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Saturday in Le Castellet – Janiec and Robineau win on Day 1; severe crash in Race 2

Saturday in Le Castellet – Janiec and Robineau win on Day 1; severe crash in Race 2

18. May 2019Le Castellet - The sky over Circuit Paul Ricard on this first race day of the Championnat de France Camions was as overcast to begin with as it had been on Friday. As the day wore on the cloud cover lightened up a bit, allowing the sun to blink, as it were, through the gaps. But 15°C was as high as the mercury would go. Even if the truck racers and fans are used to warmer weather here in May, visitors started streaming into the paddock from late morning, stopping at the team tents to watch the mechanics at work, or crowding around the many merchandise stands selling stuff that would gladden every trucker’s heart. But the biggest attraction by far was the showtrucks.
The truck racers, by contrast, were fully focused on their upcoming competition. In first free practice they weren’t anywhere as quick as they could have been – put that down to the still rather wet tarmac after a night of rain.
An hour later the picture was different entirely, the lap times up to 15 seconds shorter. Defending champ Anthony Janiec set the pace, the Lion MAN pilot lapping a consistent second-plus faster than the closest competitor.
Qualifying kicked off at noon, and though Janiec wasn’t quite able to attain his best time from second free practice, none of the others was able to improve their times either. Everyone was waiting for last year’s runner-up Thomas Robineau (MAN) to take the fight to Janiec, and he did close in with a six-tenths-quicker lap in the Super Pole, but Janiec countered immediately with a pole-winning lap that restored the earlier differential between the two.
Renault pilot Lionel Montagne secured third place on the grid with Téo Calvet in the second Lion MAN lining up alongside. And it was this quartet that divided the spoils in the ensuing race. Janiec took the lead and proceeded to pull away, crossing the line a good seven seconds ahead of Robineau, whose gap to the Calvet/Montagne duo was even greater. The young MAN pilot had been able to snatch 3rd place from the experienced Montagne right at the start, and held on to take the last podium spot by half a second.
After a longer interval the two Renault pilots Grzegorz Ostaszewski (POL) and José Sousa (POR) crossed the line followed by Frank Conti in a Volvo and Yorick Montagne (Renault).
Thanks to the partially reversed grid format, the junior Montagne got to start Race 2 from pole. It began with a big bang, Lionel Montagne’s Renault being spun in the very first corner, slamming it into the side of Janiec’s truck, which had been following right behind. The badly damaged MAN landed immobile in the broad runoff. José Sousa’s Renault, also caught out in the crash, could no longer be driven and had to be towed back into the pits like the MAN. Lionel Montagne hobbled after the rest of the field in his battered truck, and managed to finish a respectable P8.
With only five of the top eight starters left, Robineau seized the opportunity to take the lead, and stretched his advantage with each successive lap. Yorick Montagne ran in P2 till midrace, but then succumbed to constant pressure from Calvet. In one of the final curves before the finish the Renault drifted wide, allowing Ostaszewski to slot in and thrust Yorick Montagne from the last podium position.
Raphael Sousa (POR) in a Renault finished P5, ahead of Conti, Aurelien Herrgott (DAF), and Lionel Montagne.

Impressions:

Saturday in Le Castellet – Janiec and Robineau win on Day 1; severe crash in Race 2
Saturday in Le Castellet – Janiec and Robineau win on Day 1; severe crash in Race 2
Saturday in Le Castellet – Janiec and Robineau win on Day 1; severe crash in Race 2
Saturday in Le Castellet – Janiec and Robineau win on Day 1; severe crash in Race 2