Preliminary Report Zolder 2007

15. May 2007Twenty-six pilots from 10 countries are registered for the second round of the FIA European Truck Racing Championship this weekend in Zolder.
And again there will be only two German drivers present – Gerd Körber and Jochen Hahn. Especially here in Belgium the big fan base was looking forward to seeing father and son Lenz, but instead, surprisingly, there is another father-son team, Eduardo and Jose Rodrigues. As it is tradition in Zolder, the former darling of the public of the Go-and-stop on the Nürburgring, Erwin Kleinnagelvoort, will again participate, and also Mikael Johansson, who had planned to enter in Barcelona already, will now start in Zolder his first round of the season. As in the year before, it will be straight down to business on Friday already with the free practice.
As always in Zolder, the timeframe will be extremely tight. The 10 and 5 minutes phases at the starting grid are only half as long as is indicated on the tablets that are held up. An extensive programme with a lot of support races, and a restricted time schedule, which is in this form unique in truck racing, require a brisk implementation plan. On Sundays no race activities are allowed before 10 o’clock in the morning, as there is a small church right on the ground of the circuit, where there is a Holy mass being held on Sunday. At the other days a strict period of rest around midday has to be observed, and it is absolutely forbidden to rev up the engines before 9 a.m. and after 6 p.m., on Sundays 6:30 p.m. These restrictions caused the organizers already some distress now and again, when the schedule was delayed due to any accidents. As there is a growing tendency to have 3-days-events, they now start with the free practice on Fridays in Zolder, too, which is probably appreciated by most of the pilots and teams.
As to the weather, this year the truck racers were not favoured by fortune, so far. It started with the opening of the season in Barcelona, where there was rather bad weather, by Spanish standards – although it was dry during the races – and the forecast for Zolder isn’t promising, either. There is a high probability that on Thursday, the day of arrival and of the erection of the equipment, it will be raining, while on Friday – during the training – it could be mostly dry. For Saturday a light rain is forecast, which could continue right into the afternoon. On Sunday there will probably be a weather improvement. Temperatures will be around 20 to 25 °C (68 to 77 °F).