RODRIGUES AND KISS DO THE DOUBLE IN SLOVAKIA
It’s been the perfect Saturday for Norbert Kiss and José Eduardo Rodrigues, who both took home full points for their respective Titan and Chrome championship hopes.
Steffen Faas was the man to lead the grid over the line for the second time today, but a suspect missed gear saw him dropping back into the pack, allowing Steffi Halm and Rodrigues to take first and second as the trucks dipped into the first corner.
Kiss began his charge through the grid, having started P8, and made it to P4 ahead of Faas by the end of the second lap. Sascha Lenz had also taken advantage of Faas’ bad start, getting past his fellow patriot to third and was chasing down the leading pair.
His attention fell behind as Kiss made it to his rear bumper, but there was very little Lenz could do to stop the flying Hungarian passing him. He stuck with the reigning champion, however, using his tow to help get him in a position to attack the front.
Halm managed to hold the attack off for a few laps, but once Kiss was just over a tenth behind her the move felt inevitable. Kiss made it look easy, passing Halm on the inside and making the move stick as she tried to retake the place, taking himself to his second win of the weekend.
Lenz was unable to pass Halm, leaving her second and him third on the Titan podium. With Rodrigues crossing the line fourth – Chrome first for the second time today – it was André Kursim and Jochen Hahn who completed the Titan top five.
Antonio Albacete crossed the line ninth to take Titan P6.
After his poor start, Faas did everything he could to hold onto a podium finish. Battling with John Newell, he once again defended from the Brit to make the Race 2 Chrome podium a replica of the Race 1 version.
Mark Taylor and Luis Recuenco were unable to make progress through Race 2, finishing almost where they started after eight laps of the Slovakia Ring. They both made up a position when Luke Garrett failed to finish due to an electrical cut out, which saw him stranded at T11 after two laps.