Promoter's Cup review Zolder
In a turbulent weekend, that saw plenty of action up and down the grid, Buggyra racing driver Téo Calvet managed to extend his Promoter’s Cup lead to 23 points ahead of the last two rounds of the 2022 season.
Téo kicked off the weekend with a straightforward win in Race 1 on Saturday. Starting fourth in the reverse grid race alongside his title rival Jamie Anderson, he got past the British driver in the first few corners. Anderson stuck with him and in a big move he managed to get past Calvet and tried to get away from the Buggyra racer, however they stayed within a second of each other throughout the race.
A last lap push from Calvet to make a move on Anderson caused the pair to come together in the hairpin, and the French racer going into the gravel. Both dropped back, and while Anderson could still make the bottom step of the podium, Calvet finished fourth in class.
Sunday’s first race brought another win for Calvet in Race 3 but the run didn’t carry on in the afternoon, as the French driver ran into trouble trying to take the lead off Shane Brereton. The contact between the pair damaged his tyre and effectively finished his race, as the Freightliner limped back to the pit lane at the end, losing out on the win and also on valuable points in the Promoter’s Cup fight.
While the battle with Calvet robbed Anderson of a possible win on Saturday afternoon, he still took a good points haul from two podiums on the first day of racing at Zolder. In Race 3 Anderson showed some gritty racing, as he forced André Kursim into an error and passed him for the position behind Calvet.
Anderson started to hunt down Calvet, and whilst he pushed hard to catch the French driver, it wasn’t enough to challenge him for the Promoter’s Cup win, as he settled for second in class. The last race at Zolder ended early for Jamie Anderson, who after contact with Jochen Hahn, went off track and into the wall. In the points standings, Calvet is now 23 points clear of Jamie Anderson.
After Saturday didn’t bring the best of results, Shane Brereton put in a solid drive on Sunday morning and secured third in the Promoter’s Cup and also pole for the reverse grid race. When the lights went green, the Brit got a fantastic launch, leading the field away for the race. However it all went downhill when Téo Calvet made an attempt to take the lead off Brereton. The pair made contact which caused Brereton to go off track and he subsequently dropped back in the field. Even though he lost out on a possible overall win, Brereton secured the victory in the Promoter’s Cup.
Steffen Faas set the scene for the weekend, as he took a podium in the opening race on Saturday. In the afternoon, fortune turned Faas’ way, when running third in class, title rivals Calvet and Anderson came together and fell behind as they battled for position, handing the win to Steffen.
Sunday didn’t start off very well for the tankpool24-Racing driver, as he had to retire from Race 3, after the turbo connector broke and he subsequently lost all power. However he ended the day on a high, when he took second in the last race of the day.
José Eduardo Rodrigues, who stood in for his father last weekend, celebrated his first Promoter’s Cup podium this season as he took second in class in race two on Saturday. In the second qualifying on Sunday, the Portuguese racer put in a great lap time and went through to Super Pole, where his speed really shone through. He couldn’t capitalise on his great eighth starting position though, as he lost places to his rivals and finished last, with his truck having to be towed back into the paddock with mechanical issues. He had to sit out the last race of the day due to damage to his gearbox.
After a break at Most, Clemens Hecker joined the ETRC grid again for the Belgian round. He took his second Promoter’s Cup podium of the season in the last race of the weekend.
Jonathan André collected 24 points at Zolder, as he continued to gain confidence behind the wheel of his MAN.
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