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Friday in Zolder

Friday in Zolder

18. September 2015Zolder - After heavy rain and near-gale-force winds on Thursday made it extremely difficult for teams that had not arrived overnight or early in the morning to set up their tents at Circuit Zolder, Friday got off to a positively good start, the sun shining through the clouds every now and again.
Hungarian defending champ Norbert Kiss once again set himself atop the timesheet in the first free practice session at this 8th round of the FIA European Truck Racing Championship, although not very much quicker than his MAN rivals Antonio Albacete (ESP) and Jochen Hahn (GER).
Before the second free practice could begin, the heavens dumped an entirely unexpected downpour on the 52-year-old circuit in Belgium’s Limburg province. As beautiful as the resulting rainbow was to behold, the standing water that it left in parts of the circuit was so deep that the trucks lap no quicker than 25 seconds slower than they had done an hour before.
Buggyra Freightliner pilot Adam Lacko (CZE) set the early pace, clearly revelling in the treacherous conditions underfoot. The Czech stayed supreme even as the rain let off and the lap times dropped by 10 seconds, finishing the session fastest.
Next quickest was Albacete, albeit a full seven-tenths slower. Kiss and Hahn meanwhile took around a second and a half more per lap. The field was widely spread apart, German Roland Rehfeld in 10th place lapping around five full seconds slower in his tankpool24 Mercedes.
The conditions obviously didn’t allow for definitive conclusions about the racers’ relative performances; it’s also possible that some of the drivers were driving more cautiously than they would otherwise. But what the downpour did give the truck racers a hint of the extreme weather changes they can expect over the Zolder weekend.

Impressions:

Friday in Zolder
Friday in Zolder
Friday in Zolder