KISS AIDS CHAMPIONSHIP BID WITH LE MANS POLE
Looking to secure his sixth Goodyear FIA European Truck Racing Championship title this weekend, Norbert Kiss has put himself in the best position to make that happen by taking pole position for the opening race.
The rain that had been hovering over the Le Mans Bugatti circuit had blown over on Saturday, leaving windy but sunny overhead conditions for the qualifying session. Kiss looked on top of Balu from the start of Q1. Jochen Hahn pushed the Hungarian as always, but couldn’t find the last three tenths to reel him in.
Due to the length of the Le Mans Bugatti circuit, Q3 became a one-lap dash, meaning that mistakes weren’t an option. It was the cleanest session of the three, with all trucks completing their laps without exceeding the track limits.
Antonio Albacete finished the session third fastest, ahead of André Kursim who put in a fantastic performance to finish fourth. This would have been great for his championship battle with Steffi Halm, who was almost eliminated in Q2, but a last lap improvement by the German saw her just make it into Q3. She will start from P5 on the grid, ahead of Chrome class’s pole sitter José Eduardo Rodrigues.
The shock exit from Q2 was Sascha Lenz. He had an incredibly messy Q2 session, hitting the penalty markers in Turn 4 twice. The double infringement meant that not only was his qualifying lap time deleted, but also his fastest lap of the session, leaving him just outside the top six at the chequered flag. He starts from P7 ahead of second and third in Chrome, Steffen Faas and Luke Garrett. Garrett’s P9 overall marks his best qualifying performance of the season.
Lukas Hahn starts tenth on the grid, ahead of Mark Taylor and John Newell who were also victims of track limit infringements in Q2.
Apart from José Eduardo Rodrigues and Lukas Hahn, all of the race-by-race entrants were eliminated in Q1. Considering this is the first time most of them have raced at Le Mans Bugatti, they’re still finding their feet on the French circuit.
Craig Reid almost started from the back of the grid with several track limit infringements, but his second fastest time was quick enough to move him up to P15. He will start ahead of Bradley Smith, Stefan Kursch and Simon Faulkner, but behind Clemens Hecker and Luis Recuenco when the grid is formed for the first race of the weekend.
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