KISS TAKES REVERSE GRID WIN DESPITE PENALTY
It was another clinical delivery from Norbert Kiss, who took the lead of the second race at Circuit Zolder after three laps, pulling enough of a gap to retain the lead after a five second penalty.
Kiss was quick to start making his way through the field from eighth, manoeuvring to fifth by the end of the first lap. It was then he came up against Steffi Halm, who was determined to keep the reigning champion behind her.
Going for a bold move around the outside of Turn 5, Kiss didn’t quite complete the pass, ending up side-by-side with Halm as they entered the chicane. With no where to go, Kiss cut across the chicane, coming out of the corner ahead of Halm. The stewards deemed this to have been leaving the track and gaining an advantage, which earned him a five second penalty.
Kiss had already passed Steffen Faas and Lukas Hahn for the lead when the penalty was given, letting the Hungarian know that, so long as he pulled enough of a gap, the race win was his. There was nothing any of the chasing pack could do as he extended his lead to ten seconds, leaving no doubt who the winner was.
Lukas Hahn had been on to take second on the overall podium along with a class win until his father Jochen Hahn demoted him to third with one lap to go. The pair still shared the overall podium, either side of Kiss.
André Kursim converted his reverse grid fifth to fourth after some close contact with Halm in the closing stages of the race. Both Kursim and Halm were under investigation for leaving the track and gaining an advantage, but as of the chequered flag there was deemed no advantage to be achieved when they went off track.
It got close and personal as Jochen Hahn made his way through the grid, being caught out by Kursim braking early and going into his rear bumper. Both trucks continued on, but the concertina effect had Halm and Faas also caught up in the mess, all four trucks suffering cosmetic damage.
Faas had been lined up for second on the Chrome podium, claiming back some points on championship rival José Eduardo Rodrigues, but a brief shut down in the closing stages saw him tumble down the order, the pace and power of the truck leaving. He managed to stay ahead of Luis Recuenco for P12, the Spaniard once again struggling for competitive pace, but it took him off the class podium. Not only that, it gifted Rodrigues a bigger lead in their Chrome championship fight.
All of the Titan drivers overtook the Chromes before the chequered flag (bar Lukas Hahn), leaving Sascha Lenz sixth behind Halm, Albacete seventh behind him. It was a decent recovery from Lenz who started at the back of the grid after a boost and fuel pressure problem prevented him from starting Race 1.
Rodrigues finished eighth overall with Mark Taylor behind him, the pair of them completing the Chrome podium. John Newell had a pretty quiet Saturday, coming home fourth in class after some late race pressure from Clemens Hecker in class P5. Faas and Recuenco completed the finishers.
Bad luck, once again, fell on Luke Garrett’s plate. After his steering bolt blew in Race 1, Race 2 came to an end after just three laps when he suffered a brake failure. He managed to come back to the pits where the team worked hard to try and get him back on track but a fire in the discs saw him unable to rejoin the track.
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
