Everybody is waiting for Steffi
05. May 2011She has not yet covered a single kilometre in the RaceTruck, nobody knows how she will cope with the vehicle, and nobody knows how powerful her truck really is – the Mercedes Benz truck has been around for a good few years and its engine is no “spring chicken” either – however they both are on everyone’s lips: Stephanie Halm and the tankpool24 RaceTruck of mb-motorsports. Markus Bauer’s small private team, a group of Mercedes enthusiasts who prepare and maintain the truck in their spare time, had intended to participate in the opening round in Donington already, but there were unforeseen setbacks and delays which made it impossible for them to take part. For the round in Misano they are now all geared-up, but as time is possibly getting short it might be that the free practices on the Misano World Circuit will be the first “real” drives for Steffi and her RaceTruck.
But regarding his pilot team boss Bauer is in cheerful spirits. He said in a one-to-one talk that Steffi was a professional racer out-and out, and that she had already given proof of her talent in many different race series, and he felt certain that she would manage all-right in a RaceTruck, too. But it is obvious that the pilot from Swabia, who is only 26 years old, has respect for her future 5.5 tons “official car”. Stephanie has been active in motorsports for 18 years now, and is looking back on a rather classical racer “apprenticeship”. After beginning with karts she moved on to the Formula series at the age of 15 – the absolute minimum age requirement for taking part. In 2004 she switched to touring car racing – for cost reasons among others, so she said. As graduate of the Motorsport Akademie Nürburgring and the Speed Academy of the Deutsche Post (German postal service) she competed in the “24 Hours Nürburgring”. In the Mini Challenge she was one of the few drivers who once succeeded in outpacing Champion Hendrik Vieth. Thus, we have come full circle, because at the TGP last year Vieth gave an excellent and impressive performance in the very truck Stephanie is going to drive this season.
At that time the petite young lady certainly had not dreamt that she herself would soon sit in that colossus, because back than she competed in the Porsche Super Sports Cup in a GT3 – and finished quite successfully with 3rd position in the overall ranking, and once even claimed victory.
She refers to herself as very ambitious, and she is aware that expectations are quite high in regard to her performance and that of her truck. On the other hand she knows that she will need time to get accustomed to the RaceTruck that boasts 600 additional HP compared to the Porsche she has been piloting last year, but the truck has also 4 tons more and its dimensions are gigantic in relation to the touring car. Quote: “Our common goal is to fulfil these expectations over the course of this season and to prove that women and trucks are not necessarily worlds apart. We plan to take part in seven or eight rounds, but we are not going to participate in the Smolensk races, as the expenses for a journey to Russia would go beyond the scope of our financial means.”
Provided that the engine capacity of the Mercedes is sufficient, maybe there will be the one or other surprise in store, that’s what Bauer and his pilot are in agreement about. They hope that now and then they will be able to achieve 7th or 8th position in a first race, because this would mean the first row on the starting grid for the second race. But even if they won’t succeed in accomplishing their goal, it will certainly be a highlight for all the photographers when the attractive young lady with her flowing blond hair gets off the tankpool24 RaceTruck.
Stephanie Halm seems to be a godsend for truck racing at any rate – not only from the Germans’ point of view. But the German fans can’t complain this year, anyway. Never before prospects of seeing the Black-Red-Gold Banner at a victory ceremony were brighter; in Donington, after the final race, there were even three of them raised on the flagpoles.
Markus Oestreich (Renault) is now clearly leading in the overall ranking, followed by Uwe Nittel (MAN), and in fourth position there is already Jochen Hahn (also MAN). And in Misano Mr. Truck Racing himself, Gerd Körber, will join in. They plan to compete with their Schwabentruck Iveco in at least four rounds, and – like Bauer and Hahn – team boss Schorsch Glöckler and Körber also hope to finish a first race in 7th or 8th position now and then to get the chance to line up on the first row in the second race. And once the multiple European Champion takes the lead, it will be extremely difficult for his chasers to overtake him, even if the other trucks should be a bit faster than the Iveco.
Impressions:
