Thursday, 28.03.2024 | Deutsch | English
Saturday in Spielberg Part 3 – José Rodrigues picks up his first ETRC win

Saturday in Spielberg Part 3 – José Rodrigues picks up his first ETRC win

13. May 2017Spielberg - If someone told you this morning that the sun would be shining brightly at the end of the day, you’d have dismissed the suggestion. But if they’d said that José Rodrigues would win only the second race after his return to the FIA European Truck Racing Championship, you’d have called them bats.
In fact the staggered grid configuration with Altenstrasser on Pole and Rodrigues on second spot held out every prospect of a podium-place finish for the Austrian – but the actual outcome was very different.
That José Rodrigues could win the drag to the first corner on the outside was surprising enough; what was even more astounding was how he just kept pulling away, lap after lap.
And so, while the Portuguese went on his merry way, the local hero had to fend off the relentless attacks of a pack of pursuers led by Lenz. All the while the young German himself was under assault from the rear – in the opening laps a kiss from Kiss pitched him off the raceline and tossed him back a spot.
Even Körber wasn’t handling the MAN pilot with kid gloves – with the result that, a few laps later, Lenz was down a further couple of places.
Even as Kiss was swarming all over Altenstrasser, José Rodrigues handily extended his lead. And when the Hungarian tankpool24 pilot overpowered the Austrian somewhere towards mid-race, the Iveco pilot got to experience what Lenz had suffered earlier – before he knew it he’d slid way down the order.
Rodrigues was by now so far ahead in his MAN that his pursuers Kiss, Körber, Lacko, Hahn, and Halm, all understood to be driving (nominally) more powerful machines, were of no threat anymore.
Almost four seconds later this quintet crossed the line like pearls on a string in intervals of half a second.
Albacete trailed Halm home in 7th, ahead of Lenz, Altenstrasser, and Kursim, who collected the single point for 10th place.
Rodrigues was the Promoter’s Cup winner for the second time today, ahead of Kursim and Dutch Scania pilot Erwin Kleinnagelvoort.
Jochen Hahn leads the standings with 26 points after the first race day. Halm and Körber are joint second on 20, followed by Lacko (17), Kiss (15), José Rodrigues (14), and Lenz (11).

Impressions:

Saturday in Spielberg Part 3 – José Rodrigues picks up his first ETRC win
Saturday in Spielberg Part 3 – José Rodrigues picks up his first ETRC win
Saturday in Spielberg Part 3 – José Rodrigues picks up his first ETRC win