SEVEN IN SIGHT: KISS ON VERGE OF RECORD TITLE AT LE MANS
With a 77-point lead, Kiss could make history as the first seven-time European Champion, while Hahn battles to extend the fight to Jarama.
The Goodyear FIA ETRC will welcome 18 trucks to the Le Mans Bugatti circuit this weekend for the penultimate race meet of the season.
Race-by-race entries Simon and Craig Reid join the full-season field, boosting the Chrome class to 11 trucks. After missing out on Zolder due to illness, Christian Ruppert is also expected to return to the grid, for a a full house of full-season entries for the next four races.
But the spotlight will be firmly on Norbert Kiss as he hones in on his seventh European championship title - a historic milestone that would make him the all-time great and the first driver to reach seven titles.
It won’t be mathematically possible to seal the crown in Race 1, but depending on how the pair score, Kiss could clinch the title as early as Race 2. More realistically, all signs point to Race 3 as the moment the Hungarian makes history as a 7-time champion.
Hahn, though, isn’t going down without a fight. He claimed his first win of the season in Race 2 at Zolder, charging from reverse-grid P5 to deny José Eduardo Rodrigues a third victory. That leaves Sascha Lenz as the only Titan yet to score an overall win in 2025. Lenz showed renewed competitiveness in Belgium with P2 in both Qualifying 1 and Race 1, but he’s still searching for that extra edge to return to the top step for the first time since Zolder 2022.
Lenz has nonetheless closed in on Steffi Halm in the standings, now just six points behind in the fight for third. The two are edging away from René Reinert in fifth - Lenz 16 points ahead, Halm 22 - despite Reinert’s Race 4 triumph at Zolder.
Meanwhile, the Chrome championship has been a rollercoaster. Over the last eight races, the lead has bounced between Bradley Smith, Mark Taylor, Clemens Hecker and John Newell. Smith and Newell endured under-par weekends in Belgium, opening the door for Hecker and Taylor to take turns at the top. Saturday belonged to Hecker, but Sunday was Taylor’s day, leaving Zolder with a 12-point advantage heading into Le Mans.
It’s far from decided. Smith and Hecker are level on 207 points, with Hecker only ahead on countback thanks to his six class wins versus Smith’s two. The Brit hasn’t stood on the top step since Race 1 in Slovakia and will need to rediscover early-season form to keep his rookie title bid alive.
With 120 points still on the table, even John Newell in fourth remains in contention. He sits 20 points behind Taylor and just eight behind Hecker and Smith. After the ebbs and flows we’ve seen this year, anything can happen before the chequered flag falls in Jarama.
The four races at Le Mans Bugatti promise to be action-packed: Hahn fighting to keep the title fight alive, Kiss chasing all-time glory, and everything still to play for in Chrome. Track action runs across Saturday and Sunday with practice, qualifying and four races.