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2018 Driver by Driver Season Review – Part Two

In the second part of our 2018 FIA ETRC driver-by-driver season review, we take a look at drivers who were classified between 16th and 11th overall in the final standings. 

This section of the championship table is made of GRAMMER TRUCK CUP runners as well as some rapid race-by-race entrants.

16th – 12 pts | 4th in GRAMMER TRUCK CUP – 190 pts | Jamie Anderson

Rally convert Anderson faced a steep learning curve in his rookie FIA ETRC campaign. 

The Brit not only had to learn all about truck racing but circuit racing in general. He started off on a high, winning in the GRAMMER TRUCK CUP in what was his first ever FIA ETRC race at Misano. 

Anderson missed two rounds, but still managed to take four category wins and score overall points eight times out of the 24 races he contested. 

On his day he was as good as anybody in the GRAMMER TRUCK CUP and he showed this on several occasions, notaby at Zolder when he stole a thrilling last corner win from Shane Brereton. 

With one year of experience under his belt, he’s going to be one of the favourites among the chrome category drivers in 2019.

15th – 13 pts | 3rd in GRAMMER TRUCK CUP – 271 pts | Oly Janes

Oly Janes had big shoes to fill replacing two-time title winner David Vršecký alongside last year champions Adam Lakco at Buggyra International Racing System. 

The first part of the year was tough for a driver who graduated from the British Truck Racing Championship. 

The turnaround came at Most, where he scored his first GRAMMER TRUCK CUP victory. From then on, he became a category front-runner, giving Steffen Faas a late-season run for his money in the battle for second in the category standings. 

The fact that he scored 181 points in the last four rounds compared to 90 points he scored in the first four rounds proved how much Janes improved over the course of the season.

14th – 20 pts | 2nd in GRAMMER TRUCK CUP – 277 pts | Steffen Faas

It’s fair to say that 2018 was a positive but also character-building year for Steffen Faas. 

Much was expected from the young German following his two outings in 2017 aboard the Team Schwabentruck IVECO. 

However, Faas never quite looked as comfortable behind the wheel of the Team Tankpool24 Mercedes-Benz truck as was the case in his few outings in 2017. 

In the GRAMMER TRUCK CUP early on it looked as Faas would challenge Shane Brereton for overall victory (after two rounds Faas was leading the standings with 68 points to Brereton’s 65), but later Brereton went on to dominate the category and Faas had to focus on fending off Janes to keep second. 

Faas will be keen to consolidate his truck racing promise in 2019 with more GRAMMER TRUCK CUP victories.

13th – 29 pts | Gerd Körber

It’s hard to judge truck racing legend Körber who came out of retirement to contest the Italian and the German rounds of the championship. 

Yet, given he managed to score a fifth place in the season-opening race at Misano and a second place in a semi-reversed grid race on his home soil proved that a top six in the final standings could have been possible had he contested the full season.

12th – 33 pts | Anthony Janiec

The rapid Frenchman only contested two rounds but a podium in Race 2 at Misano and a fine victory in Race 4 at the Nürburgring is evidence that if only the Lion Truck Racing outfit had decided field him in the full campaign, he could have been a force to be reckoned with, perhaps even able to break in to the top five.

11th – 41 pts | Ryan Smith

It’s a shame that the multiple British Truck Racing champ didn’t contest the full campaign as he was hoping. 

A victory at Misano and second places at the Hungaroring and Le Mans prove that he’s as fast as anybody in the field on occasion.

Smith returned to action at Le Mans and took second in Race 4 and the feisty Brit will be aiming to bring his committed brand of combat to the FIA ETRC again in 2019.

Zdroj: fiaetrc.com