Nürburgring – This and That
17. July 2011The 212,000 enthusiastic fans at the 26th Truck Grand Prix at the Ring would have deserved to watch a more glorious ending of the event – and, of course, the truck racers, too – but everybody knows that the Eifel weather is unpredictable. Also on the previous days the TGP was several times on the verge of falling prey to foul weather, but thank God the black rain clouds always rolled by north or south of the Ring. On the other hand, a rain-affected race is rather spectacular. But for Jochen Hahn who, by the way, was once again voted Most Popular Driver of the Ring, the final race was quite a bit distressing. Already at the first multiple collision – only a few hundred metres after the start – the German MAN pilot was right in the thick of it. But after the race stoppage the Hahn Racing Team managed with combined force, hammer and crowbar to repair the truck in time for the re-start. However, after the second crash it seemed that the vehicle will have to undergo extensive work and considerable repairs to the battered bodywork.
And also in the final event of the weekend, the second Mittelrhein Cup race, the track was covered with a lot of metal and plastic parts, although the race had been stopped already in lap 4 – and no points were given, because no more than one third of the race had been completed. But allegedly much later a victory ceremony had taken place hardly anybody knew about – not even the persons concerned.
But, once the feelings of the teams regarding the narrow space in the paddock had cooled down, everybody was in high spirits – until at 4 p.m. when the rain started to hit the circuit. Everybody was in a cheerful mood. Live music was playing in the tents of several teams, and in the evening fans, mechanics and truck racers met here and there – just the way you expect it at truck racing events.
The MKR Renault team cheered up a bit, too, as they eased considerably closer to the MAN trucks, and also closer to Hahn, who has been driving in another league all the time. Had the Swiss driver Markus Bösiger not had those big problems with the brand-new gearbox in the beginning and had he not lost the grip on his rear tyres because of oil dripping from some leaks in the turbo charger in the first race on Sunday, he would probably have achieved even better results. That’s what he demonstrated in the fateful rainy race, when he gradually worked his way up and finished in second position.
But the Truck Grand Prix at the Ring is not only the highlight of the truck racing season in sporting terms. The TGP at the Ring is also a “showcase” beyond comparison for all the teams and drivers. There isn’t any other place where media people and representatives of the industry – and consequently sponsors or potential new sponsors – are that present. That’s what truck racing rookie Steffi Halm had to learn, too. Since the young pilot made her debut in her tankpool24 Mercedes in Misano, she is the main focus of the media. And now there was even a team from the broadcasting station SWR at the Nürburgring because of her, and it was most convenient that in the Sponsors’ Challenge, where those pilots participate who did not make it into the top-ten in the last season, Steffi Halm grabbed the final podium spot.
And it was at least equally convenient that Mercedes Benz, the world’s largest manufacturer of commercial vehicles, celebrated the presentation of their new Actros with pomp and circumstances. The manufacturer from Stuttgart not only booked an exhibition area of more than 8,000 square metres (approx. 86,000 square feet), but also underwent the arduous task of pulling up one of their Actros trucks onto the pit roof. After Mercedes totally ignored the Truck Grand Prix for quite some time, there is now a hope starting to bud in the truck racing scene that maybe sooner or later the members of the board in Stuttgart will take an active contribution to truck racing into consideration. Quite some members of the Mercedes Benz managerial elite were present at the Ring, and the high-profile performance of the only RaceTruck with the three-pointed star participating at the Nürburgring in the FIA European Truck Racing Championship, piloted by a very popular female driver, should not have gone unnoticed – although the truck of Markus Bauer Motorsport is lacking quite a bit of HP compared to their opponents.
Impressions:
