Read what the drivers said after two thrilling Sunday races at Nogaro in the latest rounds of the 2016 FIA European Truck Racing Championship
Race 3
Jochen Hahn
Yesterday, you were not so happy with the race finishes (despite 3rd and 2nd)
“Yes, but today I am very happy. Today we had the same problems in the timed practice, like so I cannot find the limit easily. We don’t know yet if it is the truck or me. But for the race I feel good, I feel confident with the set up for the race and I had a fantastic start. Adam (Lacko) gave me fair space on the first corner, then in the second corner I am up close and then attack, maximum attack and I got through.
“Right at the end of the race the yellow flags come out (for Kleinnagelvoort accident) and so we must go carefully with the speed.
“But actually in the second half I think he (Lacko) goes a little bit faster and on every lap he is closing until I feel him in my back almost!– I am sweating, so it wasn’t an easy race, but I won and I am very happy.”
There is clearly a lot of respect and trust between the two of you to enable you to go side by side in the trucks on quite a tight circuit.
“You can watch right through the season and I can tell you with Adam (Lacko) and me, even if we have a bit of contact, then it is not big aggression, we have a lot of respect between us.
“Actually now there are more drivers you can feel more like this, so with René (Reinert) he is getting better and better and also with Steffi, and in fact the first five or six drivers have this respect to be able to go wheel-to-wheel with. And this is what we need or you just end up with damaged trucks at the side.
Adam Lacko
Just talk us through your opening couple of corners with Jochen
“Yes, at the start we are side by side, but very fair. Actually to get pole here isn’t necessarily best as there is actually only one corner to the left then five corners to the right where Jochen (Hahn) is inside and this is better.
“So then, when I see I am outside and it is dangerous I drop back behind Jochen because when we go side-by-side then also maybe René (Reinert) is coming and you can end dropping back to third instead of second position. But this is all part of racing and I am second and I am happy to have more points.”
You often seem to find some additional pace in the second half of the races
“Yes, if you look at previous races as well we are towards the end a little bit faster because we have a more stable truck and also it may have been that Jochen felt he was safely in the lead and could ease off a little bit.”
A superb qualifying lap in Super Pole as well today – you found a great boost there
“Yes, we made a small change, and it was perfect. After some problems yesterday it was good in the race because we see towards the end (of the race) that we are a little bit faster than Jochen, but at the start not so much and so we will now look for improvements for the start of race four.”
Race 4
Adam Lacko
Your thoughts on that race win Adam?
“Yes, great to finally get a win this weekend, but a shame that for race four it is always fewer points, so Jochen (Hahn) gets more points for his win!
“But actually it is very nice to have this win. At the start it was very fast but Jochen is also there and when I pass, he also passes and so we go through like twins.”
So Jochen, what is your strategy on a reverse grid, where you can end up with somebody not so experienced at being in pole?
When you have slower trucks in the front in the second race (Saturday and Sunday), normally we wait to see. For example here, Rodrigues was in pole position yesterday and today and he is not experienced to be there and so we sit back and maybe even do nothing in the first corner and then we watch him (Lacko) and just follow him through, like a train.
For us, it is actually a lot of fun in these second races, as there is some great racing, but you must handle it with care and in the end it is fine.
And of course Adam these races are often good for the spectators
“Yes, it is exciting for the spectators. Often there is a small contact which is great for the fans who are coming to the truck racing.
Steffi Halm
So, it has been a bit of a tough weekend for you here, but how was that race for you in the end?- Steffi was speaking before her penalty.
“It was very hard at the start, as I didn’t want to risk too much and I was very lucky that I didn’t get involved in the accident and so I made it through to third and then tried to overtake Sasha (Lenz) and even though for sure he was slower, I couldn’t find a way through because my exit was worse than his.
“So, I couldn’t get alongside him and then Adam was behind me he saw a chance to get by and then Jochen also followed him through. But then when they both overtook Sascha I was able to squeeze by too. Then I tried to keep pace with the two of them, so that was when they caught up with Janiec to fight with him, then maybe I could also find a way to pass him too.
“But in the end it was really hard as it always difficult to overtake Janiec, as he is fighting really hard and he does not give you space. You try to give him space, but sometimes it is difficult.
“When I finished the race I just thought I was fourth, so in the end I was really happy when they said you have to go to the podium.
So just to take you back to the incident you mentioned at the start of the race, when sadly your teammate René (Reinert) ended up in the gravel. Were you able to see what happened?
“So I think he got a push, but I didn’t see who (did it). I tried to overtake Rodrigues at the start, but I couldn’t pass him and then he was braking a little bit too late and I don’t know if Rodrigues hit René or if another one was involved. René was on the outside line and normally this is the good line to overtake the slower trucks, but in the end the inside line was the better line as we could pass on the exit. I don’t know where it started, I just saw that René seemed to get a big hit and he spun, and it all got a bit sticky there.”