Saturday in Jarama

01. October 2011Jarama - Again the sky over Madrid was a brilliant blue with only a few small cirrostratus clouds now and then, and soon the temperatures approached again 30 °C (86 °F). In the first free practice the track had no grip to speak of, so that people did not attach too much importance to the fact that four Renault drivers – Adam Lacko (CZE) followed by Markus Oestreich (GER), Markus Bösiger (SUI) and Anthony Janiec (FRA) – clocked the fastest lap times. In the second free practice Bösiger did not participate because of mechanical problems. Lacko had to retire after only a few laps due to an injector failure, and while their opponents improved their times considerably, Janiec’s lap times remained about the same as in the first free practice which was only good enough for 11th position which means that Oestreich with his best time was the only one left to wave Renault’s flag.
But when it got more serious, in the first timed practice, at least the MKR Renaults again clocked top times with Bösiger posting fastest time. Only MAN pilot Jochen Hahn (GER) managed to edge himself into the Renault top group by claiming second fastest lap. Behind Lacko and Oestreich the two MAN drivers Antonio Albacete (ESP) and Norbert Kiss (HUN) found themselves 5th and 6th resp. on the grid, followed by the two Buggyra Freightliner pilots David Vrsecky (CZE) and Chris Levett (GBR). Two more MAN drivers – Uwe Nittel (GER) and Stuart Oliver (GBR) completed the top-ten field.
But where it really matters to the top pilots – that’s the SuperPole, and again the Renault trucks were in a class of their own. Behind pole setter Bösiger Oestreich and Lacko claimed 2nd and 3rd positions, respectively, with Albacete in fourth, followed by Vrsecky, Hahn, Kiss, Levett, Nittel and Oliver.
We all know that Bösiger – although he drives like a Swiss clock work – is not renowned for always making superb getaways from the rolling start. But this time the Renault pilot used his pole position starting slot to good effect. In the long almost 180-degree right turn the Swiss defended his leading position effortlessly and was on his way to an unchallenged start-finish victory. Lacko was swiftly overtaken by Albacete, and behind them – in that ominous bend named “Fangio” – there was a frantic scramble which resulted in a heavy crash involving Kiss and Vrsecky. The Freightliner of the Czech stood on the track badly damaged and pointing in the wrong direction, so that Vrsecky had to let the entire field pass before he could go on. Hahn was lucky enough to find a clear way through the jam and found himself in 5th, followed by Oliver who had worked his way up from 10th position. While Bösiger – whose top position was less challenged than you would assume given the margin of 3.5 seconds – was on his way to take the win, there were hard fights going on behind the Swiss. And whenever it would seem that Albacete had a chance to pass Oestreich, the crowds on the fully occupied grandstands screamed their approval – but the Renault pilot almost effortlessly resisted all attempts by the Spaniard to overtake. Lacko and Hahn were close behind them, probably waiting in anticipation for the two “fighting cocks” to put each other out of action, thus getting a chance to take a podium place. But this did not happen so that eventually the Czech had to settle for the unrewarding 4th position, followed by Hahn.
Vrsecky hung on for another five racking laps, undertaking the arduous task of steering his heavily damaged RaceTruck over the track, but finally he had to retire. Meanwhile Levett and Nittel were hard on the heels of Oliver, and in mid-race they succeeded in passing the yellow MAN. In the penultimate lap Nittel overtook the Freightliner pilot, too, and moved into 6th. Oliver finished in 8th position, which means that he would start the second race from pole position, as the top eight finishers from race 1 line up on the grid in reverse order for the following race. The two remaining places within the points were taken by Janiec and the Spanish driver José Bermejo (MAN).
And especially here in Spain a young lady in the RaceTruck – who, on top of that, has got long fair hair – attracted a lot of attention. But Steffi Halm has never before been to Jarama. The track with its sharp bends, and its short but steep uphill and downhill sections needs getting used to, but the young German Mercedes pilot took to it like a duck to water. From the free practice to the timed practice she improved her lap times by almost 20 seconds. But she had a hard time keeping pace with her opponents who were well acquainted with the Jarama circuit. All the more it was exciting to watch her battle with Javier Mariezcurrena (MAN) for 16th position in the packed field of 30 trucks. The Spaniard has participated in truck racing for 15 years and in June this season in Nogaro was overjoyed about winning a race for the first time. And now a truck racing rookie – whose RaceTruck even had less HP under its bonnet – offered fierce resistance to the ‘old hand’. But when entering the combination “Le Mans” bend / “Farina” bend, Halm got a bit off the racing line and Mariezcurrena at once grabbed the opportunity to pass the Mercedes on the inner track of the narrow – slightly rising – bend, thus winning the duel.
In the last race Oliver lined up on pole position with Levett alongside him. Hahn started the race in 4th, followed by Lacko, Albacete, Oestreich and Bösiger. But shortly after the start the order was quite different much to the joy of Albacete’s fans. Oliver was still leading the field, but Albacete and Hahn were both glued to the rear bumper of the British driver. In the second lap the Spaniard took the lead and then one after the other of his opponents passed Oliver who finally had to settle for 11th position. At the top Albacete and Hahn were on route to a double MAN victory. In mid-race they were joined by Lacko and, totally unchallenged by their chasers, the trio crossed the finish line within a second of each other. Behind them Levett was constantly fending off his opponents who seemed to be a bit faster. But when there were only three more laps to go Nittel succeeded in overtaking Levett. But the Brit managed to keep the two Renault pilots Bösiger and Oestreich at bay who eventually crossed the line in 6th and 7th respectively. The top ten were completed by Vrsecky who – because of his retirement in the first race – had to start from 26th position – as well as Kiss and Janiec.
That was the order the top ten crossed the finish line, but later it rained penalties.
Four pilots incurred time penalties ranging from 10 to 20 seconds for overspeed; five other drivers were even disqualified for multiple overspeed. Bermejo incurred an additional time penalty of 30 seconds for attacking Mariezcurrena.
Bösiger was the only top-ten pilot who got a punishment. A time penalty of 20 seconds was imposed, dropping the Swiss pilot to 11th position which meant that the pilots behind him were promoted 1 place so that Oliver was upgraded to 10th and collected 1 point.
In the drivers’ championship the duel between Hahn and Albacete intensifies. The German is still leading the overall ranking and has now got 341 points, followed by the Spaniard (319), Lacko (265), Oestreich (257), Bösiger (240) and Vrsecky (238).
In the first race the team ranking was won by MKR-Technology (Bösiger / Oestreich) ahead of Cepsa-Trucksport Lutz Bernau (Albacete / Nittel) and MKR Team 14 Juniors (Lacko / Janiec). The winner in the second race was Cepsa-Trucksport Lutz Bernau, followed by MKR Team 14 Juniors and Buggyra (Vrsecky / Levett). And in the team ranking there is also a narrow margin between the teams, with Cepsa-Trucksport Lutz Bernau (612 points) sitting only 19 points clear of MKR-Technology (593) – however, there are still 162 points up for grabs.

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