COMEBACK KISS SECURES VICTORY IN RACE 2 AFTER ALBACETE PENALTY
The drama of the day continued into Race Two, with Antonio Albacete initially taking the win in a shortened race. However two post-race penalties saw the Spaniard drop back into second handing the win to Norbert Kiss.
Off the line, it was a drag race between pole-sitter Clemens Hecker and Steffen Faas heading into Turn 1 first, with Hecker making the better start and holding the position. It was André Kursim who was on the move, overtaking Faas for second place into Turn 1.
Hecker had looked to be in good form, managing the race from the front, but it all fell apart when he out-broke himself in Turn 5 and went across gravel. He managed to keep the truck moving and stay in front, but it was through the next chicane that Albacete made the move that put him into the lead.
Faas seemed to follow Hecker through Turn 5, falling down the order and out of contention for the overall podium.
Kiss had a fantastic start, moving from the back of the grid to seventh by the end of the first lap. It could have been a great comeback after his disappointing Race One, as he nearly went from last to first.
The Hungarian would be given two less trucks to overtake in the next lap, as Sascha Lenz and a dropping Hecker came together through Turn 5. Contact was made as Lenz tried to go around the Chrome driver, seeing them both off in the gravel trap. Hecker retired on the spot, and even though Lenz got moving, he too would register a DNF for Race Two a few corners later.
Kiss was climbing the order fast and soon found himself ahead of Kursim, closing in on Albacete for the lead. The Spaniard did a great job attempting to defend his position and make his truck as wide as the circuit, but the pace of Kiss was too much for him to hold back.
Unfortunately for Kiss, he timed his overtake wrong, and the red flag came out to end the race early when Faas’ Scania went off in Turn 5, coming to a stop deep in the tyre barrier. Faas was fine and got out of the truck as quick as he could, but the repair work needed for the tyre barrier and the three trucks stationary around the circuit made the time to restart too long to complete the final three laps.
When a race is red flagged, the result is determined based on the end of the last completed lap – in this instance lap nine. Since Kiss made his pass on Albacete at the start of lap ten, the move was reversed, giving Albacete the win by 0.050.
The course of events changed after the race however, when Albacete received two penalties: a 5-second penalty for not complying with starting procedures and another 5-second penalty for leaving the track and gaining an unfair advantage. These additional 10 seconds dropped Albacete back to second place, ultimately awarding the win to Norbert Kiss.
The duo was joined by Kursim, who held off a charging pack to take his first podium of the weekend. Jochen Hahn had a good race to finish fourth, giving Kiss only 60 points lead in the championship standing.
José Eduardo Rodrigues picked up another Promoter’s Cup victory, fifth overall, ahead of Jamie Anderson, John Newell and Mark Taylor who completed the point-scoring positions. The latter two also completed the Promoter’s Cup podium.
An incident between Steffi Halm and Luis Recuenco left both of them at a disadvantage during the race, with Recuenco finishing ninth on the road and Halm tenth. A 5-second post race penalty dropped Recuenco back into tenth. Jonathan André was the final classified finisher.
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