Newell lands it large at Le Mans to set up Goodyear FIA ETRC Chrome title showdown
John Newell’s winning weekend at Le Mans means it’s last year’s runner-up rather than last year’s champion Mark Taylor who will head to Jarama on top in the Goodyear FIA European Truck Racing Championship Chrome title chase.
While Newell won two times in France last weekend and also claimed a second and a third, Taylor endured a more trying visit to the 24 Heures Camions, which began with a turbo failure in Free Practice 1 and also included being nudged off track by a rival in Race 2 and an enforced gearbox change following Race 3.
Although Taylor demonstrated his renowned determination, his tally of one second and two thirds means his winless run has extended to eight races.
From leading the Chrome order by three points following the Belgian Truck Grand Prix weekend at Zolder in mid-September, Taylor must now overcome a 13-point deficit when the season concludes in Spain this weekend if he’s to become Chrome champion for a second time in as many years.
“It was a good effort by the team to change the gearbox and the truck was back performing again,” Taylor said after finishing third to Bradley Smith and Newell in Race 4. “But then the gremlins come along, and the water temperature started overheating and the oil temperature started overheating so I had to make a gap to get some air around the truck to try to cool it down. Hopefully we’ll iron the problems out for next weekend. Jarama is just another truck, we down there and start all over again and see what happens.”
Newell said: “I’m over the moon, in terms of our objective this weekend that’s job done. But now it’s onto Jarama and it starts again, just reset and go and make sure we have a good Saturday and we should be on our way.”
Aside from the Chrome title contenders, Bradley Smith enjoyed a hugely successful weekend at Le Mans with two wins and a second place. It could have been three wins for the Briton had it not been for contact with Titan racer Antonio Albacete in Race 2, which sent Smith spinning to the back of the pack.
Steffen Faas, who finished second in Race 1, and Luis Recuenco, in inherited third in Race 2 after Luke Garrett was penalised for contact with Taylor, were the other Chrome podium finishers in France.
Despite his demotion in Race 2 and non-finish in Race 4 due to a technical issue, Garrett has climbed from sixth to fifth in the provisional Chrome standings.
Following a long sequence of non-starts or non-finishes, Clemens Hecker equalled his season-best result of 11th in Race 4.
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