Saturday in Jarama Part 2 - Albacete takes popular homecoming win, Adam Lacko is 2017 champ
07. October 2017Jarama - Antonio Albacete’s exuberant fans had to wait a while longer before they could celebrate the victory of their hero. Hardly had the earlier delay in the schedule been made up, when another setback caused it to cascade all over again. On the opening lap itself José Rodrigues, Kursim, and Körber wrestled one another to a standstill in the Farina hairpin, the second bend in that most famous combination of esses in truck racing. The three trucks stood either across or against the racing direction and Rodrigues just couldn’t shift his MAN into gear. So, even if the Mercedes of Kursim and Körber’s Iveco were able to take off again immediately, the red flags were unavoidable.
The Portuguese finally managed to get his truck moving, and made straight for the pits to get his crew to remove a few torn and twisted plastic parts. The rest of the field fell back into the original formation for the restart, while Rodrigues had to start from pit lane after everyone else had gone by.
The restart went off without incident – well, almost. Frankie Vojtíšek (CZE) had to abandon his MAN on the first lap after it suddenly sprang a defect, and Kiss lasted eight laps till he was taken out by a problem with the steering box on his Mercedes.
Albacete meanwhile broke free to take his first victory in a 20-points race in his comeback season in front of hordes of ecstatic compatriots. Only Lacko could keep up; the rest were once again held back by Vršecký – and that was that till midrace, when Hahn alone managed to force his way ahead of the Freightliner to take 3rd. Vršecký infuriatingly continued to block all attempts by the others to overtake, so at the end of the race they – every one – just eased off in resignation. The Czech took 4th ahead of Halm, Körber, and Lenz.
The battle for 8th was intense, between Kiss, Kursim, and José Rodrigues, who’d made a raging advance up the ranks. Shortly after Kiss’s pullout he overtook Kursim to take the position and claim the coveted pole position for the subsequent race. His son José Eduardo Rodrigues followed the Mercedes home in 10th.
Buggyra Racing 1969 (Vršecký / Lacko) was the team winner of the race, followed by Truck Sport Bernau + Reboconort (José Rodrigues / Albacete) and „Die Bullen von Iveco Magirus“ (Hahn / Körber).
José Rodrigues stood atop the Promoter’s Cup podium, with Kursim and José Eduardo second and third.
His second-place finish sealed the title for Adam Lacko, his first in eight years. No other driver can draw level in the three races that remain.
Impressions:
