KISS BACK ON TOP
Norbert Kiss stormed to Race 2 victory as Jonathan André took his first Chrome class victory.
Starting from reverse grid row four, it was business as usual for Kiss as he made his way up the field, challenging Mark Taylor for P3 at the end of the second lap. Steffi Halm and Sascha Lenz tried to defend from the reigning champion, but by lap six Kiss was back where he’s most comfortable.
Halm had eyes set on another podium, reeling in Lenz in the closing stages of the race. A red flag for the torrential rain that suddenly fell on the track saw an early end to the race, leaving the question of whether Halm had enough to pass fellow Titan Lenz unanswered. She had to settle for P4, with Hahn following Kiss through the pack to take second place.
José Eduardo Rodrigues would have been hoping to finish higher than P5, having started Race 2 second alongside Taylor, but it didn’t quite go his way. Managing to take the lead from the Brit going into Turn 1, Rodrigues found himself slightly swarmed by the chasing Titans and unable to defend the lead. Whether he picked up some damage in the first lap battle for the lead with Taylor, Albacete and Halm is unknown.
Another strong performance from René Reinert, albeit with a slightly slow start, secured him P6 at the conclusion of the race. He rounded off the Titan drivers – of those that classified.
André inherited the Chrome class lead when Taylor was forced into the pits after his radiator hose disconnected. The Frenchman held off the advances of Bradley Smith to take his first Chrome victory in the Goodyear FIA ETRC. Smith continues to look like one to watch in Chrome this season as he took his second class podium of the day.
Clemens Hecker rounded off the Chrome class podium after a race long battle with Luis Recuenco. The Spaniard did get the pass on him in the final moments before the red flag, but due to the rollback of times that adjusts the field to when the red flag was officially waved, he just missed out on the podium. The same fate was suffered by Halm for the overall podium; she passed Lenz just too late for the rollback to count it.
John Newell, Stefan Kursch, Luke Garrett and Christian Ruppert were the last of the classified drivers, with Taylor and Albacete retiring during the race and Steffen Faas never taking the start as persistent issues befell his Freightliner.
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