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Saturday in Valencia Part 3 – Kiss strikes back in second race

Saturday in Valencia Part 3 – Kiss strikes back in second race

25. April 2015Valencia - It was still a comfortable 26°–27° under the open sky, but things had gotten red hot on the track right at the start. Polesitter Ellen Lohr lost several places by the first corner itself; Janiec was now in front, tailed by a pack of determined pursuers led by local hero Albacete. The Frenchman mounted a dogged resistance, but the pressure from the rear was simply too great. Albacete pounced again, causing Janiec to drift slightly — and fall back several places in the bargain. But even Albacete couldn’t escape the unprecedented competitive fury of the second race – which is now good for as many points as the first – and was presently overtaken by Reinert, Kiss, and Hahn in procession. And it was this trio (but not only they) that demonstrated just what makes truck racing such an attractive spectacle. Albacete’s MAN had sustained a flat tyre on its rear left outer wheel and was just not able to keep pace. The skirmishes also left Janiec’s truck badly battered, forcing the Frenchman to pack it in.
The two Buggyras, meanwhile, having dropped back in the tumult at the start, were forging their way back to the front…where things were happening too. Hahn had overtaken Kiss and now clung to the rear of teammate Reinert. But then the hearts of the Hahn team missed a beat when the Castrol MAN started spewing a metre-high fountain of water - one of the pressurised water tanks for cooling the brakes had sprung a leak. Unmindful of the aqueous plume, the bantam from Altensteig kept going, but then finally had to return to the pits - if only to have the leak sealed off. Driving with brakes that could no longer be cooled, he still finished a fighting seventh. Kiss meanwhile had managed to break through Reinert’s resistance and race ahead to an unchallenged win. The German trailed him a second and a half behind, followed by Lacko in third a further second back. His teammate Vršecký finished a thankless fourth, ahead of Albacete. Ellen Lohr, meanwhile, had recovered quite smartly and was sixth at the finish.
Kleinnagelvoort followed Hahn home in eighth, ahead of Rodrigues. Tenth place, and with it the final point, went to Spanish race-by-race pilot Pedro Garcia (Iveco). Rodrigues was later given a 30-second elapsed time penalty, which meant the Portuguese had to trade places with Garcia.
Buggyra (Vršecký / Lacko) was the top team, followed by Team Oxxo-Lion (Kiss / Janiec) and Reinert Adventure (Hahn / Reinert).
Defending champ Kiss leads the championship standings after the first day of the new season with 35 points, followed by Hahn and Lacko (both 24), Reinert (21), Vršecký (20), and Albacete (16).

Impressions:

Saturday in Valencia Part 3 – Kiss strikes back in second race
Saturday in Valencia Part 3 – Kiss strikes back in second race