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Misano – Preliminary Report

Misano – Preliminary Report

17. May 2010Never before the truck racers had to wait such a long time for their first trial of strength in the FIA European Truck Racing Championship. And also the fans are already waiting impatiently. 17 RaceTrucks are registered for the first round of the season. Erwin Kleinnagelvoort, the Dutch Scania pilot, is not on the list; and the two late registrations, the Portuguese Eduardo and José Rodrigues – who increased the number of MAN trucks up to 12 – will not be present either. When studying the schedule for Misano you will notice that the supporting programme does not include any other races; the truck racers will have the track at the Adriatic Sea all to themselves, thus the truck racing fans will have even more time available in order to stroll around the paddock – which in the FIA ETRC is always open to the public – and to have a look at the particularly beautiful parade of trucks of almost every age Misano is known for. And during the breaks there will be ample opportunity to watch stunts and presentations by manufacturers of commercial vehicles.
But on the schedule there is another completely new item that catches the eye: “Super Pole”. There were often annoyances and complaints after the timed practice in recent years, especially from the top pilots. The field starts the timed practice in a row, that is, in the order of the current championship standing.
It had become a habit not only to drive very slowly in the first lap, but very often there were also huge gaps between the individual trucks, so that soon the field covered about half of the entire track. And when the first pilots tried to start their fast lap, they were soon stuck behind the tail-enders before they could finish the lap.
To soothe the waters a bit in regard to this matter, the following alterations were made: At first there will be a timed practice, as before, with all trucks participating, however, this will take only 15 minutes instead of 20. Next the 10 fastest trucks will line up on the pit lane, and after a 5-minute “relaxing break” under Parc Fermé conditions – which means that it is not allowed to carry out any work on the trucks – the top pilots have to start “in earnest”. They have got only 10 minutes to clock a top time, which is hardly enough for more than two really fast laps.
The weather will be fantastic – if the weather services are to be believed. The temperature – particularly on Sunday – will probably rise above 25 °C, and it will be predominantly sunny, with rarely some clouds, and no rain to speak of. It’s not for nothing that Misano is one of the most popular circuits, both for the participants and the fans. There are still tickets available at the box office – for Saturday 12 Euros / for Sunday 14 Euros.
In regard to a FIA ETRC television coverage there weren’t any announcements released so far. There should be two film teams, Kamiono TV and „schweiz 5“, covering the series, but there isn’t any information yet about the “What? Where? When?“.