Check out what the drivers said after the first two races of the 2017 FIA European Truck Racing Championship at Red Bull Ring
Race 1
Jochen Hahn – Hahn Racing IVECO
“It was the first start of the season and it looks like I overslept at the start a little bit. Steffi [Halm] started very well and all of a sudden she was alongside me, and I thought ‘oh no, now I’m second’, but we handled it very fair over the first two corners. She gave me the respect and I gave her the respect, so I could hold on to the first place. After I was able to control the pace. I’m very happy for Iveco, first race, first win – job done!”
Steffi Halm – Reinert Racing MAN
“For me it was most important to make a good start and it worked. We went together, side by side, into the first corner. I gave him [Jochen Hahn] the space inside into the second corner, there was enough gap between us and the third and fourth guys, and then I tried to follow him, but he was always a little bit faster than me. I’ve tried to have a good race, set constant lap times without any mistakes or touching corner markers. In the end, this is my best result in the first race [of a weekend], without reversed grid, so to finish second – for me it’s perfect."
Gerd Körber - Team Schwaben-Truck IVECO
"Three Germans on the podium, you can think it’s a national championship! I was sixth on the grid for the race and I had a really good start. Everybody was very fair into the first corner, it was not like last year when there was a lot of problems there. I went up into fourth place after the start, directly behind [Sasha] Lenz. I was following him for some laps and I think I was better on the brakes and that was the reason that allowed me to overtake him. It was after that overtake when the problems started. I had no pressure in my water cooling system and my brake temperatures went up and also the air for the clutch, so I couldn’t shift any gears –I was driving in eighth gear all the time.
“With three laps to go, Adam’s [Lacko] team-mate [Alen Dragonovic] re-joined after a drive-through penalty just in front of me and he completely blocked me for the last couple of laps and Adam was closing in on me, so it was not easy to finish third, but we are third. Two Iveco’s on the podium – I’d like to say thank you very much to everyone in the team for preparing my truck.”
Race 2
Jose Rodrigues – Reboconorte MAN
“I’m very happy to be the first ever Portuguese winner in the FIA ETRA. Being second on the grid, I looked at the other guys and I knew I have a good chance of winning this and I did my best. I went passed [Markus] Altenstrasser and I concentrated on controlling the pace, extending the gap lap by lap and not making any mistakes. Now I know that I will return home being very happy."
Norbert Kiss – Taknkpool24 Racing Mercedes-Benz
“Unfortunately there was no chance to catch Jose. When I went passed [Markus] Altenstrasser he was already so far away and it was impossible. Markus was really defending hard, but I managed to find my way through in the two last turns, which are my favourite overtaking places. After that I was running in clear air and that’s good for the engine, to give it a bit of cool air and in effect I was able to pick up my pace a little bit and run away from Gerd, because he was coming at me really fast from behind.”
Gerd Korber – Team Schwaben-Truck IVECO
“I’m absolutely happy for the team and for myself. We’ve earned a lot of points on the first day, when I compare it to last year – last year there was a lot of damage and this year we have a lot of points. I must say, the race was hard, but very, very fair. I think we all respect each other.
“After we overtook Markus (Altenstrasser), tyres and brakes were overheating and [Jose] Rodrigues was too far away, but I’m happy for him (Rodrigues) – it’s the first victory for the Rodrigues family. Let’s see what we can do tomorrow.”