HAHN TAKES FIRST WIN OF 2025
After a dramatic end to the second race of the weekend, Jochen Hahn has finally walked away with his first win of the season. A fifth Chrome victory for Mark Taylor means the top three in class, now led by Clemens Hecker, are separated by just three points.
For much of Race 2 it looked to be in the bag for José Eduardo Rodrigues, managing it much like he did on his way to Race 2 victory in Most. But Hahn had other ideas. Desperate for his first win of the year, he carved his way through the field from sixth, piling the pressure onto the Portuguese driver. Rodrigues had no answer for the veteran, powerless as the six-time champion swept through to take the lead.
Steffi Halm did what she does best, delivering a near-flawless defensive drive. Norbert Kiss had charged through the field with Hahn, but couldn’t follow his championship rival past the #44 truck. From there Halm made her truck as wide as possible, blocking off any attempt Kiss made. Antonio Albacete was right behind, keeping Kiss honest as he hunted another podium.
Disaster struck as the trio came through the final corner on the penultimate lap. Kiss, once again attempting the outside line as he had many laps before, defended by Halm, but the two came together as he tried to make the pass. What seemed like light contact quickly escalated as Kiss spun across the track and into Albacete, ending the Spaniard’s race.
“I don’t exactly know [what happened], we had for sure a little contact but then I had massive oversteering.” Halm explained after the race. “I don’t know if it was because we hit or the contact, maybe too much acceleration, but then [Kiss] spun directly in front of me so I had nowhere to go.”
Both Kiss and Albacete suffered heavy damage in the incident and will face big rebuilds, though all drivers thankfully walked away unharmed. Kiss was handed a ten-second penalty for an earlier overspeeding infringement, dropping him to P6 behind Albacete and Sascha Lenz. The incident remains under investigation at the time of publishing.
René Reinert had a day to forget. After a five-place grid drop left him starting from the back, he picked up a 10s overspeeding penalty in Race 1 and then a five-second penalty in Race 2 for leaving the track and gaining an advantage. He still finished P7, but will be keen to reset for Sunday’s action.
Starting on the reverse grid front row, Taylor knew he’d soon be swarmed by the Titans. As often happens when Chrome drivers mix with the Titans, he didn’t fight too hard, focusing instead on the real battle with his Chrome rivals.Taylor dropped back slower than Hecker, giving him a comfortable buffer once they met on track, and leaving little threat to his Race 2 Chrome win. The result, with Taylor first and Hecker second, tightens the Chrome fight to just three points. Hecker now leads Smith by two, with Taylor a single point further back.
Luis Recuenco completed the Chrome podium with a well-earned third. He had lost out to Luke Garrett in Race 1 after a small mistake, but this time he held firm despite pressure from Garrett to secure the silverware. Garrett settled for P4 ahead of Jonathan André and the struggling Smith.
John Newell’s Chrome title hopes have taken a hit this weekend after such a strong showing in Most. He finished Race 2 in P7, never really looking in contention as he spent much of the race stuck behind Steffen Faas.
Stefan Kursch followed in P8, while Faas’ reliability woes sadly returned. Having already started from the pitlane with a mechanical issue, his Freightliner failed again and he retired at Turn 2/3 with five laps remaining.
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