Norbert Kiss remains the man to beat in the ETRC Digital Racing Challenge as he scores full points again winning both races at the Slovakia Ring.
In qualifying the Hungarian driver scored a hat-trick when he claimed his third pole in a row ahead of Sascha Lenz and newcomer Jonathan Andre, who raced for the Lion Truck Racing team this weekend as a substitute for Anthony Janiec, who was busy with work commitments.
Sascha Lenz confirmed his strong form on the sim. The German stayed with Norbert Kiss throughout the race, chipping away at the gap and taking time off the Hungarian each lap. He secured his fifth podium finishing second behind the Hungarian.
Lion Racing Team Manager Jonathan Andre managed to recover from a poor start which saw him drop back into sixth. He worked his way back and had a great battle with fellow Frenchman Téo Calvet, which saw Andre get the upper hand. He closed in on Rodrigues and after a short battle made his way through to secure third place in his first race.
Whilst Téo Calvet, who started from the second row after qualifying fourth on the grid, got a good start keeping up with the top group, he struggled with the set up and dropped back through the ranks. He also got a penalty for making contact with Jamie Anderson and finished sixth in the first race.
Eduardo Rodrigues, who had been under close observation after a series of penalties in the last race, had a strong first race when he positioned himself firmly in third in the first lap. He held on to the position until the closing stages when he had to make way for Jonathan Andre.
British racer Jamie Anderson had a great start moving up into third, however he had a shock moment when he went off in turn two and dropped back into tenth. Fans were treated to a great battle between him, Antonio Albacete and Adam Lacko, who were fighting for pole position for race two, swapping places around. In the end it was the Spaniard who secured the top spot for the second race.
Race 2 got off to a turbulent start which resulted in the race being red-flagged. As the race resumed, Norbert Kiss dived out of the pack at the start and went straight up into sixth position. He chased down leading Albacete and put pressure on the Spaniard. Kiss finally made his way past and drove home what was his sixth straight win in the ETRC Digital Racing Challenge.
Sascha Lenz was on fire after the start, making his way all the way up into second behind race leader Albacete challenging for the top spot. He lost two places when battling for position but managed to catch up again. He had a great battle with Eduardo Rodrigues in the closing stages of the race for second place. Whilst he couldn’t get past the Portuguese on track, he did finish second as Rodrigues dropped back with a penalty. Lenz is the second driver other than Kiss to be on the podium in all six races so far.
Jonathan Andre showed some great sim racing skills as he worked his way up the field with some great wheel to wheel battles to secure his second podium of the day.
Antonio Albacete stayed out of trouble at the start leading the pack for the first few laps. However the red truck got closer and closer in his rear view mirror. The two drivers battled for several laps, racing hard and fair, until the Hungarian made his way past. Albacete dropped back through the field and finished fifth.
The second race didn’t go quite as well for Reboconort racing driver Eduardo Rodrigues when he made contact in the first lap and went off the track. He fought back and positioned himself firmly behind race leader Norbert Kiss. Lenz was hot on his heels looking for a way past the Portuguese however he held on to the place to cross the line in second. Unfortunately for him he was given a 30 second penalty which put him all the way down in ninth.
Adam Lacko who started on the front row alongside Albacete, made contact and got sidelined after the start. The Buggyra racing driver lost ground and finished in seventh.
The second guest entry of the weekend was Björn Tyhuis, substituting for Erwin Kleinnagelvoort, who was busy with work commitments,. The Dutchmen showed off his sim racing skills on his SCANIA truck with some great battles and finished sixth and fifth respectively.