Titles to be decided in Apeldoorn
The 2022 Euro Nitro Series concludes this weekend (25-28 August) ast the popular AMCA track in Apeldoorn, the Netherlands. The track was first added to the ENS schedule in 2020 but, as that season was affected by ever-changing COVID-19 restrictions and travel rules, not everyone has been able to experience the famous Dutch venue. For those that were able to attend, or have raced there in any of the many other races the track has hosted, this experience could be important as we still have two of our three titles to be decided at our season final!
1/8 Scale
Kurzbuch with the advantage but Greiner with momentum
The championship in the 1/8 Scale class is set to be a straight shoot-out between current points leader Simon Kurzbuch and ‘man of the moment’ Dominic Greiner. Kuzbuch has regularly been the benchmark in the ENS, with more wins than anyone else. The Shepherd driver currently leads the standings at the moment, with a win in Ettlingen and second place results in Fiorano and Aigen and was looking the favourite for the title earlier in the year. However, this summer has seen Dominic Greiner really stamp his authority on on-road nitro racing. Beating Kuzbuch in Aigen to the win, the German driver then took victories at both the 1/10 and 1/8 EFRA championships, and backed this up by winning the German nationals this past weekend as well! But it is still a big ask for the Capricorn driver as he realistically needs maximum points to control his own destiny.
Behind the top two, Toni Gruber will be looking to lock up third overall, as he holds a seven-point advantage over his challengers currently. But he needs to watch out for the likes of Shasa Jason Lackner, Thilo Diekmann, Lars Hoppe and Timo Schroeder, all of who have a chance to steal the place away depending how the results shake out on Sunday evening! It will also be important to keep an eye on Dutch driver Rick Vrielijnck, who finished on the podium here in 2020 and will be a ‘home favourite’.
1/10 Scale
Championship decided, but podium up for grabs
Jilles Groskamp secured the overall 1/10 Scale championship at Round 3 of the ENS in Aigen, leaving the focus of the event on who will join him on the overall podium. Melvin Diekmann seems almost fixed in the runner-up spot thanks to his victory in Fiorano, but there is a small chance Milan Holthuis could make it a Dutch/Infinity 1-2 overall if he can score his first ever ENS win this weekend. Most likely, Holthuis will be looking to secure third in the final standings, fending off his team-mate Teemu Leino.
However, don’t expect Groskamp to take his foot off the gas even though the championship is in the bag – with the World Championships on the horizon for the class, he, like the other contenders, will want to continue to score good results and learn more about the car. We’ll also be watching drivers such as Quentin Leroux and Patrick Fankhauser, both of whom have a chance to move up to the top five in the overall points standings.
+40 Masters
Masters title wide open!
We keep saying this year – the +40 Masters class is the closest and most unpredictable division of ENS at the moment! With many drivers able to score great results in qualifying and finals, there’s no clear championship favourite right now. Martin Wenger leads the standings with a consistent set of results, but with three different TQs and three different winners, Martin will have his work cut out to stay ahead! We can expect Arie Manten (winner in Aigen, currently second in points), Lars Laugen (TQ and 2nd in Ettlingen) and Jurg Nydegger (winner in Fiorano) to be very much in the mix for the championship – we won’t know who it’s going to be until the very last lap of the 30-minute final!
Stay up to date with our ENS Finals
We’ll provide daily reports on Seeding Practice, Qualifying and the all-important finals here on the ENS website – so whether you are at the track or at home, keep up to date with all the action and see how our Championships are decided!