KISS BACK ON TOP AS TAYLOR EXTENDS CHROME LEAD
Norbert Kiss converted his Race 3 pole position to victory as Mark Taylor overcame a five second penalty to secure the Chrome class win.
Jochen Hahn knew his best chance to challenge Kiss for the Race 3 win would be off the line, and was fully focused on the first corner as the grid crossed the start line. He tried to manoeuvre his truck to get the optimal exit from the corner, but Kiss covered off his first corner dive, holding onto the lead he wouldn’t relinquish for the next 12 laps.
The main battle of the race was for third as Steffi Halm had her eyes locked on another overall podium this weekend. Antonio Albacete held his third place position off the line, but he had his wing mirrors full of Halm’s IVECO as she persistently pressured him to open the door for a pass. With 28 years of experience in truck racing, Albacete was not flustered by her attempts, remaining calm under pressure to hold onto third at the chequered flag.
Sascha Lenz was looking to make up ground quickly off the line after qualifying behind Taylor in P6. Going bold, he tried to make up positions as he went into the first corner, but the two came together with light contact. It was the smallest of touches, but big consequences for Lenz who suffered a puncture and was forced to retire. Taylor picked up a five second penalty for the incident, but manage to overcome this during the race, not affecting his race finish position.
Taylor finished fifth overall, first in Chrome, after René Reinert, who finished fifth on track, was given a 10 second penalty for over-speeding on the start. Bradley Smith was also handed a 10 second penalty for the same reason. He lost two places after the chequered flag, dropping behind Jonathan André and Stefan Kursch.
A great day for Clemens Hecker saw him take second in Chrome, P7 overall behind José Eduardo Rodrigues. But it was Luke Garrett getting his first silverware of the season to complete the Chrome podium, who will take reverse grid pole for the final race of the weekend after Reinert’s penalty dropped him to P12.
John Newell and André also gained in Reinert’s classification drop, moving to P9 and P10 overall respectively.
After a great qualifying, Luis Recuenco could do no better than P14 at the chequered flag, finishing in front of Christian Ruppert.
Steffen Faas suffered an electrical failure on the grid, which delayed the start of the race. He managed to get the Freightliner going for a lap but had to retired eventually.
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