Steffi Halm took her second pole position of the year after she clinched the top spot at Le Mans Bugatti today.
Steffi Halm took her second pole position of the year after she clinched the top spot at Le Mans Bugatti today.
The pole for this afternoon’s first race of the weekend comes after she claimed her first at the season-opening round held at the Red Bull Ring in May.
The Reinert Racing MAN driver eclipsed Timed Practice pace-setter Norbert Kiss by 0.198s.
Kiss will line up alongside Halm, in his Team Tankpool34 Racing Mercedes-Benz race truck.
Sascha Lenz did a respectable job by qualifying third fastest in his self-run SL Trucksport MAN, leaving many more-decorated drivers behind.
The German young charger will have his vastly more experienced compatriot, Jochen Hahn (Team Hahn Racing/Iveco), for company on row two of the grid for race one later.
Antonio Albacete, driving the Truck Sport Lutz Bernau MAN, who was within the top three during both free practice sessions held earlier in the day, rounded out the top five. The Spanish racer will be joined by former two-time champion David Vršecký on row three of the grid.
Vršecký, this time the faster of the Freightliners run by Buggyra International Racing System team, will start one place ahead of his team-mate Adam Lacko, who has a chance of sealing his first FIA ETRC title this weekend.
Returning to the Championship after missing the round at Zolder, Shane Brereton (TOR Truck Racing MAN) was fastest amongst the Promoter’s Cup runners in eighth overall, ahead of André Kursim, who is in a rich vein of form following his stellar performance in Belgium a week ago. Veteran racer Gerd Körber completed the top ten in his Team Schwabentruck Iveco.
Timed Practice
Norbert Kiss topped the earlier timed practice sessions, keeping Steffi Halm at bay (+0.401). Antonio Albacete completed the top three, with Sascha Lenz being the best of the rest. David Vršecký was the leading Freightliner in fifth overall. Meanwhile, Gerd Körber was the fastest of the Iveco trucks, just ahead of his Die Bullen von Iveco Magirus teammate Jochen Hahn.
Adam Lacko went only eighth-quickest, doing enough to earn a place in the Super Pole session. Promoter’s Cup front-runners André Kursim and Shane Brereton also made it to the Super Pole session.
British series regular, returning to FIA ETRC for the first time since 2012, David Jenkins was the first one amongst those we didn't go through to the Super Pole session in 11th overall. Places 12th to 14th went to Erwin Kleinnagelvoort (Scania), José Eduardo Rodrigues (Reboconorte/MAN) and Cees Zandbergen in his distinctive 'rainbow warrior' Scania.
Manuel Rodrigues and Promoter's Cup points leader José Rodrigues failed to qualify.
