1:8 Scale – Kurzbuch on top after Q2 bobble
The winner of Round 1 of the 2024 ENS in Ettlingen continued his form in Aigen this weekend, as Simon Kurzbuch set the fastest time in Practice and then led Qualifying to start on pole position for the A Final. However, it didn’t entirely go to plan, as after the Energy fuel-supported driver took the first round, he got the timings wrong at the start of Q2. Trying to run an extra lap in the warm-up period, time expired and the qualifying clock started before he could get back to the pits to refuel the car. However, with Q3 and Q4 held on Saturday, Kurzbuch put this behind him and set the best time in both rounds to ensure his Mugen will start at the front on Sunday. Lars Hoppe benefitted from Kurzbuch’s mistake in Q2 to set the best time in that round, and will start in P2 on the A Final grid after a great showing with his Shepherd car. Toni Gruber lines up third, but does not seem to have unlocked all the speed in himself and his Capricorn as we know he might have, whilst Rick Vrielijnck was top Infinity and will start fourth. Thilo Diekmann will round out the top five, the long-term ENS supporter very happy to be mixing it with the big names this weekend and his Capricorn car looking great on track.
1:10 Scale – Groskamp beats Diekmann to TQ
In the 1:10 Scale class, it was a close fight between Capricorn’s Melvin Diekmann and Infinity’s Jilles Groskamp. Every round, the pace switched between them, with very fine margins deciding the outcome. A small mistake or a missed apex each time decided the results, and it was Groskamp who came out best with three TQ times against Diekmann’s one. We are expecting a very close final as we know the pace over 45 minutes can be very different to the short four-minute qualifiers! Behind, Juan Hidalgo Garrido made his return to the ENS after a break of about a year and did a great job to set the best time in Practice and then take third overall in qualifying, keeping his Serpent in the mix. The rest of the top five will be made of Infinity cars, with Viktor Wilck ahead of Milan Holthuis.
Masters – Mueller on top after close Qualifying
Torsten Mueller was the fastest in the Masters class over the qualifying rounds, but as we always expect it was really close in every round! Lars Stub-Holm went quickest in Q1, before Mueller found his groove and set the best time in Q2 and Q3. Daniel Toennessen, TQ in Ettlingen, then was back on top in Q4! Overall, Toennessen will start second in front of Stub-Holm. Peter Thys was super quick, leading at least twice in Qualifying, and will line up in fourth place, with Lars Haugen, the man beind the successful Oslo Open event a few weeks ago lignin up in fifth place.
Sport – Eisele TQ’s as Esser Impresses
Michael Eisele was the best of the Sport class in Aigen, replicating his starting position from Ettlingen. But many people were looking at the young American racer, Alex Esser, who took the fastest time in Q2 and will line up second overall. Martin Wenger was missing a little pace in Qualifying, but could take third overall and hopes to find a bit more in the final, whilst Andreas Baumann and Rens Aalders make up the top five on the grid.
Each A Final has 10 drivers locked in from Qualifying, whilst the final two grid places in each race will be decided by the first two drivers in the respective B Finals. Sunday will be an exciting day of racing to crown the winners in Austria!