While the race in Albacete, Spain, took place in hot summer weather, Nogaro in Gascogne, France, greeted the participants in the fifth event of the season with tropical temperatures of around 35°C. However, we had experienced temperatures which were even five notches higher than those during the weekend, and it must be noted that the latter did not thwart Buggyra trucks' and their pilots' road to triumph.
Gerd showed he was in a much better shape than in the beginning of the season as early as during the measured practice on Saturday; no one was better than him, and Gerd thus earned the pole position for the qualification race. David also made his presence felt, finishing third and getting a position in the second row of the roster, behind Gerd. Sandwiched between the two Buggyra drivers was Albacete from Spain, who had driven for the Buggyra Team last year. As usual lately, our drivers had a good start, after which a six-strong leading group was formed, with Gerd setting its pace in the first position for three laps, and David holding the third position behind Albacete. However, the Spaniard attacked Gerd halfway through the race, and overtook him. This was the only change in the rankings. What mattered most, however, was the eighth place of Bösiger from Switzerland, which moved David to the third position of the current overall rankings. By the way, this was David's principal goal for Nogaro.
The main cup race was also surprisingly calm in the beginning, with drivers from the first rows of the roster holding their positions. The first change occurred in the third lap, when Hahn from Germany overtook Allgäuer, whose performance was rather bland. Halfway through the race, Albacete and Gerd separated from the pack and Hahn started gaining ground on David in the third place, although he was initially losing almost three seconds on him. Hahn overtook David in the eighth lap of the twelve-lap race. "The left front tyre is gone … "were the words that could be heard from David's walkie-talkie, and then Allgäuer started closing on David as well. However, David repealed his attack and, as if reinvigorated by a gulp of water of life, built up his lead again and finished in a point-scoring place, although just short of the podium. "Being on the podium is always good for one's morale and confidence, but it is definitely better to earn a potato medal and ten points than to be DNF-ed. I didn't want to play tug-of-war with Hahn for the third place, and concentrated on defending the fourth position against Allgäuer instead." This was how David commented on his performance during a brief press conference after the Saturday races. And he was absolutely right - his tactical driving earned him a nine-point lead plus the third place in the intermediate rankings ahead of Bösiger.
The weather on Sunday was a bit more reasonable and the sky was overcast. However, the clouds in the sky did not cast any shadow on the superb performance of our pilots during the measured practice. Gerd even managed to conquer the magic limit of 1:57 in the first measured lap. David was initially in the third position, but improved his performance as the end of the practice was drawing nearer, and finally finished second. However, he did not manage to hold his position after the start, as Allgäuer made use of a better track behind Gerd and sneaked to the second place in the first corner. There were no more changes in the remaining eight laps, and David and Gerd thus earned additional precious points. Moreover, Gerd earned an extra bonus, when he improved his own lap record time by six thousandths of a second during the race.
The crowded grandstands witnessed the toughest fight of the weekend in the last race of the event - the cup race. At that time, the track basked in sunshine again and its surface was hot. It looked as if all drivers wanted to catch up with what they had missed or fail to accomplish during the previous two days. They stormed the first corner like a pack of hungry wolves and, for a while, all we could see was a cloud of dust. The first to emerge was Allgäuer's yellow truck, closely followed by Gerd's blue-liveried Buggyra and a pair of red trucks driven by Albacete and Vojtíšek. Tailing close behind was the other blue Buggyra of David. In the fourth lap, Albacete overtook Gerd, and the Buggyras formed a pair in which David was obviously the stronger one. As proved later, Gerd was troubled by his overheating brakes. The middle segment of the thirteen-lap race went without any changes in leading positions. The first to change the situation was Albacete, who assumed the leading place in the ninth lap. In the penultimate lap, David exchanged places with Gerd and was closing on Allgäuer in the second position. He even attacked him just short of the finish line, and for a while it seemed he would overtake the Austrian, but he did not want to risk a slip and eased off. "I almost had him, but half of my truck was on the grass and I had to slow down, else I would have probably slammed against the barriers. Had there been one more lap, I would have definitely overtaken him. But I accomplished my goal for Nagaro - I am back in the third place and I have scored thirty points on Bösi," he commented on his performance after the ceremony, still with a cup in his hands. Gerd too had a reason to be satisfied, as he advanced to the sixth place in the intermediate overall rankings. However, there is just a four-point gap between Gerd and Vojtíšek in the fourth place. And the next race is on his home turf, in front of his "fans" …
