GOODYEAR FIA ETRC GEARS UP FOR PENULTIMATE ROUND OF THE SEASON AT LE MANS
The Goodyear FIA ETRC enters the penultimate weekend of the year as the series heads to the Le Mans Bugatti circuit, where Norbert Kiss could wrap up the Drivers’ Championship with five races to spare.
Le Mans leads the championship into a double header to end the season, with Jarama marking the season finale the weekend after the French round. There are still 120 points up for grabs in the championship standings, and with Norbert Kiss holding a 70 point lead, he enters the French round confident that he can secure the title with a few races to spare.
Kiss can’t take the drivers’ title until at least Race Three of the weekend, pending on how he performs in Saturday’s races. Given his impressive form this season, it is expected that he can get the job done, holding off championship rivals Jochen Hahn, Sascha Lenz and Antonio Albacete.
Although the Hungarian seems to have run away with the 2023 title, the battle for second is still a close one with just 39 points separating second from fourth. Jochen Hahn currently holds the advantage, having pulled out a bit of a gap to Lenz and Albacete after a great Zolder weekend. The pair is split by 12 points as both have had seasons of highs and lows. The German seems to have the edge on the Spaniard, but momentum could swing the other way just as quickly with eight races left of the season.
André Kursim’s performance in Belgium put him ahead of Steffi Halm for fifth in the overall standings, with just eight points splitting the pair. Jamie Anderson is trailing the fifth-place fight by eleven points and although he is not out of contention, another challenging weekend like Zolder could put him on the back foot.
José Eduardo Rodrigues took a clean sweep of Promoter’s Cup wins in Zolder, significantly extending his Chrome class lead over Steffen Faas. While Faas had a decent weekend aside from having to retire from the lead in Race Four, Rodrigues rivalled the lower half of the Titan drivers, positioning himself as a strong contender for victory.
A 39-point lead in the standings doesn’t put Rodrigues as far out of reach of Faas as Kiss is of Hahn, but it certainly gives the Portuguese driver the advantage going into the last races of 2023.
Mark Taylor and John Newell have had swinging rookie seasons in the Goodyear FIA ETRC, but both have performed incredibly well considering the high calibre of drivers they have been racing against this year. The Brits are locked in a fight for third in the Promoter’s Cup, promising an exciting competition as we approach the end of the season.
Clemens Hecker will be looking to continue his strong performance from Zolder with a few more podium finishes this weekend. Luis Recuenco will be back at Le Mans after the Spaniard had to sit out the last race in Belgium due to his spectacular engine blow out in Race Three.
A familiar face joins the Goodyear FIA ETRC grid this weekend, as José Rodrigues returns as as a race-by-race entry.