Read what Ryan Smith had to say about his busy weekend at Nürburgring. The popular British racer saw plenty of action as he and 20 other trucks wowed the huge crowd throughout the weekend.
After each race weekend we catch up with one of the drivers to get their summary of how it all went.
Ryan Smith is driving for the OXXO Energy Truck Race Team and the the British driver is competing as a race-by-race entrant this year, after a deal with the Hungarian team was announced in March.
Smith is competing in the British Championship (BTRA) this year, but is dovetailing this with at least four rounds of the FIA European Truck Racing Championship (FIA ETRC). Smith, a highly competitive and entertaining driver, is hoping that along with the professional OXXO Energy Truck Race Team, he will be a full season entrant in 2017
We caught up with Ryan in the team truck last Sunday after a double weekend workload thanks to entering both the FIA ETRC and the supporting Mittelrhein Cup races which count toward the BTRA.
Ryan says.......
The first main action for us was the FIA ETRC Q1 which went really well - although the boss (Akos Jobbágy, Team Manager at OXXO Energy Truck Race Team) was not so happy with my lines, but we qualified in P6.
“The first race of the FIA ETRC was just before race one of the Mittelrhein Cup, so I said to the team that I would be a little circumspect, but actually I think that this cautious approach caused the problem in T1, when I spun and went to the back of the pack. I then got up to 11th which obviously wasn’t good enough for the reverse grid for race two of the FIA ETRC (the top eight finishes in race one are reversed for race two).
“So then for our weekend’s race two, the Mittelrhein Cup, we had qualified on pole by quite a comfortable margin. From the front we then drove away and extended a 10-second lead. With two laps to go there was a red flag and we took the race win. This was a this was superb result, as we had achieved a key part of what we had come here to do.
“The second race in the FIA ETRC and again we started in the wrong position (down in 11th) and this meant a race with some big, big fights to end up in eighth place.
Then coming to Sunday and qualifying. We were very very hopeful for this second FIA ETRC qualifying session. We went out and then in turn one on the out lap the rose joint on the steering arm snapped. Thankfully it snapped on the outlap and not the fast lap, or we would have been in serious trouble. So of course, you know what this means, it puts me at the back of the grid for the first race of the day.
“We also had to repair the rose joint under real pressure to be ready for the Mittelrhein Cup race. This event also has a top eight reverse grid, so we started from eighth position. There is a red flag and a restart and Akos (Jobbágy) is on the team radio, giving me good advice; stick to the line, stick to your job and we eventually on the last lap overtook Jenkins for the race win. So win-win, our National Championship weekend is complete.
“For the third of the FIA ETRC races it started to rain on the pre-grid we go on the grid and they decide to start the race under double waved yellows, which is two laps in single file. The problem is by the time you get to go racing the leading pack have been allowed to get away and are 20+seconds down the road. Anyway, I had to settle for 14th position having started from the back of the grid.
“For the last FIA ETRC race I was very tired after a strenuous weekend, but I have got to say it was one of the most enjoyable of the whole event.
“We started in P14, we overtook seven trucks and had a massive fight with (Gerd) Körber, which must have been very entertaining for the fans and viewers. Obviously, we try to be as clean as possible, but it was a very, very good race and overall a successful weekend for us.
“Obviously, as a team we are a little disappointed with what happened here in the FIA ETRC races, as we know we could have done much, much better, but sometimes you have good luck and sometimes you have bad luck. 
“So, overall the weekend has been fantastic. I have to say the new organisers have been great. They have been very supportive, keeping all the drivers in the know, promoting the series to the fans, running events for the fans and also for the drivers. We all had great fun at the table football event they organised for the teams in the fan village (Thursday evening) to bring us all together.”
Ryan’s weekend in numbers:
|
Qualifying (Superpole) 1 |
6th |
|
Qualifying (Superpole) 2 |
14th |
|
Race 1 |
11th |
|
Race 2 |
8th |
|
Race 3 |
14th |
|
Race 4 |
7th |
|
Position in Driver Championship: |
12th (having competed at two rounds) |