There was no stopping Huthwaite’s Taylors Trucksport Racing in Belgium (22-23 June) where they collected more silverware, with two more podium’s writes Paul Horton.
Driver Mark Taylor and the team were at Zolder Circuit for Round Three of the Goodyear FIA European Truck Racing Championship that saw them take two third places and a Team Championship award.
Two Free Practice sessions went well for the team before the real action started on the 4km circuit and its tight and demanding corners. The fist session out Mark completed 13 laps, the second session he got faster to end it in 7th spot and only two seconds off fastest on track.
Saturday’s Qualifying 1 saw Taylor not hanging around with 8 minutes left out of the 15-minute shootout he was in P10 (fourth in Chrome Class). He made it through to the second qualifying 10-minute shootout to finish ninth and determine his grid position for race one later during the day.
Race One saw Taylor on the fifth row, a damp track awaited the fourteen trucks, as the lights went out he remained in P9 and driving to his limits remaining in same position trying his upmost to get in front of Lukas Hahn. By lap 9 Hahn was pulling away. Taylor crossing the line in P9 and just missing a Chrome podium in fourth. There was still reward, taking third in the Team Championship with Taylor & Rodrigues collaboration.
Race Two again was a fifth row start, an all-brit row with Newell alongside. By lap 4 Mark had dropped to 10th. By lap 7 out of 12 Taylor remained in P10. A three-way battle commenced. Mark was pushing Faas for P9 whist the same behind was happening with Newell pushing Taylor. On lap 10 Faas pulled over on circuit to Mark’s advantage putting Mark into P3 in Chrome Class and ninth overall, to take the flag and a podium spot.
Sunday saw hot and sunny conditions for the second Qualifying to start the day, it was a similar affair to Saturday’s, he finished P7 and then P9 in the second session.
Race Three was a fourth row start for Taylor, by end of lap one he was into P7 and leading Chrome Class. Hahn and Faas were eager for points and were putting pressure on Mark, he was fending them off well, it was push, push, and push for Taylor to keep them behind. A win was on the cards for Taylor but on lap 11 he was issued a drive through penalty for over speeding. On the last lap Taylor served the drive through putting him 17 seconds shy of the podium, the issue caused by overheating brakes running at 800 degrees making slowing down difficult. It was a devastating blow for the team, but he still finished P4 in Chrome Class and 10th overall.
Race Four and final race of the weekend and Mark lined up on the 5th row, he was all fired up after the last race to get more points and hoping for a podium. At the first corner it was mayhem, Taylor avoiding any contact but getting pushed back into P13. On lap 2 a great move on Brit Luke Garrett saw Mark into P12. Then was given a penalty warning for hitting corner markers on lap 3. A lap later he was into P11 leaving Faas in his rear mirrors, there was no stopping him.
There was further contact in front but well out of Mark’s way. Six laps in at halfway stage he remained in P11 overall. A lap later a coming together between Newell and Helm saw waved yellow flags and no overtaking. Taylor was into P8 with a podium on the cards, but this would slow proceedings up. Mark was not giving up and went straight into P7 and third in Chrome Class. Cool, calm and collected Taylor remained until the flag appeared. It was a difficult race but reaped reward with another podium.
Afterwards Taylor said, “We came away from Zolder with two more podiums and more points. We still are holding onto third place in the chrome championship too. It was so disappointing to get the drive through in race three, overheating brakes causing the issue but that’s racing for you. All the team did an excellent job as usual and thank you. We are now focused on getting more points at Nürburgring”.
Taylors Trucksport Racing are currently third in the Chrome Championship.
The team now travel to Nürburgring in Germany for round four in the championship on 13th and 14 July 2024.
