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Truck Grand Prix Preliminary Report

Truck Grand Prix Preliminary Report

11. July 2013Nürburgring - For the fans, the Truck Grand Prix on the Nürburgring may be the highlight of the FIA European Truck Racing season, but for all the participants it’s a time of maximum of stress. Over and above that they’ve had to endure the rather frustrating scheduling of the TGP not quite a week after the fourth round in Spielberg, Austria. The TGP is traditionally a four-day event, and the teams have to be ready with everything on Wednesday evening itself (whereas they can arrive at most other events on Friday).
For us, too, the lack of a break is more than unfortunate. The TGP demands far more preparation than every other round of the FIA ETRC, and we have not been able to stick to our normal deadline for this preliminary report.
The field may not be the biggest this season – there were 27 starters in Navarra including those participating in the round of the Spanish championship that was taking place concurrently, – but with 25 trucks it’s just one shy of the maximum number the rules permit for the ring.
With the support of thousands of fans at his home race, defending champion Jochen Hahn will certainly go all out to recapture the lead he lost to his Spanish MAN colleague Antonio Albacete in Spielberg. But there are going to be 23 other racers on the track, and two of them – MAN pilots Markus Oestreich (GER) and Norbert Kiss (HUN) – have driven at the same levels of performance throughout this season as the title contenders, except only for the fact that they’ve failed to finish more often. In Misano, for example, they were forced to drive through the pits because the race commission determined that they had loose panelling on their trucks. The reasoning was that this could prove dangerous for the spectators, and therefore had to be removed. From Navarra onwards, though, this has not been an issue anymore.
Even the MKR Renaults appear stronger now than at the start of the season, Markus Bösiger (SUI) and Adam Lacko (CZE) having taken two wins each. And in race-by-race pilot Gerd Körber we again have a potential spoiler in the running. “Mr Truckracing” has lived in and out of race trucks for a good quarter of a century, and it wouldn’t be exaggerating to say that the three-times champ can drive the Ring blindfolded.
We’ll also see Heinz-Werner Lenz and his son Sascha — they may not be frontrunners because their two Mercedes RaceTrucks are coming on in years, but they are definitely among the (most) popular favourites. And finally there are two more very special favourites, not just among the fans but also with the media, the two German lady-racers Ellen Lohr and Stephanie Halm.
Ellen first drove the TGP in a Mercedes SuperRaceTruck more than 15 years ago. The only lady to have won a round of the Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisters, also in a Mercedes, she has stayed true to the marque, and her tankpool24-Mercedes definitely looks like a winner — but only as looks go. The engine that throbs beneath the Number 24 truck’s current-generation Actros cabin is some years older than those that power its direct competitors, and there’s still no sign of technical backing from Mercedes of the kind that MAN and Renault provide the teams that race their trucks. Steffi Halm is somewhat better off. Her factory-supported MAN of the French Lion team has a lot more to offer, and the young lady has already notched up eight points in it.
For the fan, a trip to the Eifel is a worthwhile proposition, even should he or she take that decision at short notice. Tickets are still available in almost all categories, and the weather forecasts are excellent. But those who can’t make it to the Ring can still watch the races live on the Internet, here at truckracing.de / truckrace.info, on our video Web-portal truckrace.tv, on the Websites of the Truck Race Organisation TRO (truckrace.org) and the Truck Grand Prix (truck-grand-prix.de), and on the sites of many other supporters.
For those for whom life does not revolve around racing, the TGP always has a number of other extraordinary experiences to offer. Be they the trucker camps, the trade show on the infield, the shopping lane, or the many concerts in the Müllenbachschleife. The main attraction on Friday evening is German pop superstar Nena, and a TGP ticket that includes entry to her concert will cost you less than you’d pay to watch her perform elsewhere. We’ve heard of people who have spent their entire TGP weekend in the Müllenbachschleife — apart from the concert arena there are innumerable stands that offer everything that would gladden a trucker’s heart, not to mention the famous fireworks display on Saturday evening.

Supported by Meritor Translation: Eliot Lobo

Impressions:

Truck Grand Prix Preliminary Report
Truck Grand Prix Preliminary Report