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Lacko picked up speed at the Nürburgring and is aiming for the podium in Most

After struggling with his Iveco on Saturday, he started Sunday’s final race at the Nürburgring from pole position. However, a rival aggressively took him out of contention for a possible podium finish at the second corner. Adam Lacko has completed his return to the European Truck Racing Championship. After a three-year absence, the Buggyra ZM Racing driver competed at the Nürburgring in the first of his two planned FIA ETRC appearances this season. The German weekend, which featured celebrations marking the event’s 40th anniversary, served primarily as preparation for his home race in Most at the end of August. “For us, the Nürburgring was primarily an important test under race conditions ahead of Most. We wanted Adam to be fully prepared for Most, and the German event served that purpose perfectly. Saturday was pretty much a write-off, as we were mainly dealing with problems with the truck, but Sunday was a little better. We’re still not entirely satisfied with it, so we’re staying at the circuit on Monday for further testing. We’re focusing all our efforts on securing a podium finish in Most,” said Jan Kalivoda, the team’s head of communications. The 2017 champion got behind the wheel of an Iveco truck whose design differs significantly from the Buggyra racing trucks with which he has spent much of his career. The Czech driver therefore had to get used to a different weight distribution and different handling characteristics under braking and when accelerating out of corners. The main objective of Saturday’s programme was to find a suitable setup and gradually adapt the truck to Lacko’s driving style. Lacko finished 18th in Saturday’s opening race. In the second race, which he started from the back row of the grid, he moved up to 12th. The results therefore fell well short of expectations. “What can I say? We had a puncture in the warm-up, a broken spring in the first race and a shock absorber that fell off in the second. Unless we can do something about this truck by tomorrow, there’s no point in even going to Most,” Lacko said at the end of Saturday’s programme. There were already signs of improvement on Sunday. Lacko increased his pace and put his experience to good use, reacting superbly to a collision shortly after the start before holding off Lucas Hahn to retain eighth place all the way to the finish. That result also secured him pole position for the weekend’s final race, in which the top eight started in reverse order. However, he was ultimately unable to convert it into a podium finish. “The Nürburgring is behind us now. It wasn’t easy. We thought and hoped it would go a little better, but luck was not really on our side. On Saturday, it was not on our side at all. We didn’t complete either race in the way we had hoped. Sunday was a little better,” Lacko said as he assessed his return to the European Championship. “I started the final race from pole position, but I stayed in the lead only until the second corner. Then the driver of truck number 46, Bradley Smith, took me out. I spun, the truck stalled and, by the time I managed to restart it, I was fighting my way back from last place. I still managed to overtake a few trucks, so at least I had an enjoyable race with plenty of action. I think I eventually finished 12th, but that’s not what we came here for,” added the Czech driver. Although the results at the Nürburgring fell short of the team’s original expectations, Sunday’s performance showed that the team was gradually improving the truck’s pace. “Luck wasn’t really on our side here, but I believe it will be in Most and that we can deliver a podium finish for the fans,” said Lacko, looking ahead to his second FIA ETRC appearance of the season. Czech fans can look forward to the return of the 2017 champion on the final weekend of the summer holidays, from August 28 to 30.