What Slovakia Ring means to me. By Goodyear ETRC drivers
The Goodyear FIA European Truck Racing Championship resumes at the Slovakia Ring this weekend. Here’s what some of the drivers have said about the 5.922-kilometre layout.
Antonio Albacete (Spain): “I like Slovakia. It’s quite a demanding circuit, you have very fast corners, and a little bit of slow corners, but from the point of view of driving it’s a good circuit. Turn 2 is nearly flat out and it’s a track where you can overtake. It also has two or three places where you can make, if you’re under pressure, you can make easier mistakes so if you have someone behind they can overtake you, or if you are behind somebody and they make a mistake you can overtake, so it’s a good circuit for that.”
Jochen Hahn (Germany): “It’s really a good circuit. It has everything, fast corners, a tricky inside with a high-speed section, and it’s in a nice area of the world, I love it.”
Steffi Halm (Germany): “Slovakia is a very challenging track because it's the longest we have in the calendar. Also for the qualifying it's very difficult because when you're in Q3 you have only one lap, and there you have to do it. There's no chance to get another one. It's not only the length of the track, it’s also that you have the long straight where you go 160 or 158, but then you have the inside of the circuit which is very tricky with a lot of fast corners, but still turning and it's also very tough for the tyres and for the truck. It’s always very difficult to find a great set-up for the high-speed corners where you still have to turn, because the weight of the truck gives a lot of pressure for the tyres. If the speed in that section is also very high, it's a really, really tough thing for the tyres. Normally the temperatures are also very high, so we all have to handle and to manage our tyres and it’s not easy, because you try to drive as calm as possible and to be smooth as possible with the tyres, but in the races you also try to push and to be fast. So it’s a combination to stay calm, but also push to go over the distance with a good shape of tyres.”
Sascha Lenz (Germany): “It’s a new circuit compared to the others, it’s really fast, and Norbert [Kiss] will be really fast, so I’ll give my best. We won’t be changing nothing on the truck, I think it's more time and myself who’s in the truck. So, from this side, the truck should be okay.”
Norbert Kiss (Hungary): “Slovakia Ring is very, very nice, always with a lot of Hungarian fans, so the atmosphere is always really nice. I also enjoy the circuit itself, but the atmosphere is very special. When I won a race two years ago or something, they played the national anthem, but they cut the music short. The people in the grandstand was already singing, so they kept singing without the music. It was like, ‘oh my God’, it was like one of the best moments of my career. Traditionally Slovakia Ring is a very good circuit for us, with very nice results in the past, so hopefully we can keep it up this year as well. The track is high speed and very long, so it’s very difficult on the tyres. It requires a very special approach as a driver as well, and in the set-up as well. I think it’s probably one of the most challenging tracks in the calendar because of the tyre usage.”
José Eduardo Rodrigues (Portugal): “I like Slovakia Ring. I think it's a good track, and last year we have good results there, so I hope this year continues, but I focus on this first race because it's the start of everything, and we'll see tomorrow what's happened. Misano was difficult on the second day, we didn’t have the best set-up, but we try to work for Slovakia Ring to get the best result possible.”
Bradley Smith (Great Britain): “Slovakia is a very challenging track, obviously it's a long lap, it's nearly a three minute lap, you don't really get much of a break driving around there, but it's a good track, it's challenging, it keeps you on your toes, no room for error and I very much enjoy that circuit, it's one of my favourites. There’s fast corners and slow corners. You have to get your set-up perfect for the fast and the slower corners. I’ve only driven it once but it's been very hot weather when I’ve been there and you’ve got to try and keep your tyres in a sensible window to keep going for the full race, so set-up is crucial.”
Mark Taylor (Great Britain): “It’s a challenging track and I had a bad weekend there last year because of the set-up. But you learn from your mistakes, and you have to push on. Hopefully this year we’ll have a good set-up. Although it’s a fast track it had some great slow parts in the centre, so I do like the track. I would say it’s one of the hardest of the year, with the technical bit that’s tight to get round.”
Slovakia Ring hosts round two of the 2026 Goodyear FIA European Truck Racing Championship. Ticket information is available HERE.
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