KISS ONE STEP CLOSER TO FIFTH TITLE WITH LE MANS WIN
Norbert Kiss has moved closer to claiming his fifth Goodyear FIA ETRC title, after taking another lights-to-flag victory over Jochen Hahn and Steffi Halm.
The Hungarian led the pack away, getting a good start and holding off the attack from Hahn behind to retain the lead into the first corner. From there, he used the pace of his truck and race craft to extend his lead to seven seconds at the chequered flag, adding race win 21 to his 2023 campaign.
Halm got a great start, challenging Hahn from third for the second spot on the grid, but after a lap they settled back into qualifying order. As Hahn tried to chase down Kiss, Halm had her attention locked on her rear-view mirrors as Antonio Albacete and Sascha Lenz tried to reel her in. She had a strong defensive drive, rewarding herself with a podium finish for the first race of the weekend.
Albacete was fourth, ahead of Jamie Anderson who drove well to stay in the fight for the top five.
Another incredible drive from José Eduardo Rodriguez saw his run of Promoter’s Cup wins continue to an unbroken tally of five, coming off the back of a very strong Zolder event. The Portugese driver found himself in battle with André Kursim for most of the race, who he just managed to overtake to add a sixth-overall finish to the impressive race.
Kursim was seventh, with Steffen Faas taking second in Promoter’s Cup, eighth overall, meaning he will start Race Two on reverse grid pole. It’ll be an interesting start to the race, as Promoter’s Cup leader and Faas’ rival Rodriguez will start right behind the German in third on today’s second grid. We are expecting wheel-to-wheel action between the pair as they battle for overall and Promoter’s Cup victory.
Clemens Hecker was third in the Promoter’s Cup, ninth overall, but remained under investigation at the end of the race due to an incident with John Newell. Newell, who celebrates his one-year anniversary in the Goodyear FIA ETRC this weekend (he was here at Le Mans in 2022 as a race-by-race entry), was running third in Promoter’s Cup when Hecker tagged the back of the #18, spinning him around and into the gravel. The incident was still under review post race.
José Rodriguez Snr completed the top ten, finishing around 13 seconds behind his son.
After a good start that saw Luis Recuenco challenging Kursim for position, the Spaniard dropped down the order to finish 11th overall, fourth in Promoter’s Cup. He led Mark Taylor and Newell across the line.
Another promising start that didn’t pay off was for Lenz who, due to front axle damage, came into the pits a lap early as the only DNF of the race. Contact with Anderson saw the left-hand axle rod snap, leading to a steering failure. With the quickest repair for the damage being to completely change the front axle, it will be tight for Lenz to be back on track for Race Two, but the #OneTruckFamily is doing all they can to have 14 trucks back on the track.
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