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Sunday at the Hungaroring Part 1 – Hahn takes a slow pole

Sunday at the Hungaroring Part 1 – Hahn takes a slow pole

17. June 2018Hungaroring - There wasn’t a cloud in the sky when the pilots climbed into their trucks for the warm-up early this morning, the first of the activities on this concluding day of the second round of the FIA European Truck Racing Championship at the Hungaroring. Czech Adam Lacko (Buggyra Freightliner) and MAN pilot Antonio Albacete (ESP) were the only ones to go under 2:20; yesterday, driver after driver had registered times in the 2:18s. But again they were only warming up – they’d be turning up the heat only later, in qualifying.
The temperature meanwhile had crossed 25°C and the asphalt on the pit straight was almost 50°. Quadruple champion Jochen Hahn (GER) didn’t let the heat of the moment get to him and recorded 2:18.834 – a good time, but not great. After all, all he needed to do was qualify in the Top 10 for the Super Pole, and that lap was more than sufficient.
What nobody expected at the time was that the second-fastest driver, home hero Norbert Kiss, would take almost seven tenths more in his tankpool24 Mercedes than the Iveco pilot. None of the rest could significantly improve on their warm-up times, and Lacko was the only other to clock in under 2:20.
German Sascha Lenz, Albacete, René Reinert (GER), and Englishman Ryan Smith (all MAN), Germans Steffi Halm and André Kursim (both Iveco), and MAN pilot Shane Brereton (GBR) completed the Top 10.
Events in the ensuing Super Pole also caused many to wonder. Kiss and Lenz aborted their hot laps, both not having paced themselves satisfactorily, and now concentrated on their only other chance in the 10 available minutes.
Hahn took pole with a 2:19.002, nowhere close to his qualifying time, nor the one he’d recorded yesterday. It was a similar story for the rest. Smith took 2nd ahead of Lacko, Kiss, Albacete, Steffi Halm, Lenz, Reinert, Kursim, and Brereton.

Impressions:

Sunday at the Hungaroring Part 1 – Hahn takes a slow pole
Sunday at the Hungaroring Part 1 – Hahn takes a slow pole
Sunday at the Hungaroring Part 1 – Hahn takes a slow pole