Jochen Hahn displayed a rare display of utter dominance in the FIA European Truck Racing championship at the weekend as the German driver won all four races at Italian circuit Misano.
Hahn (MAN) qualified on pole position for the first race on Saturday and promptly collected his first win by leading from lights-to-flag to cross the line 2.744 second clear of reigning champion Antonio Albacete (MAN).
Albacete had joined Markus Oestreich (Renault) in overhauling front-row starter Adam Lacko (Renault) on the opening lap and then the Spanish driver held the German at bay for the remainder of the race. Lacko held on for fourth place with Uwe Nittel (MAN) fifth ahead of Markus Bosiger (Renault), Alex Lvov (MAN) and David Vrsecky (Freightliner).
The top eight finishers were reversed on the grid for the second race and the action-packed event saw early drama when Bosiger and Lacko went off at the first corner, the former retiring while the latter rejoined down the field.
Meanwhile, Vrsecky had turned pole position into the lead but was coming under heavy pressure from a charging Nittel, who had climbed into second place amid the confusion of the earlier incident. Nittel made his move for the lead down the inside of the 90 degree Rio bend soon after, but as Vrsecky closed the door, heavy contact resulted in both trucks retiring.
Oestreich now inherited the lead, albeit with Hahn and Albacete in close attendance, and both quickly managed to make their way past, only for the latter to be adjudged to have gained an advantage by going off track.
While Hahn took the chequered flag first, Albacete’s second place later became third as he was handed a post-race penalty for the manoeuvre, promoting Oestreich to the second step of the podium.
Lacko again claimed fourth place ahead of Lvov, Anthony Janiec (Renault), multiple British champion Stuart Oliver (MAN) and Jean-Pierre Blaise (Renault).
On Sunday, Hahn again dominated the opening race from pole position, with Albacete a comfortable second ahead of Bosiger. Vrsecky and Nittel, while Lacko recovered from early contact with team-mate Oestreich to clinch sixth.
Christopher Levett (Freightliner) and Janiec ended the race seventh and eighth to secure front-row starts for the final race.
Levett beat Janiec away from the grid for the fourth race of the weekend, pulling out a healthy advantage as the Frenchman held up the chasing pack.
Behind though, Hahn made steady progress from eighth to move into fourth position behind Nittel by lap 3 before picking his way up to second place and eventually into the lead having reeled in Levett in the closing stages.
Albacete followed the German through the field to secure another second place, while Levett held on for his first podium of the weekend in third ahead of Nittel and Oestreich.
FIA European Truck Racing Championship
Championship Standings (after 2 rounds)
1 Jochen Hahn, 90pts
2 Antonio Albacete, 84
3 Markus Oestreich, 79
4 Uwe Nittel, 62
5 Markus Bosiger, 42
6 Adam Lacko, 40
7 David Vrsecky, 38
8 Christopher Levett, 25
9 Alex Lvov, 21
10 Anthony Janiec, 20
Next round: 4-5 June, Albacete
Watch FIA Truck Racing highlights from Misano this Sunday at 8:30pm (BST) on Motors TV.
Andy Wilkinson
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