Zolder This And That

25. September 2014Oh no, not again! - the first phrase that sprang to horrified lips when the track commentator shrilled about a severe crash directly after the start of the first race of the seventh round of the FIA European Truck Racing Championship. Shortly thereafter there was something on the loudspeakers about an impact with the wall. The immediate recollection was of the same race, same place, last year when we witnessed one of the most spectacular crashes in the history of the FIA ETRC. The mayhem this time was nothing as dramatic, and the impact with the wall was not directly related to the crash. That made precious little difference to Hungarian teen Benedek Major, who was prevented from completing a single race-lap for his second race in a row in Zolder. Like last year, his truck was so badly damaged that repair on the track was out of the question.
The 13,000 spectators were more than we saw here last year, and the year before. Despite the fact, mind you, that the weather was anything but inviting on Sunday, traditionally the day that bigger crowds descend on Zolder.
Local hero Jean-Pierre Blaise was sadly denied the opportunity to make a memorable appearance. A good three-quarters of the 200-odd guests invited by his Lion team came only to celebrate Blaise’s 30 years in motorsport, and the Belgian MAN driver duly obliged them with pole position for the final race of the weekend, which also happened to be his last race of the season. But a crash only a few hundred metres after the start spelt an untimely exit. Blaise was disconsolate — what would a drive-through penalty for the offending party avail, when he wasn’t going to have another chance for the rest of the season? (The Belgian makes way in the cockpit of the No. 20 MAN for his Spanish colleague Javier Mariezcurrena for the last two rounds in Jarama and Le Mans.)
We’ve rarely seen such a tense contest as the one this season between Antonio Albacete (303 points), Norbert Kiss (297), and Jochen Hahn (296). That one of the three MAN drivers will be champion is now certain, even if the two Buggyra pilots Lacko and David Vršecký still theoretically have a shot at the title.
With Zolder behind him – the track has proved a jinx in past seasons, – Hahn must be looking forward to Jarama and Le Mans, two circuits he counts among his favourites. Albacete, for his part, is at home on Jarama like no other driver. Kiss, it’s said, has no favourite circuit — he’s blindingly quick on all of them. On the one hand every single point is going to count; on the other, none of the three can risk not finishing in any of the races.

Impressions: