The first ever GRAMMER TRUCK CUP produced plenty of action at Misano last weekend...
Frenchman Thomas Robineau emerged on top of the points table in the new GRAMMER TRUCK CUP for chrome-categorised drivers following the FIA European Truck Racing Championship opening round at Misano last weekend.
All four races featured extremely close combat, with a lot of paint traded between the drivers in all four races.
Five different drivers stood on the GRAMMER TRUCK CUP podium and three enjoyed victories, but it was 28-year-old Robineau who, thanks to a win and two further podium finishes, enjoyed a points lead as the championship moves on to the Hungaroring for round two of the championship next month.
Robineau, driving an MAN run by his family Team Robineau outfit, started his weekend off with second place in Race One, and then added a victory, a third place and a ninth to accumulate 40-points in total.
His Race Two performance was particularly impressive, as in addition to a GRAMMER TRUCK CUP victory, he also secured an excellent sixth place overall.
Behind Robineau there is an extremely tight situation within the standings, as only five points separate positions second to seventh.
Despite losing out on a podium finish, but thanks to impressive consistency with a pair of fourth places accompanied by a fifth and a sixth, Ray Coleman ended up second overall, with 34-points to his name in the GRAMMER TRUCK CUP.
Former rally driver and truck racing newcomer, Jamie Anderson, completed the weekend’s top three with two GRAMMER TRUCK CUP victories and 31 points scored.
Steffen Faas, who’s now a full-timer with Team Tankpool24 Racing’s Mercedes-Benz truck, scored his second career cup win in Race Four and proved that he will be a force to be reckoned with this season.
The German lies fourth in the standings with 30-points gathered, the exactly same amount as scored by fifth overall Eduardo Rodrigues.
There were also others who showed great potential over the weekend but didn’t have luck on their side.
Shane Brereton finished second on two occasions but a retirement in Race One and a drive through penalty resulting in an eighth placed finish in Race Four were only enough for sixth position in the points.
Rookie Oly Janes scored a third and a second but Race One retirement and a throttle problem in Race Four placed him eighth overall.
Another newcomer, Spain’s Luis Recuenco, who partners Antonio Albacete at Truck Sport Lutz Bernau squad, finished all four races, gaining valuable experience, with his best result being a fourth place in Race Four.
Czech truck racing veteran Frankie Vojtisek suffered a heart-breaking event as his truck caught fire spectacularly in Race One, cutting his weekend short. The Czech veteran will be working flat-out to try and rebuild his truck for Hungaroring.
GRAMMER AG’s Bernhard Weigl hailed the event a great success over the weekend, saying: “We’re very impressed, especially that now we’re a partner of the FIA ETRC.
“It was wonderful, the weather was nice and there was fair play between the drivers during the races. It was really a great weekend.”