Saturday in Most Part 2 - Hahn holds Lacko at bay for win number 9

31. August 2019Most - The truck racers lined up under a merciless sun in a steel sky. While hundreds of fans were glad of the opportunity during the grid walk to get up close to the trucks, the pilots took the chance to swap their baking cabins for the nearest spots of shade they could find.
The start was spectacular. Polesitter Hahn eased into the lead, followed fluidly by Lacko. Lenz slotted into third, having overtaken both Kursim and Halm in a slalom manoeuvre. Halm trailed the trio, followed by José Rodrigues, Albacete, Kiss, Iveco pilot René Reinert (GER), Janiec, and Kursim.
Hahn continued to lap the Autodrom as if in another orbit. Lacko, realising early on that there was nothing he could do to match the performance of the five-times champ, concentrated on preserving P2 till the finish. Lenz seemed comfortably ensconced in P3, without fear of Halm or Albacete, who’d separated themselves from the rest. The claims to the first five positions thus apparently settled, the attention shifted to the remaining positions, which continued to be hotly contested – not only the points-paying ones but also those for the Grammer Truck Cup honours. It rained cautions, warnings, and drive-throughs, for Kiss and Janiec among others, and the field was in a state of continuous churn.
None of this was of any consequence to the quintet up ahead. Then suddenly, on the penultimate lap, the right front tyre on Lenz’s MAN blew, handing Halm an entirely gratuitous P3.
Albacete was followed home by José Rodrigues, Reinert, Kursim, and Buggyra Freightliner pilot Oly Janes. To the Brit fell pole position for the day’s second race. Compatriots Terry Gibbon and Jamie Anderson (both MAN) were the last two finishers in the points. The three Brits also ascended the Grammer Truck Cup podium.
„Die Bullen von Iveco Magirus“ (Hahn / Steffi Halm) was the top team scorer, ahead of Buggyra Racing 1969 (Janes / Lacko) and Löwen Power (Albacete / Lenz).
Long time after the finish, Janes was given a 5s penalty that dropped him to P13. Gibbon inherits pole, with Kursim starting alongside. Recuenco also moves up into third place in the Grammer Truck Cup classification.

Impressions: