Some unforgettable moments came along with our team
13.12.2013
There won’t be a five-year anniversary to celebrate for our team. Yet the project brought to life by the German constructor Mario Kress made its mark in the history of truckracing during the four years of its existence. Each year on the starting grid brought something new and unforgettable.
News about the end of our team came suddenly and unexpectedly, just like that of its start. The team was formed in the autumn of 2009 and took the 2010 Championship by storm. It was a huge surprise when Mario Kress gathered a group of mechanics who knew absolutely nothing about racing trucks and in an old compound of agricultural buildings created a team. Although there were two experienced pilots sitting in the cockpits, Markus Bösiger and Markus Oestreich, everyone had their worries during the first racing weekend. What can this bunch of „amateurs“ achieve? Were they even able to build trucks capable of competition? Is it all going to go south? The answer came already with the opening racing event in Misano, Italy. In measured practice, the super pole, Bösiger recorded the second fastest time, while Oestreich followed right after him. The only one to beat them was Jochen Hahn. However, that was just the beginning of a weekend from the world of dreams. Bösiger continued by winning both main races and after the first weekend rose to the top position. In spite of the fact that he didn’t celebrate gold at the season’s end, silver medal was more than anyone could have wished for in the premiere year. In addition, Oestreich chipped in with fourth overall position. We triumphed in the team ranking, the Constructors‘ trophy.
Our team started the second season with three trucks in the field. The Swiss-German duo of Bösiger and Oestreich was accompanied by a Czech-born pilot, Adam Lacko. The youngest driver showed his will to succeed as well as his driving skills. For the years to come, third placings in the European Championship series helped him become the Czech number one. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. In season two Mario Kress and his three pilots reached a triumph no other team had achieved before, when pilots of one single team occupied the complete winners‘ podium. The milestone was hit in a main race and, what’s more, at a home circuit. The Czech Truck Prix in Most saw Markus Bösiger, Markus Oestreich and Adam Lacko jump up the podium, respectively, in our grey-and-red overalls. In the 2011 ranking Adam Lacko finished on third place, Oestreich on fourth again and Bösiger on sixth. Unfortunately, MKR didn’t manage to defend the team title and we took home silver medal. However, Lacko’s collection grew thanks to a different kind of treasure when he got married during the season.
As the proverb goes – third time’s a charm! After a long winter of preparations everyone on the team believed that the season would be concluded with a prize not only in the team but also the individual competition. However, the mission was only half-accomplished. Eleven rounds made the third season the longest of all. The pilots opened it in Istanbul, Turkey. And it was in Turkey where the journalists decided to match the powers of a super-boosted passenger car with a truck. Eventually, our machine beat the Megan ASRS in the season’s opening highlight. Nevertheless, the end didn’t turn out all that successful, as there were no changes in the elite six of the individual contest as opposed to the previous year. Adam collected another bronze, Oese had to put up with fourth place and Bösi sixth. But the precious trophy in the team competition returned to our team after a year-long break. This time it was Adam and Oese who seized the trophy. Also, Adam Lacko’s results were awarded in the prestigious „Golden steering-wheel“ motor survey in the circuit-racers category.
In the European races of 2013 our colours were defended by the Lacko-Bösiger duo only. Season four, that means the past one, had a spy-movie-like opening and even its course reminded one of a Hollywood flick. Apart from that all, Adam became a father for the first time, rushing to his wife’s side straight from a press conference. The trip to round one was a top-secret action, as the trucks were transported covered with a tilt. To respect the wishes of the car manufacturer, the brand new design was revealed only right before the race, since it had been derived from the pompously launched new series of transport Renault Trucks models. Anyway, our Renaults were not too lucky on the track. The season saw two horrifying crashes, in Russia and in Zolder, that sent the trucks involved in them to scrap. Paradoxically, it was the accidents what let the human aspects of the competition show and brought the strongest moments of the entire season. The „Crash of the year“, as the Zolder accident had bee called, left Markus Bösiger’s truck completely demolished. Fortunately, all the competition teams agreed with us using a spare racing truck normally used for fairs and exhibitions. The „piece“ was immediately loaded by the mechanics in the Czech Republic, transported to Belgium overnight and there another party of mechanics modified it and got it ready for the race. Markus rewarded the team with an unforgettable win. Wonderful satisfaction, as the Rolling Stones would say.
Moreover, for the first time ever in the history Adam Lacko became the first non-Spanish winner of the Spanish cup when he defeated the multiple winner Antonio Albacete.
Four seasons were enough for a bunch of complete amateurs that literally started out in a former cowshed to become a team of professionals in a modern centre filled with cutting-edge technology. Merely four years brought the MKR team not only a good reputation, numerous victories, moments of rise and fall. Yet this must not mean the end of racing. Although our team will be missing from the starting grid next season, another success may still come. Mario Kress, who has recently celebrated twenty-five years in truckracing, is just not able to sit with his arms folded for long...
