Jochen Hahn claimed his third pole position of the FIA European Truck Racing Championship season with a blistering lap at the end of the Super Pole shoot-out.
Jochen Hahn claimed pole position for today’s opening FIA European Truck Racing Championship race with a blistering lap at the end of the Super Pole shoot-out.
Reigning champion Hahn, aboard his Team Hahn Racing Iveco, was third for much of the 10-minute session before he found clear track space at the very end to go fastest by 0.335s. The German claimed his third pole position of the season for this afternoon’s opening race, echoing his good results here 12 months ago when he was fastest in both Super Pole sessions and took two race wins.
Norbert Kiss was fastest for much of Super Pole but the Hungarian lost out just at the very end. His Tankpool 24 Racing Mercedes-Benz displayed better pace than in free practice, but the Hungarian had insufficient time left in the session to fight back against Hahn.
Local hero Adam Lacko was third fastest in his Buggyra International Racing System-run Freightliner, the Czech ace missing out on a front row grid slot by 45-thousandths of a second but the championship leader will be eager for a solid points haul in race one.
Antonio Albecete’s Truck Sport Lutz Bernau MAN was fourth fastest, half a second away from Hahn, while Steffi Halm, who had topped the first qualifying session, was fifth in her Reinert Racing-run MAN.
Sixth fastest was British ace Ryan Smith (a winner here last season) in his MAN, ahead of the second Freightliner of David Vršecký to keep both Buggyra International Racing System-run rigs in the top seven. The top 10 was completed by Germans Sascha Lenz (SL Trucksport MAN) and Gerd Körber (Team Shwabentruck Iveco) ahead of José Rodrigues, whose Reboconorte Truck Team MAN headed the Promoter’s Cup.
The timed practice that determined who would make it to the Super Pole session was headed by Steffi Halm who came out on top.
The session was affected by yellow flags after André Kursim who, following a technical issue, left his stranded Team Tankpool24 Racing Mercedes-Benz by the pit wall.
The female racer narrowly eclipsed Kursim’s team-mate Norbert Kiss, with Antonio Albacete rounding up the top three. Behind the leading trio, it was Jochen Hahn, followed by the Buggyra International Racing System duo of local aces, Adam Lacko and David Vršecký. Then it was Sascha Lenz, Gerd Körber, Promoter’s Cup pace-setter José Rodrigues and Brit Ryan Smith completing the top 10 that made it to the Super Pole shoot out.
Shane Brereton’s late run was only good enough for 11th, leaving him the first one among those who didn’t make to the Super Pole session. The Brit was second fastest in the Promoter’s Cup, pushing local man, from Most, Frankie Vojtisek down to 12th overall and third in the cup.
French Cup regular Grzegorz Ostaszewski qualified 15th, making his first FIA ETRC appearance since 2013 in his Team 14 Renault truck.
French driver Maurice Monfrino missed the session as his team was hard at work to cure the excessive smoking of his Volvo that caused his free practice lap times to be disallowed.
Race one will begin at 14:50 local time.