Championnat de France Camions: The season kicks off in Le Castellet

17. May 2019Le Castellet - For several seasons now, the French truck racing championship has opened at Circuit Paul Ricard in the south of France. The weather at this storied circuit, a few kilometres inland from the Côte d’Azur, is usually fantastic at this time of year. Even so, situated as it is at an elevation of 500m, Le Castellet is no stranger to sudden and violent storms. A few weeks ago a function on the track was hit by gale-force winds. On Friday too, the weather wasn’t awfully pleasant. The sun refused to shine, the mercury stayed stuck at 13°C but it felt much colder because of the windchill.
Regardless of what it looked like or how it felt, Circuit Paul Ricard remains unique among the motor racing circuits of the world – it certainly is one of the prettiest and most versatile. Since 2018, moreover, it has benefited from substantial upgrades now that Formula 1 has made a comeback here.
The 30 racers got off to a relaxed start today. Their trucks had to undergo their first technical inspections, and those were extremely thorough. Then came the practice sessions, and numerous opportunities for sponsor representatives and the press to ride along. Owing to the sheer number of entries, these rides had to be arranged in two separate groups.
The first timed laps were, expectedly, topped by the drivers who’d taken most of the podium honours last season – Anthony Janiec and his MAN colleagues Téo Calvet and Thomas Robineau. They were joined by Renault rivals Lionel Montagne and Grzegorz Ostaszewski (POL).

Impressions: