Lacko and Matějovský dominated the opening event of the tenth year of the |
- 30. 4. 2006, Brno -The rainy end of April saw the INTERNET EXPRES Prima Team contesting the traditional Spring Prix event held at the Brno Masaryk Circuit. This racing event was not only the first event of the Czech Republic's prestigious domestic series Česká pojišťovna - Škoda Octavia Cup, but also the opening event of the 2006 racing circuit season. And, the team succeeded in an excellent way, that is, Adam Lacko and Michal Matějovský dominated the first event of the tenth year of the Česká pojišťovna - Škoda Octavia Cup. In an unrivalled way, they took control not only of the qualifying sessions, but also of the races. In each of the two thirteen-lap races, despite the damp track, the two drivers snatched the first and second positions straight away after the start and got away from their rivals to finish in an undisturbed manner. The beginning of the second race looked like a battle of the two team-mates; however, at the end of the first lap, Adam was already running first, Michal second, as usual. Michal Matějovský explained: 'This was not the team's fundamental strategy; we had agreed in general that the quickest of the two of us should get ahead. Surely, we would not have taken up a fierce battle ending with the two of us retiring from the race.' Towards the end of the race, Michal Matějovský was a little bit busy, fending off Erik Janiš, who was attempting to take the second place. But Michal did withstand. Adam appraised the weekend racing event as an evident success: 'Definitely, those two victories are very agreeable. The situation was not so uncomplicated as it might have appeared; a race on a damp track is always difficult. After I had won the Superpole, it was essential that I should make a good start. In the second race, being the winner of the first one, I had to start from the sixth position of the grid, according to the propositions. In that race, I was a bit afraid of congestion, but nothing serious happened in the end. Michal was chasing after me a bit, but when the tyres became warm, everything was O.K. again. I will not be taking part in all the racing events this year. I will only manage three out of five, but I hope that, at least in those three races, I will be able to gain some valuable points for the team.' And, we should not forget the third Octavia car under the INTERNET EXPRES Prima Team's colours, which was driven by the new man of the series, Filip Albrecht, up to now predominantly a karting driver. For him, this was a completely new experience because he had not done much driving with touring cars before. During the tests at the Autodrom Most circuit, Filip had revealed: 'I am still in the process of learning how to drive the Octavia car. In the kart, I was accustomed to applying the brakes at a later point of time. And, with the Octavia, this is different.' In Brno, in the free practice, he clocked the tenth fastest time; in the timed practice session, he came fifteenth. In the first race on Sunday, straight away on lap two, at one of the most unpleasant spots of the track, he was confronted with an accident, which caused his car to hit the crash barrier. Consequently, he had to retire from the race. However, the mechanics repaired the car, and Filip started the second race from the end of the grid. After completing just four laps, however, he had to come back to the pits because of troubles with the ventilation system. In the pits, Filip said: 'Unfortunately, I could not see through the windscreen at all. In short, I was not able to go on.' And, he promised: 'Next time, it will certainly change for the better.' |
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