Sunday in Jarama Part 2 – Hahn wins the 20 points race

02. October 2016Jarama - It was a cosy 25°C in the shade when Sunday’s first race started under an almost clear blue sky.
Polesitter Hahn’s face was set like a flint as he sat in his MAN on the start grid. Watching him – watching his entire crew, – it was clear they would do everything in their power to reclaim the advantage the thrice European champ had travelled to Jarama with.
Hahn duly won the drag to the first corner, proceeding to set a scorching pace on a track that was measured at a very race-friendly 34°. In fact he was the only driver to go under 1:58, and at times was a good second quicker a lap than Lacko.
In the second half of the race the MAN pilot eased off a bit, allowing Lacko to catch up. But by then there was no stopping Hahn from winning - our distinct impression was that he could have stepped on it again anytime he wanted.
His emphatic pole-to-flag victory stretches his post-Zolder advantage over Lacko by a point to 36.
The fight for the championship isn’t the only battle that’s hotted up – even more hotly contested is 3rd place in the overall standings, and there are four claimants for that spot.
With his third-place finish in this fifth-from-last race of the season, Reinert has made one big stride forward, considering that closest contender Kiss had to content himself with a 5th place behind the second Reinert Racing MAN driven by Steffi Halm.
Even the fourth member of this group, Anthony Janiec, can fancy his odds following a 6th-place finish. Throughout the race the Frenchman was busied with holding off MAN colleague Lenz, who doggedly stuck in the yellow Lion truck’s draft wishing for an opening to swing out and move up. That opportunity never came, and the rapidly rising German had to settle for 7th.
Ellen Lohr followed some way off in 8th, which got her pole for the final race of this weekend. After an intensive back-and-forth with José Rodrigues, Mercedes pilot André Kursim took 9th ahead of the Portuguese. But since this is only the first FIA entry this season for the race-by-race driver, the single point that would have been his automatically went to 11th-place finisher Erwin Kleinnagelvoort (Scania).
Reinert Adventure (Hahn / Reinert) took the team honours for the third race in succession. Buggyra International (Lacko / Forman) and WOW! Women On Wheels (Lohr / Halm) were first and second runner-up.
The Spanish championship has begun to look like an all-German affair. Once again Lenz stood atop the podium with Lohr on the second step. Third went to Portuguese paterfamilias Eduardo Rodrigues.

Impressions: