Thursday, 28.03.2024 | Deutsch | English
Two Class System

Two Class System

20. April 2007Situations as above – here it shows the European Champion lapping one of the rank outsiders – the top pilots experience repeatedly at every race. Although the distance covered in truck racing is only 30 km or 45 km, i.e. about 15 to 22 minutes, at some races the trucks at the end of the field are most often lapped twice by the leading pilots. The differences in the performance is just enormous. At the race in Barcelona there was a difference of more than 36 percent between the fastest drivers and the slowest one. This time nobody complaint about any obstructions during the lappings, however, still fresh in mind is the Qualifying race on Sunday last year in Albacete. Markus Oestreich was clearly leading with Gerd Körber and Jochen Hahn in tow, when, in the final lap they got stuck behind one of the slower opponents. He was shown the blue flag several times, but somehow he obviously couldn’t deal with the situation. The incident that followed was certainly not what the slower driver had intended, but when Oestreich tried to pass, his opponent got into his way and Oese was forced to take to the gravel. Körber and Hahn braked briefly and then sped past on the outer track.
The two points in the ranking Oestreich lost, were only secondary compared to the loss of the pole position for the Cup race that followed. And the fact that the slow driver was disqualified after the race, didn’t help the German at all.
But already before above incident happened, there were discussions if it makes sense to let such extremely slow pilots start at all. On the other hand, nobody wants to deny an entire group of drivers permission to participate, quite the contrary. Lutz Bernau even brought up the question some time ago, whether there shouldn’t be a separate ranking for those pilots who otherwise would never have a chance to get any points. After all, especially these pilots are the ones who often delight the audience with their rather unorthodox, however, spectacular way of driving, even if it’s only to avoid being the last one to cross the finish line.
But apart from that, it should be considered to lay down rules for truck and driver standards, stating that only those drivers are accepted who stay within a certain minimum time limit at the practice – maybe fastest times plus 15 percent.
In addition, it doesn’t really reduce the risks that national standards and conditions for getting the driver’s license vary considerably. While in some countries the authorities responsible for motor sports only issue a pilot’s license allowing to enter international FIA races, when the driver can prove he’s got an adequate training and practise, other countries require only a weekend course where some theoretical knowledge is taught, and then the pilot does some laps in a race truck, and that’s enough to get a license for truck racing. That’s quickly mounting up to several components, which add additional dangers that should not be underestimated.