Slovakiaring This And That
24. July 2017The FIA European Truck Racing Championship visited Automotodróm Slovakiaring, some 30 km from the gates of Bratislava, for the first. At 5.922 km it is the longest circuit withal on the calendar, and each race was run over eight laps instead of the usual 12 – at the Red Bull Ring the trucks do as many as 20.
It is, moreover, an extremely fast circuit, the trucks averaging in excess of 130 km/h – as against the automatically regulated 160 km/h limit. Even the sweeping curves were driven at very high speeds, bringing the race trucks’ considerable 5.3 tonnes of weight to bear on the front tyres – particularly those at the left front, which were visibly the worse for extreme wear after every race but held up magnificently nonetheless.
That’s probably because the track temperature was a moderate 45°C (there’ve been races this season on asphalt measured at upwards of 60°). Whereas other series allow competitors a veritable arsenal of tyres for every conceivable track condition, from extreme to extreme and everything in between, race trucks must make do with one single tyre design for all weather, temperature, and surface conditions. The tyres must not only afford very good grip in the cold and resist meltdown on a scorching track, but also be as confidence-inspiring to drive on in wet and slippery conditions as when it’s dry.
Each truck is permitted only one set of six fresh tyres per race day. Some teams, running the right setups, manage to make it through a weekend without “using up” their ent(y)re allocation. Since the less heavily loaded rear tyres “suffer” far less than those in front, these are often switched onto the front axle for subsequent track outings.
Norbert Kiss and his tankpool24 Mercedes were the favourites going into this round. The pilot from Budapest, a short 150 km away, is the only competitor from the present crop to have raced at the Slovakia Ring before – several times in fact, – and he knows the circuit like the back of his hand. The twice-champ’s competition skills were never in doubt; the only spot of uncertainty for his tankpool24 team – as, indeed, for most of the others as well – was what setup to choose, and how the tyres would behave. In the event, all the trucks performed more than satisfactorily.
Kiss was clearly the biggest winner of the weekend, but none of the title aspirants was really a loser either. The difference in points between Czech championship leader Adam Lacko (Buggyra Freightliner) and German defending champ Jochen Hahn (Iveco) remains unchanged. Team Hahn Racing’s secret fears that Lacko, who had already familiarised himself with the circuit in pre-season tests, would extend his lead proved unfounded.
The outcome of the 2017 championship is a long way yet from being decided. Four races are behind us, five are still to come. But first there’s a long break till the action resumes at the Hungaroring near Budapest on 25 August. If you think the teams are going to be enjoying a well-deserved vacation, you’re mistaken. Now’s the time for them to turn all that they’ve learnt over the first four weekends into actionable strategies for the rest of the season, and put them to the test. There’ll be no time when they get back, because the five remaining rounds – distributed evenly between the east, West, and south of Europe – take place within just six weeks.
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