Goodyear FIA ETRC season so far and what’s in store
The Goodyear FIA European Truck Racing Championship bursts back into action at Autodrom Most in Czech Republic from 30-31 August. Here’s a reminder of the season so far and what’s in store during the remaining four rounds.
KISS TAKES THREE BUT HAHN FOUR POINTS BEHIND IN TITLE CHASE
Norbert Kiss completed the opening round of the 2026 Goodyear FIA European Truck Racing Championship at Misano World Circuit with a victory triple and a four-point lead in the provisional standings. Having triumphed twice on Saturday (30 May), the MAN-powered Révész Racing driver secured his second pole position of the weekend with a charging qualifying run on Sunday morning (31 May). But contact with Jochen Hahn in Race 3 left him down in sixth at the finish as Hahn secured his first win of 2026 ahead of son Lukas, who banked three wins in the Chrome category during the Italian event. Kiss hit back in Race 4, taking the lead of the partially-reversed-grid counter at the end of lap one and never looking back as Sascha Lenz and René Reinert completed the Race 4 top three. Antonio Albacete rounded out the Race 3 podium behind the Hahn father-and-son pairing with Bradley Smith second in Chrome and John Newell third. Newell finished third in Chrome in Race 4 behind Mark Taylor. Lukas Hahn and Lenz completed the Race 1 podium behind Kiss, while Albacete and José Eduardo Rodrigues joined Kiss on the Race 2 podium in second and third respectively. Stefan Kursch and Steffen Faas took second and third in Chrome in Race 1 before John Newell and 2025 champion Mark Taylor rounded out the Chrome podium in Race 2 behind winner Kursch. Several drivers were penalised for penalty marker offences, including Steffi Halm, who finished Race 1 in third on the road before being demoted to 14th. From the seventh row of the Race 2 grid, Halm, impressed by finishing sixth. Kiss was voted by fans as the winner of the inaugural Goodyear Wingfoot Award.
KISS TO THE FOUR WITH SENSATIONAL SLOVAKIA RING SHOWING
Norbert Kiss took four wins out of four to underline his status as a Goodyear FIA European Truck Racing Championship legend with a sensational weekend in Slovakia (6-7 June). Twice on pole and twice a reverse-grid race winner after a series of sublime overtaking moves at the Slovakia Ring, Kiss won for a seventh time out of a possible eight in 2026 to edge ahead in the provisional title order by 36 points. It was also a winning weekend for Mark Taylor in the Goodyear FIA ETRC Chrome category as the defending champion got his season back on track with three victories. The Briton came within 0.974s of claiming his maiden outright success in Race 4 but couldn’t fend off MAN-powered Hungarian hero Kiss, who won twice on Saturday (6 June) – including Race 2 by 0.010s ahead of René Reinert – and twice on Sunday (7 June). Taylor left Slovakia leading the Chrome ranking by three points having arrived in the country in fifth position following a troubled Misano season opener. Sascha Lenz followed up third place in Race 1 behind Jochen Hahn by finishing second in Race 3. He also won the Goodyear Wingfoot Award after he topped the fan vote ahead of Reinert and Taylor. Antonio Albacete completed the Race 3 podium behind Kiss and Lenz, while Steffi Halm joined Kiss and Taylor on the Race 4 podium. Halm finished third behind Kiss and Reinert in Race 2. Bradley Smith was the Chrome winner in Race 3 ahead of Luke Garrett and John Newell before Garrett and Newell finished second and third to Taylor in Race 4. Taylor, Newell and Steffen Faas filled the Race 1 Chrome podium with Taylor beating Faas and Newell in Race 2.
CHAMPION KISS FIGHTS THROUGH THE PACK TO TRIUMPH
Norbert Kiss left his best to last, fighting through from eighth to first on the opening lap of Race 4 to make it three Goodyear FIA European Truck Racing Championship victories out of four at the Nürburging. Qualifying on pole position twice, Hungarian hero Kiss rounded out the Int. Shell ADAC Truck-Grand-Prix weekend with a provisional lead of 62 points for Révész Racing in his bid for a record-extending eighth Goodyear FIA ETRC crown. Once again, the Goodyear FIA ETRC drivers and their teams delivered four action-packed races for the tens of thousands of fans in attendance at the sun-drenched German venue, with René Reinert joining Kiss as an overall winner after he took the chequered flag first in Race 2. Having shared the Chrome category wins with Bradley Smith on Saturday (11 July), Mark Taylor proved unbeatable in both counters on Sunday (12 July). Taylor, the defending Chrome champion, also finished second overall to Kiss in Race 4 as Antonio Albacete completed the top three. Spaniard Albacete also placed third in Race 3 behind winner Kiss and runner-up Jochen Hahn, who was voted by fans as the latest recipient of the Goodyear Wingfoot Award. Home heroes Reinert and Steffi Halm had enjoyed a day to remember on Saturday by finishing first and third in Race 2 after Kiss added to his Goodyear FIA ETRC winning tally with victory in Race 1. That left Kiss to line up in eighth and Reinert alongside polesitter Taylor for Race 2. And having been denied the Race 2 win at Slovakia Ring by 0.010s, Reinert wasted no time passing Taylor for a lead he wouldn’t lose as José Eduardo Rodrigues and Halm completed the podium. Kiss, who was joined on the Race 1 podium by Antonio Albacete and Jochen Hahn earlier in the day, came within 0.125s of beating Halm to third in Race 2, but had to settle for second after Halm drove at her defensive best to secure the final podium spot. Taylor took the Chrome honours in Race 1 ahead of John Newell and Smith but there was no repeat for Taylor in Race 2 due to a trio of over-speeding judgements. Smith triumphed as a result ahead of Newell and Lukas Hahn, who was leading the category in Race 1 before tyre damage forced him to retire.
WHAT’S NEXT?
Four rounds remain in the battle to take top honours in the 2026 Goodyear FIA European Truck Racing Championship. Here’s a reminder.
Venue: Autodrom Most Round: 4 of 7 Date: 29-30 August Location: Tvrzova 5, 434 01 Most, Czech Republic Website: https://www.autodrom-most.cz Length: 4.212 kilometres Direction: Clockwise Turns:21 2025 winners: Norbert Kiss x 2, Stephanie Halm x 1, José Eduardo Rodrigues x 1 Tickets: Click HERE for more information In 100 words: The established home of the Czech Truck Prix and truck racing for more than 25 years, Autodrom Most is located approximately 70 kilometres north of the country’s capital, Prague, and within easy reach of German cities Dresden and Leipzig. The track layout offers an exciting blend of medium- and high-speed sweeps and turns with a long start/finish straight leading to an ultra-tight chicane. Work started on Autodrom Most on the site of a former coal surface mine in 1978 and was completed in 1983. The venue was built in response to demand for a permanent racing circuit in the region.
Venue: Circuit Zolder Round: 5 of 7 Date: 12-13 September 2026 Location: Terlaemen 30, 3550 Heusden-Zolder Website: https://www.circuit-zolder.be/en/ Length: 4.001 kilometres Direction:Clockwise Turns: 11 2025 winners: Norbert Kiss x 2, Jochen Hahn x 1, René Reinert x 1 Tickets: Click HERE. In 100 words: Home to the Belgian Formula One Grand Prix on 10 occasions, Circuit Zolder is now a popular stop on the Goodyear FIA ETRC schedule with the Belgian Truck Grand Prix a season highlight. Opening in 1963 as Belgium’s first permanent race circuit, Circuit Zolder is located in the northeast of the country, approximately one hour driving time from the capital, Brussels. The track layout, which includes two long straights, promotes close racing and a challenge for driver and machine. It’s a busy venue for national and international car, bike and truck categories, while several cycling events are run each year.
Venue: Le Mans Bugatti Round: 6 of 7 Date: 26-27 September 2026 Location: Circuit des 24 Heures, CS21928, 720199 Le Mans Cedex 2, France Website: https://www.24h-camions.com/en Length: 4.185 kilometres Turns: 11 Direction: Clockwise 2025 winners: Norbert Kiss x 2, René Reinert x 2 Tickets:Click HERE for more information In 100 words: Rather than the 13.626-kilometre Circuit de La Sarthe, made famous by the 24 Hours of Le Mans sportscar race, France’s round of the Goodyear FIA ETRC – the penultimate event of the 2026 season – uses the 4.185-kilometre Circuit Bugatti. And it does so as part of the 24H Camions event, which ran for the first time in 1981 and features racing, displays, shows, thousands of fans and much more. Inaugurated in 1965, the demanding Circuit Bugatti layout comes complete with the famous Le Mans start/finish straight, Dunlop Esses and Ford Chicane, while a twisty infield ensures there’s little respite for drivers.
Venue: Circuito de Madrid Jarama – RACE Round: 7 of 7 Date: 3-4 October 2026 Location: A-1, km 28, 28700 San Sebastián de los Reyes, Madrid, Spain Website: https://www.jarama.org/en/home-english Length: 3.850 kilometres Turns: 14 Direction: Clockwise 2025 winners: Norbert Kiss x 2, Antonio Albacete x 1, John Newell x 1 Tickets: Information coming soon In 100 words: Designed by John Hugenholtz, whose work included Suzuka, Zandvoort and Zolder, Circuito de Madrid is located in San Sebastián de los Reyes, just north of the capital and was Spain’s first permanent racing circuit when it opened in 1967. Host venue of the Goodyear FIA ETRC finale on and off for more than a decade, Jarama was lengthened to the current 3.850 kilometres in 1990 with several facility upgrades carried out by the Real Automóvil Club de España (RACE) during the subsequent years. Consisting of a long straight, switchbacks and a handful of sweeping turns, Jarama represents a challenging layout.
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