Part two of the mid-season review of the FIA European Truck Racing Championship season entrants looks at the middle order drivers in the championship.
Part two of the mid-season review of the FIA European Truck Racing Championship season entrants looks at the middle order drivers in the championship. Once again this group features drivers from the full range of age and experience that this massively popular championship attracts.
There have been four rounds of the FIA ETRC so far (Spielberg, Misano, Nogaro and the Nürburgring) and fans have already seen five race winners (Lacko, Hahn, Reinert, Halm and Kiss) and eight different pole sitters (races one and three - Hahn, Lacko, Kiss; reverse grids in races three or four - T Robineau, Smith, S Lenz, Rodrigues; Forman).
As well as the 13 season entries, the FIA ETRC has attracted another 10 race-by-race entrants and we hope to see a few more new faces over the course of the remaining five rounds and 20 remaining races of the exciting 2016 season.
The drivers featured here are often in the heart of the battles taking place for championship points, but always hoping to find a way through to the podium.
Name: Jiří Forman (CZE)
Team: Buggyra International Racing System
Truck: Freightliner
Place in championship: 10th (33 points)
This cheerful Czech Driver is one of the championship’s most promising young guns.
With little experience of circuit racing, Forman joined the Buggyra International Racing System team this season after veteran David Vršecký moved to another role within the organisation.
After an assured debut event at Spielberg on a very tight circuit and in tricky wet conditions for the Sunday races he got off to a great start with 14 championship points. Forman has since taken points at every round and had a very unexpected podium in Nogaro after a number of drivers were given penalties for over-speeding.
The youngster will be targeting a move up the finishing order in the second half of the season and will certainly be hoping for a few more wet races as these conditions seems to suit the Buggyra ‘Fat Fox’ which has a good weight distribution for a greasy track.
Name: Ellen Lohr (DEU)
Team: Truck Sport Lutz Bernau
Truck: MAN
Place in championship: 9th (40 points)
Ellen Lohr is one of the most experienced racers in the field. The Monaco domiciled German has an impressive racing CV including Formula Ford, F3, the International Touring Car Championship and the gruelling Dakar Rally. Ellen is the only woman to win a round of the highly competitive DTM championship.
Lohr has raced for a number of teams in European Truck Racing and is experiencing a season full of action in 2016. Highlights have included equalling her personal best result in Nogaro (4th) and some great battles, notably with Sascha Lenz.
In the last event at the Nürburgring Lohr was in a fantastic side-by-side duel with the British driver Shane Brereton, and in the final race they gave a great demonstration of hard but clean truck racing, with Lohr getting the upper hand eventually to score more points. Indeed, she followed that up with more points scoring performances at her home track.
Going into the second half of the season, Lohr is really hoping to finally find a way onto an FIA ETRC podium and to also continue the fine start to her partnership with Wow! Women on Wheels teammate Steffi Halm.
Name: Sascha Lenz (DEU)
Team: S.L Racing Team Germany
Truck: MAN
Place in championship: 8th (49 points)
If you cut Sasha Lenz he would probably bleed trucking diesel. His father (Heinz-Werner Lenz), raced in the championship for many years, and was even back at the ‘Ring last time out as a race-by-race event. His mother is Silvia Lenz, who is the SL Racing Team Manager.
Like many of the drivers competing in the FIA ETRC Sascha is both driver and mechanic which is one of the many idiosyncrasies of this championship that makes it stands out from other motorsport series.
Lenz has shown a real improvement in his driving and has been having a steady points scoring season.
Unfortunately, his home race at the Nürburgring will be one he is keen to forget, an 8th in race one, being the only highlight in a weekend beset with technical problems.
Lenz will be keen to find form again in the second half of the FIA ETRC season and to try to break into the top half of the point scoring positions.
Name: Gerd Körber (DEU)
Team: Schwabentruck Racing
Truck: IVECO
Place in championship: 7th (63 points)
Körber would undoubtedly be further up the championship table if he hadn’t had to miss the four races in Nogaro earlier this year.
The German veteran is a hard, highly competitive racer who can generally be found right at the heart of the action.
Perhaps the biggest surprise is that he has made just one trip to the podium this year, when he scored a third place in the final race of the day back in Spielberg, in his brand new Iveco truck.
Watch out for this battle-ready driver in the remaining five rounds of the championship as he attempts to shake off some of the bad luck which has seen him lose points so far this year.
Special Mentions
They may not be season entrants, but Markus Altenstrasser and Ryan Smith have done enough in their two outings in Spielberg and the Nürburgring to lie 11th and 12th respectively in the FIA ETRC driver standings.
The Austrian driver, Altenstrasser, racing for the Schwabentruck Racing Team had a great first day at his home event when he took two third place positions. Whilst he didn’t fare so well in Sunday’s wet races he still walked away with 21 points. The last round in Germany didn’t go quite so well, but he still scored some points from packed grids and very eventful races.
British star, Ryan Smith, joined back-to-back championship winning team, OXXO Energy Racing after Norbert Kiss moved onto pastures new last winter. It was a late deal and Smith had already committed to a full season of racing in the British Championship.
There is no doubt that Smith is a promising talent and also one who entertains the crowd – witness his comeback drives in Austria and Germany. Having already scored one podium this season don’t be surprised if he scores more, although the pressure will be on in Hungary which is OXXO Energy’s home event.
Hopefully we will see both drivers make more appearances at the remaining five events of the championship and consider being full season 2017 entrants in the popular and exciting FIA ETRC.
Editor’s Notes
ETRC 2016 calendar dates:
|
30 April/1 May |
Austria |
Red Bull Ring |
|
28/29 May |
Italy |
Misano |
|
11/12 June |
France |
Nogaro |
|
2/3 July |
Germany |
Nürburgring |
|
27/28 August |
Hungary |
Hungaroring |
|
3/4 September |
Czech Republic |
Most |
|
17/18 September |
Belgium |
Zolder |
|
1/2 October |
Spain |
Jarama |
|
8/9 October |
France |
Le Mans |
FIA ETRC 2016 Season Entrants List:
|
Team |
Nat. Team |
Driver |
Nat. Driver |
No. |
Vehicle |
|
Tankpool 24 Racing |
DEU |
Norbert Kiss |
HUN |
1 |
MERCEDES-BENZ |
|
Jochen Hahn |
DEU |
Jochen Hahn |
DEU |
3 |
MAN |
|
Lion Truck Racing |
FRA |
Anthony Janiec |
FRA |
8 |
MAN |
|
Truck Sport Lutz Bernau |
DEU |
Ellen Lohr |
MCO |
10 |
MAN |
|
Eduardo Rodrigues |
PRT |
Eduardo Rodrigues |
PRT |
11 |
MAN |
|
Czech Truck Racing Team |
CZE |
Frantisek Vojtíšek |
CZE |
12 |
MAN |
|
Erwin Kleinnagelvoort |
NLD |
Erwin Kleinnagelvoort |
NLD |
15 |
SCANIA |
|
Tankpool 24 Racing |
DEU |
André Kurism |
DEU |
24 |
MERCEDES-BENZ |
|
Team Schwaben |
DEU |
Gerhard Körber |
DEU |
27 |
IVECO |
|
Sascha Lenz |
DEU |
Sascha Lenz |
DEU |
30 |
MAN |
|
Stephanie Halm |
DEU |
Stephanie Halm |
DEU |
44 |
MAN |
|
Buggyra International Racing System |
CZE |
Adam Lacko |
CZE |
55 |
FREIGHTLINER |
|
Reinert Racing |
DEU |
René Reinert |
DEU |
77 |
MAN |
|
Buggyra International Racing System |
CZE |
Jiří Forman |
CZE |
86 |
FREIGHTLINER |
FIA ETRC 2016 Team Championship Entrants List:
|
1 / 24 |
TANKPOOL 24 RACING |
MERCEDES BENZ |
NORBERT KISS / ANDRÉ KURSIM |
|
3 / 77 |
TEAM REINERT ADVENTURE |
MAN |
JOCHEN HAHN / RENÉ REINERT |
|
8 / 30 |
LION TRUCK RACING - LENZ |
MAN |
ANTHONY JANIEC / SASCHA LENZ |
|
10 / 44 |
WOW! WOMEN ON WHEELS |
MAN |
ELLEN LOHR / STEPHANIE HALM |
|
55 / 86 |
BUGGYRA RACING 1969 |
FREIGHTLINER |
ADAM LACKO / JIŘíÍI FORMAN |