Race preview: Goodyear FIA ETRC stars ready to zoom at Zolder
Life moves fast in the Goodyear FIA European Truck Racing Championship. Less than a week after Autodrom Most hosted another typically action-packed instalment of motor sport’s ultimate heavy metal contest, Circuit Zolder is preparing to stage round five of the season.
Taking place as part of the Belgian Truck Grand Prix weekend from 11-13 September, the Goodyear FIA ETRC’s visit to Circuit Zolder is eagerly anticipated and comes as Norbert Kiss makes great strides towards a record-extending eighth title.
Kiss took another step towards Goodyear FIA ETRC invincibility with a win double in Czech Republic last weekend. However, the Hungarian hero had to settle for the runner-up spot in Race 4 at Autodrom Most after Steffi Halm proved too strong during a resolute display.
Nevertheless, Kiss will head to Belgium next week 83 points ahead of Sascha Lenz in the title tussle and 96 clear of Jochen Hahn, a six-time European champion. Antonio Albacete, who has three ETRC titles to his name, is eight points further back.
It’s even closer in the Chrome category for drivers with less experience and fewer overall results. Defending champion Mark Taylor is Belgium-bound three points ahead of fellow Briton John Newell, who banked his first Chrome win of the season at Autodrom Most. With Lukas Hahn not competing at Zolder, Bradley Smith will be determined to regain third place in the current standings.
The second shortest track on the Goodyear FIA ETRC calendar after the 3.629-kilometre Nürburgring, Circuit Zolder’s 4.001-kilometre layout will challenge a total of 16 drivers. Also competing in Belgium are Steffen Faas, the lone Freightliner driver in the field, MAN-powered racers Luke Garrett and Stefan Kursch, Scania-equipped Clemens Hecker and Luis Recuenco, who flies the flag for Mercedes-Benz.
TotalEnergies-supported Jonathan André is taking part as a race-by-race entrant as part of this preparations for the upcoming 24 Heures Camions at Le Mans, which stages the penultimate round of the Goodyear FIA ETRC season from 25-27 September.
Meanwhile, René Reinert was a winner at Zolder 12 months ago, while José Eduardo Rodrigues tops the Young Driver standings and, like Reinert, will be in the fight for an outright podium finish.
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 2026 marking the 20th full season since the current format was introduced.
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.
CALM HALM KEEPS CHAMPION KISS IN CZECH
Steffi Halm scored her first win of the 2026 Goodyear FIA ETRC, resisting intense pressure from Norbert Kiss to win the final race of the Autodrom Most weekend by a slender margin of 0.448s. Halm, who charged through from 16th to ninth in Race 2 after gearbox failure forced her to retire as she lined up to start Race 1, joined home hero Adam Lacko on the front row of the partially-reverse Race 4 grid and gained an early advantage over the chasing pack as Kiss made his move from eighth place. After the seven-time winner of the Goodyear FIA ETRC title snatched second from home hero Lacko with five laps remaining, it became a question of when rather than if he could close up on leader Halm. Although the MAN driver got close, his IVECO-powered rival never faltered to claim victory as Lacko took a popular third place in front of thousands of Czech fans. Lacko prepared for Sunday’s races by hosting Petr Pavel, President of the Czech Republic, in his Buggyra ZM Racing team area. Kiss, meanwhile, had earlier banked his second win of the weekend with victory in Race 3, which he completed ahead of Antonio Albacete and Jochen Hahn. And while he couldn’t get the better of Halm in Race 4, he left Czech Republic for his native Hungary with a provisional lead of 83 points. Chrome champion Mark Taylor took a win double ahead of John Newell and Lukas Hahn in both Race 3 and Race 4. Newell was the Chrome winner in Race 1 ahead of Lukas Hahn and Bradley Smith. Lukas Hahn then secured top Chrome honours by winning Race 2 outright with father Jochen in second and Kiss taking third as Newell and Taylor completed the Chrome podium. Overall Race 1 honours went to Kiss with José Eduardo Rodrigues and Sascha Lenz second and third respectively. Lukas Hahn was voted the winner of the Goodyear Wingfoot Award by one fan vote over Newell. Top Young Driver Rodrigues was also nominated.
FANS GET THEIR SAY WITH NEW-FOR-2026 GOODYEAR WINGFOOT AWARD
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 is new to the Goodyear FIA European Truck Racing Championship for 2026 and 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 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. 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. Norbert Kiss (Misano), Sascha Lenz (Slovakia Ring) and Jochen Hahn (Nürburgring) are the winners so far.
PROVISIONAL ENTRY LIST: ROUND 5, CIRCUIT ZOLDER, 11-13 SEPTEMBER
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)
33 Stefan Kursch (Germany), MAN (Chrome)
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-Benz (Chrome)
66 Jonathan André (France), MAN (Chrome)*
77 René Reinert (Germany), MAN (Titan)
81 Mark Taylor (Great Britain), MAN (Chrome)
*Race-by-race entry (Categorisation
THEY SAID WHAT? GOODYEAR FIA ETRC DRIVERS LOOK AHEAD TO ZOLDER
Jonathan André (France): “It’s very nice to drive with the European drivers because they’re the best drivers of truck racing. I really like this track, it’s a lot of pleasure when I drive on it. There are two chicanes, which for me are very difficult. A lot of very hard braking and to make a perfect lap you need to have good confidence in your driving and good confidence in your truck. Zolder is the most difficult track of the season for the truck because you have big kerbs and hard braking, and the truck needs to be very reliable to have a complete weekend without any problem.”
Steffi Halm (Germany): “I always have a lot of confidence for sure and I’m very happy that we left Most with a victory, this was really good. But I hope we can continue what we done into Zolder and have an even better weekend as it’s also a track that I like.”
Norbert Kiss (Hungary): “Zolder is a good circuit for us because we’ve had many successes there and a lot of victories and podiums, so it’s a circuit where we can be really quick. You have to drive over the ‘sausage’ kerbs to be fast and I don’t like that so much for the truck. But I like Zolder, I like Belgium, I like the atmosphere of the circuit being an old-school circuit.”
José Eduardo Rodrigues (Portugal): “It’s a very good circuit for me and normally I have very good results there. I hope for the same this year because points are the most important right now. It’s an older track and a difficult track but I like it.”
Bradley Smith (Great Britain): “It’s a challenging track, the closest to home and only two hours away once you get to Calais. It’s a good track, very technical and hopefully we can get some better luck and better results than we did at Most.”
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 drivers; Q2/Q5: 10 minutes for the 12 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 the results of Races 1 and 3 with the 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 and Chrome drivers, Young Driver and Teams
Goodyear Wingfoot Award: Three drivers are nominated for the public vote on via Instagram during Race 4 based on their overall performance, sporting behaviour and highlights on track
GOODYEAR FIA ETRC ROUND FIVE ESSENTIALS
Venue: Circuit Zolder, Terlaemen 30, 3550 Heusden-Zolder
Website: https://www.circuit-zolder.be/en/
Date: 12-13 September 2026
Track length: 4.001 kilometres Turns: 11 (5 right, 6 left) Direction: Clockwise
2025 winners: Norbert Kiss x 2, Jochen Hahn x 1, René Reinert x 1
Tickets: Click HERE for more information
In 100 words: Home to the Belgian Formula One Grand Prix on 10 occasions, Circuit Zolder is now a popular stop on the Goodyear FIA ETRC schedule with the Belgian Truck Grand Prix a season highlight. Opening in 1963 as Belgium’s first permanent race circuit, Circuit Zolder is located in the northeast of the country, approximately one hour driving time from the capital, Brussels. The track layout, which includes two long straights, promotes close racing and a challenge for driver and truck. It’s a busy venue for national and international car, bike and truck categories, while several cycling events are run each year.
CIRCUIT ZOLDER KEY TIMINGS*
Friday 11 September
14:05-14:35: Free Practice 1
15:45-16:15: Free Practice 2
Saturday 12 September
09:10-09:25: Warm-up
10:15-11:05: Qualifying 1-2-3 (15 minutes, 10 minutes, 5 minutes)
12:00-12:15: Autograph session (Fan Village)
13:30-13:55: Race 1 (12 laps)
14:05:14:15: Race 1 podium
16:20-16:45: Race 2 (12 laps)
16:55-17:05: Race 2 podium
Sunday 13 September
10:05-10:20: Warm-up
11:05-11:55: Qualifying 4-5-6 (15 minutes, 10 minutes, 5 minutes)
12:30-12:45: Autograph session (Fan Village)
14:20-14:45: Race 3 (12 laps)
14:55-15:05: Race 3 podium
17:05-17:30: Race 4 (12 laps)
17:40-17:50: Race 4 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 so far in 2026 on YouTube and watch A One Truck Family, the Goodyear FIA ETRC’s acclaimed and groundbreaking behind-the-scenes documentary from wige.
RESULTS AND STANDINGS
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