UNSTOPPABLE KISS TAKES 64TH VICTORY
With a text book lights to flag win, Norbert Kiss took the first win of the 2022 season at the Misano World Circuit.
It was close at the start, with Jochen Hahn keeping the Hungarian driver in his sights and staying within half a second, but the battling would come from behind the leading pair as the race unfolded. Kiss and Hahn broke away from the rest of the field, crossing the line five seconds ahead of third-placed Sascha Lenz, but Hahn would never have much of a look at taking the lead from the reigning champion.
It was a phenomenal move from Lenz to take third. After a bad star from Antonio Albacete, both Lenz and Adam Lacko got passed going into Turn 1, Lacko claiming third. Lenz was determined to get the podium finish, sitting firmly on Lacko’s rear bumper for the proceeding few laps. A bold move up the inside saw him take the place off Lacko and disappear down the road. Lacko didn’t have much of a chance to fight back as a recovering Albacete had used the fight to claim back ground on his fellow Freightliner runner.
The two got very close, making light contact as they went wheel-to-wheel through the Turn 1-3 complex. Albacete looked like he had the run on the inside, but as the track switched from a left hander to right Lacko was perfectly placed to make the switch back. It was then that Albacete tried to late brake into Turn 4 but instead careered into the side of Lacko, causing some bodywork damage to the #55. Both trucks kept going, and Lacko managed to hang onto fourth for another lap and a half, but the damage was costing him too much time.
Behind Lacko in sixth came Promoter’s Cup race winner Téo Calvet. He had a bit of a messy start to the race, ending up off the track with Steffi Halm going into Turn 1, but the pair recovered well to remain fighting in the bottom half of the top ten. Halm had been on a mission to demote the Chrome driver to seventh overall, but Calvet’s defensive driving saw him keep her behind, split at the line by half a second.
René Reinert finished eighth, taking Race Two reverse pole, with the top ten completed by Shane Brereton – also taking second in Promoter’s Cup – and Andre Kursim. However, Kursim would end up losing this position due to a 30s time penalty for exceeding track limits, handing the tenth place finish to Thomas Robineau (also third on the Promoter’s Cup podium).
José Rodrigues was left just outside the top ten, ahead of Anthony Janiec – who was given a drive through penalty for a jump start, taking him out of contention early in the race – Jamie Anderson, Steffen Faas and Clemens Hecker. Hecker’s race came to a slightly early end when an issue with his Scania truck saw him retire into the pits with one lap left to go.
Full results from race 1 HERE
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