Friday in Most
30. August 2013Most - The truck racers took to the track at this, the seventh round of the FIA European Truck Racing Championship here in Most, in splendid late-summer weather with the temperature at 25°C and the sky alternately cloudy and clear with radiant sunshine. Early in the morning we got our first surprise — overnight the name on the Buggyra tent of the Russian Iurii Egorov, the team’s second driver, had been replaced with that of the Czech Michal Matějowský, son of 2001 Super Race Truck B champion Stan Matějowský. The reason for the switch was ostensibly that Egorov had hurt a hand. Matějowský Junior has often driven the Freightliner in tests, particularly at Autodrom Most, and it wouldn’t surprise anybody if the Czech comes off better than the Russian could have.
First on the morning schedule were two hours of press and VIP taxi rides, and these provided occasions for consternation. The Renault of the Portuguese Jose Fernandes Teodosio broke down with turbo damage right in the middle of the track, and then the MAN of the Hungarian Norbert Kiss picked up steering defect. While there were no serious consequences for either, the delays added up. Then, barely halfway into the following one-hour free practice session, obligatory whenever there have been press rides, the spectators had a heart-stopping moment when the Belgian Jean-Pierre Blaise skimmed the gravel trap and crashed into the tyre barrier at the very spot that Markus Altenstrasser’s (AUT) Renault had broken through the barrier and the railing in training in 2009 and slidden down the adjoining embankment. Altenstrasser survived that spectacular accident far better than his truck; Blaise had better luck — the tyre barrier adequately withstood the impact, which evidently was less severe than Altenstrasser experienced in his time. After the Renault was extricated – backwards – out of this rather deep gravel pit (which was certainly responsible for the fact that nothing worse happened), the Belgian was able to continue on his own. The damaged section of the tyre barrier was repaired and the session resumed. Blaise then also took part in the first official free practice session thereafter.
Ellen Lohr was less fortunate; the Mercedes-Benz of the German truckrace lady suffered a turbo defect in the one-hour free training session that perforated the exhaust manifold. The turbocharger was quickly replaced, but it took till after the second free practice was over to complete welding and reassembly of the manifold.
Both sessions were dominated by championship leader Antonio Albacete (ESP). The top MAN drivers – besides Albacete the two Germans Jochen Hahn and Markus Oestreich, and the Hungarian Norbert Kiss – all appeared equal in performance and significantly superior to the competition.
In the second free practice Hahn set the day’s best time with a lap of 2:02.251s; the best non-MAN pilots, Czech David Vršecký (Buggyra Freightliner), Markus Bösiger (SUI), and Adam Lacko (CZE) – both MKR Renault – took around two seconds more. Times set in free practice aren’t necessarily significant, but the dominance of the MANs will have the competition very worried. Only at noon tomorrow after the SuperPole will we know, when all the drivers show their hands, whether the MAN trucks are really so much stronger — as they seem today.
Impressions:
