Norbert Kiss captured his sixth European truck racing crown, claiming his 16th and 17th wins of the season in the second round at Le Mans Bugatti Circuit to claim the 2024 Goodyear FIA European Truck Racing Championship title.
In the opening race, Kiss extended his championship lead with a dominant performance. The Hungarian held off an early attack from Jochen Hahn to maintain the lead going into turn one. Despite Hahn’s best efforts to challenge under the Dunlop Bridge, Kiss was already comfortably ahead of his truck, securing victory by five seconds. Antonio Albacete ran a quiet race and took third place.
Race 2 went to José Eduardo Rodrigues, who put together an incredible drive to take both the overall and Chrome class wins. The Portuguese driver, who started second on the grid, used his inside position to overtake pole sitter Lukas Hahn early on. Once in the lead, Rodriguez looked to secure a clear victory but had to fend off late pressure from André Kursim. As the laps wound down, Kursim closed in, but Rodrigues held his ground expertly, leaving no room for Kursim, Steffi Halm or Kiss to pass. Rodriguez took the win, separating the top four by just a few meters.
In the third race of the weekend, Kiss put in another dominant display to secure his sixth title. Hahn attempted an early challenge, but Kiss executed a perfect launch and quickly built a comfortable lead of 5.5 seconds by the end of the 11-lap race. The win marked the culmination of an outstanding season that included an unprecedented 11-game winning streak earlier this year. Albacete and Sascha Lenz completed the podium, while Hahn failed to mount a significant challenge after an early battle.
In the final race of the weekend, Rodrigues won both the Chrome class championship and the Young Driver title. Although all he needed was a finish to secure the championship, Rodriguez had his sights set on another victory. Starting from P2 on the reverse grid, he launched an early attack on Hahn, but was soon pressured by Steffi Halm, who had his chance to overtake. Despite the close call, Rodriguez avoided a crash but was demoted to third place. As the race progressed, Lenz and Kiss overtook him, knocking Rodrigues off the overall podium. Hahn took his first win of the weekend, while Halm finished second after holding off Lenz and Kiss.
With six titles, Kiss and Hahn are the most successful drivers in FIA ETRC history.
This round of Le Mans stood out as a highlight of the season in terms of participation, with 18 trucks taking part on the grid. This is the largest lineup for this year’s event.
