Only one point scored in the end, despite the first place taken in Superpole |
- 13. 8. 2006, Most -The situation at the weekend racing event appeared to be very favourable at first. Michal Matějovský even took pole position for Sunday's first race after winning the Superpole, coming 0.11 seconds ahead of Janák, the winner of the last year of the series. Adam Lacko and Jiří Jupa started eighth and twelfth respectively. On Sunday morning, when the drivers got ready for the start, Michal, still before the red light went off, slightly moved his car. Consequently, he was given the drive-through penalty shortly afterwards. However, when driving through the pit lane, he exceeded the speed limit for a moment, and the race directorate ordered him, without mercy, to drive through the pits once again. Before completing the second drive-through penalty, he dropped to the very end of the field and had to fight his way through the pack. On lap nine, in the slow-down curve at the end of the home straight, Jirka Jupa fell prey to an unscrupulous manoeuvre of one of his rivals; Jupa's car powerlessly stopped across the track, with its wheel suspension broken. In the mean time, Adam managed to move up to third. Unfortunately, on lap thirteen, in the approach to the home straight, the axle shaft of his car broke suddenly. Adam's car could not be controlled any more, and Adam unintentionally crossed the path of Gottwald, who ran into Adam's car, causing it to turn around. For Adam, this was a very unpleasant moment, when no one knew how and whether at all his car was going to stop, to say nothing of other cars passing by. As a result, Adam had to retire as well, and so Michal was the only driver under the team's yellow colour still in the race. He kept on moving up, but there was not much time left. He was twelfth at the chequered flag. The mechanics did a lot of work in the course of the midday break, and so all the three cars could take part in the afternoon race, even though the starting grid positions did not offer any reason for an unrealistically optimistic mood. Despite that, all the three drivers were struggling at full stretch and moved up gradually, overtaking their rivals. But then, on lap nine, unfortunately, Lacko and Jupa, in two independent incidents, had to retire from the race because of a flat tyre. A long investigation established that this was brought about, to all appearances, by defective tyre valves. And, as the drivers that were to be dogged by bad luck had apparently been fated on that day, Michal Matějovský, too, had to retire from the race: he fought his way from the twelfth position on the grid to third, and was running closely behind Paasonen, of Finland, who had been in the lead after the start, but his car was not working properly any more, and Michal was waiting for the right moment to overtake him. However, on lap thirteen, Paasonen definitely lost control of his car, hitting Michal's Octavia. So, both of them had to retire from the race. Within the framework of the Octavia Cup, the INTERNET EXPRES Prima Team scored just one point - that one gained by Michal, who came twelfth in the first race. Consequently, Michal dropped to second in the overall standings, closely behind Jiří Janák, who is at the top, with a seven-point lead (119 points). Adam and Jirka Jupa are ninth and eleventh respectively. The team's general manager, Stanislav Matějovský, said after the races: 'This is certainly the most unlucky weekend racing event I have ever experienced. The final race of the Česká pojišťovna - Škoda Octavia Cup is held in two weeks' time, once again at the Most circuit, within the framework of the truck weekend. For the drivers of our yellow-painted Octavia cars, this is definitely going to be a great opportunity to obtain satisfaction for the past three unlucky days.' |
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