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Misano - Preliminary Report

Misano - Preliminary Report

19. September 2007An almost cloudless sky, temperatures of 21 to 23 °C (69 to 73 °F), no rainfall, that’s the weather forecast for Misano for the whole weekend including Thursday. The organizers of the circuit will certainly think back with horror to the MotoGP about three weeks ago, when on Friday afternoon there was a brief but severe thunderstorm causing a waist-high flood covering part of the track with mud and debris. In the paddock, too, and even in the pits the water was ankle-deep. But the truck racers will certainly be spared from such an incident. At worst there will be a stormy atmosphere because of the constant discussions about Mercedes Benz withdrawing - at least temporarily - from European truck racing and of the many skirmishes, getting worse and worse, which are fought on the sidelines of the championship hunt.
The circuit on the Adriatic is a new one for all of the pilots. Until last year the plane track was the only one in truck racing where the trucks circulated counter clockwise. For the MotoGP the circuit was completely reconstructed, and the motorbikes were also the reason why the truck racing event was rescheduled from May to September.
The new track measures 4,180 metres; there is no longer a short connection, which was used by the trucks in the past. But yet the track for the truck racer is shorter by 180 metres than before.
Right at the entrance to the finish straight, in the Curva del Carro, there is a small shortcut. The other, a bit longer track is reserved for the cars and the motorbikes only. In spite of that each round will be 512 metres longer than before - so there will be new record times from now on. Moreover, the starting line is not identical to the finish line, meaning there are 40 metres more to cover in the first round.
There were always problems with the GPS control system for the monitoring of the 160 km/h speed limit because of the nearby military airport. As a consequence radar was used additionally at some risky points. But in mid-season a new measuring device came into use, and we have to wait and see, whether this one will be less interference prone than the old one.
A total of 23 pilots are registered; the FIA drivers not participating are Michel Bassanelli, Antonio Rosa Portela, and Dominique Lacheze. Father and son Rodrigues are not registered for the Misano races, but both Levetts will be there.
And also Hans-Joachim Stuck will take part as a guest driver of the Team Allgäuer; perhaps the former F1 pilot will become a “true” truck racer in the course of time.
Drivers as prominent as Stuck could certainly help to boost the reputation of truck racing among the sponsors – after all, truck racing comes second behind Formula 1 with regard to the number of spectators of the FIA motor sports series.