Norbert Kiss took a well-judged win in the final race of the Nürburgring weekend...
Norbert Kiss took a hard-won second victory of his 2019 FIA European Truck Racing Championship campaign in the final race at Nürburgring this afternoon, making it a triple win for Team Tankpool24 Racing, with the outfit also winning the teams classification and the GRAMMER TRUCK CUP.
The Hungarian snatched the lead from pole-sitter André Kursim with a superb move at the end of the fifth lap to ensure Mercedes-Benz became the third different manufacturer to win from the four races held this weekend in front of a huge crowd.
Kiss, who won the third race at the opening event at Misano in May, doubled his victory tally and sent his Tankpool24 Racing team into ecstasy as they celebrated a much-needed home victory.
This was despite Kiss losing his front bodywork section after he made contact with the back of Kursim’s IVECO.
Kursim hung on to the runners-up position in his Don’t Touch Racing IVECO despite colossal pressure from Antonio Albacete’s Trucksport Lutz Bernau MAN.
Battles raged throughout the field and none more so than the fight for fourth place between Gerd Körber and Joe Rodrigues.
The pair swapped places several times in the second half of the race but the position went to José Rodrigues who finally made a move stick. The pair though was placed under investigation for their energetic efforts by the race director.
The scrap for sixth place featured a jostling group which included René Reinert, Jochen Hahn, Adam Lacko and Sascha Lenz.
Lenz had been at the sharp-end of this duel but fell back when he ran wide at the exit of Turn 2 on Lap 4.
Jochen Hahn enjoyed an energetic battle with Lacko and eventually overtook the Czech on lap five. He then homed in on Reinert and the two provided a superb fight in the final laps but it was Reinert who just held on to sixth place.
Lacko held off Lenz to claim eighth position, while the top ten was rounded out by Anthony Janiec for Lion Truck Racing.
Steffi Halm was making progress up the field in the opening laps but was forced to pit with broken steering on the third lap. This capped off a disappointing weekend for the Team Schwabentruck driver which has seen her drop from second to fifth in the points table.
Shane Brereton was unable to take part in any racing on Sunday after his Apollo TOR entry suffered a broken axle in the second race on Saturday afternoon.
Tankpool took a triple crown of trophies in race four as the Kiss/Citignola axis swept to the teams' win ahead of Löwen Power and Die Bullen von IVECO Magirus.
Citignola Takes Breakthrough GRAMMER TRUCK CUP Win
Fabio Citignola celebrated the first GRAMMER TRUCK CUP victory of his FIA ETRC career after taking a clinical victory in the final race of the weekend.
The 22-year-old German made it a perfect end to the weekend for the Tankpool24 Racing squad as he joined Norbert Kiss at the top of the respective classifications.
Citignola found himself in the lead after a Thomas Robineau was delayed in the opening exchanges and from there the Mercedes-Benz driver was never headed.
Jamie Anderson drove another brilliant ‘burn from the stern’ race as he took his Anderson Racing MAN to second position and eat further into Oly Janes’ GRAMMER TRUCK CUP points lead.
Teo Calvet made it a special day for young chargers in the GRAMMER TRUCK CUP as he took his Lion Truck Racing truck to third position, equalling his feats of last season when he made his first-ever FIA ETRC podium appearance last year.
Terry Gibbon took fourth ahead of the delayed and frustrated Thomas Robineau. Then came Luis Recuenco, José-Eduardo Rodrigues, Frankie Vojtisek, Erwin Kleinnagelvoort, Jennifer Janiec and Clemens Hecker.
Oly Janes was shunted out of contention at the first corner after contact which damaged his Buggyra Racing Freightliner and he was forced to pull off the track.
Franck Conti retired from the race on the third lap when he parked his Volvo in the pits with a technical issue.
*José Rodrigues was given a 5s penalty for leaving the track and gaining advantage on lap 10 when he overtook Gerd Körber. As a result, the Portuguese racer was demoted down to ninth place.