FIA European Truck Racing Championship prizegiving

13. October 2017This season was the first since 2010 in which the finale of the FIA European Truck Racing Championship was held at Circuito del Jarama, and so the official prizegiving ceremony on the evening of the final day was also held nearby. The location was a new one – the Real Sociedad Hípica Española Club de Campo adjacent to the circuit. But since the golfing estate can only be accessed via the A-1, the 300-odd guests were chauffeured there in shuttles.
Following time-honoured tradition, the ceremonies alternated with courses of the gala dinner.
The champion status of Czech Adam Lacko and the places of the rest of the drivers, including the only lady in the field Steffi Halm, had already been settled, so the only unexpected element was the surprise awards.
Co-moderator Steve Parrish, the most successful European truck racer with five championships under his right foot, was full of witticisms, just as we’ve known him to be from his days of active racing. He had the ideal foil in FIA permanent race director Tony Iddon, who’s long used to being at the receiving end of Parrish’s good-natured ribbing. The two, overflowing characteristic English humour, kept the audience in splits with their exchanges.
Then came Gerd Körber, who was honoured at the conclusion of an unexampled 30-year truck racing career, with anecdotes from his “good old days”.
But it wasn’t all nostalgia – Sascha Lenz, André Kursim, and José Eduardo Rodrigues were cited for being the best youngsters of the season.
Adam Lacko was elected pilot of the year by his peers. The first Promoter’s Cup went to José Rodrigues, followed by André Kursim und Erwin Kleinnagelvoort.
The title of team champions went to Buggyra Racing 1969 (David Vršecký / Adam Lacko) ahead of „Die Bullen von Iveco Magirus“ (Jochen Hahn / Gerd Körber) and Reinert Adventure (Steffi Halm / Sascha Lenz).
After all the awardees were called onstage and given their trophies, the official ceremonies climaxed with the crowning of the new champion by Norbert Kiss and Jochen Hahn. Thereafter came the unofficial conclusion of the evening, as at every FIA prizegiving gala since as long as we can remember – the group photograph sessions with each of the teams.
All pictures of the ceremony are available in the photo-section on this website.