Sunday bloody Sunday
3.10.2011
Qualifying on Sunday didn’t go according to plan for the MKR Technology team. Although the weather was still warm and dry the best lap times were actually slightly slower than on Saturday.
Oestreich was quickest of the Renault drivers with a lap of 1m.58.743s – which secured 3rd place on the grid. Just 0.415s.slower in 4th was Adam Lacko while Markus Bosiger managed a best time of 1m.59.355s – leaving him 7th on the grid.
Championship race 3 proved to be a real battlefield – with virtually every truck picking up major bodywork damage. Bosiger’s race ended early with a turbo failure while Oestreich also stopped with a loss of cooling water following some aggressive driving by a rival early in the race.
That left only Lacko to complete the race, the Czech driver bringing his MKR Renault home in a fine 4th. The race actually had to be started twice – as a red flag incident involving local ‘hero’ Albacete had brought out the red flags after just two corners at the first attempt.
But if everyone thought race C3 had been tough… the final outing of the weekend turned into another assault course!
Once again the red flags were displayed before the first lap had even been completed; this time the unfortunate driver parked on the trackside was Oestreich – the Renault having taken a major hit from the ever-aggressive MAN driver Uwe Nittel.
When the race was finally re-started Oestreich did manage to make the grid – but his race was short-lived as he suffered a turbo failure after just three laps.
Bosiger was looking set to pick up some points – as he made good progress after charging from the back of the grid. But the Swiss driver collected a drive-through penalty after being judged to have clipped three corner markers – and that dropped him back down the field and he finally came home in 14th position.
The bright spot in a tough day for the MKR Technology team was the performance of Adam Lacko. He ran a strong 5th through the early stages – shadowing a fierce battle between David Vrsecky and Albacete. The two drivers in front were fighting like dogs – with the Spanish driver at one stage actually mounting the rear of the Freightliner… and Lacko eventually grabbed an opportunity to pass the pair of them to move into a fabulous 3rd place.
That ensured the young Czech MKR driver will head for the final at Le Mans in 3rd position overall in the championship with a healthy 23-point advantage over countryman Vrsecky. Oestreich is currently 5th overall – but just three points behind Vrsecky, so a top four result is a real possibility while Bosiger is still in touch, just 17 points adrift.
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