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Sunday in Nogaro

Sunday in Nogaro

29. June 2008Nogaro - The third day in Nogaro was also hot and sunny. But during the early timed practice it was still a bit cooler, so that those pilots, whose first laps were not optimal, still had a chance to clock fast lap times. And indeed, Antonio Albacete (MAN) and Markus Bösiger (Buggyra Freightliner) achieved their best laps not before mid-session, after having done some minor adjustments in the pit. Albacete secured pole position with 1:52.278, the Swiss was only 13 hundredths behind. Third on the grid was David Vrsecky (Buggyra Freightliner) ahead of Jean-Philipp Belloc, Jochen Hahn and Stuart Oliver (all of them MAN pilots). But later Belloc was disqualified for overspeeding (more than the permitted 160 kmph) and had to start from the back of the grid. In Chris Levett’s MAN a cooling hose came off, with unforeseen consequences for the engine, which had to be replaced completely.
At the start for the Qualy race Albacete and Bösiger were neck and neck when entering the first left turn. The Spaniard who drove on the inner line could not make good use of the fact. And next there is the double right bend. Now Bösiger was in a more advantageous position, he took the lead and this was the basis for a sure start-finish victory for him. Vrsecky was now close behind Albacete, challenging the Spaniard for 8 laps. But the experienced MAN pilot fended off every attack and crossed the line on 2nd. Hahn finished on a totally unchallenged fourth place, ahead of Oliver, Frankie Vojtisek (Renault), Belloc, who had had to start from the back of the grid, Egon Allgäuer, Dominique Lacheze (both MAN) and Anthony Janiec (Renault). Later Vojtisek got a 25 second penalty for clipping cones, which meant he was finally on 13th, while Mikhail Konovalov (MAN) was promoted to take 10th place, the last position for points.
3 laps before the finish the Spaniard Javier Mariezcurrena ploughed into the wall. Especially the driver’s cab of his blue and yellow MAN was severely damaged. It’s suspected that Mariezcurrena suffered a fractured shoulder, but – bandaged up – he was able to watch the final race as onlooker.
In the Championship race the crowd of about 32,000 again saw an outstanding performance by Bösiger, who had managed to pull away from his immediate chasers Albacete and Vrsecky right at the start. Behind them there were fierce battles going on involving Hahn, Belloc and Oliver, as well as Lachèze, Allgäuer and Janiec.
When Allgäuer braked in one of the many 90 degree hairpin bends of the Circuit de Nogaro, he hit the rear of Lachèze’s truck not too gently, which sent the Frenchman into the gravel where he got stuck, unable to get out on his own. It took two laps for Lachèze till he could re-emerge onto the track and then the MAN pilot drove on a level with Oliver. While Vrsecky was constantly attacking Albacete who drove in front of him, Bösiger had extended his lead even further – up till the 8th lap. Suddenly the blue Buggyra with the prominent Swiss cross on the rear-view mirrors slowed to a crawl and stopped. An air hose had come loose, making it impossible for Bösiger to clutch. Now it was up to Vrsecky to score a victory for the Czech team. But again Albacete demonstrated all his cleverness, and actually, Vrsecky never had a real chance to overtake. Hahn, too, had no problem to defend his podium place against Belloc. Oliver was close behind Lachèze all the time, but the Frenchman was 2 laps behind because of his former plunge into the gravel trap. There were eager fights going on between Allgäuer, Altenstrasser, and Janiec for 6th place. Eventually Allgäuer could pull away a bit; Janiec incurred a 25 second penalty for hitting the corner markers several times and dropped back to 10th, the last place for points. Meanwhile Levett had progressed up the field from the back of the grid and managed to finish in 8th, even ahead of Konovalov.
Vrsecky’s lead in the overall standing was reduced, with 182 points he is now 2 points ahead of Albacete (180), followed by Bösiger (162), Hahn (125), Belloc (116), and Oliver (79).
The team ranking was won by Team Koller + Schwemmer (Hahn/Belloc), ahead of Buggyra (Bösiger/Vrsecky), and Bermejo/Horne.