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Nogaro This And That

Nogaro This And That

21. June 2013It`s been ages since we`ve had such a relaxed race weekend as we experienced on the Circuit Paul Armagnac in Nogaro. Everybody seems to have had a good time here at the third round of the FIA European Truck Racing Championship, though the crash on the first lap of the first race couldn`t have been greeted with much enthusiasm by the MKR team, whose trucks it eliminated forthwith. One of the Renaults suffered serious damage to the drive axle, and the other was left with a broken front axle beam. The effort that would be required to set them right meant that MKR`s Saturday was over there and then. Two hours till the second race was just not going to be enough even for a (more than) adequately manned team like MKR. Team boss Mario Kress, however, remained positive and refused to call the episode anything but a normal racing accident — albeit an extremely unfortunate one. In any case, MKR stood to gain nothing from the 30-second penalty that was subsequently slapped on David Vršecký, who was the originator of the crash. On Sunday, Markus Bösiger managed to make up somewhat by taking his second win of the season, the third for the team. Teenie Benedek Major`s sensational win for the Hungarian OXXO Racing Team, in only his third race weekend in the FIA ETRC, was without doubt the highlight of the weekend. At 16, the MAN driver is the youngest winner in the history of truck racing, a distinction that will remain his for a long time to come.
But the weather was no less outstanding. The first teams arrived in Nogaro on Wednesday to warm sunshine and clear skies. The next day, when many set about erecting their tents, it was raining. But for the rest of the weekend the entire circus could bask in pure sunshine. On Sunday the heat was blistering, and since no team had any repairs outstanding in the long noon break, a diversion was badly needed. And one was handily found. It began with a small group playfully spraying water on one another. Then a few had buckets emptied over their heads, before a full-scale water fight developed with jets from hoses aimed at (willing) targets several metres away in every direction. Some of the mechanics brought their high-pressure cleaners into the action, setting their nozzles to eject a fine mist that many of the 35,210 spectators could refresh themselves in. The official attendance this year was much more than 4,000 over last year`s figure. It`s astounding just how many truckrace fans make their way, year after year, to this tiny, picturesque hamlet in the Gascony that only a little over 2,000 people inhabit. Hotels are scarce, so the greater number of fans bring along their tents, caravans, or motorhomes. The campsites and lots around the track designated for parking have once again been expanded.
Even so, large events of the calibre of the FIA European Truck Racing Championship are anything but commonplace at the Circuit Paul Armagnac. There`s an overwhelmingly contemplative atmosphere here, the scene dominated by wayfarers for most of the year. That`s because Nogaro – like Los Arcos, where the truckracers lodged only two weeks earlier – lies plumb on St James`s Way (Camino de Santiago), the ancient pilgrim route to Santiago de Compostela.
The TRO-TV report of the Nogaro weekend will be aired at the revised time of 19:00 on Saturday, 22 June.

Supported by Meritor Translation: Eliot Lobo

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Nogaro This And That
Nogaro This And That
Nogaro This And That