Adam Lacko sent his home fans wild with a memorable win in race one at Autodrom Most today....
Adam Lacko took a brilliant victory in wet conditions at Autodrom Most this afternoon to send his large collection of home fans delirious with delight.
The reigning FIA ETRC champion blasted through from third on the grid to overtake first Steffi Halm and then Sascha Lenz to complete his second victory of the season.
The decisive moment in the race came on lap five when he made a textbook move on pole sitter Lenz to snatch the lead and open out an immediate small advantage.
It was a highly popular victory for Lacko as he aims to hunt down rival Jochen Hahn for the 2018 FIA European Truck Racing Championship title. His win today and Hahn’s third place mean he gained eight points to bring the gap down to 49-points.
Lenz was by no means entirely dropped by the flying Lacko and was able to stay in touch to some extent in his SL Trucksport MAN, with the German took the chequered flag just 1.8s adrift of Lacko’s slipstream.
Hahn’s fighting third place saw the four-time champion come through the field after he took a three-place grid drop due to setting his time under yellow flags. It meant he started only seventh.
Hahn headed home Antonio Albacete who was also penalised after a yellow flag infringement in qualifying saw him drop from provisional pole to fourth on the starting grid.
The fight for the final places in the top six was frenetic as Norbert Kiss in his Tankpool24 Racing Mercedes-Benz and Steffi Halm (Team Schwabentruck IVECO) fought over the position along with Albacete and a charging André Kursim (Don’t Touch Racing IVECO).
While Kiss took fifth, Kursim overtook Halm in the second phase of the race to claim a well-earned sixth. Halm came home a slightly dejected seventh just ahead of René Reinert who claimed the reverse grid pole for later this afternoon.
José Rodrigues endured a lonely afternoon in his Reboconorte MAN and finished in ninth position but not in contention with the front eight.
Janes Takes First GRAMMER Glory
The GRAMMER TRUCK CUP saw another engrossing encounter as Oly Janes took a fine victory on his debut at the Most circuit to make a red letter day for Buggyra International Racing System.
The British driver’s task was made easier after category pole sitter Shane Brereton missed the race after undergoing an engine change on his TOR MAN challenger.
Janes also took advantage of a small mistake by Jamie Anderson in the closing stages to make a surprise move on his countryman to take the maximum points score.
Anderson initially had a clear run on the GRAMMER TRUCK CUP win, leading Janes (Buggyra International Racing System) and Steffen Faas (Tankpool24 Racing Mercedes-Benz).
But the dramatic final moments of the race gave a typical unpredictable narrative to the GRAMMER TRUCK CUP story.
Luis Recuenco was running third but fell back late in the race which meant he came home seventh in class in his Trucksport Lutz Bernau MAN.
Erwin Kleinnagelvoort matched his best result of the season in fourth heading home Terry Gibbon (T-Sport MAN) and Frankie Vojtisek who pitted during the event to complete a drive-through penalty for overtaking before the start line.
Gibbon survived contact with Steffen Faas, while Recuenco suffered a hair-raising spin on the start and finish straight!
In the teams’ race, it was the combination of Lacko and Janes that took the points for Buggyra 1969. Team Reinert Adventures (René Reinert and Sascha Lenz) took second in front of the Die Bullen von IVECO Magirus duo of Steffi Halm and Jochen Hahn.
The second race at Autodrom Most will take place at 17.15 local time today.