Dario Balestri, pole-sitter at the Nitro Touring Worlds in Gubbio, undone by a fuel shortage in the final

Photo: Red RC (source)

Dario Balestri, TQ in Gubbio, runs out of fuel in the final

Top qualifier at the IFMAR 1:10 Nitro Touring World Championship held in Gubbio, Italy, Dario Balestri (Infinity) went into the one-hour final as a favourite. But a mistimed pit stop proved costly, and the Italian eventually ran out of fuel late in the race.

He ended up finishing 6th, well short of his target, behind new world champion Naoto Matsukura (Infinity), Italian teenager Filippo Domanin (2nd on his Worlds debut) and Germany’s Toni Gruber, 3rd.

A bitter blow for the reigning European champion, who had dominated much of qualifying before a difficult run in the final.