The whole truck racing community would like to send its thoughts to everyone who is affected by the events in the Emilia-Romagna region and the amazing emergency services working on the ground.
Fortunately the Southern province of Rimini hasn’t been as badly affected by the adverse weather and flooding as other areas.
After in-depth checks and minor repairs over the last few days, Misano World Circuit is fully operational from today and the Goodyear FIA ETRC event will go ahead as planned.
Reigning Champion Norbert Kiss began last season taking pole position and the first victory of each race day, and will be looking to start his 2023 campaign in much the same way.
After winning the championship titles for two consecutive years, Kiss’ rivals are looking to turn the tables and challenge the Hungarian for the crown this season. Jochen Hahn and Sascha Lenz, who have been his closest competitors over the last couple of years, along with Spanish Truck Racing Champion Antonio Albacete, Steffi Halm and André Kursim will all be looking to bump Kiss off the top step in 2023.
Eyes will be on Steffen Faas as a hot favourite to take the Promoter’s Cup this season. Challenging him in his mission will be reigning French Truck Racing Champion José Eduardo Rodrigues, who will be keen to make his mark in the European Championship.
Clemens Hecker will be hoping for a better showing in 2023 as he continues in the Promoter’s cup to battle alongside Faas, Rodrigues, Luis Recuenco, who returns in an overhauled Iveco, and British racers John Newell and Mark Taylor.
Lion Truck’s Johnathan André will join the grid as a race by race entry in Misano. André took part in the Most and Zolder races last year after the sad and sudden loss of Anthony Janiec. With a new truck design, André will compete in Promoter’s Cup in his #66 MAN.
What’s new in 2023?
2023 sees the introduction of the Goodyear FIA European Young Drivers’ Champion category. Open to any driver under the age of 30, they will compete and score points in the same fashion as the Promoter’s Cup, with the fastest under 30 year old claiming the title at the end of the season. The aim of the new category is to boost prospects of young truck racing drivers and to find the next European Truck Racing Champion.
This season the highly successful Innovation Camp returns to the paddock, showcasing the lastest sustainable developments and alternatively powered vehicles in the industry.
The efforts of the Goodyear FIA ETRC to make truck racing more sustainable and to utilise its platform to accelerate the switch to and acceptance of alternatively powered heavy goods vehicles have been recognised by an independent Motorsport Sustainability ranking.
The Goodyear FIA ETRC was ranked 16th overall out of 105 globally recognised 2- and 4-wheeled motorsport championships, acknowledging the efforts of the series to reach net-zero by 2038 and utilising its platform to drive change in the haulage industry.
This strive for sustainability continues into the partners of the championship. German commercial vehicle manufacturer Krone joins the Goodyear FIA ETRC as official partner and together they will work on their shared common goals, to drive forward sustainable solutions in the transport industry as well as to recognise the important role of truck drivers.
Krone will present their eTrailer, which can reduce the fuel consumption and thus also the CO2 emissions of tractor units by an average of 40%. The eTrailer will be on track in Misano for Krone’s Record run in the hunt for a record lap.
The 2023 season is angling up to be as competitive and exciting as 2022 was. Tune in live across the Goodyear FIA ETRC channels on Saturday for the first day of action.