Assen welcomed participants in the second race by the traditionally unfriendly weather, with frequent and heavy showers adding their part to cold. Almost thirty drivers were in for a tough fight …
In the beginning, it was David who coped best with pitfalls of the circuit and nature. His best time in the measured practice proved that his excellent entrée to the season in Barcelona had not been just a coincidence. Gerd was less successful. He finished seventh, thus qualifying, together with David, to the first qualification group, which included all drivers who had finished in odd places. There were thus two qualification races, each classified in the usual way. However, it was Gerd who was closest to a victory and ten points. He had an excellent start and managed to get hold of the second position. In the sixth of the eight laps, he attacked Albacete, who was leading the race. However, he lost control of his truck and the overtaking maneuver on the slippery and mud-covered track, was long on the brakes and finished bogged in one of the gravel traps along the track. He was succeeded in the second position by David, who had to beat off French driver Fournier's attempt to steal the second place in the very end, but he managed that perfectly and received points for the second place. The result earned him a place in the second row of the cup race roster, the other being occupied by Vojtíšek, who succeeded in the qualification race of the "even" drivers. Gerd had to put up with a place in the eleventh, i.e. penultimate, row.
During the first lap of the main race, Gerd overtook a half of the pack of garishly coloured trucks and was getting closer to a group comprising the best drivers. David succeeded to get hold of the third position after the start, pursuing Albacete and Allgäeur and closely followed by Vojtíšek. For ten laps, there were no changes, the only exception being Gerd slowly gaining ground. However, his job was not easy, as the track was very dirty and Gerd's aggressive driving style sent his truck off the tarmac several times. When approaching the first bend in the penultimate lap, the brakes of David's truck jammed and he involuntarily finished deep in the escape zone. He nevertheless managed to get his truck back on track and earned three points for the eighth place. Gerd finished seventh and also scored the fastest lap.
The Sunday qualification race also saw both of our drivers in the same group, as Gerd and David finished second and sixth, respectively, in the measured practice. As the pack was approaching the first bend from the start, there was quite a mayhem, in which Gerd and David were the quickest to find their way through. They started gaining ground quickly, and had a quarter of a minute lead when entering the fourth lap. At that time, David was in the lead, as Gerd's truck slowed down considerably and started zigzagging on the track. A subsequent examination of the truck showed that he had been betrayed by the steering. Yet he was fighting tooth and nail to keep on the track and qualify for the main race, which he succeeded to do.
Gerd started from the twentieth position on the roster, but his excellent driving skills soon brought him to the top of the race, where a tough fight for every position was going on. Many drivers finished off the track due to collisions with other trucks, but also as a result of overrating their capabilities. The latter also holds true for David, who skidded off the tarmac twice as he was trying to earn a place on the podium. In the penultimate lap, he was also overtaken by Gerd, who earned points for the fourth place after a heroic performance (the fastest lap again). David finished sixth and is fourth overall, while Gerd is eighth in the tightly packed rankings…
