Friday at the Hungaroring

25. August 2017Hungaroring - Before the truck racers could get down to practice at this 5th round of the FIA European Truck Racing Championship at the Hungaroring, they drove out in convoy – under police escort – to Budapest yesterday. There, Norbert Kiss was once again the centre of attention. If you haven’t experienced either of the last two Hungarian Truck Fests live, it’s hard to picture the hype that surrounds the twice European champ. Steffi Halm and her other colleagues are also very popular here, but the queues of fans seeking an autograph from “Norbi” were by far the longest.
Today’s the day the action began on the track, under a largely clear sky with temperatures around 30°C. First up were the VIP and press rides. Once again, expectedly, the longest lines were for the ride with Kiss in his tankpool24 Mercedes, though the organisers did a good job of ensuring that the passenger seats in all the other available trucks were also continuously occupied.
The first indicative lap times came in the one-hour practice session with which drivers who give the taxi rides are rewarded. Norbi, whose mastery of the Hungaroring is second to nobody’s, duly stepped up to his role as favourite, being the only driver to go under 2:18.
In the first regulation free practice a half-hour later, the Mercedes ace stepped on it a bit to register the quickest lap of the day, a 2:17.038. Defending champ Jochen Hahn (GER) in his Iveco and British MAN pilot Ryan Smith also managed sub-2:18 times, albeit some way off Kiss’s.
Steffi Halm was fourth-quickest in her MAN, a second and a half slower than Kiss.
The second free practice session is tomorrow morning, before the drivers go all-out in qualifying and the Super Pole. Where they stand in terms of relative performance after the long summer break will be manifest then.

Impressions: