Friday, 29.03.2024 | Deutsch | English
Saturday in Le Mans Part 3 - Kursim wins the race, Hahn the title

Saturday in Le Mans Part 3 - Kursim wins the race, Hahn the title

28. September 2019Le Mans - The sun decided it wanted in on the action, but when the race was over, following a 40 minute delay, it had disappeared once again. Its radiance was more than compensated for by the glow that emanated from Hahn Racing, from Iveco, and from the Don’t Touch team of André Kursim. Hahn wasn’t on the podium, but had just become the first truck racer to win six European championships. The two Ivecos whose pilots featured on the podium were built at the Hahn workshops. And last, but not least, Iveco won everything today that there was to win. For „Die Bullen von Iveco Magirus“, the team title remains only a formality.
But preceding the plaudits was a race with two starts. After the first half-lap there was a collision between Reinert and Kiss. Reinert’s truck had been hit by gremlins in Race 1, forcing him to pit more than once and leaving him with only a couple of laps to test his team’s fixes. Kiss had been disqualified, ostensibly because of visible smoke. Both pilots, consequently, were required to start from the last row of the grid. The two somehow tangled, leaving Kiss’s Mercedes and Reinert’s Iveco stranded in the runoff or beached in the gravel, and the race was red-flagged without delay. The two trucks had to be towed away with a heavy wrecker. The restart followed the original grid with Brereton on pole and José Rodrigues alongside. But whereas the Brit had managed to take the lead the first time round, this time he let Rodrigues overtake him on the exit from the first chicane and then, not long after, Kursim, Halm, and Lacko as well. Brereton managed to pick up enough momentum thereafter to keep the rest behind him.
Only a lap later Rodrigues locked up and skidded off the track, forcing him to make an excursion through the gravel, by which time he’d lost more than 10 places. Kursim took over the lead, with Halm and Lacko snapping at his heels. Brereton fell away from this group, but succeeded in making his MAN so wide that Albacete, Hahn, and Lenz had little chance of getting past cleanly.
The podium was thus decided early on – the only open question was the finishing order. While Halm and Lacko made repeated stabs at the yellow touch-me-not ahead of them, Kursim proved pretty much untouchable. On the last lap, however, they turned the final corner almost in a rank, with Kursim on the inside, Halm a half-trucklength alongside, and Lacko on the outside with his Buggyra’s snout as far forward as Halm’s rear wheels. The Freightliner and Schwabentruck touched, causing both to yaw momentarily and lose momentum, allowing Kursim to break away and take a well-deserved win.
Brereton doggedly defended his P4 to finish ahead of Albacete, Hahn, and Lenz. Anderson was eighth, ahead of Rodrigues and Janes.
Hahn was content to tail Albacete throughout, because the Spaniard would have to finish at least three positions ahead of him to delay his inevitable coronation till tomorrow.
Anderson took the Grammer Truck Cup victory from fellow Brits Janes and Terry Gibbon (MAN).
„Die Bullen von Iveco Magirus“ (Hahn / Steffi Halm) took top points towards the team championship, followed by Löwen Power (Albacete / Lenz) and Buggyra Racing 1969 (Lacko / Janes).
A look at the overall standings: Hahn has an unassailable lead of 92 points over Albacete (205), Lacko (196), Halm (174), Kiss (156), Lenz (138), and Reinert (137).

Impressions:

Saturday in Le Mans Part 3 - Kursim wins the race, Hahn the title
Saturday in Le Mans Part 3 - Kursim wins the race, Hahn the title
Saturday in Le Mans Part 3 - Kursim wins the race, Hahn the title
Saturday in Le Mans Part 3 - Kursim wins the race, Hahn the title
Saturday in Le Mans Part 3 - Kursim wins the race, Hahn the title
Saturday in Le Mans Part 3 - Kursim wins the race, Hahn the title