Thursday, 28.03.2024 | Deutsch | English
Laps aplenty at the tests in Most

Laps aplenty at the tests in Most

20. June 2020It’s pretty clear here at the test days in Most just how much the pilots have been missing the adrenaline of regular racing – yesterday some of them drove more laps than they would have over an entire race weekend!
The track was aroar throughout, except for the noon break, which wasn’t necessarily a break for the mechanics, who were busy making tweaks based on the morning’s data so that the trucks could go faster in the afternoon.
What’s special about the tests at the Autodrom, compared to similar outings on airfields or most every other circuit, is that the teams have their lap times from races here in past years to go by.
The weather was most obliging, even though it looked like it might start to rain at any time. There were a few drops now and again, but the asphalt was as dry as it gets.
It stayed that way till after the PR photography at the end of the session. But no sooner did the trucks get back under their tents than the heavens opened, and except for brief intermissions it poured all night long.
And though the rain had let up somewhat as the trucks streamed out in the morning today, the track was under water in many places. The drivers and their teams were especially anxious to know how their trucks would hold up in such poor conditions, so there was no shortage of action.
But then the rain stopped abruptly, the waters receded, the raceline dried out in next to no time, and the truckers were back at it with renewed gusto.
Nobody really gave anything away, but most were satisfied with their gleanings – and their times. The benchmark would have been their own best laps from the races here last year, or rather, we suspect, those set by champion Jochen Hahn before that storm on the Sunday.