The season entry list for the 2019 FIA ETRC season has been issued....
The 2019 FIA European Truck Racing Championship has today announced an initial and provisional list of full-season entries for the forthcoming season.
This year will see another excellent FIA ETRC season entry with grids set to be bolstered by several race-by-race entrants during the course of the 8 event, 32-race season, as well as some expected further entries.
Heading the list is reigning champion and the most successful driver in FIA ETRC history is Jochen Hahn.
The five-times champion, who dominated in 2018 with 12 race wins in his immaculate Team Hahn IVECO is out to defend his crown and add an unprecedented sixth title to his glittering record.
Hahn’s chief rival over the last couple of seasons, Adam Lacko, will be determined to re-claim the title that he achieved in 2017 with the ultra-slick Buggyra Racing.
Lacko will have a brand new Freightliner truck this season and early indications from a recent test at Autodrom Most are that he will take the fight to Hahn.
Two other previous champions join Lacko on the grid with Antonio Albacete (Trucksport Lutz Bernau) and Norbert Kiss (Tankpool24 Racing), targeting the addition of more wins to add to their impressive CV’s.
Albacete claimed a fine third position in last season campaign as the wily Spaniard used all of his experience to take four wins on the way to his best season since 2014.
Kiss will be fighting hard to fightback from a tough 2018 which saw the rapid Hungarian finish fifth in the standings with just a single win at the Slovakia Ring to his name.
Sascha Lenz was a model of consistency in his SL Trucksport MAN last season and will be aiming to capitalise on his best ever FIA ETRC season in 2018.
The German was the only driver to score points in each of the 32 encounters and collated enough to take a brilliant fourth in the standings.
Sure to also be a threat this season is Steffi Halm who, after making the switch from Reinert Racing to Team Schwabentruck at the end of 2017, added two more wins to her career tally in his first season in an IVECO truck.
Arguably the most successful female racing drivers currently competing in an FIA championship, Halm has a huge following of fans and will be aiming to better her sixth place finish in the 2018 points table.
Halm’s former team boss and teammate, René Reinert, made a welcome and race-winning return to the FIA ETRC last season.
Now he returns with an IVECO truck, built by title-winning Team Hahn Racing outfit, and will be looking to move up in the pecking order.
André Kursim is another member of the growing IVECO family. The young charger who finished runner-up in the 2017 Promoter’s Cup has been making constant progress from season to season and this year should be no different, given the Sven Walter fronted Don’t Touch Racing operation enters its second season.
The Rodrigues clan will also return to action with a pair of Reboconort-branded trucks for the first ever FIA ETRC race-winner from Portugal, Jose Rodrigues, and his father Eduardo, who has come out of a brief retirement to compete once again.
Eduardo will share his truck with grandson Jose-Eduardo Rodrigues at events in 2019.
Rally convert Jamie Anderson, who showed a lot of promise during his rookie campaign last year, should also be in the hunt for GRAMMER TRUCK CUP honours, now having a year of experience to lean on.
Anderson’s compatriot Oly Janes will also be among the favourites for GRAMMER TRCUK CUP honours. A season alongside Lacko in a Buggyra-run truck allowed him to gain valuable experience over the course of his rookie FIA ETRC season last term.
Similarly, Luis Recuenco who spent a year learning the ropes alongside a vastly experienced team-mate, Albacete, could also fight for podium and possible GRAMMER TRUCK CUP victories
Terry Gibbon will also be part of the championship and, with a further developed truck, especially on the engine front. Gibbon and the well-drilled T Sport Racing squad will be aiming to develop further in 2019 and take the fight to their GRAMMER TRUCK CUP rivals.
France will be represented by Dominique Orsini who, as usual, will do his best to punch above his weight in his family run Mercedes-Benz.
A brand new face for the 2019 season will be Fabio Citignola, who will join Norbert Kiss at the Tankpool24 Racing team in a Mercedes-Benz truck.
20-year-old German driver Citignola will be the youngest season entrant and comes to the FIA ETRC after competing in the Audi Sport R8 LMS Cup and Renault Clio Cup recently.
The FIA ETRC kicks-off at World Circuit Marco Simoncelli Misano in Italy on 25/26 May with the first four races of the
QUOTES:
Rolf Werner, ETRA Director
“2019 is set to see more great FIA ETRC action and we are delighted to reveal our season competitors.
“This season we will have further additions to the grid in the shape of several race-by-race entrants who will add to the regular field and ensure some more unforgettable action.
“It is an important year for the FIA ETRC both on and off the track as we consolidate our ethos of making exciting and engaging race weekends for fans and industry partners alike.
“The FIA ETRC is often referred to as a big welcoming family and we want to push this further in 2019 with our #onetruckfamily campaign which will embrace and celebrate truck heroes on the roads as well as the race track.”
Christoph Gerlach, ETRA Director
“We have another exceptionally competitive field this season and there is a genuine air of excitement that we will see again multiple race winners and a great title fight.
“I want to thank the teams and drivers for their dedication over the winter months and their enthusiasm and professionalism in developing their new packages for a fresh campaign.
“With a stable calendar full of challenging circuits and great locations we can once again look forward to another thrilling season of great FIA ETRC competition.”
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2019 FIA ETRC – SEASON ENTRY LIST |
||||
|
N° |
TEAM |
MAKE |
DRIVER |
NATIONALITY |
|
1 |
Team Hahn Racing |
IVECO |
Jochen Hahn |
German |
|
7 |
Anderson Racing |
MAN |
Jamie Anderson |
British |
|
11 |
Don’t Touch Racing |
IVECO |
André Kursim |
German |
|
14 |
Rebonconort Truck Racing Team |
MAN |
José Rodrigues |
Portuguese |
|
19 |
Team Orsini Racing |
MERCEDES-BENZ |
Dominique Orsini |
French |
|
22 |
Buggyra Racing |
FREIGHTLINER |
Oliver Janes |
British |
|
23 |
Truck Sport Lutz Bernau |
MAN |
Antonio Albacete |
Spanish |
|
30 |
SL Trucksport |
MAN |
Sasha Lenz |
German |
|
37 |
T-Sport Racing |
MAN |
Terry Gibbon |
British |
|
38 |
Rebonconort Truck Racing Team |
MAN |
Eduardo Rodrigues |
Portuguese |
|
44 |
Team Schwabentruck |
IVECO |
Stephanie Halm |
German |
|
55 |
Buggyra Racing |
FREIGHTLINER |
Adam Lacko |
Czech |
|
64 |
Truck Sport Lutz Bernau |
MAN |
Luis Recuenco |
Spanish |
|
77 |
Reinert Racing |
IVECO |
René Reinert |
German |
|
TBA |
Team Tankpool24 Racing |
MERCEDES-BENZ |
Fabio Citignola |
German |
|
TBA |
Team Tankpool24 Racing |
MERCEDES-BENZ |
Norbert Kiss |
Hungarian |
TEAMS’ ENTRY LIST
|
N° |
TEAM |
MAKE |
DRIVERS |
|
1 / 44 |
DIE BULLEN VON IVECO MAGIRUS |
IVECO |
Jochen HAHN / Stephanie HALM |
|
22 / 55 |
BUGGYRA Racing 1969 |
FREIGHTLINER |
Adam LACKO / Oliver JANES |
|
23 / 30 |
LÖWEN POWER |
MAN |
Antonio ALBACETE / Sascha LENZ |
|
14 / 38 |
REBOCONORT RACING TEAM |
MAN |
José RODRIGUES / Eduardo RODRIGUES |
|
TBA |
TANKPOOL24 Racing |
MERCEDES-BENZ |
Fabio Citignola / Norbert Kiss |