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Saturday in Misano – Part 2

Saturday in Misano – Part 2

18. May 2013Misano - All this while the sweltering heat, with the sun blazing down unforgiving from the clear Adriatic sky, made one glad for even the slightest breeze. It felt like 30 degrees in the shade, but that didn`t seem to affect pole setter Jochen Hahn, who coolly concentrated on extending the dominance he`d demonstrated in the training sessions earlier. He eased into the lead from the (flying) start, Vrsecky und Albacete settling in behind him, and the rest of the pack following bumper-to-bumper in pursuit of the trio up in front.
But then Kiss had to slip into the pits to fix a plastic panel that had come loose, and this sent him to the rear of the field. There were no more surprises at the front, the leading trio pulling away in formation till the chequered flag, followed - at some remove - by the rather lonely pair of Oestreich und Bösiger.
The contest for sixth, though, was rather fierce - for lap after lap, Lacko fought off Mäkinen`s advances till the dogged Finn finally overtook the Czech Renault pilot. Close on his heels, Reinert had been looking for a chance to capitalise on a hoped-for collision between the two trucks ahead of him that never did materialise. But he too had to watch out for Körber, who stuck tenaciously to his bumper. The two Germans finished in the same order, which should have meant that Reinert would start the day`s second race in pole.
No less exciting was the three-way battle for the final place in the points, which Frenchman Anthony Janiec (Renault) was able to decide in his favour despite a sustained assault by Hungarian teen Benedec Major und German Stephanie Halm (both MAN).
An hour after the race ended the result was amended. Albacete was penalised 30 seconds (instead of a drive-through) for not having held his position in the approach to the start. This dropped him to ninth place, and the six racers who finished behind him all moved up a spot.

Körber, now promoted to pole for Race 2, lost the advantage to Reinert before the very first corner, and was then overtaken by a few more pursuers. Reinert, for his part, was soon forced to relinquish his newly acquired lead to Mäkinen, who in turn had Oestreich breathing down his neck. Soon enough, Oese had Hahn on his tail, the champ having scythed his way up through the field from eighth on the starting grid.
Somewhat further behind, their battle with Bösiger for eighth place ended in a heavy collision between Albacete und Kiss on the seventh lap, the Spaniard landing in the gravel trap after a spectacular spin and having to start up again from the end of the field. Kiss continued, but had to give up a short while later.
Who would finish in the top three was now certain, but what was surprising was the ease of Mäkinen`s eventual victory - neither Oestreich nor Hahn, who were actually nominally faster, seemed willing to mount any further assault and were content to stay in second and third. Vrsecky meanwhile had promoted himself to fourth, followed by Lacko in fifth. The Renault pilot was later disqualified, which handed fifth spot to Reinert, followed by Körber, Bösiger, and Janiec. The final places in the points went to Major und Albacete, who profited not only from Lacko`s disqualification but also from time penalties that the Belgian Jean-Pierre Blaise (Renault) and Steffi Halm incurred because of touch the penalty markers.
Ellen Lohr (GER) had a torrid time throughout. In the free practice her new tankpool24 Mercedes Actros had problems with a soot filter, then with an overheating engine. The modifications necessary meant that Lohr had not only to sit out the first race entirely, but also to start the second from the back of the field. She had soon made up a couple of places before her front axle played up, forcing her into the pits - she finally finished four laps down.
Castrol Team Hahn Racing (Hahn / Mäkinen) topped the team results in both races followed by Truck Sport Lutz Bernau (Albacete / Oestreich). Third place went to MKR Technology (Lacko / Bösiger) in the first race and Team Blaise–Janiec in the second.
Title defender Hahn took the lead in the drivers` championship with 28 points, followed by Vrsecky (22), Oestreich (21), Mäkinen (18), Bösiger (14), Reinert (10), and Körber (8).

Supported by Meritor Translation: Eliot Lobo

Impressions:

Saturday in Misano – Part 2
Saturday in Misano – Part 2
Saturday in Misano – Part 2
Saturday in Misano – Part 2