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Sunday in Le Mans Part 1 – Last pole of the season is Lacko’s

Sunday in Le Mans Part 1 – Last pole of the season is Lacko’s

09. October 2016Le Mans - Of the clear skies that had been forecast for Le Mans, none was in evidence on this second day of the FIA European Truck Racing Championship finale. In fact, shortly before the warm-up this morning, it actually began to drizzle... quite in keeping with the despondency that had descended on the paddock yesterday evening. Everyone was in shock after two very costly smash-ups in Race 2 – not only the teams whose trucks had been caught out; even in Hahn Racing the mood was far from celebratory, even though they did really have much to celebrate. The Champion of 2016 is now a four-time winner – only Englishman Steve Parrish, who’s here as a guest this year, has won more – and, together with René Reinert, a first-time team champ. The unity in the truck racing family remains intact, even if the members been rather rough at it, and with one another, on the track.
More than just empathy for the teams that would have to work through the night to get their trucks race-capable again, active material assistance was immediately forthcoming, with both replacement parts and manpower where that was needed.
The many thousand fans about were in unabashedly celebratory form, never mind that the programme was running one hour behind schedule.
The show last night played out to packed stands. The noise was deafening, and the exuberance uncontainable. Following the fireworks the masses moved on to the Le Mans village for the display of the showtrucks, and, more likely we suspect, the all-night concerts and parties.
Others used the calm in the paddock to examine their trucks with due care, or to refashion bits that were broken. Ironic, but such peace to work in can only be found at the 24h Camions in Le Mans.
The truck racers were understandably cautious in the warm-up this morning on the damp track.
We already knew that the tankpool24 Mercedes of German cub André Kursim would be out of action today because of irreparable engine damage. Of the trucks that had been involved in the pileups yesterday, only Dutchman Erwin Kleinnagelvoort’s Scania couldn’t be restored in time. Yesterday evening the team had to use a heavy cab bench to straighten the cockpit out – enough at least to get it to fit acceptably onto the trailer.
The MAN of returning champion Jochen Hahn was missing as well. That absence wasn’t because of a mechanical problem; Hahn had already informed us that he wanted his crew to enjoy a longer sleep and a late breakfast. The 8:30 start is break of dawn here, too early after all they’d put themselves through.
The lap times too were way off what we’ve seen so far – owing to the slippery track surface. Hungarian Norbert Kiss was quickest in his tankpool24 Mercedes, albeit a good 30 seconds off yesterday’s top time.
Hahn was back for Qualifying 2.
At first the times were more or less the same as in warm-up. The racers were apparently unsure of whether the ideal line would be the best line to take in such conditions – at places there were as many different racelines as there were drivers.
But the grip levels were improving by the minute, and the fans around the circuit could at last enjoy a qualifying session in which the top dogs would be out for longer than just one flying lap. When Czech Adam Lacko came back in with a good five minutes still to go, many spectators wondered what was up, because at this point the Buggyra fatfox was still far from certain of a Top 10 place.
As it happened, Lacko had to come in for a setting on his truck to be changed, and this may only be done during the timed session; parc fermé conditions apply in the five minutes between Q2 and the SuperPole.
And so all 14 trucks on the list were out right till the close. Iveco pilot Gerd Körber was quickest, ahead of MANler René Reinert and Hahn (all three GER), Kiss, Lacko, and the MAN drivers Sascha Lenz, Steffi Halm (both GER), Shane Brereton (GBR), and Anthony Janiec (FRA).
In the SuperPole Hahn was once again in breathtaking form with a lap of 2:20.544, way above yesterday’s top time but nevertheless many seconds faster than anyone had yet gone today. One lap later Kiss answered with a 2:19.898.
On the final lap the leaderboard changed rapidly – first Hahn was up there with 2:19.244, only to be bested by Kiss with 2:19.169 and then swept off the front row at the very last second by Lacko, who’d driven a 2:18.427, an absolute shocker of a lap in the conditions.
The rest of the places on the start grid for Sunday’s first race were taken in order by Lenz, Reinert, Körber, Janiec, Halm, Forman, and Brereton.

Impressions:

Sunday in Le Mans Part 1 – Last pole of the season is Lacko’s
Sunday in Le Mans Part 1 – Last pole of the season is Lacko’s
Sunday in Le Mans Part 1 – Last pole of the season is Lacko’s