“It is great to have taken a win here at my home event. I think it is a very nice race story for the people, for the spectators.
RACE 1
1st – Adam Lacko
“It is great to have taken a win here at my home event. I think it is a very nice race story for the people, for the spectators.
“I had a good race with Jochen (Hahn) and he passed me on the last corner. He made me space there and this is very fair of him. I hope that everybody enjoyed our race and I hope we can make another good race later today.”
2nd – Jochen Hahn
“Yes, so on the final lap I had some big problems with the truck and Adam( Lacko) he goes a little bit faster. So normally if I make no error it is not possible to overtake.
“But then in the end it was second place and I am also happy. I am happy to be here in Most, in front of lots of German visitors and for this time second place.
“OK so I lose out, but it doesn’t matter Adam, we fight again.”
3rd – Steffi Halm
“Yes, I was starting from 4th position and I know that Adam (Lacko) and Jochen (Hahn) will be very quick in the race and so the goal for me was to overtake Norbert (Kiss), which I did.
“Then we had the full course yellow and I wasn’t asleep, but I thought we weren’t allowed to overtake until the start/finish straight. Norbert looked to overtake, but then he got a drive through penalty, so in the end it was easy to finish third.
“I actually was catching the first two, but really because they were fighting, which made them slower. I am really glad to be here in third place today after a difficult second day at the Hungaroring.”
RACE 2
1st Ryan Smith
“I could not be happier. We’ve had problems all weekend with the braking system on the truck. Then we were in P2 on the grid for this race, so we thought we would give it our best shot.
“I have to pay credit to René (Reinert) as he played so fair on that last lap when I was under big pressure and we came together. He was faster than me in many parts of the circuit, but his racing was correct, his driving style was really good and he showed big respect, not only to the FIA, but to me as well.
“To be sharing this stage with René (Reinert) and Steffi (Halm) - they are two of the top drivers in the European Truck Racing Championship and I feel honoured to be here with them. “
2nd René Reinert
“Well, Ryan (Smith) had a great race, he was fighting all the time and he was lapping well and so it was hard to get close to him. In the last couple of laps, I was close and then on the last lap there was a little mistake and I was very close and we hit each other and I could then overtake him. But then I thought that is was not so fair for me and I felt it was the right thing to do, to let him back passed and have the second place here.”
3rd Steffi Halm
“Perfect yes. I never expected it as I was on the third row for the start and so I planned to stay calm and see what happens at the start. My start was OK. Janiec was in front and Sasha was in front with all of us stuck behind and waiting for a mistake by the truck in front. But actually it worked out well and I never expected to finish on the podium.”
You mention the queue behind Sasha Lenz there and it is something that often happens in the reverse grid races. Can you perhaps explain a little more about the strategy for these reverse grids?
“So yes, this is why the championship has a reverse grid, so that maybe a driver who is not the fastest and therefore would not normally be on pole position can start from there.
“It often means that the trucks are then very close and it is very difficult to overtake without making contact and so you have to wait for a mistake, to put a bit of pressure on the driver in front. I think it is a good idea, but especially here it is very, very hard to make positions and go forward.”