Most This and That
07. September 2013The official spectator count at the seventh round of the FIA European Truck Racing Championship in Most was 90,000, a large number of them Germans who could celebrate podium finishes for at least one of their compatriots after each of the four races. No less jubilant were the Czechs themselves; their idols also finished on the podium on a few occasions. The Czech live commentator was almost beside himself during the last race of the weekend when for a long time the race appeared headed for a Czech one-two-three. But towards the end Frankie Vojtíšek buckled in to intense pressure from MAN colleagues who are all way ahead of him in the standings. And so, even if the veteran had to content himself with sixth place at the finish, it was still his best result since his return to the FIA ETRC last year. One win for David Vršecký in his Buggyra Freightliner and two second places for MKR Renault driver Adam Lacko were more than anyone could have expected, and they were very enthusiastically applauded by the Czech fans.
Jochen Hahn was naturally delighted to have been able to win the first race on each day which yields 20 points. His deficit to leader Antonio Albacete is now only seven points, and there are a maximum of 180 points still up for grabs. But even if everything points to a straight duel between Hahn and Albacete as the season approaches its climax, there’s another German MAN pilot lurking in the background — Markus Oestreich, who is around 60 points behind the leaders. Oese will obviously not want to attack his teammate Albacete, but the man from Fulda will surely do his best to thrust Hahn from second place.
The team championship appears to have been decided already — while it is theoretically possible for a team to win all 324 points available, there’s little chance that Castrol Team Hahn Racing (Hahn / Mäkinen) will bridge the 113-point deficit to Truck Sport Lutz Bernau (Albacete / Oestreich) in the three races that remain. The possibility that both drivers of a team fail to finish or finish out of the points, and more than once, can hardly be discounted.
The Hungarian Benedek Major, the youngest driver to win a race in the FIA ETRC at 16 years, took another win in Most in his MAN. He’s 17 now, but celebrated his victory uninhibited like a little child, as he also did after his surprising coup 11 weeks ago in Nogaro, France. His teammate Norbert Kiss, on the other hand, was anything but joyful. The Hungarian, ever capable of winning as he’s shown throughout this season, was dogged by misfortune in Most. Both in the training laps and in the races Kiss had to struggle with a recalcitrant steering system. Twelve points at Most was the worst he’s come away with from a race weekend so far.
Ellen Lohr was even more unfortunate. A couple of training laps on Friday was all the German driver could lay down in her tankpool24 Mercedes. Two engine seizures in short order were to blame — one in an engine that had freshly been rebuilt, the other in a brand-new replacement. Things weren’t quite working out for Markus Bauer’s team. And with support from mechanics belonging to the other teams, which once again exemplified that special family atmosphere and cohesiveness that truck racing – uniquely – is famous for, the small tankpool squad soldiered through the night into Sunday in intermittent, pouring rain. Their disappointment was deep, but already in Most they had set their sights on Zolder, where the next race takes place.
On Monday morning the powerful engines of the race trucks roared anew across Autodrom Most, this time for a couple of official tests with air restrictors of varying orifice diameters. The results of these tests will likely only reflect in the technical regulations for next season, though. Markus Oestreich let two young trainee drivers from his academy test a race truck. Some others used the opportunity to try out the trucks of those they only otherwise race against as competitors for a couple of quick laps around Autodrom Most.
Impressions:
