Eighth Goodyear FIA ETRC title sealed with a Kiss

Needing to finish second or higher to put the title out of the reach of his rivals, MAN-driving Kiss led throughout the restarted 11-lap contest after IVECO-powered Jochen Hahn, who placed runner-up, briefly ran alongside his long-term rival on the run to the Dunlop Chicane on the opening tour.

Having started from his 11^th pole position of 2026, Kiss took his 16^th victory of the campaign during an action-packed race at the famous French venue.

“It feels very good and I’m very proud of my team, Révész Racing and very thankful to the owner Mr Bálint Révész for giving us the opportunity to be here,” Kiss said. “The whole season they worked so hard and gave me a very good truck and, on every occasion, we were very fast, they make my job always a bit easier. We were building the gap every weekend, step by step. Eventually we arrived here and I’m very happy we could close the title with a victory.”

Steffi Halm overtook Sascha Lenz for third on lap one and held the position in a thrilling battle for third, with Spain’s Antonio Albacete taking fifth, just behind the battling German pair, who made light contact at the Dunlop Chicane on lap five.

René Reinert resisted Bradley Smith’s late attentions to complete the top six as Smith celebrated his first Chrome category win since the second Goodyear FIA ETRC race at Nürburgring in July.

Smith said: “That was good, the boys sorted the truck out and it’s going really well. It was good to get a win for all the hard work they put in. The pace lasted from lap one to the last lap and it’s given me really good confidence. I tried a few times to get [René] but he kept holding me up so I thought I’d stay put and not do anything silly.”

José Eduardo Rodrigues finished eighth from the back of the grid and is set to line up on pole position for the upcoming Race 2, which is due to get under way at 17:05 local time live on YouTube.

Rodrigues started sixth but dropped out of contention with damage following contact with Reinert during the opening lap of the original start.

Steffen Faas (Freightliner) and John Newell completed the Chrome podium in ninth and 10^th overall respectively.

Behind Luke Garrett in P11, Luis Recuenco, who crossed the line in ninth aboard his Mercedes-Benz, was classified 12^th after a 30-second penalty was applied for three track penalty infringements.

Mark Taylor, the leader of the Chrome standings prior to the start, was a distant 13^th overall and sixth in class after he nursed a damaged tyre throughout Race 1 following contact at the initial start. Clemens Hecker took 14^th in his Scania.

Race 1 was initially red-flagged following opening-lap contact between Newell, Taylor and Recuenco left the race trucks of Newell and Recuenco stranded at the Dunlop Chicane.

Newell was able to limp back to the grid and eventually took the restart from the final row after hasty repair work in the paddock, making his capture of the final Chrome podium spot all the more remarkable.

Recuenco – who was also able to return to the grid to get ready for the restart – and Taylor were able to begin attempt number two from their original positions of ninth and 11^th respectively. While Recuenco made progress, Taylor struggled with damage and also picked up a 10-second penalty for the first-start collision.

The 11-lap Race 2 is up next live on YouTube from 17:05.

Click HERE for live timing. Results are available via Sportity using the password: FIA_ETRC_26.

‍*Subject to confirmation of the results by the FIA
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