Friday, 29.03.2024 | Deutsch | English
FIA Ceremony in Le Mans

FIA Ceremony in Le Mans

17. November 2006As is tradition, there was a celebration for the FIA Champion at the evening of the last racing day of the season, and it was again at the Old Automobile Museum of the Circuit Bugatti in Le Mans where the ceremony took place. And this year – even more so than the previous year – the oversized rooms radiated again the charm of a gymnasium, and so the four musicians sauntering about the hall couldn’t improve the atmosphere much. Only later on Gerd Körber’s appearance changed the spirit for a better.
But prior to this all the other pilots were honoured. At the same time it was announced that Alain Buffa would withdraw from truck racing. All weekend there were already people showing interest in the equipment of the French entrepreneur. Also a former European champion is interested not only in taking the MAN race truck, but also the trailer with the unique tent roof construction shaped like an umbrella. And then they said farewell to yet another truck racer and gave him a standing ovation causing the tough truck racer to shed some tears. But actually, Ross Garrett had only announced that, after 13 years of truck racing, next year he would by no means enter the new season with his old Foden. But should there be a possibility for Garrett to compete with a newer and more powerful race truck, it’s quite probable that the Englishman would take part in next year’s races. That’s why Ross Garrett was a little bit taken aback that his considerations were already made public by Race Director Tony Iddon. And perhaps the fact that he won the British Truck Racing Championship will influence his decision and we will see him again next year.
Later the three winners were asked on the stage. Jochen Hahn, being third in the overall ranking, was among the “chosen ones” for the first time, while Gerd Körber and the old and new European Champion, Antonio Albacete, had already experienced this sense of triumph several times. After Hahn received his trophy and, like all the other pilots, thanked his team and his family, Gerd Körber’s entrance was the highlight of the evening, when he galloped on the stage, dressed up as a cowboy with a blown-up rubber horse around his waist. With that, European Champion Antonio Albacete, who was decorated with a Spanish flag, could not compete.
Later on there was some whoop-de-do at Hahn’s party (by Mercedes Benz) and Bernau’s party (by MAN and Cepsa), and as always, everyone went to and fro and mingled, until nobody knew anymore whose party they actually attended.