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Le Mans This And That

Le Mans This And That

06. November 2015We’d originally wanted to wrap up our reportage of the 10th and final round of this year’s FIA European Truck Championship in Le Mans with the piece on the FIA prizegiving ceremony. But even truck racing fans are creatures of habit, and among the readers of truckracing.de / truckrace.info a huge number of regular visitors registered their displeasure at the missing “This And That” report.
But there really wasn’t more in the nature of sidelights than we’d already reported. Moreover, there wasn’t a single untoward incident and the season finale went off without a hitch.
The great anticipation had ended a round earlier with Hungarian Norbert Kiss (MAN) retaining his title in Jarama - the only fight that remained was for runner-up.
The two sole aspirants, German MAN pilot Jochen Hahn and Czech Adam Lacko (Buggyra Freightliner), had assured each other, when the almost 40 racers (including the contingent from the French national championship) gathered for what we think could be the largest group photograph in truck racing history, of a fair fight to end the season with.
The atmosphere too was consequently relaxed, even though Hahn is always good for fun of the most unexpected kind. That didn’t change, even though the MAN pilot brought on himself a 30 second penalty, seeing as the prizefight had already been decided in Lacko’s favour.
The German would certainly have liked to finish second, as he did last year. On the other hand the bantam from Altensteig has such an impressive run of achievements over the last decade – fourth twice, third thrice, second twice, and champion thrice – that he could easily look back on the 2015 season, and the finale, without disappointment.
For Lacko, by contrast, whose best finishes were third – in 2011 and 2012, – it was like a new dimension had opened up. The Czech, who’d also won the team championship for Buggyra together with David Vršecký, was euphoric at having made it as runner-up, and it showed in his exuberance at the all-night party in the paddock.
The night earlier, some fans had turned parts of the massive Circuit Bugatti estate into a party zone, giving new meaning to the“24h Camions” concept. Observers were reminded of the classic 24 Hours of Le Mans, which attracted 250,000 spectators this year, lending the legendary sportscar race an altogether different dimension.
But even 55,000 truck racing fans were more than the organisers had reckoned with, and they also had decidedly good luck with the weather, which truck racers and their fans have in years past had bitter experiences with in Le Mans in mid-October.
The mood was understandably lively, especially on Saturday. Following the racing, it’s the gigantic show on the long pit straight that marks the beginning of the real action for many fans. There’s the fireworks, leading into the huge pop concert that goes on till the wee hours. And if that’s not your choice of stimulant, you can stretch your legs instead along the rows of show trucks lined up on the straight.
All through the night the owners of those magnificent machines proudly showed off every detail of their labours of love, and sought to impress onlookers with earsplitting roars from their powerful engines and from their high-volume sound systems.

Impressions:

Le Mans This And That
Le Mans This And That
Le Mans This And That