus point.

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May 24, 2019

Dario Balestri sets the pace in The Netherlands

Infinity’s Dario Balestri set the best three lap time in controlled practice for the 1/8th scale class at Round 2 of the Euro Nitro Series Championship in Rucphen, The Netherlands.  It was very close, however, as less than one tenth of a second covered the top seven drivers over their three lap times. “The car was good, the engine was really good – it was just really difficult to find the right balance” was how the current ENS Champion described the practice sessions.  He will try some more small changes tomorrow “until the car is easy to drive”, aiming to find more rear traction in his IF18.

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May 24, 2019

Leo Arnold Top Seed at Dutch ENS

Leo Arnold will carry the number one on his car throughout tomorrow’s four scheduled rounds of qualifying here in the Netherlands.  The French driver’s time just held off a late charge from Jilles Groskamp, who ended up four hundredths of a second slower over the three lap times with his Infinity team mates Teemu Leino and Milan Holthuis putting in the third and fourth best times, and Thilo Todtmann rounding out the top five.

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