Friday in Istanbul

11. May 2012Istanbul - The number of media representatives at the press conference this morning was stunning. Prior to the fact that Istanbul was nominated “The European Capital of Sports in 2012” the organizer, b-planet, had been heavily advertising for the first race of the FIA European Truck Racing Championship in Istanbul. This will be the first major FIA – motorsports race in Istanbul Park since more than one year ago. However, the truck racers with their teams and 12 race trucks felt a little bit lost in this modernly looking race track environment. It is a race track that was made based on the style of Hermann Tilke and perfectly created for the Formula 1 with long run-off areas and huge bleachers. The drivers were keen on the routing with its many ups and downs. The incumbent champion, Jochen Hahn, compared it to Spa. Indeed, Istanbul Park Circuit is almost as long as the famous race track in Belgium. If it were 2 km shorter the Istanbul Park would be the perfect place for truck racing. That is the reason why even the fastest drivers need more than two and a half minutes for one lap. There was a large crowd at the VIP and press rides that some press representatives were disappointed to not have gotten a ride. At this point the time schedule was jumbled. When the drivers were on time for their 60-minute additional training there were touring cars occupying the track for another hour. Actually, this had not been an item on the agenda. Eventually the truck racers did not let themselves get worked up about anything. Hahn drove the fastest round and therefore exasperated his rivals. Now, everyone believes that the MAN – driver has more in store. However, it will not get serious until the qualifying and the Super Pole afterwards.

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