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2018 Driver by Driver Season Review – Part Four

In the fourth and final part of our driver by driver season review we look at the top five in the 2018 championship.

5th – 207 pts| Norbert Kiss | Team Tankpool24 Racing | Mercedes-Benz

It was a character-building year for the two-time FIA ETRC champion. Just like his rookie team-mate, Steffen Faas, Kiss was struggling this season with the Mercedes-Benz truck that suffered from a lack of development on the engine side. To make matters worse, he didn’t seem to have luck on his side this season. Results (one win only and no pole positions) don’t do the Hungarian racer justice as he was always extracting most of the equipment he had at his disposal. With more development underneath him, Kiss is a guaranteed title challenger.

4th – 229 pts | Sascha Lenz | SL Trucksport | MAN

The young German racer was arguably one of the star performers of the year. He improved massively from last season and was punching above his weight all year long with his independently-run SL Trucksport MAN. One win, six second places and one pole position is indeed impressive for the ambitious team and a driver who’s still relatively inexperienced compared to the other front-runners.

3rd – 249 pts | Antonio Albacete | Truck Sport Lutz Bernau | MAN

After finishing fifth in 2017, the veteran of 20 years in truck racing set his goals at top three level in 2018. It was a long shot but it turned out that the Spanish racer was more than capable of reaching his ambitious goals. Albacete scored four wins (three of which were in non-reversed grid races), and took two poles. The final part of his season was particularly impressive when he was fighting Kiss and Lenz to clinch third overall which he managed to accomplish.

2nd – 266 pts | Adam Lacko | Buggyra International Racing System | Freightliner

As always Lacko was a consistent performer over the course of the year. Five Super Poles is an indicator that the speed was there, yet, he wasn’t quite the formidable force he was in his championship year. Three wins only (two of which clinched on his home soil at Most) is simply not enough to successfully defend the title. But my oh my, what a superb win at Most, perhaps the finest of his glittering career!

1st – 387 pts | Jochen Hahn | Team Hahn Racing | IVECO

The season was a masterclass from Hahn. On his way to a historic, fifth title, the German was a dominant force. He was victorious during every single round of the season and his worst weekend points wise was his home round at the Nürburgring where he finished second, 12th, first and fourth respectively – a results tally that for many drivers could have been their season best. Hahn finished the year 121 points clear of his closest challenger, Lacko, which is the best evidence of how dominant he was this year. A class act in all departments!

Zdroj: fiaetrc.com