Nürburgring - This and That

01. August 2006The first International Truck Master Germany is Gerd Körber, and maybe he will remain the only one. Because when reading between the lines of the remarks made, it would be rather astonishing, if in 2007 there wouldn’t be any points given for the Truck EM either. But nobody would object, if the future winners of the Truck Grand Prix would hold the title ‘International Truck Master Germany’ in addition, thus giving further weight to the outstanding importance of the truck racing event at the Nürburgring, because there was again a vast crowd of about 185,000 fans at the Eifel circuit, a gigantic trade fair for commercial vehicles, transport and traffic, and shows and performances of the finest quality. And, of course, a victory at the ‘Ring’ is always something special for a pilot, hence a special title would be appropriate.
Otherwise there was no sign that the organizers – free from FIA restraints – availed themselves of this opportunity. In principle, everything went according to the FIA regulations. In regard to the truck rides for the press people and VIPs on Thursday the regulations were even stricter than the FIA rules. And exactly those strict FIA regulations were the cause that the organizers at the Nürburgring (who where actually the ‘inventors’ of those rides) decided to stop them some years ago. It is, however, beyond our comprehension, why journalists were not allowed to wear their own racing suits and helmets (which are FIA authorized and perfectly fitting) and had, instead, to squeeze into race-overalls which were often much too tight and were outdated 20 years ago and into the marshals’ suits.
Even less understandable was the fact that they turned a blind eye to the extreme exhaust of black smoke on some trucks. Here the decision makers were as inconsistent as the people responsible at the FIA. That’s beyond us because, beforehand, there was a discussion about a special soot filter all the trucks should have installed.
It will not be easy for the new Siemens speed control system – which was officially used at the Ring for the first time – to prevail over the GPS measurements. As we know, the Mercedes trucks of the Euroline Team with Markus Oestreich and Niko Pulic had serious problems. And the respective complex operations for the calibrations and adjustments of the measuring system are more of a hindrance, same as the fears of the teams that a change of the tyre pressure could affect the measuring results substantially. But it’s still in a pilot stage.
By tradition, the TGP is always the ‘green light’ to start the preparations for the new season and linked to it is the ‘chase’ for sponsors. And the way some teams present themselves is really impressive. There is not much left of the former race truck amateur category. Especially Egon Allgäuer, Lutz Bernau together with the Cepsa Team, Jochen Hahn and Frankie Vojtisek, and last but not least the Buggyra Team, (which was already known for their splendid appearances during the times when Martin Koloc was still active) demonstrated what the paddock could look like in the future.
Besides, Egon Allgäuer could again present a highlight by winning Hans-Joachim Stuck as a truck pilot. And it seemed that Stuck, after some training, took to driving a truck like a duck to water. But we are doubtful whether the rumours circulating among some marshals are true that Stuck will stay with truck racing for the remainder of this year’s season.
And the gossip factory was working overtime, too, with regard to a delegation of Volkswagen Nutzfahrzeuge from Brazil. The German chief press officer, Lothar Brune, went to see various teams and manufacturers together with his Brazilian guests. But the main reason was to acquaint the decision makers of the European truck racing with the Brazilian series. Although VW present their pace truck at the different races and show their attachment to truck racing, it’s not likely that there will be a race truck of European standards coming from Hanover in the near future.
For years Mercedes Benz and MAN had not had such big fair stands at the Ring. Nevertheless, there is no official statement from Stuttgart regarding further commitments to truck racing – in spite of the latest achievements and further engine improvements. The MAN management, however, was so enthusiastic that – concerning the support coming from Nuremberg and Munich – we would rather predict a ‘renaissance’ of the race trucks.
But in the truck racing paddock people have often seen it happen that decisions were made and revoked afterwards.
For the media the Truck Grand Prix was very interesting. On Thursday morning during the press event the pit lane was crowded with photographers, reporters and TV crews. On Saturday the TV station ARD reported about the event in their programme ‘Brisant’; on Monday Heinz-Werner Lenz and Sascha Lenz together with their family and team were guests of the ZDF ‘Drehscheibe’; Kabel 1 shot a portray of Jochen Hahn and his team (which is expected to be broadcast on Monday, August 14, at 17.45 hrs). On N24 there will be a report about the TGP in their programme ‘Transportwelt’. And the highlight of the TGP broadcast is and was certainly the 1 hour report on DSF on Sunday night. Most of the truck racing fans were probably on their way back home at this time. For all those who missed the report, excerpts hereof will be available soon on this page as a streaming video.