Sunday in Zolder Part 2 – Buggyra breakdown hands it to Hahn

18. September 2016Zolder - Jochen Hahn won this vital 20-points race, even though he’d reconciled himself to finishing second. The race itself devolved into a disaster for Buggyra, but proved to be a windfall for Hahn and German compatriot André Kursim.
It actually started most promisingly for the Czech team. Lacko simply resumed where he’d left off in the SuperPole, easing imperiously into the lead a few hundred metres down the road.
By then, the rest of the field had sorted itself out into what looked like the order the race would run itself out. The trucks were lined up like pearls on a string with comfortable spaces before and behind, in the same relative positions in which they’d started.
Thomas Robineau was the only trucker who “stepped out of line”. The Frenchman had been forced to start from last on the grid – problems with his truck in qualifying had prevented him from completing a single timed lap.
Now he’d edged up a couple of spots, with his sights set on a finish in the points. His advance came to an abrupt end when race control handed him a drive-through penalty, tossing him back to square one.
But then Lenz and Forman proceeded to entertain the fans with a masterful duel for (what at the time they thought was) 8th place, the reward for which would be pole position for the final race.
Two-thirds into Race 3, their private race was decided. In the chicane that precedes the pit straight, Forman’s momentum carried him wide, allowing Lenz to pull up alongside. Side-by-side the two youngsters thundered along the grandstand and into the left-hand bend. Lenz, who had the inside line going into the following right-hander, exited in the lead.
He needn’t have bothered. Unbeknownst to the young MAN pilot, Lacko had at almost the same time come to a halt with engine damage, his race lead upended into a DNF.
It was no small consolation for Buggyra that Forman at least was headed for pole again. But even that was not to be – two laps later the Czech rookie had to abandon his Fatfox with a broken brake disc.
The aforementioned Jochen Hahn and André Kursim were thus gifted successes they hadn’t dreamed of – an nth victory for the MAN thrice-champ and the first pole for the fresh-faced tankpool24 racer.
The two remaining podium slots were a rare reward for Reinert Racing and the team was justifiably jubilant over Reinert’s second-place finish and Steffi Halm’s third place.
Kiss had to make do with 4th, ahead of Körber and Janiec. Seventh place for Lenz means he’ll start on the front row for a second time this weekend.
Lohr and Portuguese Eduardo Rodrigues (MAN) came home in 9th and 10th.
Reinert Adventure (Hahn / Reinert) was the top team, followed by WOW! Women On Wheels (Halm / Lohr) and tankpool24 (Kiss / Kursim).

Impressions: