ZOLDER KICKS OFF GOODYEAR FIA ETRC DOUBLE HEADER
Returning to Circuit Zolder, the Goodyear FIA European Truck Racing Championship embarks on a double header with Le Mans, where Norbert Kiss could wrap up the Drivers’ Championship and the points distribution in Chrome could prove decisive.
Seventeen trucks will line up at the Belgian circuit for round six of the 2025 season. Jonathan André makes his return to the Chrome field, while Stefan Kursch is also back after sitting out Most.Kiss continues his charge towards a seventh Goodyear FIA ETRC title, still locked in a battle with Jochen Hahn to become the championship’s first driver to reach that milestone. With 13 wins and eight poles this season, Kiss has looked unstoppable, but in Most his rivals found ways to break through his dominance.
José Eduardo Rodrigues and Steffi Halm delivered superb drives in Races 2 and 4 at Most to deny Kiss more victories. For Rodrigues, it was a breakthrough weekend, as he looks to have found his stride in Titan, establishing himself as a real threat and one to watch for big points. He and Kiss remain the only drivers with multiple wins this season.
Halm’s consistency continues to pay off, strengthening her grip on third overall. René Reinert and Sascha Lenz are still within striking distance, ready to capitalise if she has one bad weekend, but Halm is handling the pressure with confidence and looks set for the final podium spot.
Antonio Albacete will reach a huge milestone this weekend: his 900th race. Having only missed one year of competition in 2016, Albacete has been a constant presence since the championship’s inception. Race 1 will mark this achievement and is a testament to his longevity and commitment.
In Chrome, Bradley Smith still leads the standings by 12 points, but Most turned the order on its head. A non-scoring day for Mark Taylor brought John Newell and Clemens Hecker right back into the title fight.
Taylor remains second, but just two points separate him, Hecker, and Newell. Smith will need to keep outscoring the trio to protect his lead, though his pace in Most left questions unanswered. He’ll be hoping to assert himself on top of the Chrome class and extend his lead with just three rounds to go.
Luke Garrett was back on the podium at Most, after a season plagued by reliability issues. What looked like a strong finish to the weekend ended in frustration when a clutch failure kept him out of Race 4. He’ll be hoping to carry the positives from Race 2 into Zolder and beyond, provided his truck holds together.
Steffen Faas had a similarly frustrating weekend. The Freightliner has shown flashes of real pace, but reliability struck again. A persistent fuel injector issue, even after an engine change, left the tankpool24-Racing team with a mountain to climb. All eyes will be on whether the team solved the issues since Most, as fans hope to see all 17 trucks take the chequered flag in every race this weekend.