Goodyear FIA ETRC Misano day one round-up: Champion Kiss shows his class with victory double

30.05.26

Norbert Kiss made the perfect start to his Goodyear FIA European Truck Racing Championship title defence with a win double on day one at Misano.

 

After converting pole position for victory in Race 1 at the Italian venue, the MAN-powered Révész Racing driver underlined his star qualities by charging through from eighth on the partially-reversed grid in Race 2 to take the chequered flag in first position.

Lukas Hahn and Sascha Lenz completed the Race 1 podium, while Antonio Albacete and José Eduardo Rodrigues joined Kiss on the Race 2 podium in second and third respectively.

Victories in the Chrome category for drivers with less experience and fewer top results went to Hahn in Race 1 and Stefan Kursch in Race 2 after Bradley Smith was disqualified following technical checks. Kursch and Steffen Faas took second and third in Chrome in Race 1 before John Newell and 2025 champion Mark Taylor rounded out the Chrome podium in Race 2.

Several drivers were penalised for penalty marker offences, including Steffi Halm, who finished Race 1 in third on the road before being demoted to 14th. From the seventh row of the Race 2 grid, Halm, who placed third in the final 2025 Goodyear FIA ETRC standings, finished sixth.

Flash reports from Race 1 and Race 2 are available at the links below. All results remain provisional and subject to change:

Race 1:
https://www.goodyearfiaetrc.com/news/kiss-wins-goodyear-fia-etrc-opener

Race 2:
https://www.goodyearfiaetrc.com/news/race-2-flash-report-kiss-makes-it-two-in-goodyear-fia-etrc


Race 1 and Race 2 overall winner Norbert Kiss said: “It was a good start [in Race 1], and I was already ahead in the first combination. I had a good pace and also they started to fight behind me, so they slowed each other down a bit, and the gap was soon pretty big. It was very exciting coming through [in Race 2] because there were a lot of fights in front of me. I was in P4 quite quickly and then, after that, I was just trying to reach people in front of me and attack them a little bit. Try to make them do some mistakes, and they did eventually. Sascha as well, and then José as well, and then Antonio as well. They each made a mistake, which was just enough for me to move into position and overtake them. So, a very good performance, a very good job from the team Révész Racing. I’m very happy about today.”

Race 1 Chrome winner Lukas Hahn said: “I think it's the best position what I ever get and I’m so happy and really proud also of my team and my partners, I can’t imagine it before. Antonio passed me and Jochen also later. Then I see they are fighting each other and sometimes the third one is just waiting, and it was like that. In the end we need to manage the truck because the track was really hot, but I handled it pretty good. I think the brake disc was gone [in the second race], the temperature was too high and we can do nothing. It’s racing but tomorrow is another day.”

Race 2 Chrome winner Stefan Kursch said: “Thanks to the reverse grid we started from third and I'm very happy with my result. It was absolutely flawless. The weekend can definitely keep going like this.”

Today’s races marked the first time that Goodyear’s new-for-2026 tyre, which features 60 per cent sustainable materials, was used in competition mode. It was also the first opportunity for the Goodyear Wingfoot Award jury to consider their nominations for the Goodyear Wingfoot Award, which will be voted on by fans via Instagram during Race 4 and presented on the final podium of the weekend.

Following a 15-minute Warm-up from 09:10 local time tomorrow (Sunday), Qualifying 4-5-6 is due to begin at 10:35 with Race 3 scheduled for 13:15 and Race 4 from 15:50, with both races streamed live on YouTube.

Rights-free image gallery:
https://media.focuspackmedia.com/FIA-ETRC-Media-Library