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Friday in Zolder

Friday in Zolder

20. September 2013Zolder - Eighteen of the 21 FIA pilots will take the start at the eighth round of the FIA European Truck Racing Championship in Zolder, Belgium. Instead of an entry list, what we have this time is a statement signed by the three stewards to the effect that these “…trucks and drivers are allowed to practice”. And for the first time in ages the practice sessions have once again been held on a Friday. It rained heavily overnight, and even though the first free practice only kicked off in the afternoon, the track still appeared damp and the truck racers were only able to lay down their quickest laps towards the end of the 20-minute session. This can hardly have been for want of familiarity with the circuit; after all, the Zolder event is one of the classics in the FIA ETRC, and the layout of the track hasn’t changed for years.
Even so, it was those who have been at the forefront throughout the season and presently lead the overall standings who once again set the pace. Spaniard Antonio Albacete recorded the fastest lap, followed by his German MAN colleague Jochen Hahn. And Buggyra Freightliner pilot David Vršecký was only five-hundredths of a second behind the defending champion from the Black Forest town of Altensteig.
In the second free practice barely three hours later, the truck racers went flat out from the start. Hungarian Norbert Kiss (MAN) went almost half a second faster to top the timesheet, before Albacete blazed back to the top with a lap of under 1:58s and a trail of tyre smoke. The Spaniard followed that up with an even quicker 1:57.365s, which nobody else could come close to for the rest of the day. Only Hahn was able to drop below 1:58s, but even he couldn’t come any closer than half a second. Kiss’s quick lap at the start of the session proved to be his quickest of the day, but was good only for third spot.
It was evening now, but the racers’ work was still far from over. The TRO TV crew wanted to shoot a couple of sequences with them along the finish straight for a special roundup to be aired at the end of the season. Producer Peter von Saalfeld managed to engage all 18 pilots including Ellen Lohr, the only lady in the field, rather beautifully, even marching them up and down a portion of the straight a couple of times in formation. For good measure Saalfeld also had his protagonists, who by now should have been “off duty” a long while earlier, to break into a short sprint — with their helmets on!

Impressions:

Friday in Zolder
Friday in Zolder
Friday in Zolder