Fantastic start to 2022 for T Sport Bernau at ETRC at Milano
by Melanie Derflinger
This weekend the T Sport Bernau team travelled to the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli in Italy for the opening round of the 2022 Goodyear FIA European Truck Racing Championship.
The team arrived at the circuit with high hopes and anticipation ahead of the weekend, keen to see how Antonio’s pace would compare to the rest of the field after our latest phase of winter developments. The team were also excited to welcome guests from our partners Varta, PE and BPW into our brand-new hospitality area which we would be unveiling for the first time.
The weekends ‘on track’ action began on Saturday morning with the usual format of 2 practice sessions followed by qualifying, super pole and finally 2 races. Antonio got off to a flying start setting some very impressive times in both free practice sessions. At this stage it was difficult to accurately gauge our race pace compared to the other competitors. However, after a brilliant qualifying, with Antonio easily progressing through to the Superpole shootout, we found ourselves lining up on the second row of the grid, qualifying in a fantastic 3rd position. The first race of the season soon came around, however, due to a fellow competitor jumping the start behind Antonio and taking to the grass alongside as the lights went out, Antonio fell back a couple of places off the start. He fought an excellent race though and was able to make some fantastic overtaking manoeuvres. Eventually bringing the truck home in a very respectable 4th place – getting the 2022 campaign underway with some very valuable championship points in the bag.
The reverse grid format for the second race meant Antonio lined up in 5th position. After a better start and some more excellent racing throughout the entire race, he managed to make up places. Giving the team and supporters something to cheer for. He rounded off the first day of racing with our first race win since the creation of the current T Sport Bernau team! A fantastic achievement for the whole team and very well deserved – hard work really does pay off!
At the second day of the weekend, the team awoke with high hopes and a lot of enthusiasm, eager and excited to carry the momentum from the previous day and see what Antonio and the T Sport Bernau truck could achieve out on track. Once again Antonio got off to a great start showing some great pace in the mornings practice sessions. Qualifying soon came around with Antonio easily progressing through to the Superpole session, eventually securing 5th position on the grid for race 3 of the weekend. The sun was shining and by the time the racing action started, the temperature was soaring. Making the most of the warm and dry conditions, Antonio fought hard throughout the race. He managed to gain a position narrowly missing out on another podium finish as he crossed the line to take his second 4th place finish of the weekend – securing even more valuable championship points. Another reverse grid format saw Antonio line up in 5thposition for the last race of the weekend. Antonio rose to the challenge, taking on the hot temperatures and – in the words of our data engineer, Justo – ‘fought like a tiger!’ Providing some fantastic racing action for his supporters and fans, Antonio once again made up places, exceeding all expectations and managing to finish the race in second place, another podium!
Antonio and the team are extremely happy with the pace of the truck. We feel we have an extremely competitive race truck for the 2022 campaign and are hopeful of many more championship points and podiums to come throughout the rest of the season.
The next ETRC round will see us visit the iconic Hungaroring near to Budapest, Hungary, in only 3 weeks. We are looking forward to once again welcome fans and guests at the paddock and hopefully provide some more racing action for everyone to enjoy, both at the circuit and at home via live stream.
