published: 2013-08-18 10:07:01 (59367) Author: matm |
EFRA 1/10 IC Touring Car European Championship Final Report |
| Full report from John Hindhaugh |
 It would be easy to look at Alessio Mazzeos 2 second margin of victory in the A final and conclude that the 10 second stop and drop penalty, handed to second place finisher Eric Dankel for early contact, had adversely affected the final. However when the super fast German looks back at the whole 45 minutes I hope he doesnt dwell too long on that single moment. |
| Dario Balestri stormed away form a hard-earned pole position in a final that was notable as much for who wasnt on the grid as for those that were. Cruising to a final berth, red hot favourite Jilles Groskamp had a glow plug problem and flamed-out of the A semi with 40 secs to go and along with Robert Pietsch watched the final from the sidelines. West Bend, the first corner after the timing line on the second tour, was to provide the first talking point of the Final. Ielasi (Grid 2), Dankel (G3), Spataro (G4) all come together in a an untidy incident that saw the midfield scrambled as they avoided the melee, all bar Spataro continued unscathed. The Swede Hagberg nipped through as did both the Brits and began a great dice behind the leaders. The organisers had been applying a new interpretation of the stop and go rule as it had been rightly been noted that these penalties in the past were not being taken correctly, and so rather than a stop and restart with the car on the ground, the pit crew were to lift and hold until 10 seconds had been passed. The big gripe was that those ten seconds were counted down by the pit marshal without reference to any timing equipment! After the incident and the penalty Dankel was in 10th and just hanging on to the lead lap, and barely two and a half minutes of the 45 were gone! |
 The first half of the race was dominated by the Pole man Balestri on the KM it should be noted that only 2 KM chassis were in the event, BOTH made it to the Final. He was chased by his country man Mazzeo but never under pressure. Three pit stops for fuel only were a breeze for the leader who was not headed even on the pitstop cycle as he edged away from the field. The turning point of the race was at the 20 minute mark as the leader, one of four Italians in the final, pitted for fuel and tyres. His pt crew struggled with the change and by the time all four wheels were refitted he had lost the lead and two laps. Struggling to match his early pace on the second set of tyres, he never recovered and finished the same 2 laps down in 6th. |
 This left his countryman Alessio Mazzeo on the Serpent out front. Helped by a perfect tyre change by his crew, he never relinquished the lead as he drove comfortably to a first EFRA European Championship win. Behind him the scrap for the podium was intense with half a dozen drivers occupying the places during the last 20 minutes. Eric Dankel established himself in second and began to close on the leader who was clearly easing his pace. Brit Mark Green claimed third with a storming drive from G9. Green was the last of the Semi Qualifiers and only made the final as a lucky loser when Groskamp stuttered. His podium finish again attributable in part to a lightning fast tyre change that he left later in the race than most.
Special mention to Patrick Nahr who bumped up from the quarter finals and very nearly grabbed a podium in the final and that after starting from the very back after taking a technical 10 minutes to fix a pre-race issue. |
 Perhaps a slightly sour taste in the mouth of second place Dankel, but in truth the final margin was as much about the leader being conservative in the last third of the race, as the time he lost early on.
What should be taken from Austria, is that that the European Championship remains a vibrant, exciting and relevant event. Eighty-nine drivers came to Graz with high hopes but five minutes after the chequered flag, with everyone preparing for the formalities, race winner Alessio Mazzeo was alone on the drivers balcony, taking in the scene, emotions uncontrolled. For the 88, and the one it mattered. |
 John Hindhaugh |
