Here’s what the top drivers from Sunday’s races had to say at Le Mans on Sunday...
Race 3
1st Jochen Hahn – Team Hahn Racing | IVECO
“It feels good [to be a five-time champion], but first you must enjoy the races and fight with the competition.
"At the beginning of the season at Misano, I felt that we’re really strong but I could only say that I’m going to win for the championship. Now I can say that I’m the champion and that feels nice.
"Coming to Le Mans I had 66 points over Adam [Lacko] so it felt good and I didn’t feel under a lot of pressure. But then again, you still must do it, avoid mistakes and win races. We already began development for next season and it’s clear that we’re going to do it with IVECO for the next couple of years.”
2nd Sascha Lenz – SL Trucksport | MAN
“We’re really happy with P2. I saw André coming but I managed to drive consistently and maintained the gap. We’re really happy. I do not look at the points [standings] I just look at the performance during the weekend. We have one race left here and four next weekend at Jarama and after the last race we’re going to look at the points table. We’ve made a big step forward this year and that’s important.”
3rd André Kursim – Don’t Touch Racing | IVECO
“I had a good start and could take third place on the first lap. At the beginning, Steffi [Halm] was behind me and she was a little bit faster but she had Norbi [Kiss] behind her and they got busy fighting each other. That’s when I began to open up a little bit of a gap.
"Then Norbi came and I had to fight hard to keep that third place. We’re very happy. Yesterday was very good and today we’re very happy with third place again. Hopefully, we can do it next year and keep that performance going into Jarama too.”
Race 4
1st Antonio Albacete – Truck Sport Lutz Bernau | MAN
“We couldn’t find the right set-up for the circuit. It was very strange because we weren’t bad in Free Practice but in the Timed Practice we couldn’t get enough from the new tyres.
"This morning I made a mistake and I couldn’t do another lap so I was P9. Then I decided that the goal was to finish seventh or eighth and try to win the second race. We did it but it wasn’t easy, Ryan [Smith] was very fast and also Jochen [Hahn] was coming very fast from behind. I pushed but I destroyed the tyres, so I backed off and we managed [to win].
"Let’s see what happens in Jarama. I try to do the same as last year [two wins] but it’s going to be difficult. We have a good set-up for Jarama and I’m happy there. The goal is to be in front of [Sascha] Lenz and Norbert [Kiss]. The sponsors' situation is not easy but it would be a big difference to finish third rather than to finish fifth so that’s our main job.”
2nd Ryan Smith – MAN
“We had a big problem with shifting at the start. It only went in the second time. I managed to get some speed back and we went a little tight into the chicane with Steffi [Halm] and [José] Rodrigues and I think I ran over a penalty marker a little bit but I had nowhere to go. That allowed us to get back into second. From my side it was clean.
"We had a big fight with Antonio. It was clean, we were faster but he made no mistakes. There’s still a lot to learn and you don’t need just to be fast. You need a truck, the team and the organisation.
"I learned to be calm. No matter what happens with the stewards, to end the weekend with a podium it’s fantastic. I think we showed everybody what pace we have. We’re building a new truck [for next year].”
3rd Jochen Hahn – Team Hahn Racing | IVECO
"It was a great race. After securing the title it was the right time to enjoy racing and that’s what I did. It was the best race of the weekend and I’m happy to finish on the podium after I started down in eighth place.”