Frankie OXXO Truck Racing Team
10. March 2012It was not surprising to hear that the truck racing legend Frankie Vojtisek will be on the starting line again in the FIA European Truck Racing Championship, after being away for 2 years. Together with the Hungarian Norbert Kiss and Alexander Lvov from Russia, they will form the multinational FRANKIE OXXO Truck Racing Team. The entire truck racing power from Eastern Europe will be driving MAN trucks. Last Friday the team was introduced in the MAN factory branch in Ĉestlice, south of Prague. Around 50 journalists from the Czech Republic, Hungary, Russia and Germany came to attend. The basic color of the new, aggressive and futuristic truck will be white, so Frankie is returning to his roots. The Czech has been driving in the European truck racing championship since 1987 and is thus the oldest driver and back then also drove a white Liaz from the Czech Republic. Most recently Vojtisek had been driving Renault trucks for the past 10 years. In 2009 their last contract expired and since then Vojtisek has tried something different. The team took several options into consideration, but in the end cooperation with MAN seemed to be the most promising. At the same time the idea occurred to form a new team with OXXO, Kiss and Lvov, because both of them used to drive MAN trucks. The MAN EVO 012/one has been created and developed in cooperation with the Brno University of Technology. Kiss and Lvov revealed that the overall concept and design were the issues that convinced them. Since they drove trucks from MAN they liked that anyway. The race truck engines are exclusively maintained by MAN mechanics. The CEO of the MAN engine development department in Nuremberg, Wolfgang Schröppel, pointed out that all 8 A – engines used in the FIA ETRC are identical with respect to engine power. And what power! Even the 12.5 liter stock motor has 473 HP (480 PS) and 1,548 lb – ft torque (2100 Nm). The race engine, however, has more than 1,134 HP (1150 PS) and over 4,056 lb – ft torque (5500 Nm). That’s almost two and a half times the power of the stock engine. It would not have to last long, Schröppel added sarcastically. He added that there are three things that make the MAN truck unique: the excellent responding qualities, outstanding engine performance and reliability. The MAN CEO for the Czech Republic and Slovakia, Jochen Modl, repeatedly emphasized the importance of truck racing for research and development. Many items that are created in motor racing become a standard later on, he added. This year a high standard has been set, because they not only want to defend their title in the drivers’ championship but also in the team ranking, he continued. It’s said that this is why they are particularly happy to welcome the new FRANKE OXXO Truck Racing Team. The title holder Jochen Hahn (GER), Truck Sport Lutz Bernau with Antonio Albacete (ESP), both trucks of the French LION Truck Racing team and another driver, whose name has not been released yet, will be fitted out with the A engines. In the end it won’t matter who wins – the important thing is that it is a MAN truck. The manager from OXXO, Akos Jobbagy, eventually announced that they will not only be on the starting line with Vojtisek and Kiss in the team ranking, but also with Lvov and another driver, who is currently being negotiated with.
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