Albacete – This and That

10. June 2008It seems to us that the weather gods are not very sympathetic to the truck racers this year – at least this applies to Spain. Actually, everybody was of the opinion that after the lousy weather during the races in Barcelona it could not get worse, but the freak weather at 2 p.m. on Sunday in Albacete topped it all. Many spectators fled from the grandstands to take shelter in their cars. But the hope that the thundershower would be over soon, was in vain. After two green flag laps the race was started and the truck racers were almost crawling – by trucker’s standards – along the track. Therefore there were only a few spins without any grievous consequences. Obviously everybody had the crash during the race in Barcelona fresh in his mind. But then, although there was no special reason, the stewards red flagged the race three laps before the finish of the race – much to the regret of the Buggyra Team and Markus Bösiger. The Swiss – who started from the back of the grid because the crash with Jean-Philipp Belloc in the Qualy Race had forced an early retirement – had soon charged his way through the pack leaving 17 trucks behind and seemed eager to proceed. Each additional truck he passed would have meant 2 – 3 points for him.
But soon this was no longer the focus of interest. Bad news were received from the city and the Spanish TV aired a live coverage showing floods overflowing the narrow streets of Albacete and underground car parks complete underwater. The access tunnel leading out of the paddock was 1 metre underwater. Eventually the organizers opened emergency gates, and, after having to wait for hours on end, people could leave the inner parking area and the paddock. In spite of the drenching rain several teams had broken camp right after the race to make for home. But the rain was pouring down all night and also on Monday. And so those who had been waiting, had to stow away all their sopping wet equipment, too.
But whenever the foreign teams set off, at the frontier to France another adversity was looming. The Spanish truckers had given their Government an ultimatum to do something about the rising prices for diesel – for quite some time diesel costs much more than super in Spain. On Sunday night the truck drivers began to blockade the frontier between Spain and France. Right after passing Barcelona trucks bound for La Junquera were instructed by the Spanish police to leave the motorway, but for those who made it to the frontier from that point there was no way forward anymore. By noon on Monday, beyond the border in France there was a traffic jam with a queue of trucks standing bumper-to-bumper for more than 12 km. Several of the truck racing teams assembled at a motorway station near Gerona, they pitched a tent and tried to make the best of the situation. But people were a bit astonished that they were not informed in advance by the organizers. After all, the Spanish media had been discussing this ultimatum und the possible consequences since the end of May.