The ADAC International Truck Grand Prix at Nurburgring saw Lutz Bernau keep the 173,000 crowd happy by taking four straight wins in his Castrol-backed MAN while Stuart Oliver in the Team Castrol Atkins machine scored well throughout the weekend to stay at the head of the championship.
Reigning FIA European Cup Champion Bernau was quickest of the MAN drivers from the wet first practice session, gaining second place on the grid, alongside Frankie Vojtisek (Renault), while championship leader Oliver floundered in 13th place.
“We had a real problem with front end grip and the balance of the truck was terrible,” explained Team Manager Dave Atkins. Changing the front tyres before the next outing had the desired effect and weather conditions improved to leave a mainly dry track for the actual races.
The Saturday Qualifying race saw Bernau take an immediate lead which he held to the finish. Oliver muscled his way from eighth to take an impressive fourth, which later became second when Vojtisek and Lacko received 10-second penalties.
The Saturday Cup race brought further success for the on-form Bernau with the German driver again taking a start-to-finish win. Oliver shadowed him closely for much of the race, but dropped back to fourth at the flag with tyre trouble, while Lacko took second and Jose Fernando Rodrigues was third.
Despite pole position for the much-improved Oliver in Sunday’s Qualifying race, the Brit had to be content with second place behind Bernau at the finish after running wide at the first corner.
Tension was high as the 26-strong field lined up for the start of the final Cup race and the leaders all emerged from the tight first corner holding their respective starting positions. But through the following sweeping left hander chaos reigned as Frenchman Noel Crozier (MAN) made contact with Lacko and both trucks spun leaving Allgauer with no escape. The Austrian made heavy contact with the left side of Lacko’s truck hurting his leg and leaving his Czech colleague with concussion and chest injuries.
Fortunately both Bernau and Oliver had escaped ahead of this incident and the pair ran in close company for the entire 13 laps to come home first and second, just 2.907s apart. Bernau’s clean-sweep of four wins netted him 60 points and promoted him to second overall in the title chase, in front of Lacko and Allgauer. But Oliver still tops the tables holding a 25-point advantage at the mid-point of the season.
The next race is at Alastaro in Finland on July 31-August 1.
:: Pembrey - Wins... Business as usual :: It was ‘business as usual’ for Stuart Oliver at Pembrey last weekend as the MAN driver claimed another two comfortable victories in Class “A” of the Delphi British Truck Racing Championship.
:: THE WINNING GOES ON AT THRUXTON :: Last weekend Team Oliver Racing was in action at the high speed Thruxton circuit in Hampshire.
:: Late Entry to 2010 FIA European Truck Race Championship :: 'astonished at the unsporting actions of a fellow British team entered European Championship as well as the narrow minded, short sighted actions of the FIA truck racing Stewards.
:: Oliver signs off with second Truck Superprix victory :: Stuart Oliver signed off a successful 2009 British Truck Racing Association Championship campaign by clinching his second victory of the weekend at Brands Hatch today (Sunday).
:: OLIVER CLINCHES CROWN WITH THREE WINS :: The second visit of the season to Pembrey produced the usual frantic first-turn action that the Welsh circuit has become renowned for – with the Class ‘A’ races generating some particularly spectacular action.
:: Oliver Wins at Thruxton :: The latest rounds of the Delphi British Truck Racing Championship took place at a sunny and warm Thruxton circuit last weekend (August 15/16) – and saw a double win for Stuart Oliver
:: Team Oliver in China :: British Truck Racing drivers Stuart Oliver, Ben Horne and Dave Ball joined Swedish driver Mikael Johansson and Russian Mikhail Konovalov at the finals of the China Truck Racing Championships
:: Most - Czech Republic :: Sunday’s race ended in mechanical failure for Stuart when after a collision he was forced to retire.
:: Race Winning Form at Donington :: Stuart Oliver strengthened his position in the Delphi British Truck Racing Championship to 8 points with two clear wins at Donington Park on 27th July.
:: European Championship - Albacete, Spain :: An enthusiastic Spanish crowd of 20,000, saw Spanish driver Antonio Albacete take his MAN to victory on Sunday (winning both the Qualifying and Championship races).
:: Stuart to drive BTCC :: In what can only be described as the best thing that has happened to BTC Racing in its short history, Stuart Oliver – the 2007 Delphi British Truck Racing Champion – has signed to drive for BTC Racing,
:: Stuart does it for a seventh time!!! :: 2007 Champion Stuart Oliver cemented his title with a dominant victory in the second Class A race of the British Truck Racing Championship at Brands Hatch.
:: Stuart Oliver wins International Truck Challange :: Torrential rain and floods hit the South of England as teams made their way to the Thruxton rounds of the Delphi British Truck Racing Championship.
:: Round 2, Zolder, Belgium :: Stuart Oliver held his eighth place position after the second round of the 2007 European Championship held at the Zolder circuit in Belgium.
:: British Championship Pembrey :: Stuart Oliver – Battles to gain a First Place Finish – Just missed another due to a ‘Racing Incident’
:: Barcelona 2007 :: Team Oliver returned to European racing with good finishes
:: MAN TG-A Complete Outfit FOR SALE! :: Team Oliver will be enhancing the team presence in both the British and European Championships for 2007.
:: Brands Hatch 2006 :: True to expectations, a crowd of thousands filled every corner of the prestigious Brands Hatch circuit over the weekend
:: Team Oliver win win win :: Champion Stuart Oliver (MAN) came back into top form with straight wins in all races and fastest laps to add to his points
:: Brands Hatch – Press Preview By JONATHAN REEVES :: Steve Horne, Stuart Oliver and David Ball had a busy day at Brands Hatch – assisting with a Press ‘preview’ for the forthcoming Truck Superprix, the final event of the 2006 season on November 4/5.
:: Team Oliver - Fastest Drag Race Truck! :: Recently, twelve of the BTRA teams, including Team Oliver, had a weekend away together at the Santa Pod Raceway.
:: Thruxton August 2006 :: Over the weekend of August 5th/6th Team Oliver was at the Thruxton circuit to participate in a weekend of truck racing events, including rounds 6 and 7 of the British Championship
:: Nurburgring - Truck Grand Prix 2006 :: Since Stuart Oliver aired the Team Oliver MAN TGA race truck at the Pembrey circuit in Wales over the Easter weekend, the vehicle has undergone extensive work to bring it back up to competitive racing standards.
:: Pembrey April 2006 :: Easter weekend saw the return of Stuart Oliver to the Truck Racing circuit when he took to the track for the first rounds of the British Championship
:: Stuart Oliver extended his lead.... :: Stuart Oliver extended his lead in the FIA European Truck Racing Cup dominating the first day of action at Alastaro in Finland while Sunday’s races brought success for Jochen Hahn.