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Le Mans – Preliminary Report

Le Mans – Preliminary Report

15. September 2010Again there is only a week’s break between the races in Zolder and the event at the traditional Circuit Bugatti in Le Mans, so that most of the teams did not return home but proceeded directly from Flanders to France. There they will have enough time to do repair and maintenance works, if necessary, as the event doesn’t start before Saturday. But the schedule for those two days is so tight that the truck racers have to start their first free practice already at 8:35 am, and the second race in the FIA ETRC is scheduled for 6:15 pm. According to an earlier timetable – which has been changed meanwhile – the race should have started not before 6:50 pm, so that the parc fermé would have opened around 8:00 pm or even later in case of a delay. By the way, up till 2009 it was stated in the regulations that races have to take place in daylight and not later than 5:00 pm. Now only ‘daylight’ is mentioned there, but no exact time. The pilots in the French Truck Championship are even going to start an hour later and by that time dusk will have set in.
But for many fans the highlight of the Le Mans event always takes place on Saturday night in the dark. Again there will be a spectacular show with deafening noise on the start-finish straight, and in addition the fans can watch a real RaceCar night practice this year. The grand display of fireworks is scheduled for 10:30 pm, followed by pop and rock music far into the night. Just like the famous 24 Hours of Le Mans the round of the FIA European Truck Racing Championship is a massive spectacle ‘garnished’ with motorsports.
In the ETRC it’s crunch time. The Spaniard Albacete in his red MAN who leads the championship by a margin of 43 points could even afford to make the one or other mistake. His nearest rival, the Swiss pilot Markus Bösiger, is back in the ascendant after a small crisis in the middle of the season. Bösiger’s performance in Zolder – together with his German MKR team mate Markus Oestreich – scared the daylight out of their opponents. Hardly ever before has there been such a demonstration of dominance in a truck race. But while in Belgium torrential rain lashed down at times, the rain probability for both days is zero in Le Mans according to the weather forecast. And the third man in the “3M” team – progressive thinker, designer and boss Mario Kress – will maybe toy with the idea that it would come in handy if, till the end of this season, there were only “rainy” races.
But the MKR Technology Team is not only looking ahead, but will also keep a close eye on Jochen Hahn who is only 12 points behind Bösiger. And last year in Le Mans the MAN pilot from Altensteig was even 13 points ahead of the Swiss. And not to forget Oestreich; he won’t make it to the top of the tables anymore, however, the lanky man from Fulda will certainly aim for 3rd position, but at present he is still trailing Hahn – who currently holds 3rd – by 31 points.
Whoever comes out the winner of the championship – there will be a new title holder this year. Last year’s champion David Vrsecky is 117 points behind Albacete, and there are only 120 points up for grabs. The Czech is currently on 5th, but considering his bad luck in the previous races, he will probably have a hard time to move up in the ranking.
And anyway, this year was a difficult one for the Buggyra Freightliner Team. First Mario Kress left the team, and then the hassle about a second pilot. Finally Uwe Nittel’s performance exceeded all expectations. The German ace rally driver quickly got accustomed to the rough truck racing business and in Nogaro he took a podium spot for the first time. In Zolder he finished a race in 2nd, and now Nittel knows what his fans expect of him – a top place on the podium. But in Le Mans there will be 21 opponents he would have to beat, among them six French pilots who have great ambitions to delight their audience. And if the weather gods cooperate – and so far it looks quite promising – the event could again attract an audience of 50,000 to 60,000.