| TOP NEWS :: Truck Grand Prix – Nurburgring, Germany. :: |
Leaving behind the unusually high temperatures of this year’s summer, British Truck Racing Association teams spent the weekend of July 21st to 23rd sweltering in the equally hot environment of the Nurburgring in Germany. Seventeen teams were there to compete in rounds 4 and 5 of the British Championship, and a handful would also participate in the TMG (Truck Masters Germany) races.
By the Thursday evening most of the teams had arrived and were busy off-loading their trucks and setting up the workshop areas which would be hives of activity throughout the weekend.
Friday was a day for testing the trucks out on the track and making any adjustments thought necessary to improve performance. As usual, the atmosphere in the paddock area was buoyant with plenty of good humoured banter and teams helping each other out in a regular exchange of bits and pieces (although some items were apparently whisked away mysteriously during the hours of darkness and probably under the influence of several bottles of beer!)
Several of the race trucks have undergone a transformation since the end of last season and there are also some new ones one the scene, so there was a very fine array of immaculate vehicles representing the BTRA. Over the course of the weekend, drivers and mechanics alike were always happy to talk to visitors between races, answering questions about the capabilities of the trucks, explaining why certain adjustments were being made, facilitating photo opportunities and signing autographs.
The first British Championship race was late on Saturday afternoon. Luckily the track had dried off very quickly after a sudden and spectacular thunderstorm over the lunchtime period, but the downside was that the return of the hot sun had drivers boiling in their cabs.
Class A driver and 2005 British Champion Ross Garrett in his Foden started in pole position on the grid and led throughout to race to pass the chequered flag first. Newcomer Chris Levett driving the MAN TGA also held his starting position to finish second. The real battle was between the two Sisu SL250s, but it was Dave Jenkins who eventually triumphed over his friend and rival Mat Summerfield to cross the line in third position. Meanwhile in Class B it was newcomer Graham Powell in the Ford Cargo who left his brother Steven, driver of a Volvo FL10, well behind to take the top points. Terry Gibbon in the Volvo White came in second after an incident which put Roger Brookfield in the ERF out of the race and Elton Boocock finished Class B third.
Round 5 of the British Championship was held on Sunday. Once again it was Ross Garrett who led the field unchallenged and took top Class A points. The real excitement was going on just behind him. The two Sisus overtook second position Chris Levett on the first lap, with Mat Summerfield taking the lead over Dave Jenkins. Levett eventually managed to overtake Jenkins in lap 11, catching up with Summerfield on his inside at the hairpin on lap12. Levett’s MAN rear spun ninety degrees causing a deflection off the Summerfield Sisu. As Summerfield went wide, Jenkins slipped through the gap to take second place leaving Summerfield to come in third. However, Jenkins was later disqualified for over speeding, so it was Summerfield who took second place on the winner’s podium with Levett in third. In Class B, although Garry George in the Foden was first to cross the line he too was later disqualified for over speeding. Thus Terry Gibbon moved up to first position with Graham Powell in second and David Ball in the Seddon Atkinson in third.
Following these two rounds of the Championship Ross Garrett lies in first place with 53 points.
A handful of the British drivers also participated in the international TMG (German Truck Master) races where they competed against some of the top drivers in Europe as well as some of the supertrucks from last year’s series.
Apart from the truck racing there were plenty of other things for the 184,500 visitors to enjoy over the weekend. Still on the track there were races for the Benelux Racing League and the New Renault Clio Cup. Behind the paddock area some of the big names in the transport world had large stands and were handing out free hats and other gifts. Many other outlets were selling motorsport related items, and there were stalls supplying food, drinks and icecream. Further out, there were several hundred regular working trucks on display, many of them beautifully painted up in scenes depicting anything from the Wild West to Cologne by night. For the benefit of those who were unable to walk across to this area, these trucks made a colourful cavalcade around the track.
On the Saturday evening there was a Country and Western Music concert featuring a number of well known artists. Thousands of fans settled down with their supplies of beer or sampled the delights of the catering stalls whose lights created a magical atmosphere as darkness fell. The highlight of the evening was arguably the fantastic firework display which ended with the words ‘Heroes of the World’ emblazoned against the night sky.
© Marion Jones – British Truck Racing Association. This article may be re-printed providing the credit line to the BTRA is printed.
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