KISS VICTORIOUS IN TIGHT BATTLE WITH HAHN
Norbert Kiss has secured his 15th win of the season, but unlike the other 14, this did not come as easily to the Hungarian.
Jochen Hahn learnt from yesterday and never allowed Kiss to get away from him as they led the field into the first corner. Kiss still came out with the advantage, but staying on his rear bumper Hahn made sure to stay within striking distance of the reigning champion.
It came to no avail, but the tight battle kept Kiss on his toes and forced him to push a little harder than he would have expected to as the lights went green.
“[Hahn] did a good job because he improved a lot compared to yesterday.” Kiss said in his post-race interview. “The pace was very fast because we were doing [2m02s], mid, I don’t think we even did a [2m03s] in the whole race, which is a very fast pace, and [Hahn] was following me really close in the whole race so I had to really put myself and the truck to the limit to try and stay in front with a little bit of a gap so he cannot try an overtaking manoeuvre.”
Hahn added: “It is close, but I don’t know if [Kiss] had a technical problem or not or if he played with me. In this race, we were on the same level and we had a fight for the win. You sit in the truck and you think ‘oh, it’s possible’. And you push, and you push, and you push, and when I look at my lap times it’s more than half a second faster than yesterday.
“It means we improve but also you improve your head in this moment, it’s like a motivation. It’s a thank you to the team for their hard work.
”Behind the leading pair, Sascha Lenz made quick work of Race Two winner Antonio Albacete, moving up to third, a position he would hold onto for the rest of the race. Going into the first corner, Albacete tried to line the German up to retake the position later in the first lap but Lenz was ready for the move, defending beautifully to take his second podium of the weekend.
André Kursim rounded off the top five after a race long battle with José Eduardo Rodrigues for fifth. The Portuguese driver didn’t put up much of a fight after taking fifth off the line, focused more on protecting another Chrome class win to regain some of the points he lost to Mark Taylor during yesterday’s day of racing.
There was no risk of Taylor demoting Rodrigues at the chequered flag as the pair were separated by four seconds on the line, but it was another strong drive from the Brit to improve his position in the Chrome standings. With Steffen Faas having another difficult race, the Brit now sees himself second in class, eyeing Rodrigues in the last nine rounds to fight for the Chrome class title.
Steffi Halm’s issues from this morning seemed to still be haunting her as she struggled to make any progress through the Chrome drivers to fight with her competitors in the overall standings. The eighth place does, however, give her reverse grid pole for the final round of the weekend and an opportunity to leave Most on a high.
Clemens Hecker and John Newell completed the top ten, Hecker’s ninth overall giving him third place on the Chrome podium. Echoes of Faas’ steering issues from qualifying hindered his progress through the field, but after almost going off into the gravel in lap five, he recuperated himself to pass Luis Recuenco and avoid a back row start for Race Four.
Recuenco and Bradley Smith will fill the Race Four back row with all 13 trucks, for the second time this weekend, classifying in the race.
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