Friday in Jarama

05. October 2018Jarama - The race weekends at Circuito del Jarama in San Sebastián de los Reyes to the north of Madrid have always been classic two-day events, as they once were at every round. Over the years the number of activities has grown by such an extent that most weekends now kick off on Friday, and some even on Thursday with taxi rides for the mediafolk.
The finale of the FIA European Truck Racing Championship also included demo rides for the press yesterday, but these involved a smaller crowd and only the Spanish pilots. Antonio Albacete (MAN), who is aiming for a podium position in the final classification, will forego one of the practice sessions tomorrow to compensate.
Some of the truck racers took off at noon – it was already rather hot then, 30°C in the shade – on a lap of the 3,850m track on foot or by bicycle, to closely inspect the texture of the new surface. For the rest there was plenty of time for group photographs and souvenirs – after the racing this weekend, most of us won’t be seeing each other for at least six months.
Later, Casino the mech, a mainstay of Truck Sport Lutz Bernau, held court at his traditional ceremonial year-ender. In an evening filled with laughter, the master of ceremonies regaled the paddock with humorous reminiscences of events – and inimitable takeoffs of at least half of those present – over the season gone by.

Impressions: