Friday in Zolder

19. September 2014Zolder - The paddock at Circuit Zolder in the Limburg province of Belgium is normally opened to participants in the FIA European Truck Racing Championship on Wednesday evening. The early birds were home and dry on Thursday, when most of the other teams had to set up their tents for this seventh round of the ETRC in pouring rain.
On Friday both free practice sessions were run under clear skies once again, with temperatures as high as 26°C. But before the trucks could take to the track it became known that Czech Buggyra pilot David Vršecký, who’d picked up an infection while testing for the Rallye Dakar in Tunisia, had been put on strong medication and was rather weak as a result.
In the first free practice, to everybody’s surprise, Vršecký went on to set the best time with a lap of 1:59.051 Min.. In no time Buggyra manager Jan Kalivoda was hounded by the remaining teams for his wonder medicine.
The drivers then all went at the second session with such gusto that you’d believe they were already in qualifying. Vršecký went one up again with a lap of 1:58.799 Min, before Hungarian Norbert Kiss (MAN) roared to the top of the timesheet with 1:58.339 Min., almost half a second quicker. Observers of the scene may have thought the die was cast, but the racers on the track had other ideas, running flat-out right till the close. At the end it was Vršecký again at the top with 1:58.129 Min., followed closely by compatriot Adam Lacko in his “Go Pink For October” Buggyra ahead of Kiss. Spaniard Antonio Albacete and German defending champ Jochen Hahn (both MAN) were the only others within 1:59 Min.
With the top five spread only six-tenths apart, the anticipation ahead of Saturday’s qualifying is building.

Impressions: