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Frankie's Phoenix From the Flames!

Czech truck racing stalwart Frankie Vojtisek started off his 2018 FIA European Truck Racing Championship campaign with high expectations ahead of the season opening weekend at Misano. Unfortunately, disaster struck right at the very beginning as his MAN truck caught fire early in Race 1, causing a red flag.

The incident was true heartbreak for the driver and the whole of the tight-knit Czech Truck Racing Team. However, the squad never know when to give up, and after working night and day that rebuilt Frankie's truck.

"The truck was completely destroyed, the fire caused the electric system to bake," said Vojtisek.

"After Misano we were working very hard in my workshop - seven days a week, including Saturdays and Sundays - in order to prepare [the truck] for the Nürburgring.

"Each day we started at 8:00am and went home at 11:30pm. After then I had to catch up on emails and went to sleep only around 1:00am. Many people were involved but there was three of us working directly on it," he explained.

Rebuilding the truck was a herculean task for the outfit as it faced a lot of stumbling blocks in its race against time.

"Parts were the problem. Some companies just didn't have the parts in stock," Vojtisek explained.

The team skipped round two of the championship held at the Hungaroring, but made it just in time for the Nürburgring last month.

"Considering all that happened, I'm very happy to be able to start at the Nürburgring with what really is an all new truck," states the Czech veteran.

"There was no chance to start the first free practice. We started with second free practice.

"On Friday before the race, one of my mechanics slept only two hours. [After], I was happy that myself, and my crew, could go to sleep at normal time."

The German round of the championship was all about fine tuning the package and get everything right going into Frankie's ‘almost' home round at the Slovakia Ring.

"We need to implement a lot of modifications and small changes to the chassis," explained Vojtisek at the Nürburgring.

"The cabin is the same and we had to take out the engine and strip everything down. The electric system is completely new," he added.

Following weeks of hardship, equipped with a rebuild track and valuable miles clocked up at the Nürburgring, Vojtisek will be looking to bounce back and fight for big GRAMMER TRUCK CUP honours at Slovakia Ring this weekend.

Zdroj: fiaetrc.com