KISS POLE FOR FIRST MOST RACE
Taking the fastest lap of the session by just over a tenth of a second, Norbert Kiss continues his qualifying dominance in the 2024 Goodyear FIA European Truck Racing Championship.
Back to racing after the summer break, the 13 trucks taking part in the Most weekend took to the track on Friday afternoon to set the grid for Race One. The usual favourites quickly rose to the top of the timing screen, with Jochen Hahn setting his eyes on the rapid Hungarian to put an end to his qualifying dominance.
For only the third time this year, all six Titan drivers filled the five-minute Q3 session, with Chrome pole having been decided in Q2. Early advantage went to Kiss, and even though Hahn got just outside a tenth of the 2:02.214 set by the reigning champion, he couldn’t find that extra tenth to deny him his ninth pole position of the season.
Sascha Lenz keeps himself in the title hunt starting third on the grid. The German finds himself a little in no-mans land between the leading duo at the front of the championship and the chasing pack at the bottom of the Titan standings.
André Kursim has come back from the summer break with the bit between his teeth, looking to make sure he challenges Steffi Halm and Antonio Albacete for fourth in the Titan standings. His 2:03.215 may have been just over a second slower than pole-sitter Kiss, but it was enough to give him fourth on tomorrow's first grid, beating Halm to a second-row start by 0.053 of a second.
Halm will share the third row of the grid with Albacete to complete the Titan starting order.
Mark Taylor took Chrome class pole after deleted lap times for José Eduardo Rodrigues and Steffen Faas. The duo battling for the Chrome championship lead both had a brief spell at the top of the order before race control deleted their relevant lap times for track limits and will start 11th and 12th respectively.
Taylor had a three-tenth advantage on Chrome second-placed John Newell with his 2:04.239. The class pole brings Taylor closer to Faas in the class standings, threatening to demote the German from second to third and become Rodrigues’ closest competitor.
Luis Recuenco had a better qualifying than he has had for the last few race events, starting third in class, ninth overall. He will share the fifth row with Clemens Hecker for tomorrow’s Race One.
Bradley Smith completed the 13-truck qualifying, being the only truck to be eliminated from Q1.
.jpg)
.jpg)
