Friday in Zolder

08. September 2006Zolder - The sky was slightly overcast and there were the best conditions for the truck racers’ practice. But not all of the 29 registered trucks could test the rebuilt circuit which was extended by about 30 metres. While some of the teams had not finished in time with the preparations of their trucks, Heinz-Werner Lenz certainly would have liked to start, had not disaster struck on Thursday night. Shortly after 3 o’clock in the morning his caravan with the extendable side parts a well-known sight in all the truck racing paddocks, fell victim to the flames. In spite of the quick reaction of the fire brigade the huge caravan burnt down to the chassis. And part of the car documents of both the Lenz race trucks and the complete race equipment of father and son Lenz were consumed by the fire as well. While the boss brought the remains of the caravan back to their workshop at home, the team – which had lost almost all of their overalls due to the fire – remained at the paddock. The team from Plaidt assumes that on Saturday Heinz-Werner will participate on the Iveco and his son Sascha will drive the MB Brasil Hauber.
From the other father and son team, in Zolder only the son, Jose, will start, because the MAN of Eduardo Rodrigues had a substancial engine breakdown, which could not be repaired before the race. The free practice was domineered by Markus Oestreich, who, with his Mercedes Axor, marked fastest times in both races, followed by David Vrsecky on his Freightliner and Jochen Hahn (Mercedes Axor).