RACE 1
Norbert Kiss converted his first pole position of the year into victory as he held off an advancing Jochen Hahn in the race.
Sascha Lenz had a brilliant start, jumping both Antonio Albacete and Hahn to climb from fourth to second going into the first corner. The advance was shortly lived as Lenz’ fellow countryman got back ahead before the end of the lap to begin his pursuit of Kiss extending his lead.
Hahn managed to bring Kiss within two seconds as the rain started to come down, but the reigning champion’s race craft was enough to keep Hahn far enough back to not throw a move coming into the final lap.
RACE 2
After a delayed start to the second race at Misano due to a first lap incident, Norbert Kiss charged through the field to take his second victory of the season. This secured him maximum points from the first day of racing in Italy.
The drivers had not got to the first corner when José Eduardo Rodrigues and Sascha Lenz came together, the Chrome driver careering into the back of the #3 and spearing them both off the track. The incident saw both drivers walk away fine but brought out a red flag delay as fluid from Rodrigues’ truck was cleared off the track surface.
Lenz was able to use the red flag to make the needed repairs on his truck, but Rodrigues was unable to restart the race.
It looked like Steffi Halm would be back on the top step as she charged pole-sitting Clemens Hecker and André Kursim off the second start, pushing her fellow Titan driver for first place. Kursim just managed to hold her back, but he had his rear view full of Halm until Kiss joined the battle on lap four.
It didn’t take long for Kiss to get to the front of the field, leading fellow Titan rivals Jochen Hahn and Lenz through with him. An incredible move around the outside of the Turn 1 chicane saw him deposit Kursim to second and storm off ahead of the field for his second win of the day.
Hahn and Lenz were able to also make it past the original lead duo, taking the final podium position ahead of Halm, who eventually passed Kursim.
RACE 3
It was another tick in the victory column for Norbert Kiss, as he converted his Misano Qualifying 2 pole into Race 3 victory, clocking up his 200th podium in the Championship.
Jochen Hahn looked like he wanted to take the fight to the Hungarian off the line, but getting a perfect getaway in his #1 Révész Racing truck, Kiss held onto the lead that he wouldn’t relinquish for the next 12 laps. The German tried to reel in the reigning champion, but with his exceptional race craft and experience, he remained unbeatable as the chequered flag fell.
Unlike in yesterday’s first race, Antonio Albacete managed to hold off the charge from Sascha Lenz as the lights went green and held onto third place, taking his first podium of the weekend.
RACE 4
André Kursim kept the lead off the start, but José Eduardo Rodrigues stayed in the fight at the front, trying to keep as many Titan drivers between him and second-placed Steffen Faas. This became more important when Rodrigues was handed a five-second penalty for being out of position at the rolling start.
Kiss began carving through the pack to get up to the lead battle and soon Steffi Halm, who was fighting with Kursim for second, had to concentrate behind her rather than in front. It wasn’t long until Kiss was back to leading the field, but Rodrigues stayed with him as best he could to build the gap and try to not lose any positions when his penalty was added.
The Portuguese driver did just that, crossing the line 0.8s behind Kiss but eight seconds ahead of Halm. Although there is no longer an overall championship so overall finishing position is not important, holding second on the track allowed Rodrigues to guarantee he would not drop behind Faas when his penalty was added.
Antonio Albacete completed the Titan podium with his second of the day, coming home third in class.