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Saturday in Nogaro

Saturday in Nogaro

17. June 2006Nogaro - Many teams had already deposited their equipment in Nogaro on their way back from the race in Albacete. So the mechanics now arrived rather early at the Gascogne to have enough time to do the necessary maintenance work. And on Thursday evening most of the tents had been erected, and nobody could have foretold that on Friday morning some teams almost had to start all over again. Between five and six o'clock in the morning there was a storm and some minor whirlwinds raging over Nogaro, hurtling parts of the tents through the air. Otherwise it was rather hot but very humid, and in the evening there was again a heavy rain shower.<br />
For the pilots the day began with press-drivings. A spectacular highlight was when the engine of David Vrsecky's Freightliner caught fire. When some oil leaked out it landed on the hot engine parts and started to burn. The damage wasn't as serious as it had looked at first, but for the mechanics it was hard work to remove this sticky mix of oil and extinguishing powder from the engine and the body-work.<br />
But during the free practice session the Buggyra went like clockwork. Jochen Hahn had again done some alterations to the differential of his Mercedes Benz and quite evidently it paid off. During the warm-up as well as the timed practice (1:55.305) the Swabian had lap times he wouldn't have dreamed off. Only a fraction slower was Markus Oestreich, and so in the Qualification Race, same as in Albacete, there were two Mercedes Benz trucks starting from the front row. And it seems that Stefan Honens came up with something during the night, because his pilot, Markus Bösiger, recorded fantastic times at the warm-up and was able to repeat this during the timed practice. So the Swiss could secure 3rd starting position for the Qualification Race, with Antonio Albacete on 4th. Next came an 'all-Freightliner' row with Gerd Körber and David Vrsecky. <br />
During the race pole setter Hahn immediately took the lead with Oestreich close at his heels. Bösiger got the better of Albacete, and both Körber and Vrsecky were closing up on the bumper of the Spaniard's MAN. While the two leading Mercedes Benz trucks – and first of all Hahn - were pulling away gradually, Albacete tried to attack Bösiger again and again, but he got no chance to pass the Swiss. Same for the two Buggyras which had to content with 5th and 6th position respectively. <br />
The Parc Fermé area in Nogaro is extremely small, so that after the race only the first ten trucks had to go there. Especially the Mercedes of Hahn, the Buggyra of Körber and Albacete's MAN were thoroughly examined. Then the stewards noticed that the MAN's engine kept on running although the air restrictor of the turbocharger was completely closed, which meant that there must have been a leakage that gave the engine some additional air. It took them almost two hours till they finally came up with a solution. Albacete was disqualified because of irregular technical equipment and would have to start from the end of the grid at the Cup Race, a situation the Spaniard was quite familiar with, because two weeks ago, in Albacete, as he dropped out due to the failure of his truck in the Qualifying Race, he had to start from the end of the field, too. And, same as in Albacete, after only two laps, he had left more than half of the field behind. But then he approached some opponents who were a lot tougher, such as Ross Garrett (Foden) and David Vrsecky. Eventually he managed to overtake the Foden but failed to pass the Czech. When there were 3 more laps to go, both Vrsecky and Albacete overhauled Jose Rodrigues (MAN) and finished 5th and 6th respectively. <br />
The most dramatic scene of this race, however, was not the wild chase of Albacete but happened within the leading group. The rolling start was seen a bit controversial. It was said that pole setter Hahn had slowed down considerably shortly before crossing the starting line causing Bösiger to bump into him. Oestreich kept up his speed and so the pilots driving on the left-hand side had a big advantage; Oestreich took the lead with Hahn close behind. Glued to the bumper of the man from Fulda, Körber came to lie in 3rd position and behind him emerged Markus Altenstrasser (MAN). Shortly before the end of the 1st lap, Vrsecky crashed so heavily into the rear of Bösiger's MAN, that the rear axle came off it’s fitting, and that meant the end of the race for the Swiss. In the end it was decided that Oestreich's start had been a false start. The German had to drive through the pit lane once and lost 5 or 6 positions. For several laps he worked his way back up and then was close behind Jose Rodrigues for a long time, then eventually he succeeded in overtaking the red MAN and was now on 4th position. Now Oestreich started to chase Altenstrasser but was unable to pass him till the end and was defeated by 1.30 seconds. Meanwhile, the two leading pilots were able to put an even greater distance between themselves and the rest of the field. In front of Körber, Jochen Hahn finished comfortably in the first position and won his first Cup Race of the season. He is now leading the overall standing. <br />
By the way, Adam Lacko is not at the start in Nogaro. In Albacete the Czech was warned by the FIA Committee that they would not tolerate any more escapades. Meanwhile, he hurt his hand during a race for the Oktavia Cup, and besides, his MAN is so bent out of shape due to the numerous crashes that the Matejovsky team cancelled the registration for Nogaro.