Catch up on the latest happenings in the chase for the 2017 Promoter's Cup after the action at Zolder last weekend
Following a disastrous weekend at Autodrom Most, where an engine failure in qualifying buried André Kursim’s chances of scoring any points, the Team Tankpool24 Racing driver promised to implement a ‘maximum attack’ strategy when the FIA European Truck Racing Championship moved on to Circuit Zolder for round seven of the series last weekend.
While Kursim was forced to leave Most without turning a wheel in any of the races, José Rodrigues (Reboconorte / MAN) collected points consistently and thanks to a win accompanied by three further podium finishes the Portuguese moved ahead of the German in the standings by 36 points.
Kursim implemented his strategy in a truly record-breaking fashion at Zolder. The German became the first ever Promoter’s Cup racer to take two overall wins. What made his achievement even more remarkable was the fact that he did it over the course of one weekend.
“It’s a bit hard to find words for this weekend,” said Kursim. “Four times on the top step of the Promoter’s Cup two overall wins and three times first place in the teams classification is more than I was ever dreaming of. After the catastrophe in Most, where I couldn’t drive a single metre, I’m more than happy and also super motivated for the last two races of this season.”
Kursim also took four Promoter’s Cup wins in one weekend, something that has never been done before.
José Rodrigues, despite being overshadowed by Kursim’s brilliant performance, took four second places and managed to stay on top of the standings.
His advantage however shrank from 36 to only 18 points and with two rounds to go and 120 points on the table, it’s all to play for in the battle for the inaugural Promoter’s Cup.
Promoter’s Cup overall standings: José Rodrigues (291 points), André Kursim (273 points), Erwin Kleinnagelvoort (165 points)
The next event on the 2017 FIA European Truck Racing Championship calendar will take place this weekend (September 23/24) at the Le Mans Bugatti circuit.