Sunday at the Nürburgring Part 2 – A win in the wet is just like Lacko

03. July 2016Nürburgring - Sunday’s first race was preceded by a grid walk, the fans being allowed onto the pit straight while the trucks are shepherded into formation. That’s when the first few drops descended. When, half an hour later it was time for the start, the rain was falling steadily.
The race director decided to call for two formation laps behind the pace truck and then the first race lap under yellow flags, during which overtaking is prohibited. This latter decision played into polesitter Hahn’s hands, because ever since the Spielberg Sunday Lacko’s superiority in the rain has now been accepted as a fact.
And so it was the German MAN pilot’s primary goal to set as much road between him and his most dogged championship rival as early as possible. Lacko, after all, was starting only 3rd, and he’d have to overtake Reinert first.
Hahn’s calculation seemed to be working out. Or so he thought.
But on the third lap, the very first in which the overtaking restriction was removed, Lacko had powered ahead of Reinert and three laps later was right up behind the German, forging past anon to lead into the wet grey yonder.
Soon the rain stopped and the track began to dry in parts. In these conditions Hahn had no difficulty keeping up, and when Lacko momentarily lost grip on one of these semi-dry spots and ran wide over the grass, the MAN pilot retook the lead virtually uncontested. But in next to no time the Czech was back up on his tail and, in the sharp left-hand bend after the dip in the Mercedes Arena, exploited a lapse in concentration by the leader – Hahn had left open a generous gap on the inside – to swoop in and, when push came to shove, move back ahead.
For the final three laps Hahn trailed the Czech by a second, and in the absence of any clear chance to overtake, had to make do with a 2nd-place finish.
Tankpool24 pilot Kiss finished third after an explosive drive. Having gone into the race from 10th, he battled his way up inexorably. Soon he had come up on the German trio of Körber, Reinert, and Steffi Halm.
Körber had been driving a heroic race himself given the conditions, but Kiss was in no mood to be held up - not by Halm, not by Reinert, and most definitely not by Körber. The Mercedes pilot simply scythed past the two MANs and the Iveco, from then on to third place on the podium.
Körber had to console himself with a thankless 4th, ahead of Reinert and Halm.
Janiec crossed the line in 7th, ahead of the second Buggyra pilot Jiří Forman. The Czech, the youngest racer in the field, thus gets to start the final race of the weekend on pole.
The two final points places went to Ellen Lohr and Shane Brereton.
Reinert Adventure (Hahn / Reinert) was the top team, with Buggyra International (Lacko / Forman) second and tankpool24 (Kiss / Kursim) third.

Impressions: