Le Mans Truck GP
The final race of the 2005 European Truck Racing Championship saw Castrol-backed driver Egon Allgaeuer secure second place in the standings with two podium finishes at the famous Le Mans circuit.
The Saturday Cup race saw many lead changes with Allgaeuer pulling ahead early on from the MANs of newly-crowned champion Antonio Albacete and Boesiger. But the Austrian then slipped back to third as Boesiger took up the running. The Castrol Atkins MAN then led the field until just three laps from the end, when Albacete mounted an attack and the two made contact. Unfortunately Boesiger’s rear tyre was punctured and he was forced to retire.
The Sunday morning practice session was delayed as dense fog shrouded the Le Mans circuit, but finally the sun shone through and competitors enjoyed a dry circuit. Allgaeuer made impressive progress in the Qualifying race moving up to finish a strong fourth just 0.55s ahead of Niko Pulic after starting from seventh on the grid. Gerd Koerber took the win ahead of Jochen Hahn and Albacete with Boesiger completing the top six, just 0.71s adrift of Pulic.
The final Cup race of the season brought another win for Koerber with Albacete settling for second after pushing hard throughout. Allgaeuer took the final podium spot, getting ahead of Hahn mid-race and then fending off the Mercedes to cross the line 0.96s clear. Boesiger fought hard to come home in sixth – again just behind Pulic.
“A good result to end a long and difficult season,” said Allgaeuer after the final race. “But the new season starts tomorrow for me as we’ll aim to improve everything and go one better in 2006.”
Despite a mid-season tyre supply handicap, Boesiger’s impressive fifth in the standings in his ‘comeback’ season of truck racing bodes well, and the Swiss racer has his sights firmly set on the top slot for next year.
Team News
After problems securing the ‘limited edition’ top-spec race tyres that several rivals enjoyed mid-season, Castrol Team Atkins has shown itself to be a front-runner now the ‘specials’ have been outlawed. Indeed Boesiger was on the front row after practice on Saturday, but his hopes of victory were dashed when rival MAN driver Albacete mounted a fierce challenge for the lead and hit the rear of the Castrol MAN. Unlucky Boesiger was forced to retire - with a damaged tyre…Race News
The final round of the 2005 FIA European Truck Racing Cup proved to be extremely popular with the fanatical French fans with over 40,000 attending the two-day event. Despite some changeable weather on Saturday and fog on Sunday morning the crowd at Le Mans was up by eight percent compared to last year’s end-of-season extravaganza.Cup race 1
| 1 | Antonio Albacete |
| 2 | Egon Allgaeuer |
| 3 | Niko Pulic |
| 4 | Jose F Rodrigues |
| 5 | David Vrescky |
| 6 | Gerd Koerber |
| 7 | Ross Garrett |
| 8 | Jean Loup Fournier |
Cup race 2
| 1 | Gerd Koerber |
| 2 | Antonio Albacete |
| 3 | Egon Allgaeuer |
| 4 | Jochen Hahn |
| 5 | Niko Pulic |
| 6 | Markus Boesiger |
| 7 | Frankie Vojtisek |
| 8 | Jose F Rodrigues |
Championship
| 1 | Antonio Albacete | MAN | 463 |
| 2 | Egon Allgaeuer | Castrol MAN | 380 |
| 3 | Gerd Koerber | Freightliner | 352 |
| 4 | David Vrsecky | Freightliner | 318 |
| 5 | Markus Boesiger | Castrol Atkins MAN | 270 |
| 6 | Jochen Hahn | Mercedes-Benz | 249 |
| 7 | Frankie Vojtisek | Renault | 221 |
| 8 | Jose F Rodrigues | MAN | 169 |
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