Friday, 29.03.2024 | Deutsch | English
Most This And That

Most This And That

11. September 2018The first competition weekend after the summer break turned out altogether differently from what the truck racers and their teams might have expected. They had undertaken lots of development in those seven weeks before the 5th round of the FIA European Truck Racing Championship in Most, knowing there’d be no time for that in the second half of the season, which packs in four rounds over the space of five weeks, plus PR engagements at the Automechanika in Frankfurt and the IAA Nutzfahrzeuge in Hanover for some of the teams and drivers.
At the Autodrom in Most, they’d hoped to explore just how much fruit all their labour would yield – but then came the downpour. For most of the teams, Saturday’s sheeting rain put paid to any hopes of a decent performance evaluation. On the other hand, top dogs Buggyra came away pretty satisfied, we’re sure. The Czechs are always very strong on their home circuit, but this time the weather played into their hands as well. Adam Lacko and his Buggyra Freightliner are nigh unbeatable in the wet, a reality that was brought home to his rivals only too eloquently in both races Saturday.
What surprised everyone on Sunday was how, in the final race on a dry track, the Czech couldn’t keep up with Portuguese MAN pilot Jose Rodrigues, despite having made a strong start. Rather, it looked like the Buggyra pilot was holding up the rest of the field a bit. That allowed Steffi Halm to drive the fastest lap of the entire weekend as she caught up with the Lacko train.
Championship leader Jochen Hahn (Iveco) ceded 13 points to Lacko on Saturday but clawed four of those back on Sunday, and now heads into the antepenultimate round in Zolder with a 48-points advantage. This is no guarantee of the title, but it is a comfortable cushion nevertheless, considering that the weathermen – as varied in their prognoses as they otherwise are – have unanimously forecast clear skies over Zolder this weekend.
Third place on the podium at the FIA prizegiving in Jarama is more hotly contested. At the moment Hungarian Mercedes pilot Norbert Kiss is best placed, but the MAN duo of Sascha Lenz (GER) und Antonio Albacete (ESP) are well within striking distance, 24 points behind in joint 4th. And Steffi Halm is only nine points further down. Remember, any one of these drivers can still take 180 points in an ideal situation.
Everything’s still up in the air.