Thursday, 28.03.2024 | Deutsch | English
Red Bull Ring Preliminary Report

Red Bull Ring Preliminary Report

02. July 2014Spielberg - Till 2003 Spielberg was a regular stop on the European truckrace circuit. The A1 Ring, as it was then known, has since changed hands and, consequently, undergone massive changes. While the layout of the track remains the same, the old pit area and the grandstands have been renovated. This is now the second year that the trucks will be racing at the new Red Bull Ring, in the fourth round of the FIA European Truck Racing Championship. The programme of this, one of the few three-day events on the 2014 calendar, is a bit like that of the Truck Grand Prix on the Nürburgring — which means a packed schedule for the racers.
It all starts early Friday morning with an 8:30 am warm-up before the taxi rides for the press. Preparing the trucks will keep the teams on their toes for more than an hour. The truck racers will then be occupied for the whole rest of the day — following the taxi rides is the obligatory one-hour practice session, then two regular free practice sessions, ending with end of the briefing at 19:00. Only thereafter will they get to follow what remains of the second half of the soccer World Cup quarterfinal between Germany and France.
On Saturday, when the truck racers get down to business themselves, their focus will be all on the racing; they won’t have a glance to spare for the scenic beauty of one of Europe’s most atmospheric racing venues. It’s already very close at the top of the championship and none of the leading trio can afford even a momentary lapse of concentration. Antonio Albacete (ESP) and Norbert Kiss (HUN) are MANo a MANo, pardon the pun, with their German colleague Jochen Hahn waiting in the wings.
On this short circuit – the trucks have used the southern loop of the 4.3km Ring from way back when, – you can be certain of some real tight racing. Whereas races at other circuits typically consist of 12, at the most 15 laps, here the drivers have got to do 20. And with 22 trucks out on the track, someone’s bound to be lapped — and when that happens, things start to get exciting.
Every one of the full-season entrants is here, right down to the Portuguese Eduardo Rodrigues (MAN). The cockpit of the No. 20 Lion MAN will be occupied by the Belgian Jean-Pierre Blaise for the first time; he and his Spanish teammate Javier Mariezcurrena are “sharing” the truck this season.
In addition, there are three race-by-race drivers too. Gerd Körber (GER) and his Schwabentruck Iveco teammate Markus Altenstrasser, an Austrian, will be joined by old-timer Heinz-Werner Lenz, who’s entered his first FIA race in ages. The German Mercedes driver has long made the Mittelrhein Cup, held over the TGP weekend, his domain and there the thrice European champion is in his element, there he is King of the Ring. For him, the race in Austria will be somewhat of a rehearsal for the Truck Grand Prix.
The lone star from Stuttgart will also be represented by the two trucks of the tankpool24 team. All eyes will be on the No. 24 Mercedes of André Kursim (GER). The races in Navarra and Nogaro served as shakedowns for the newly built Actros-cabbed truck; at the Red Bull Ring it’s all systems go for the MB Motorsport team.
It definitely won’t be as hot as it was at the last two rounds in Spain and southern France, but temperatures of 25° minimum can be expected. There could also be a bit of precipitation in the evenings and overnight.

Impressions:

Red Bull Ring Preliminary Report
Red Bull Ring Preliminary Report