Friday at Nürburgring
13. July 2012Nürburgring - The Truck Grand Prix is the only event of the FIA European Truck Racing Championship that takes four days. However, Thursday is rather an unofficial day and reserved for the teams, the press and the sponsors. But even on Thursdays the paddock has always been filled. Starting Monday, the hardcore-fans camp out on specific places around the “Ring” – and certainly take the opportunity to meet there idols within a relaxed atmosphere. On Thursday there are also the co-driver laps from the adventure package and press and VIP laps.
At ten the adventure-rides started taking place, which are usually already sold out in January. The fans that really wanted to be a co-pilot – already showed up in front of the pits at eight in the morning in order to sign up.
This day was certainly something really special for an old Ellen Lohr fan. The 81- year old lady has been a fan from the very beginning and still has autograph cards from the very beginning of Ellen Lohr’s long career. The 81-year old received a really big honor: She was helped by Ellen Lohr herself when climbing into the tankpool24-Mercedes-Truck and was also the center of attention in a TV documentary of SWR (German TV channel). Those co-pilot-rides took place on a wet race track, during the one-hour-long additional training in the afternoon the sun started to shine and suddenly the drivers drove significantly faster.
In the end, the same drivers were leading, that are currently calling the shots in this season: Jochen Hahn (MAN, GER), Antonio Albacete (ESP) and the Swiss Markus Bösiger (best Renault driver).
During the first free practice on this Friday, the race track was partly flooded, because it rained almost the whole night. It was a little bit more than 10 C° and the lap times were beyond good and evil. In the second free practice, the lap times of the trucks were around 20 seconds slower than in the additional training on the previous day. This was certainly not informative. During the first timed practice in the afternoon today, gambling should have been over, but Hahn, Albacete und the Czech Adam Lacko (Renault) drove as if they were sure that they had reached the top ten for the SuperPole, into the pit lane. The race track, on the other hand, became faster and faster and the lap times just dropped. In the end Albacete and Hahn placed 5th and 6th behind Markus Oestreich (GER, Renault), Dominique Lacheze (FRA, MAN), Vrsecky (Freightliner, CZE) and Bösiger. Behind the Fin Mika Mäkinen (MAN) as well as the Iveco driver Gerd Köber (GER) and ahead of the Frenchman Anthony Janiec (Renault), Lacko placed 9th and still made it into the top ten. At this point the gambling really was over: Immediately during the first lap Albacete and Hahn marked the best times, only being 11 thousandth apart from each other. The rest of the drivers could not keep up with this. A little more than one second slower were Lacko, Oestreich, Vrsecky, Lacheze, Bösiger, Körber und Janiec.
Hahn still had to deal with his disadvantage that he had received due to a collision during the last race in Donington. He was forced to set back 3 places in the following starting grid. This is what influenced this outcome. Instead of starting into the race from the first row next to the Polesetter Albacete, the title holder will start into the race from position number 5. This is why Lacko, Oestreich and Vrsecky will all move up one place.
Both German ladies, Steffi Halm (MAN) and Ellen Lohr, by now, part of the group of 25 drivers, will be on the places number 13 and 17.
The other two German drivers René Reinert (MAN) and Heinz-Werner Lenz (Mercedes) placed 11th and 20th. Both drivers also race in the Mittelrhein-Cup and that is where Reinert won the Pole over the British Mathew Summerfield (MAN) and Körber’s (Iveco) teammate Markus Altenstrasser (AUT). Heinz-Werner Lenz had bad luck: All his times were erased due to overspeeding and the driver from Plaidt has to start into the race from the back tomorrow. His son Sascha saved their reputation and is going to start into the race from the 4th place. Based on the weather, Friday the 13th, lived up to its reputation. Spectators, drivers, mechanics, organizers and everyone else involved suffered from the rain that was sometimes extremely pouring down the tents.
Impressions:
