RODRIGUES REIGNS SUPREME IN PROMOTER’S CUP AS ROOKIE NEWELL CLAIMS THIRD
In a season that saw José Eduardo Rodrigues dominate from the start, it was no surprise when he clinched the Promoter’s Cup championship with three races still to go. However, it was the fierce battle for third place in the class standings that kept fans on the edge of their seats throughout the Jarama weekend.
Despite facing some challenges during the weekend, Rodrigues did what was necessary in Race One to secure the 2023 Chrome class title. Although he started on Promoter’s Cup pole, he fell backwards in the race after getting tangled in some incidents, ultimately crossing the line in third. Since he didn’t get outscored by Steffen Faas by more than five points, and with Faas finishing the race in fifth after receiving a ten-second penalty for causing a collision, the Portuguese driver became uncatchable, taking his first title in the class.
Throughout the season, Rodrigues has consistently been the one to watch, having secured clean sweep weekends in the Promoter’s Cup category. The campaign he put together and the way he raced this season was certainly deserving of the top place in Chrome class.
Faas secured second position on Saturday with a second-place finish in Race Two. The battle for the top spot in the championship had been a head-to-head contest between Rodrigues and Faas for the past three rounds, and it was not surprising that the title was settled with a day to go. Faas’ 2023 campaign has been turbulent, with more DNFs than Rodrigues, extending the lead Rodrigues had built up coming into the final round.
The battle for third in the Promoter’s Cup took center stage as the Spanish weekend came to an end. Thanks to a remarkable resurgence by Luis Recuenco, the local hero nearly jumped from fifth place in the standings to third in just four races. Recuenco closed the season with an impressive six Promoter’s Cup victories in a row, including an overall victory in Le Mans, and earning maximum points in Jarama.
Recuenco's fourth-place finish was a testament to his relentless effort, falling just one point short of Goodyear FIA ETRC rookie John Newell, who secured third place in the class standings.It was well-deserved by the Brit, who after a bit of a rocky start to the season got back on the pace towards the latter half of the year. As a frequent podium finisher in the class, Newell showed that with a bit more consistency, he could be a strong contender for class wins in the upcoming season.
Mark Taylor, who started the weekend in a close battle with Newell for third, had a day to forget on Saturday with three steering failures – one bolt sheered and two spring failures. This disappointing day took him out of contention for third, forcing him to settle for fifth in the standings come the final chequered flag of the season.The season never quite regained its momentum for Taylor after his significant collision in Most, which limited his participation to just one race that weekend.
Substantial repairs were required following the damage to the truck and Taylor also needed to rediscover his rhythm in the championship. The team will be looking to use the winter break to get back on top of things, and their goal is to return as consistent podium contenders in 2024 to try and claim the third in class that, arguable, was much deserved.
Clemens Hecker had a strong finish to the season, adding six third-place finishes to his campaign. He got into the habit of taking third from the first race and then converting his reverse grid position for another podium, making it a solid day if he got into the groove from qualifying. Unfortunately, his season came to a premature end after an incident in Race Three saw his entire cab suffer a lot of damage, too much to be repaired to get him out on track for Race Four.Although challenging Taylor for fifth would have been a difficult task, despite his strong performance compared to Taylor's at the end of the season, Hecker was denied the opportunity to try due to the impact in Race Three.
Jonathan André took part in his fourth round of the season in Jarama, making him the most entered race-by-race competitor of the year. The Frenchman initially seemed to struggle finding his stride, but Jarama proved to be a rewarding venue for him, as he secured two class podiums on Sunday to end his campaign on a high. He finished eighth in the Promoter’s Cup standings, 71 points behind Lukas Hahn (who competed in three rounds and nearly clean swept all three).
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