Race preview: Goodyear FIA ETRC back on track in Slovakia
There’s no time for rest and relaxation in the FIA European Truck Racing Championship with Slovakia Ring hosting round two of the series less than a week on from defending champion Norbert Kiss claiming a victory treble at the Misano season opener.
Following the 940-kilometre trip from Italy to Slovakia, the Goodyear FIA ETRC resumes at the newest venue on the seven-round calendar and the circuit with the longest lap. Opened in 2010, Slovakia Ring’s 5.922-kilometre layout provides a tough challenge for the Goodyear FIA ETRC drivers and their teams.
Fourteen drivers are set for action at the venue, located 30 kilometres from the Slovak capital Bratislava, with Luis Recuenco’s participation among those eagerly anticipated. The Spaniard, who skipped the Misano round, brings the Mercedes name back to the Goodyear FIA ETRC for the first time since 2020. Along with Freightliner, IVECO, MAN and Scania, it means five truck manufacturers are represented.
The Truck Race of Slovakia forms round two of the seven-event Goodyear FIA ETRC season, the 20th full season since the current format was introduced. Combining the excitement of truck racing with entertainment, sustainability and technical innovation, the Goodyear FIA ETRC is heavy metal motor sport at its very best, a truly unique spectacle and the pinnacle of global truck competition.
With the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) assuming full control of the series, the Goodyear FIA ETRC enters an exciting new era in 2026. As well as continuing to oversee the Goodyear FIA ETRC’s sporting and technical regulations, the global governing body for motor sport and the federation for mobility organisations worldwide is taking a more hands-on approach in running the championship.
Areas such as partnerships, calendar development, circuit relations, competitor engagement and paddock operations are all being managed directly by the FIA, part of efforts to strengthen the championship’s long-term growth by covering areas from sporting level to media exposure and sustainability.
SUSTAINABILITY AT THE HEART OF GOODYEAR FIA ETRC
Back in 2021, the Goodyear FIA ETRC became the first FIA-sanctioned motor sport series to switch to fully sustainable biofuel through a partnership with TotalEnergies, which continues in 2026.
All FIA ETRC drivers use Goodyear tyres incorporating 60 per cent sustainable materials, a five per cent increase compared to 2025, achieved through the use of carefully selected ingredients, such as silica produced from waste rice husk ash and carbon black sourced from alternative feedstocks. Goodyear retreads its racing tyres into standard truck tyres, thereby avoiding the practice of disposing of racing tyres.
Italian manufacturer IVECO, which introduced its electric S-eWay as the official Goodyear FIA ETRC pace truck in 2025, also remains a key partner.
KISS LEADS THE WAY AS 2026 GOODYEAR FIA ETRC SEASON IS GO!
Norbert Kiss completed the opening round of the 2026 Goodyear FIA European Truck Racing Championship at Misano (30-31 May) with a victory triple and a provisional four-point lead.
Having triumphed twice on day one of the Italian event, the MAN-powered Révész Racing driver secured his second pole position of the weekend with a charging qualifying run on the final morning. But contact with Jochen Hahn in Race 3 left him down in sixth at the finish as Hahn secured his first win of 2026 ahead of son Lukas, who banked three wins in the Chrome category across the weekend.
Kiss hit back in Race 4, however, taking the lead of the partially-reversed-grid counter at the end of lap one and never looking back as Sascha Lenz and René Reinert completed the Race 4 top three.
Antonio Albacete rounded out the Race 3 podium behind the Hahn father-and-son pairing with Bradley Smith second in Chrome and John Newell third. Newell finished third in Chrome in Race 4 behind defending champion Mark Taylor.
With victory in Race 1 from pole position in the bag, Kiss underlined his star qualities by charging through from eighth on the partially-reversed grid in Race 2 to take the chequered flag in first position. Lukas Hahn and Lenz completed the Race 1 podium, while Albacete and José Eduardo Rodrigues joined Kiss on the Race 2 podium in second and third respectively.
Victories in the Chrome category went to Lukas Hahn in Race 1 and Stefan Kursch in Race 2 after Smith was disqualified following technical checks. Kursch and Steffen Faas took second and third in Chrome in Race 1 before Newell and Taylor rounded out the Chrome podium in Race 2.
FIA ETRC FANS THANKED AFTER KISS RECEIVES FIRST GOODYEAR WINGFOOT AWARD
Norbert Kiss thanked fans after he was voted as the recipient of the first Goodyear Wingfoot Award presented in the Goodyear FIA European Truck Racing Championship. The reigning champion joined Antonio Albacete and Lukas Hahn on the Goodyear Wingfoot Award shortlist and received 54 per cent of the vote when fans were given the chance to choose their driver of the Misano weekend. Already presented in several major series, including the FIA World Endurance Championship, European Le Mans Series and the British Touring Car Championship, the Goodyear Wingfoot Award recognises driver performance and achievement in the Goodyear FIA ETRC. At each of the seven Goodyear FIA ETRC events, a panel of experts from the FIA and Goodyear will nominate three drivers following Race 3, based on their overall performance during the race weekend, their sporting behaviour and highlights on track. Fans will then be able to vote for their driver of the weekend via Instagram from the shortlist of candidates during Race 4. Click The winner is announced as part of the live broadcast coverage of Race 4 and presented with the Goodyear Wingfoot Award on the final podium.
PROVISIONAL ENTRY LIST: ROUND 2, SLOVAKIA RING, 5-7 JUNE
1 Norbert Kiss (Hungary), Révész Racing Kft, MAN (Titan)
2 Jochen Hahn (Germany), IVECO (Titan)
18 John Newell (Great Britain), MAN (Chrome)
23 Antonio Albacete (Spain), Team T Sport Bernau, MAN (Titan)
24 Steffen Faas (Germany), tankpool24 Racing, Freightliner (Chrome)
25 Clemens Hecker (Germany), Scania (Chrome)
30 Sascha Lenz (Germany), MAN (Titan)
38 José Eduardo Rodrigues (Portugal), MAN (Titan)
42 Luke Garrett (Great Britain), MAN (Chrome)
44 Steffi Halm (Germany), IVECO (Titan)
46 Bradley Smith (Great Britain), MAN (Chrome)
64 Luis Recuenco (Spain), CDE GPR Sport, Mercedes (Chrome)
77 René Reinert (Germany), MAN (Titan)
81 Mark Taylor (Great Britain), MAN (Chrome)
THEY SAID WHAT? GOODYEAR FIA ETRC DRIVERS LOOK AHEAD TO SLOVAKIA RING
Jochen Hahn (Germany): “It’s really a good circuit. It has everything, fast corners, a tricky inside with a high-speed section, and it’s in a nice area of the world, I love it.”
Sascha Lenz (Germany): “It’s a new circuit compared to the others, it’s really fast, and Norbert [Kiss] will be really fast, so I’ll give my best. We won’t be changing nothing on the truck, I think it's more time and myself who’s in the truck. So, from this side, the truck should be okay.”
Norbert Kiss (Hungary): “Slovakia Ring is very, very nice, always with a lot of Hungarian fans, so the atmosphere is always really nice. I also enjoy the circuit itself, but the atmosphere is very special. Traditionally Slovakia Ring is a very good circuit for us, with very nice results in the past, so hopefully we can keep it up this year as well. The track is high speed and very long, so it’s very difficult on the tyres. It requires a very special approach as a driver as well, and in the set-up as well. I think it’s probably one of the most challenging tracks in the calendar because of the tyre usage.”
José Eduardo Rodrigues (Portugal): “I like Slovakia Ring. I think it's a good track, and last year we have good results there, so I hope this year continues, but I focus on this first race because it's the start of everything, and we'll see tomorrow what's happened. Misano was difficult on the second day, we didn’t have the best set-up, but we try to work for Slovakia Ring to get the best result possible.”
Mark Taylor (Great Britain): “It’s a challenging track and I had a bad weekend there last year because of the set-up. But you learn from your mistakes, and you have to push on. Hopefully this year we’ll have a good set-up. Although it’s a fast track it had some great slow parts in the centre, so I do like the track. I would say it’s one of the hardest of the year, with the technical bit that’s tight to get round.”
GOODYEAR FIA ETRC IN SHORT
4x7: Seven rounds with four races per event (two races each day)
160 kph: Safety-first approach means a speed limit of 160kph
1200bhp: Power output of 1200bhp and torque of around 6000Nm
5300: Minimum required racing truck total weight is 5300 kilograms, with a minimum of 3150 kilograms measured on the front axle
Qualifying format: For Races 1 and 3 a three-stage qualifying format decides the grid: Q1/Q4: 15 minutes for all race trucks; Q2/Q5: 10 minutes for twelve fastest drivers from Q1/Q4; Q3/Q6: 5 minutes for fastest six drivers from Q2/Q5; Grid positions for Races 2 and 4 decided by results of Races 1 and 3 with top eight drivers lining up in reverse order
Titan or Chrome: Drivers are either categorised as Titan or Chrome depending on their experience and level of success
Titles: Four FIA titles for Overall Championship and Chrome drivers, Young Driver and Team champions
ROUND TWO ESSENTIALS
Venue: Slovakia Ring, 930 02 Orechová Potôň 800, Slovakia
Website: https://slovakiaring.sk/en/
Date: 6-7 June 2026
Track length: 5.922 kilometres Turns: 14 Direction: Clockwise
2025 winners: Norbert Kiss x 3
Tickets: Click HERE for more information
In 100 words: Slovakia Ring has provided drivers with speed variations, surface elevations and array of corner configurations since it opened in 2010, ensuring it has become a favourite for many – and a hugely exciting challenge. Located 40 kilometres east of the capital Bratislava, its central location makes it accessible to fans from several neighbouring countries and regularly results in huge spectator attendance. Slovakia Ring, the work of Austrian architect Hans Roth, has hosted FIA-sanctioned events since 2012 with the Goodyear FIA ETRC visiting for the first time in 2017. At 5.922 kilometres it’s also the longest layout on the 2026 championship calendar.
SLOVAKIA RING KEY TIMINGS*
Friday 5 June
16:05-16:35: Free Practice
Saturday 6 June
09:10-09:40: Free Practice 1
11:20-11:50: Free Practice 2
13:05-13:20: Qualifying 1
13:30-13:40: Qualifying 2
13:50-13:55: Qualifying 3
15:30: Race 1
16:05: Podium
16:30-16:45: Autograph session (Fan Village)
17:30: Race 2
18:05: Podium
Sunday 7 June
09:00-09:15: Warm-up
10:25-10:40: Qualifying 4
10:50-11:00: Qualifying 5
11:10-11:15: Qualifying 6
12:00-12:15: Autograph session (Fan Village)
13:30: Race 3
14:05: Podium
15:30: Race 4
16:05: Podium
*All timings are local, provisional and subject to change
WHERE TO WATCH
Details of where and when to watch the Goodyear FIA ETRC will be available by clicking HERE soon. Revisit all the races from Misano on YouTube.
RIGHTS-FREE IMAGE GALLERY
https://media.focuspackmedia.com/FIA-ETRC-Media-Library
RESULTS AND STANDINGS
Via Sportity using the password: FIA_ETRC_26
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