WIN 18 FOR KISS AS SMITH TAKES CHROME ADVANTAGE
Bradley Smith has taken a six-point lead in the Chrome standings after securing victory ahead of John Newell and Mark Taylor.
It was another textbook win for Norbert Kiss as he did what he does best to take another lights to flag victory. Jochen Hahn put pressure on the seven-time champion off the line, but Kiss had the advantage into Turn 1 and defended expertly.
Sascha Lenz held position off the line, and although Steffi Halm had made it past Lukas Hahn for overall P7, she was struggling to make gains up the grid. It was looking to be going Lenz’ way to extend his third overall advantage until disaster struck in the third lap. An electrical failure saw his truck coming to a stop in Turn 5, stealing any points his third place had guaranteed him. It is still possible for Lenz to get third - only five points behind as Halm finished sixth - but the advantage has now moved to Halm.
Due to Lenz’ DNF, René Reinert inherited third place, which went unrivalled by Antonio Albacete until the chequered flag. His third with Kiss’ first has secured Révész-Reinert Racing Team the Teams’ Championship for 2025.
After qualifying so well, it was a disappointment for José Eduardo Rodrigues to come across the line P5. He was swarmed by Reinert and Albacete in lap one, losing the two positions at the start. Tried all he might, he could do no better than P5 at the chequered flag.
Lukas Hahn had looked to have the Race 1 Chrome victory in the bag, but an issue with his front left under braking saw him tumble off the podium. At the time, he had a seven-second lead on the chasing Chrome drivers, but the issue saw him lose that within a few corners. This let Smith past to take class win, and for a few laps it looked like Hahn would give Smith a buffer to his championship rivals, allowing him to take a greater points lead into Race 2. But the issue persisted, and in the final lap Newell and Taylor managed to demote him off the podium.
This gives Smith a six-point lead going into Race 2, Newell second with a four-point advantage on Taylor in third.
Clemens Hecker had a disaster of a race for his championship hopes. Having been relegated from Q1, he was already starting behind all his rivals, but trying to get the moves done into the first corner saw him tangled with a few other trucks. Everyone continued, but Hecker was unable to get any higher than 15th overall, eighth in class. He is 17 points behind Smith now, and although still mathematically in with a chance it looks like it might have slipped from his hands.
The P7/P8 overall finishes for Smith and Newell put the pair on the reverse grid front row for Race 2. That’s a disadvantage for Taylor who has six trucks between him and his Chrome rivals. He’ll need the Titans to make quick work of his fellow Brits if he’s to make an indent on their respective points advantages.
Jonathan André drove well to finish class P5, ahead of Steffen Faas who is looking to end the season strong. Luke Garrett, after also being tangled in the first lap incident, was P7 ahead of Hecker.
Lenz was the only retirement from the race, with Simon Reid, Stefan Kursch and Craig Reid completing the 17 classified.
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