We caught up with some of the drivers after the races yesterday to get their opinion on the events that unfolded at the challenging Jarama circuit on Saturday afternoon
RACE 1
1st – Adam Lacko
“I think it was a really interesting and tough race. It was a good start and then I could see Jochen (Hahn) in my mirrors every lap. I made sure to drive without any mistakes and to give him no chance to get really close or get by. It is good to take this first win and I hope for more from the weekend.”
2nd – Jochen Hahn
“In the timed practice there were some strange noises from the front of the truck and we weren’t sure what the problem was.
“I am happy to have taken second place in race one. Adam (Lacko) was very quick here and it was impossible to overtake. I thought I might get a chance, maybe as we came to back markers, but not today.”
3rd – René Reinert
“It is good to be on the podium. I did think that it would be possible to take the third place (from Kiss) at the start of the race, which I managed.
“So whilst it wasn’t necessarily a boring race, it was a comfortable one. It was a good result as whilst I couldn’t close the gap on Adam (Lacko) and Jochen (Hahn) I did have a comfortable lead over Kiss, which is also good for the championship.”
RACE 2
1st – Jochen Hahn
“Sometimes the drivers get to know where holes might be and then know opportunities where you might get to overtake. So from the start I was lucky and I took two positions and then at the second corner two more positions and then I am behind Ellen (Lohr) and I go directly through to take second and then get by Steffi (Halm) to take the lead.
“We want to do some more checks of the truck tonight and hopefully I will have more confidence and be able to take the pole position and maybe more race wins. The target is to go to Le Mans with a 35-point lead over Adam (Lacko), but with racing you never know. But I hope that there will be a big, big party in our tent on the Sunday evening (in Le Mans)”
2nd – Adam Lacko
“Yes, the first lap was really good, as Jochen (Hahn) and I went by a lot of trucks and I followed him through as he made the better start. First corner he was inside and then on the exit I didn’t have a chance.
“I think it was around lap 7 that I managed to pass Steffi (Halm) to take second and unfortunately Jochen (Hahn) had quite a gap and he just went around without any mistakes.
“Yes, we are quicker than a lot of the field, but honestly I think it is going to be hard to overtake him for the championship as he is finishing every race, but I will fight until the very last lap of Le Mans and there are still 90 points to play for, so we shall see.”
3rd – Steffi Halm
“For sure, starting from second place I had the goal to take first position in the first corner, which worked, even though I didn’t make the best start, but Ellen gave me the space.
“But then I looked and Jochen (Hahn) was directly there and I didn’t expect him to be there so fast. He said he had a lot of luck at the start to find a good way through all the trucks and yes, he was much faster. I always say he is quicker than me on the same tyres, but then today I was on old tyres from the quali and race one and he was on the joker tyres. At Jarama the tyres are very important as you can damage them very quickly and then you can lose a lot of time.
“But also Adam (Lacko) was very quick and so third place was the best that I could do today.
“Yes, for sure here the qualifying is very important as it is nearly impossible to overtake, unless you are much, much faster, or the truck in front of you makes a mistake. But I saw it in the first race that Janiec was much slower than me, but I couldn’t find a way to get passed him as here it is so narrow and you have to go corner by corner and it is very difficult to overtake.
“So we are coming to the end of the season and you are in that group who are challenging for 3rd place in the championship, if I had said this to you at the start of the season, would you have been happy with this.
Ellen Lohr – finished 4th
“I spent many laps feeling pretty nervous, as I was sure that I was going to lose a lot of places in the first lap.
“But I actually made a good start and as the pole sitter I could dictate the speed a little and this gave me some control.
“So Steffi (Halm) took the lead at the first corner, but then actually the only people who got by me were Jochen (Hahn) and Adam (Lacko) and these guys are just on a different planet in terms of their speed so they got by pretty quickly. Janiec then pushed me pretty hard, but then dropped back and I knew that this was my chance to stay in fourth position.
“But Rene (Reinert) was right behind me for about half the race. Then on the last lap he managed to overtake me, but I say never, never give up and I saw my chance in the final corner and I made it back passed to take 4th with less than a tenth of a second between us, it was so good to be in close racing, I enjoyed it.”
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