Sunday at the Hungaroring Part 3 - Kiss takes third win on the trot

18. October 2020The final race of the weekend started bang on time. Compared to the 11 laps a couple of hours earlier, this one had double and even three times the action and excitement during the opening laps and towards the close.
Calvet was on pole with compatriot Janiec alongside; behind them were Faas and Halm.
Calvet carried the lead into T1, but Janiec secured the inside line in each of the next two corners to get ahead of his less experienced countryman. While the MAN pilot managed to distance himself from the rest of the pack – at the end of Lap 1 he was more than four seconds in the clear, – Calvet found himself entangled in his pursuers’ toils.
Halm, having overcome Faas, attacked and subdued the French teen on the very first lap. Next up behind him was Kiss, who’d made up four places on Lap 1. Hahn too found his way past Faas and Calvet, and set off in pursuit of his Iveco teammate Halm. So much for the first couple of laps. Two laps later Hahn overtook Halm without difficulty.
Of the top quartet from the earlier race, Lacko and Albacete stayed stuck in midfield.
Not quite halfway through, Kiss was already past Janiec into the lead – and on to his third win in a row this weekend. Peace returned for a few laps, till some of the pilots decided they’d studied those ahead of them long enough to make a final push to pass. Hahn attacked Janiec at the very spot where he’d been gotten the better of by Kiss the day before, leaving the raceline to sweep past the Frenchman on the inside. The Iveco ace was now up to P2, but even at his most ambitious couldn’t dare presume he’d be able reel Kiss in, the MAN in red cruising more than 11 seconds in front at flagfall.
Meanwhile, pilot after pilot in midfield was switching into attack mode. After a long pursuit, Albacete finally passed Faas. But that small victory proved Pyrrhic - in the heat of the chase his MAN appeared to have overshot the speed limit, bringing on a 10 second penalty that dropped the Spaniard once again below the German in the tankpool24 Scania.
There was excitement on the final lap as well - the duo of Halm and Lacko had closed in on Janiec and the Czech, tired of tailing the German Iveco pilotess for seven laps, made his move and overtook, but ran out of road before he could make any attempt to jump Janiec. Following the podium trio of Kiss, Hahn, and Janiec home were Lacko and Halm a half-second off in fifth.
After an interval of 16 seconds came Calvet, Faas, Albacete, Hecker, and Recuenco.
The Goodyear Cup honours went to Calvet, followed by Faas and Hecker.